Quotes from James Mallinson

these ascetic practices were not undertaken in order to cow the spirit is exemplified by the story of Pur?? Puri himself. He chose the ?rdhvab?hu austerity and held both his arms in the air for the remaining forty-five years of his life, during which he travelled continuously, reaching as far as Malaysia in the east and Moscow in the west.

The elements of eightfold systems – rules (yamas), observances (niyamas), posture (?sana), breath-control (pr???y?ma), withdrawal (praty?h?ra), fixation (dh?ra??), meditation (dhy?na) and sam?dhi – do not vary from text to text,17

2.49) O Arjuna, action is very much inferior to the yoga of the intellect (buddhiyoga). Seek refuge in the intellect! Wretched are they who are motivated by results.

Some see the self in the self by means of the self through meditation; others through S??khya yoga; and others through the yoga of action.