5. Classical Yoga and its Influence on the Yogopaniṣads

Both Yogasūtra and Yogopaniṣads maintain uniformity in the major aspects of yoga. The general nature of yoga, and its practices, especially the Yogāngas, the ways and modes of attainment of liberation and yogic powers etc are analyzed commonly, though they maintain their own significant individual features.

Yogasūtra defines yoga as Cittavṛttinirodha which means the cessation of mind. For this nirodha Patañjali offers certain practices based on aṣṭāṅgamarga which lead to the vairagya or detachment. Among these, yamas and niyamas make the yogi fit for yoga by adopting values like ahimṣā, satya etc. Those help a man to lead the moral life and practice external and internal purity. Then they offer appropriate circumstances for the practice of prāṇāyāma. They help the yogi to restrain his senses from the objects and thus attain concentration that leads him to samādhi and finally to kaivalya. This is summarized in the Pātañjalayoga in yama, niyama, āsana, prānāyama, pratyāhāra, dhāraṇa, dhyāna and samādhi. Thus Pātañjalayoga gives more prominence to the spiritual aspects. This yoga is commonly treated as rājayoga because of its basis on astāṅgamārga.

There are similarities and dissimilarities between the yogic aspects in the Yogasūtra and the yogopaniṣads. In the very essence of yoga, yogopaniṣadic yoga goes along with Pātañjala yoga. It admits the yogāngas as the means to mokṣa while it differs in its admission of certain upaniṣads. These are Tṛśikhi, Yogatattva, Varaha and Śandilya, but varies in the sub-division of it. It admits the eight yogāngas of yama, niyama, āsana, prāṇāyāma, pratyāhara, dhāraṇa and samādhi as such in the Yogasūtra.

Among the cited upaniṣads triśikha, śaṇḍilya, and varāha classify yamas and niyamas as ten, varāha describes ten āsanas and śandilya eight along with divisions of prānayāma, pratyāhāra, dharaṇa and dhyāna. The detailed discussions on the aṣṭangas are found in the Śaṇḍilyopaniṣad Kṣurika and Yogacūḍāmaṇi introduce 6 angas, with the omission of āsana and prānāyama. Besides these the Amṛtanāda also accepts six angas, with the omiss ion of yama, niyama, āsana but the admission of tarka. Thus the Yogopniṣads are often treated as the addition as well as the omission of certain aspects of and from the Patañjalayoga.