From Īśvara-Praṇidhāna to Parā-Bhakti: Convergent Paths of Aṣṭāṅga Yoga and Bhakti Yoga

Abstract

This paper explores the intersection of Aṣṭāṅga Yoga, 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.