To the West, Patanjali is usually exclusively associated with the “yoga
philosophy”, Raja Yoga, etc. since Swami Vivekananda introduced it to the United
States and England in the 19th century. But in India, for centuries, the
philosophy of yoga has encompassed many more texts, with the Bhagavad Gita being
the sacred text of reference, since it contains the essence of Vedanta.
Both the
Bhagavad Gita and Patanjali's Aphorisms on Yoga
are Moksha Shastra and Yoga Shastra, a path of liberation and Self-Knowledge,
both of which are part, in a broad sense, the Yoga Philosophy.
There are many similarities but also many differences that the search engine
should be aware of.
There are two fundamental differences between the two:
The Aphorisms on Yoga, as a scientific treatise, are
mind-oriented while the Bhagavad Gita, as an emotional dialogue in
verse between Sri Krishna (the supreme incarnation of Knowledge)
and Arjuna, make both the mind and the heart vibrate
Furthermore, the Yoga Sutras mark a rigid path (as a scientific
treatise): that of meditation (Dhyana) to achieve Samadhi
Patanjali's Yoga system is based on achieving liberation through advanced
stages of meditation (Dhyana)
The Bhagavad Gita, as essence of Vedanta, define four Paths or yogas to
achieve Moksha:
We have prepared this Online Guide so that both yoga teachers, students and
seekers can know the differences and similarities between the Bhagavad Gita and
the Yoga Sutras.
Anyone who wants to begin studying or training in the philosophy of Yoga will
find in this guide several comparisons that will help you better make your
decision about whether it is better to study the Bhagavad Gita or yoga
Sutras of Patanjali. And we anticipate that the answer is that it is necessary
to study both.
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali by Swami Vivekananda.
At the end of the 19th century, Vivekananda made them known to the West. Since
then they have been part of the philosophy of yoga, as understood to the West
Introduction to Kapila's Sankhya Philosophy:
Both the Bhagavad Gita and the Yoga Sutras are based on Sankhya. Although
Shankaracharya considered Sankhya to be totally opposite to Vedanta