Theism and Atheism in Patañjali's Yoga: Three Perspectives

Theism and Atheism in Patañjali's Yoga: Three Perspectives

Audio recording of a lecture given by Andrew Nicholson on January 23, 2026 as part of the Dean’s Lecture & Concert Series. The Dean’s Office has provided this description of the event: “The Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali (c. 4th century CE) have been an inspiration for philosophers and yoga practitioners for over 1500 years. For just as long, the meaning of certain terms in Patañjali’s celebrated text have been in dispute. One such dispute is the question of what Patañjali meant when he encouraged ‘dedication to the Lord’ (īśvara-pranidhāna, YS 2.32). Worshippers of Śiva and Viṣnu in medieval India took this to be a clear reference to an omnipotent, omniscient God, the source of all creation. By contrast, some western scholars in the 20th century understood this ‘Lord’ not as a God who possesses any agency of His own, but rather as one who exists merely as a passive object of meditation. The historian of religions Mircea Eliade, for instance, called Him the ‘archetypical yogi.’ I will argue, based on evidence from other first millennium CE works in Sanskrit, that there is a third possibility. Patañjali’s Lord is neither an absolute creator God nor a purely passive ‘archetype,’ but rather a compassionate, eternally liberated being who repeatedly takes embodiment in the world to help yogis break free from the afflictions that bind them to suffering.”

Santa Fe, NM

2026-01-23

Meem Library has been given permission to make this item available online.

sound

mp3

English

SF_NicholsonA_Theism_and_Atheism_in_Patanjalis_Yoga_2026-01-23

M4A

0:46:06