INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND SCIENTIFIC INNOVATION (IJRSI)
ISSN No. 2321-2705 | DOI: 10.51244/IJRSI |Volume XII Issue X October 2025
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1
Ms. Agnihotri Shreya.,
2
Dr. Kapil Kesari
1
PhD Student, Department of Yoga and Naturopathy Monad University, Hapur, Uttar Pradesh, India
2
Teacher of Indian Culture (TIC), Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), New Delhi, India
1621
ABSTRACT
This paper explores the intersection of , as codified in Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtra, and Bhakti Yoga,
as developed in the Bhagavad-Gītā, Nārada Bhakti Sūtra, and Bhāgavata Purāṇa. Traditionally considered
distinct—one emphasizing discipline and isolation (kaivalya), the other devotion and union (prema-bhakti)—
these systems nonetheless converge at the practical level. Drawing on hermeneutical analysis and comparative
theology, this study advances a Convergent-Pragmatic Thesis: that Aṣṭāṅga Yoga provides a disciplined
framework for purifying mind and body, while Bhakti Yoga supplies a devotional orientation that sustains
surrender and love. The bridging concept is īśvara-praṇidhāna (devotion to Īśvara) in Patañjali and śaraṇāgati
(surrender) in Bhakti traditions, both of which function as transformative practices.
By analyzing the eight limbs of yoga alongside the bhakti traditions, this paper demonstrates how yogic
discipline can be “devotionalized,” and how devotional practice can be strengthened by yogic discipline.
Historical reception shows that medieval commentators, modern reformers, and contemporary global yoga
often integrate both. While ontological and soteriological divergences remain—kaivalya as isolation versus
mokṣa as communion—the two paths emerge as complementary, offering both rigor and heart to the spiritual
journey. This convergence has significant implications for comparative theology and for contemporary yoga
pedagogy, where the need to reintegrate discipline with devotion is increasingly urgent.
Keywords: Yoga Sūtra, Aṣṭāṅga Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Īśvara-praṇidhāna, Śaraṇāgati, Kaivalya, Bhagavad-Gītā
INTRODUCTION
Yoga in the Indian tradition encompasses diverse approaches to liberation. Among these, and
Bhakti Yoga stand out as disciplined and devotional paths respectively. Aṣṭāṅga, the eightfold method
presented in Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtra (c. 4th century CE), emphasizes ethical discipline, concentration, and
meditative absorption culminating in kaivalya, the isolation of pure consciousness from material nature
(prakṛti). Bhakti Yoga, articulated in the Bhagavad-Gītā, Nārada Bhakti Sūtra, and Bhāgavata Purāṇa,
centers on devotion and surrender to Bhagavān, culminating in loving communion.
Although scholarship has often treated them as separate systems—Yoga as a discipline of interiority, Bhakti as
a religion of emotion—both converge at the point of surrender. Patañjali prescribes īśvara-praṇidhāna
(surrender to Īśvara) as a means to samādhi (YS I.23, II.45), while the Gītā insists on śaraṇāgati (BG 18.66) as
the essence of liberation. This commonality suggests a convergence of methods, even while ultimate goals
differ.
This paper therefore advances a Convergent-Pragmatic Thesis: Aṣṭāṅga Yoga and Bhakti Yoga can be
viewed as mutually supportive disciplines. Aṣṭāṅga provides structure; Bhakti provides orientation. The
analysis proceeds in eight parts: methodology, exposition of Aṣṭāṅga and Bhakti, comparison of surrender
practices, ontology and soteriology, praxis mapping, reception history, and final synthesis.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND SCIENTIFIC INNOVATION (IJRSI)
ISSN No. 2321-2705 | DOI: 10.51244/IJRSI |Volume XII Issue X October 2025
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METHODOLOGY
This study employs a hermeneutical-comparative method, analyzing Sanskrit sources with attention to
commentarial traditions, and placing them in dialogue. Primary sources include the Yoga Sūtra (with Vyāsa
Bhāṣya), the Bhagavad-Gītā, the Nārada Bhakti Sūtra, and the Bhāgavata Purāṇa. Secondary sources include
Bryant (2009), Chapple (2013), Larson (1995), White (2014), Flood (1996), and Pechilis (1999).
The analysis is not empirical but theoretical. It does not attempt to reconcile divergent metaphysics, but to
show their practical convergence in methods of discipline and devotion.
Patañjali lists eight limbs: yama (restraints), niyama (observances), āsana (posture), prāṇāyāma (breath
regulation), pratyāhāra (sense withdrawal), dhāraṇā (concentration), dhyāna (meditation), and samādhi
(absorption) (YS II.29). The goal is kaivalya (YS IV.34), the isolation of puruṣa from prakṛti.
Yet devotion is embedded in this system. Īśvara is defined as a “special puruṣa” untouched by karma or
affliction (YS I.24). Surrender to Īśvara is prescribed as a direct path to samādhi (YS I.23, II.45). Recitation of
praṇava (Oṃ) and meditation on its meaning (YS I.27–28) integrate mantra with devotion. Thus, although
dualistic, Yoga retains a devotional axis.
The Bhagavad-Gītā elevates bhakti above all yogas: “yoginām api sarveṣāṁ … sa me yuktatamo mataḥ” (BG
6.47). Chapter 12 describes qualities of a bhakta (BG 12.13–20), while 18.66 proclaims surrender (śaraṇāgati)
as the essence of salvation.
The Nārada Bhakti Sūtra defines bhakti as supreme love (parama-prema-rūpā, NBS 2), both path and goal
(NBS 82). The Bhāgavata Purāṇa outlines ninefold devotion (navadhā-bhakti), including hearing, chanting,
worship, and surrender (7.5.23–24). Liberation here is not isolation but loving communion with Bhagavān.
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Both systems converge on surrender. Patañjali prescribes īśvara-praṇidhāna as kriyā-yoga (YS II.1), niyama
(YS II.32), and means to samādhi (YS II.45). The Gītā prescribes śaraṇāgati (18.66) as the highest command.
The Nārada Bhakti Sūtra emphasizes exclusivity (ananyatā, NBS 19), echoing Yoga’s focus on single-
pointedness.
Thus, though theistic in different ways, both traditions affirm surrender as indispensable for transformation,
functioning as a shared practice of ego-transcendence and reliance on divine grace.
Ontology and Soteriology
Ontology diverges sharply. Yoga affirms dualism: multiple puruṣas and prakṛti, liberation as kaivalya (YS
IV.34). Bhakti affirms theism: one supreme Bhagavān, jīvas dependent on Him, liberation as loving
communion (BG 7.7, Bhāg. 11.14.20).
Soteriology also diverges: Yoga culminates in isolation, Bhakti in relational union. Yet both converge in
emphasizing purification, discipline, and surrender as indispensable stages.
While Patañjali’s system tends toward Sāṅkhya dualism, later commentators like Bhoja (11th c.) and the
Vaiṣṇava Vedāntins interpret Īśvara as a personal deity, thus reorienting kaivalya toward communion rather
than isolation. Advaitic readers, by contrast, internalize Īśvara as the Self. Such lineage-based divergences
highlight that the Convergent-Pragmatic Thesis is interpretively situated rather than universally prescriptive.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND SCIENTIFIC INNOVATION (IJRSI)
ISSN No. 2321-2705 | DOI: 10.51244/IJRSI |Volume XII Issue X October 2025
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Praxis Mapping: Devotionalizing the Eight Limbs
Each limb of Aṣṭāṅga can be devotionalized:
Yama/Niyama: ethical restraints as service to God; īśvara-praṇidhāna aligns directly with bhakti.
body as offering in worship.
breath as remembrance, linked to nāma-japa.
withdrawal of senses for devotion.
single-pointed remembrance of God’s form and name.
absorption—either in pure consciousness or in God’s presence.
Thus, discipline and devotion can mutually reinforce, each enriching the other’s praxis.
Reception and Modern Re-readings
Commentaries show increasing devotional integration. Vyāsa emphasized īśvara-praṇidhāna as optional aid;
Bhoja equated Īśvara with Viṣṇu. Vaiṣṇava traditions reinterpreted Yoga as bhakti-sādhana.
Modern figures continued this integration. Vivekananda presented Rāja and Bhakti Yoga as complementary.
Aurobindo fused them into Integral Yoga. ISKCON appropriated yogic vocabulary into bhakti-centered
practice. Global yoga today often blends āsana with chanting and devotion.
Pedagogical Implications for Contemporary Yoga Education
Contemporary yoga pedagogy can benefit from integrating the ethical, meditative, and devotional strands of
both systems. Curriculum design may include modules that pair yama-niyama with reflective practices of
surrender (praṇidhāna), āsana-prāṇāyāma with chanting or nāma-japa, and dhyāna with meditations on
compassion or divine presence. Such balance nurtures both inner discipline and relational devotion, making
yoga education holistic rather than technique-driven.
CONCLUSION
Yoga and Bhakti, though divergent in metaphysics, are convergent in practice. Yoga provides discipline and
purification; Bhakti provides orientation and grace. Their convergence is not doctrinal but pragmatic: both
insist on surrender, both transform ego into receptivity to transcendence.
Thus, the two may be seen as wings of the same bird—discipline without devotion is dry, devotion without
discipline is unstable. Together, they offer a holistic path balancing rigor and love, method and surrender.
This has implications for comparative theology, pedagogy, and interfaith dialogue: Yoga is not merely
technique, Bhakti not mere emotion—they are complementary technologies of liberation.
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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND SCIENTIFIC INNOVATION (IJRSI)
ISSN No. 2321-2705 | DOI: 10.51244/IJRSI |Volume XII Issue X October 2025
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10. Pechilis, K. (1999). The Embodiment of Bhakti. Oxford University Press.
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