“As we develop our practice along the correct lines, we find that our ability to discipline ourselves and reject intrusive influence grows.”

– TKV Desikachar, Reflections on Yoga Sutra-s of Patanjal

“Dispassion is the freedom from reaction and a lessening of mental activity. If you decide not to react, that places you in control of your thoughts and feelings – not someone or something else. Rather than being torn this way and that, you remain serene. That is why dispassion is such an important part of yogic practice.”

– Devadatta Kali, Managing The Mind

“The result of exerting effort or will can be repression or frustration rather than nonattachment. Through nonattachment we consciously realize that attachment to any object can create short or long-term negative effects of dependency that weaken physical and mental stability and strength. Nonattachment does not mean detaching oneself from things, but discovering that things drop away of themselves.”

– Bernard Bouchard, The Essence of Yoga

“Too much energy and fanfare dedicated to overly rejecting sense objects can often indicate a hidden attachment to those very objects that is being overcompensated for.”

– Edwin F. Bryant, The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

“Regret and guilt are just different forms of yearning – the yearning for the past, the yearning for another chance at a decision. Instead, remember yourself, and remember that you followed your own choice.”

– Nischala Joy Devi, The Secret Power of Yoga

“…for those interested in self-realization, selfish desires are not the appropriate mode of functioning, since they are based on relieving the discomfort of craving and not on what is physically, mentally, socially, or spiritually beneficial. Seekers are called on to cultivate a different foundation for their actions: nonattachment…The lack of real satisfaction is inherent in the mistaken notion that something outside us can make us happy. The more we rely on the outside world for happiness, the more we experience dissatisfaction and craving. We forget that an undisturbed state of mind reflects the essence of our being, the Self, which is happiness itself. The paradox is that the only way not to experience perfect happiness is to be seeking it outside the Self…Nonattachment is not a negation of the world but the cultivation of the appropriate relationship to the transitory pleasures and pains of the world…We have to ask ourselves if we are really enjoying life or if we are simply on a roller coaster ride of cravings, the efforts to fulfill them, and temporary satisfaction…Change is the nature of life. Even when someone or something makes us happy, the situation is bound to change…Nonattachment is a difficult subject because it speaks to our fundamental motivations and beliefs regarding life. In the name of nonattachment, we examine what we hold dear and question if it is necessary to happiness.”

– Reverend Jaganath Carrera, Inside the Yoga Sutras

“When we say unattached, it means without personal desires. If you really want to be greedy, be greedy in serving others. Try to remove the suffering of other people. Once you are unattached in your personal life, you can serve others and by doing that you will find more and more joy. That’s why sometimes I say that the selfless person is the most selfish one. Why? Because a selfless person doesn’t want to lose his or her peace and happiness…when the mind is free from personal interest we do our work well and feel joyful. Our lives become meaningful…do everything with the idea that you are preparing yourself to serve others.”

– Sri Swami Satchidananda, The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali