appreciation, gratefulness, respect, and surrender. These four qualities form an ascending ladder from basic receptivity to inner balance and awakening. Without appreciation (gunagrahana), one cannot recognize the value of yoga; without gratitude (kritagyata), the heart remains closed towards yoga even after practice; without respect (satkara sevito), yoga practice becomes mechanical and unstable and without surrender (ishvara pranidhana), the ego-wall blocks the achievement of perfection in yoga. Together, they transform yoga from a physical exercise to a vehicle for Self-discovery, while their absence guarantees that the yoga practice remains superficial.
the ascending sequence reflects increasing intimacy with the practice of yoga. appreciation maintains observer distance: "this teaching has value." gratitude closes the gap: "i feel moved by the gift of yoga." devoted practice creates union with yoga: "i serve yoga with my whole being." surrender to yoga dissolves boundaries: "there is no longer 'i' practicing but only the divine practice of yoga itself."
This ascending sequence of the mood towards yoga is not arbitrary but reflects the natural deepening of receptivity to yoga. As the Maha Prajnaparamita sacred book declares, gratitude "opens the first door to good actions," yet before gratitude must come the capacity to recognise qualities being offered. The path ascends from intellectual recognition through emotional response to dedicated action in yoga, culminating in complete self-offering where the practitioner dissolves into the yoga practice itself.
1. Gunagrahana: the awakening of discriminative appreciation
The capacity to appreciate qualities (gunagrahana) forms the foundational gateway to yogic progress. The Sanskrit compound joins guna (quality, attribute, virtue) with grahana (grasping, accepting, receiving), meaning the active recognition and acceptance of benefits being offered by yoga. the concept pervades yogic literature through related terms like guna-grahi (one who accepts good qualities), guna-jna (one who appreciates values), and viveka (discrimination between qualities).
The Gita directly addresses this capacity in Chapter 10, Verse 41: "Yad yad vibhutimat sattvam srimad urjitam eva va | tat tad evavagaccha tvam mama tejo-'msa-sambhavam" — "Know that all opulent, beautiful and glorious creations spring from but a spark of universal splendor." Krishna requests Arjuna to develop the eye that recognises divine qualities manifesting in the world. This recognition requires cultivated yogic perception, not passive observation. The practitioner must actively engage in discriminative awareness to perceive the wisdom of the yoga teachers beneath the human form, the yoga teachings' profoundity beneath simple words and the yoga practices' transformative power beneath physical movements.
How appreciation enables yoga practice
Appreciation operates as the discriminative faculty that allows proper selection of the yoga teacher, yoga teachings and the yogic methods. In yoga rishi Patanjali's framework, this relates to viveka (discrimination), mentioned in Yoga Sutra 2.26-28 as the means to self-insight. When a student can truly appreciate the qualities present in authentic yogic teachings versus superficial imitations, in a realised yoga teacher versus a charlatan, in transformative yogic practices versus mere physical exercises, they position themselves for genuine yogic progress.
The Puranas describes the yoga students as "guna-grdhnavah" — those who are able to appreciate qualities. This capacity determines who can receive yogic transmission. When a yoga teacher teaches, some hear only words; others hear wisdom that penetrates to the marrow. The difference lies in developed appreciation. The yoga teacher's qualities remain constant, but only the appreciative yoga student extracts their essence.
Appreciation also prevents a bloated ego. As traditional yogic teaching shares through the flower analogy: "A child plucks a beautiful flower and hands it to his mother saying, 'Here, Mommy, I am giving this to you.' the gift of the flower was created by nature out of the gunas, and the child is transporting it from one place to another." by appreciating the source from where the qualities truly originate, the ego does not appropriate divine yogic gifts as personal accomplishments, creating pride that blocks further growth in yoga. True appreciation recognizes the source beyond oneself, maintaining the humility necessary for continued yogic interest and receptivity.
The destructive absence of appreciation
When yogic appreciation fails, the yoga practitioner may remain like the hired priest who performs rituals for years with no outer and inner transformation. The absence of appreciation creates a fundamental blindness to the value of yoga or anything in this world. Sacred yogic texts become mere literature, profound yogic teachings sound like platitudes, and the respect for the yoga teachers may remain superficial. This perceptual incorrectness manifests as one of yoga rishi Patanjali's nine obstacles: bhrantidarsana (false perception, erroneous views) — the inability to see reality correctly through the eyes of yoga.
Without heartfelt appreciation, yoga students may chase yoga credentials over true yoga experience and wisdom, quantity over quality, appearances over substance. They collect yoga teachers, workshops, and certifications while missing the transformative yogic essence available in a single practice done with full understanding. The Mundaka Upanishad distinguishes between changing temporary knowledge (multiple facts) and eternal unchanging knowledge (essential truth) — appreciation enables this crucial discrimination.
The story of Svetaketu from the Chandogya Upanishad illustrates this deficiency perfectly. After twelve years studying all four Vedas, he returned home at age twenty-four "maha-mana anucanamani stabdha" — proud, conceited, thinking himself well-schooled. His father Uddalaka asked whether he had learned "that instruction by which that which is not heard becomes heard, that which is not thought becomes thought, and that which is not known becomes known." Svetaketu admitted ignorance. His intellectual accumulation lacked appreciation for the essential teaching that illuminates all else. Only after his pride dissolved could his father reveal the mahavakya "Tat tvam asi" — "That Thou Art" — the recognition that transforms knowledge from information to realization.
2. Kritagyata: the flowering of grateful recognition
From appreciation naturally arises its emotional counterpart — kritagyata, the profound quality of gratitude. The Sanskrit term krtajna breaks into krta (what is done, cultivated, acquired) and jna (one who knows), literally meaning "knowing what has been done" — acknowledging benefits received, mindful of past services. Krtajnata (gratitude) in yoga transforms mere intellectual recognition into heartfelt acknowledgment of the yogic gifts received.
Valmiki's Ramayana explicitly lists kritagyata among the essential virtues of the righteous. When describing Rama's perfect character, the sage includes gratitude as a defining quality alongside integrity, bravery, and compassion. The epic warns that ingratitude (akrtajna) ranks among the worst character flaws, destroying the very foundation of dharmic living and yogic progress.
Gratitude as the source of great compassion
The Maha Prajnaparamita yogic text makes a stunning declaration: "Krtajnata or gratefulness is the source of great compassion (mahakarunamula) and opens the first door to good actions (kusalakarman) for a yogi or for anyone in general. The grateful person is loved and esteemed by people; one's renown extends afar; after one's death, one is reborn among the gods and finally one will attain abhisambodhi." This places gratitude not as peripheral virtue but as foundational yogic quality, the very source from which compassion flows.
Gratitude creates the emotional opening that allows the yoga practice and teachings to penetrate deeply rather than remain surface-level information. The Gaganaganjapariprccha explicitly states that "the application of vigour for the sake of gratefulness (krtajnata) and making good actions will never be gone" — gratitude generates sustainable yogic energy that prevents the common problem of yoga practice burnout. The grateful yoga practitioner finds renewed inspiration in each session, seeing each breath, each asana, each meditation as a gift of yoga rather than a task or chore to be completed.
The allegory of Hanuman's heart
The most celebrated allegory of gratitude in Indian tradition reveals its transformative depth. After Rama's victory and coronation, the divine king gifted Hanuman a priceless pearl necklace. Hanuman examined each pearl, then discarded them one by one. When the horrified court demanded explanation, Hanuman replied: "I am looking for Rama's name in these pearls. Anything without Rama's name, or even Rama himself sitting before me, is useless, no matter how precious it is."
When mocked and challenged to prove Rama's name lived in him, Hanuman tore open his chest, revealing images of Rama and Sita inscribed on his heart chakra. This demonstrates that true kritagyata or gratefulness is not demonstrated through external tokens but through the internalisation of the yoga practice. yoga lives within the heart of the truly grateful student. Gratitude had become not a feeling Hanuman experienced but the very substance of his being.
Gratitude dissolves the separation between yoga student, teacher, teaching, and practice. This is kritagyata's ultimate gift — the dissolution of duality itself.
How gratitude's absence is deeply missed
The absence of kritagyata manifests as akrtajna — ingratitude, which traditional teaching declares as one of the most repelling traits anyone can possess. This stark assessment reveals how seriously classical tradition views ingratitude's destructive power. When ingratitude dominates, the channel for yogic transmission closes completely. The yoga teacher may still teach or speak, the teaching remains authentic, but nothing penetrates. The profound yoga teachings become mere information rather than transformative wisdom.
Ingratitude creates a vicious cycle that feeds multiple obstacles from yoga rishi Patanjali's list. Samsaya (doubt) flourishes because the ungrateful mind questions the value of the yoga teachings received. Pramada (carelessness) in yoga emerges as the lack of reverence to yoga translates to casual practice. Bhrantidarsana (false perception) obscures deep yogic understanding, seeing yogic blessings as entitlements and gifts as debts owed. The ungrateful practitioner focuses perpetually on what's lacking rather than what's present, creating the asantosha (discontent) that makes yoga, pranayama and meditation impossible.
a yogi captures this destructive progression: "If you are discontent or hurt, how can you be grateful? If you are grumbling, you can't be grateful, and if you are not grateful, how can there be the grace of yoga?" The cycle becomes: Ingratitude → Lack of Grace → Increased difficulty → More Ingratitude. This downward spiral makes progress in yoga slower, as grace — the divine assistance of the universe that accelerates transformation beyond individual effort — cannot flow into a closed, ungrateful heart.
When a yoga student lacks gratitude, even the most sublime yogic teachings fall on barren ground. it may lead to a self-imposed exile from the transformative relationship that makes yoga deeply effective.
3. Satkara sevito: respecting yoga as a service to oneself
The third quality elevates appreciation and gratitude towards yoga into sustained, devoted action into the practice of yoga. Satkara combines sat (truth, reality, existence, goodness, that which is real and substantial) with kara (making, doing, enabling), meaning "that which makes practice of yoga a living practice; that which breathes life into our yoga practice; that which makes our yoga practice worthy of respect." Joined with asevitah (practiced, served, cultivated) from the root sev (to serve), the complete phrase describes the yoga practice approached not as task but as a service to one's body and mind.
Patanjali's Yoga Sutra 1.14 provides the classical definition: "Sa tu dirgha-kala-nairantarya-satkara-asevito drdha-bhumih" — "yoga Practice becomes firmly grounded when well attended to for a long time, without break and in all earnestness." This sutra explicitly states the non-negotiable requirements for practice to become drdha-bhumih (firmly established) in yoga. All three elements — long time (dirgha-kala), continuity (nairantarya), and grateful respect (satkara) — must be present. Remove any one component and the yogi may find it difficult to maintain the yoga practice.
Vyasa's fourfold analysis of respect
Vyasa's seventh-century Yogabhashya, recognized as the final authority on yoga rishi Patanjali's intent, clarifies what constitutes genuine satkara in yoga: "Being attended for a long time unceasingly, endowed with appreciation, gratefulness, and respect and brought about by determined regular practice (tapas), by moderation (brahmacharya), by knowledge (vidya) and by open-mindedness (sraddha), it becomes firmly rooted in full success."
These four components reveal satkara's depth:
Tapas (discipline, inner fire) creates the container through balanced yoga lifestyle and conscious restraint that closes the door on distractions. Without tapas, scattered energy dissipates the yoga practice's power before it can penetrate deeply.
Brahmacharya (moderation) enables purposeful engagement with the world. This is not suppression but mastery — when senses are in our control, they become trusted advisors rather than tyrannical masters. Unrestrained distractions constantly pull attention outward, making the inward journey in yoga impossible.
Vidya (knowledge, right understanding) provides the clarity of purpose that generates conviction to practice yoga. As traditional teaching states: "The clearer our understanding of yoga is, the greater our conviction." Knowledge of yoga practices' nature, the impermanence of thoughts, and the inner dimension's vastness creates the urgency that transforms casual interest in yoga into committed devotion towards yoga. Without vidya or the right knowledge of yoga, yoga practice may lack the intelligent foundation that sustains it through difficulties.
Sraddha (open-minded trust) becomes the protector during challenges encountered in yoga. Vyasa describes it beautifully: "Faith is benevolent like a mother; she protects the yogi. When the practitioner holds to faith, the mind becomes tranquil and strength gathers in him." Shraddha is not blind belief but faith arising from direct experience of yoga — the accumulating evidence that the yogic path works. this trust in yoga stands by with the yoga practitioner when obstacles arise.
The alchemical transformation from duty to love
Satkara creates the qualitative shift that determines yoga practice's effectiveness. A hired priest performs prayers continuously for years with no result, no fulfillment. He follows every prescription perfectly, yet it remains work with no attraction. He shows external respect while internally calculating salary. Even lifelong yoga practice remains dead without satkara. for example a mantra yogi repeats a mantra with such attachment that the repetition itself becomes bliss, filling the entire being until the practice and practitioner merge.
This distinction separates transformative practice from mechanical routine of yoga. With satkara, seeds of yoga practice fall into the deeper soil of consciousness. this respect for yoga creates true openness and receptivity towards yoga. The practice generates "an inner music, a humming sensation, a sweetness that becomes one's nature." As intensity increases, the yoga practice becomes primary — as if the yoga practice goes on by itself and you vibrate with it. This reversal marks the threshold where effort transforms into grace due to respect for yoga.
How absence of satkara may affect yoga practice
yoga rishi Patanjali's nine obstacles flourish when practice lacks satkara. Vacaspati Misra's ninth-century Tattvavaisaradi commentary asks pointedly: "How can yoga practice secure steadiness, when its operations are opposed by the highway robber of outgoing habits in regards to a lack of respect and appreciation for yoga?" Without satkara, ancient habits of distraction overpower weak practice. The three gunas may constantly pull consciousness outward; practice of yoga without the intensity borne out of respect may not fructify.
T. Krishnamacharya warns explicitly: "Abhyasa or the practice of yoga, when performed WITHOUT reverence and with constant interruption may NOT result in a healthy body, acute senses and extraordinary alertness. Such yoga Abhyasa is NOT a solid foundation and can be easily disturbed." The interruptions that destroy yoga practice stem from lack of satkara or respect — when yoga practice feels like burden rather than joy, the mind manufactures endless reasons to postpone or skip the yoga practice. One missed day creates a gap; the gap becomes pattern; the pattern eventually leads to abandonment of yoga.
The obstacle of anavasthitatva (inability to maintain attained stages) directly results from insufficient satkara or respect for yoga. The yoga practitioner may achieve temporary states through will power, but without deep respect and love for the yoga practice, these states cannot stabilise. As traditional teaching observes: "If you interrupt the yoga practice, if you do for some days and then leave for some days, the long-lasting benefits of yoga due to continuity are lost. When you start yoga again, it may again be like the beginning." Many practitioners spend years starting, stopping, starting — perfection in yoga that could be accomplished in months may takes years or decades due to that.
mechanical practice may appear correct externally but remain dead internally due to a lack of reverence for the practice. Such practice may produce some bodily benefits but creates no transformation. The common complaint "nothing is happening" reveals yoga practice done without the living quality of satkara or respect. The practitioner performs asanas, does pranayama, sits for meditation — all technically correct, but spiritually inert. Without reverent appreciation, yoga practice remains a transaction rather than transformation.
4. Ishvara pranidhana: surrender as supreme culmination
The fourth quality represents both the pinnacle of yoga practice and, paradoxically, an alternative to it. Isvara pranidhana joins Isvara (the universe) with pranidhana (fixing, dedication, devotion, complete surrender), meaning total dedication of all actions of yoga to the Divine within oneself. yoga rishi Patanjali emphasizes this quality's supreme importance by mentioning it four times — more than any single practice in the Yoga Sutras.
Yoga Sutra 1.23 presents the radical teaching: "Isvara-pranidhanad-va" — "Or [yogic samadhi is attained] through devotion with total dedication." The particle va (or) indicates an alternative path — surrender to yoga can accomplish what the eight-limbed path achieves through systematic effort. Yet surrender also appears as the third component of Kriya Yoga (YS 2.1), the fifth Niyama (YS 2.32), and receives its own result-focused sutra: YS 2.45 states "Samadhi-siddhir isvara-pranidhanat" — "The perfection of samadhi [comes] from surrender to yoga." This progression reveals surrender as both means and end, both alternative and culmination.
The six aspects of surrender to yoga
The Gita tradition, particularly through Ramanuja's Vishishtadvaita school, articulates surrender's components as shadanga sharanagati (six-limbed surrender) to yoga:
Anukulyasya Sankalpah — Acceptance of what is favorable to growth in yoga
Pratikulyasya Varjanam — avoidance of what opposes progress in yoga
Maha-Vishvasah — Great confidence that my yoga practice will protect me
Goptrtva Varanam — accepting that my yoga practice will maintain my body and mind in great health
Atma-Nikshepa — self-offering to the yoga practice without reservation
Karpanya — child-like surrender to yoga
These six aspects describe the comprehensive nature of authentic surrender to yoga — not passive resignation but active alignment with the divine practice of yoga, not abandoning discrimination but offering discrimination's fruits to one's inner self, not weakness but supreme strength to release ego's illusion of control.
warrior Arjuna's transformation through surrender
The Gita itself demonstrates surrender's transformative power through warrior Arjuna's journey. At the beginning, Arjuna appears strong — a renowned warrior, skilled archer, powerful prince. Yet facing the Kurukshetra battlefield, his strength collapses into confusion. His weapons fall from trembling hands. He declares himself unable to discern proper duty.
This apparent weakness becomes his freedom. In Chapter 2, Verse 7, Arjuna formally surrenders: "Karpanya-dosopahata-svabhavah prcchami tvam dharma-sammudha-cetah | yac chreyah syan niscitam bruhi tan me sisyas te 'ham sadhi mam tvam prapannam" — "Now I am confused about my yogic duty and have lost composure. I am asking You to tell me what is best for me. Now I am Your student, a soul surrendered unto You."
This declaration marks the true beginning of the Gita's teaching. Only when Arjuna acknowledges his confusion and explicitly surrenders does yogeshvara Krishna begin the systematic instruction of the 18 different kinds of yoga. and After eighteen chapters of progressive revelation, Arjuna's final words demonstrate real transformation: "Nasto mohah smrtir labdha" — "My illusion is gone. Memory is regained. I am firm. I will act accordingly in yoga." Surrender did not make Arjuna passive; it made him capable of right yogic action by removing the ego-delusion that created his paralysis.
How ego-obstacles destroy practice without surrender
as per the yoga sutra, The primary klesha or suffering is asmita (egoism, I-am-ness), from which all other afflictions flow. Ahamkara (ego, the I-maker) creates the fundamental illusion of separation from the universe, from others, and from one's true Self. Bhagavad Gita 3.27 describes the core delusion: "Prakrteh kriyamanani gunaih karmani sarvasah | ahankara-vimudhatma kartaham iti manyate" — "All activities are carried out by nature's modes. But deluded by ego, the soul thinks 'I am the doer.'"
This ego-delusion creates multiple destructive patterns: The illusion of control generates anxiety when outcomes differ from expectations. yogic pride may appropriate attainments by help or grace as personal achievements, creating the competitive consciousness that blocks genuine progress. The hardened ego becomes "an invisible wall cutting one off from the world, bringing sadness and isolation." Most devastatingly, ego prevents grace — the divine assistance of the universe that accomplishes in yoga what individual effort cannot attain.
Without surrender in yoga, yoga practitioners may hit an invisible ceiling. They may achieve significant physical and mental benefits, gain impressive powers (siddhis), even attain temporary elevated states. Yet final freedom and self-discovery remains impossible because the ego itself becomes the ultimate obstacle. As long as "I" remains doing practice. when "I" dissolves through surrender to yoga does the illusion of separation end and permanent realisation occur.
The ascending architecture of transformation
These four qualities form not a random collection but an organic progression in yoga that mirrors consciousness's natural unfolding from surface to depth, from separation to union. Each quality builds on and requires its predecessor, creating a ladder of increasing receptivity and decreasing ego-dominance in the yoga practice.
The sequential necessity
Gunagrahana (appreciation) of yoga must come first because without the capacity to recognize the value of yoga, nothing else can follow. The blind may not be able to appreciate light, the deaf may not be able to appreciate sound, and the yogically undiscerning may not be able to appreciate authentic practices and teachings of yoga. yogic Appreciation requires developing viveka (discrimination) — the ability to distinguish real from fake, profound from superficial, transformative from merely pleasant. This yogic discrimination operates at the intellectual level, creating the cognitive foundation for deeper response.
Kritagyata (gratitude) towards yoga naturally emerges from sustained appreciation of yoga. When one truly appreciates value received through yoga, the heart responds with thankfulness towards yoga. This emotional dimension adds depth to intellectual recognition. Gratitude makes the transition of yoga from head to heart, from knowing something is valuable to feeling moved by its true experienced value. The Maha Prajnaparamita text's declaration that "gratitude is the source of great compassion" reveals how this emotional opening creates the foundation for the genuine practice of yoga.
Satkara sevito (respectful service) translates appreciation and gratitude for yoga into consistent action, continuity, regularity and long period of practice with patience and determination. Understanding the value of yoga and feeling grateful remain incomplete without behavioral expression. Satkara represents the volitional dimension — the will choosing to serve what it values, to practice with love what it appreciates. The term sevito (served) emphasizes this: yoga practice approached not as task but as service, not as achievement but as offering. Through sustained devoted practice of yoga, the yoga practice becomes drdha-bhumih (firmly grounded), creating the stable foundation for the final leap inwards.
Ishvara pranidhana (surrender) culminates the sequence by dissolving the separate self that has been appreciating, feeling grateful for, and serving yoga. This final quality represents the ultimate paradox — the ego must develop sufficiently to undertake the path, yet must ultimately dissolve for realisation to occur. Surrender to yoga is the practice that ends the practice of yoga, the effort that transcends effort, the final act of the separate self that enables its own integration into oneself.
Why this order cannot be reversed
Attempting surrender without the foundation of appreciation, gratitude, and respect produces false surrender — either passive resignation masquerading as yoga attraction, or intellectual concept without transformative power. True surrender to yoga requires the strength developed through yoga practices.
Practicing yoga with respect (satkara) before developing appreciation and gratitude may create a mechanical or temporary attraction to yoga — the hired priest syndrome where external forms appear correct while internal essence remains absent. Feeling gratitude without prior appreciation lacks grounding — one feels vaguely thankful without clarity about what precisely merits gratitude or why.
The integrated whole
Yet while sequential, these qualities ultimately function as inseparable aspects of unified receptivity. In any mature practice, appreciation, gratitude, respect, and surrender operate simultaneously. Each breath becomes an appreciated gift met with grateful acknowledgment, engaged with devoted presence, and offered in surrender. The distinction between qualities dissolves in lived experience, remaining useful primarily for analytical understanding and teaching purposes.
Conclusion: the non-negotiable four foundations of yoga
These four qualities distinguish authentic yoga from mere physical practice, genuine transformation from superficial change, and realisation from just accumulation of experiences. Their presence activates yoga practice's transformative potential; their absence may keep the yoga practice superficial regardless of technical proficiency.
The ascending architecture of these four foundations of yoga from appreciation through gratitude and respect to surrender mirrors consciousness's journey from separation to union. Each quality addresses a different dimension — intellectual recognition, emotional response, volitional dedication, and ultimate transcendence. Together they create the complete receptivity that allows transmission of the yoga practices and knowledge that cannot be grasped by intellectual effort alone, as Mundaka Upanishad 3.2.3 declares: "Nayam atma pravacane labhyo na medhaya na bahuna srutena" — "The Self cannot be attained by instruction, nor by intellectual power, nor even through hearing or reading from a variety of different sources."
The final teaching synthesizes all four: Appreciation recognizes that yoga cannot be grasped by ordinary means. Gratitude opens the heart to receive what cannot be taken by force. Respect maintains the devoted practice that prepares the vessel. Surrender allows the Self to reveal itself to the one it chooses. In this complete receptivity, yoga fulfills its promise — not union achieved by the separate self, but recognition that separation never existed, that the appreciating, grateful, devoted, surrendered awareness is itself the Self that is being sought through the practice of yoga.
Last edited:
