Yoga as Philosophy and Religion

Published in 1924, this was among the first rigorous scholarly examinations of Yoga as a philosophical system rather than a physical practice. Dasgupta approaches Patañjali's Yoga-sūtra with the same seriousness one would bring to any great philosophical text, unraveling its metaphysical framework with clarity and depth. The book explores the fundamental distinction between purusha (consciousness) and prakṛti (matter), the evolution of reality through the three gunas of sattva, rajas, and tamas, and the nature of external existence itself. The second half turns from metaphysics to ethics and practice, detailing the stages of samādhi and the systematic path toward self-realization. Dasgupta compares Rājayoga with other yoga systems, illuminating what makes Patañjali's approach distinct. This is not a how-to guide. It is an invitation to understand yoga as the ancient philosophers understood it: as a radical inquiry into the nature of mind, reality, and liberation.