Sri Swami Satchidananda is a 20th-century spiritual guide and celibate monk who founded Integral Yoga. Known for his accessible teaching style, he gained cultural prominence in the 1960s and delivered the opening address at the 1969 Woodstock festival. He frames Rāja Yoga as a practical science for mastering the mind rather than primarily physical exercise. His public legacy involves a complex tension between his teachings on non-harming and later civil lawsuits regarding his personal conduct.

Patañjali is the ancient sage recognized as the systematizer of Classical Yoga. Rather than inventing the practice, he compiled existing Yogic ideas into nearly 200 terse aphorisms between 200 BCE and 400 CE. His structured work outlines the systematic path of Rāja Yoga, emphasizing mental restraint and ethical discipline as the primary mechanisms for spiritual liberation.

Swami Sivananda is the founder of the Divine Life Society in Rishikesh, India, and the spiritual guru to Sri Swami Satchidananda. Though he did not author the Sūtras, his service-oriented approach profoundly shapes the modern commentary. His practical teachings ground the text's complex ethical framework in everyday actions.

Īśvara is the supreme, unconditioned Puruṣa, or God. Remaining entirely unaffected by the afflictions, actions, or impressions that bind individuals, Īśvara serves as the original, eternal teacher of all ancient sages. Devotion and total surrender to this supreme consciousness provide a direct pathway for practitioners to quiet their minds.