Yoga and the Gita: Isvara-Pranidhana and Bhakti

The classical Yoga tradition of Patanjali, generally known for its nontheistic foundation in classical Samkhya, inclu5'es a series of statements that discuss the nature of "the Lord" or lsvara. Surendrdnath Dasgupta notes that "of all the points of difference between Yoga and Samkhya the admission of lsvara ... (is) the most important ... " In the Yoga Sutra, Pantanjali outlines practices within his passages on Isvarapranidhana that are also known within Bhakti Yoga, including the recitation of mantra. This study will analyze the Yoga Sutra passages on Isvara in light of the Bhagavad Gita's discussion of Bhakti Yoga, which begins in chapter seven, culminates in chapter eleven, and is further explained in chapter twelve. By juxtaposing the technical theory of Isvara with the narrative explication of divinity or avatara in the Bhagavad Gita, comparisons and contrasts will arise between the Raja Yoga of Patanjali and the Bhakti Yoga of the Bhagavad Gita.