The Reframing of Yoga as Conduct by Jain Intellectuals

The word yoga has a wide range of meanings in South Asian religious traditions. Within the Jain tradition specifically, the meaning of yoga has undergone significant transformations, shaped by both major shifts and more subtle developments over time. This paper provides an overview of diverse interpretations of yoga in Jain thought, exploring changes from canonical texts to early modern writings. In doing so, it engages with the works of some of the most prominent Jain authors. Due to the breadth of the topic, I do not attempt to cover every Jain thinker who has contributed to the discourse on yoga; instead, I offer a broad survey concluding with the early modern works of Yaśovijaya. I do not extend my analysis into contemporary times because recent scholarship has examined modern forms of Jain yoga, particularly prekṣā-dhyāna (Jain 2010, Kothari 2013, and Pragya 2016). In contrast, the early modern period remains significantly understudied–a gap that my investigation addresses, offering new English translations from Yaśovijaya's work.

Before the composition of the Jain canon, there is little evidence of organized schools dedicated to meditative practices (Sagarmal Jain 2017, 15). In the Sūtrakṛtāṅga, Mahāvīra is depicted as a great meditator, striving for mental steadiness and self-awareness. The Ācārāṅga includes records of Mahāvīra’s meditative practices, such as one-pointedness meditation (trāṭaka). These practices are discussed in greater detail in later texts, such as the niryukti literature (Pragya 2016, 41–56). In early Jain thought, meditation was considered part of asceticism rather than a distinct, systematized practice. The term yoga carries multiple meanings in the canonical texts and is defined in various ways. It is sometimes associated with asceticism, for example, the term yogavān in the Sūtrakṛtāṅgasūtra refers to a person who keeps mind, body, and speech under control. However, in philosophical contexts, the generic usage of yoga refers to all physical, vocal, and mental activities that contribute to the accumulation of karma (Pragya 2020, 171–172). For instance, yoga is used in this sense in the Uttarādhyayanasūtra (Jacobi 1895, 163, 184). 

Similarly, around 4CE, Umāsvāti defined yoga as “bodily, verbal, and mental action” (TS 6.1Ś), describing the process by which karmas attach to the soul (jīva), binding it and obstructing its natural energy, consciousness, and bliss. In this framework, yoga is tied to karmic bondage, while viyoga signifies liberation. In fact, prior to the mid-first millennium CE, yoga mainly denoted the mundane actions governed by the laws of cause and effect (Chapple 2016, 4). But in the medieval period, I argue, we see one of the most significant shifts in the meaning of the term yoga, coming to refer to Jain religious conduct in a broad sense. As Indian religious thought evolved, particularly with the influence of the Upaniṣads and the interactions between various yoga traditions, yoga became closely associated with practices like ethical restraint, prayer, and meditation. Jain medieval thinkers like Haribhadra, Śubhacandra, and Hemacandra expanded and redefined the concept of yoga, increasingly aligning it with the broader Jain principles of right conduct (samyag-cāritra) that shared the main goal of producing auspicious karma (puṇya) and eliminating negative karma (pāpa). That explains why Nathmal Tatia (1951, 252) asserted that “In Jainism the term cāritra (conduct) is the exact equivalent of the general term yoga.” Reflecting this shift, K. C. Sogani primarily used the term to refer to the activity of the soul as outlined in the TS but also discussed yoga as the “positive side of conduct or meditation” (1967, 232).

Haribhadra defines yoga the Yogaviṃsika (YV) as “all religious performance that connects one with mokṣa” (YV 1). In the introduction of this text, Dixit notes: “Haribhadra's use of the word yoga is in a way peculiar to him. For he makes it to stand for all that he considers to be noble in man's character” (1970, 111). We find a similar statement at the beginning of the Yogabindu. Such broad statements probably made scholars like Tatia affirm that “all spiritual and religious activities that lead towards final emancipation are considered by Haribhadra as yoga.” Desai (1983, 22) in his book Haribhadra's Yoga Works and Psychosynthesis (1983) claims that the main emphasis of Haribhadra is the “observance of right conduct in accordance with the standards of popular religions and thereby to cultivate virtuous and discrimination” (ibid., 22). Later Jain yoga texts, like the Yogadṛṣṭisamuccaya (circa 800 CE) and the Yogaśāstra (1100 CE) continued using the term yoga in a broad sense to refer to proper religious conduct. Although these authors still abided by the Jain karma doctrine, they did not use the word yoga to refer to the activity or vibrations of the soul as understood in the TS. Furthermore, they reconstructed Jain yoga in comparison with other yoga systems of their times. During the medieval period, Jain philosophers sought to systematize orthodox doctrines while  integrating elements from other religious traditions, including those of the Brāhmaṇical and tantric schools. This trend continued with Yaśovijaya (Pragya 2016, 86).

In the 17-th century, Yaśovijaya (1624–1688) reinterpreted and further developed some of Haribhadra's ideas. Although some attention has been given to the Haribhadra's writings on yoga, there has been considerably less research on the writings of Yaśovijaya—works that are crucial for understanding how yoga was redefined as India transitioned into modernity. He authored the Jñānasāra, the Adhyātmasāra, the Dvātriṃśaddvātriṃśikā, the Adhyātmopaniṣada, a commentary on Patañjali's Yogasūtra entitled Prakriyā, a commentary on Haribhādra’s Yogaviṃśikā, a commentary on the Ṣoḍaśikā, and the Sajjhāya on Haribhādra’s Yogadṛṣṭisamuccaya, among other works.  In these writings, he provides different classifications and interpretations of yoga. For example, he starts his chapter on yoga in the Jñānasāra (JS) claiming that “yoga means conduct that connects one with mokṣa”(JS 209). Another of his texts, the Dvātriṃśaddvātriṃśikā, addresses yoga extensively, highly drawing from Haribhadra's works. I investigate Yaśovijaya's discussions on yoga in the chapters that explicitly aim to deal with this topic, showing that he follows the tendency of his predecessors in treating yoga as a broad system of religious conduct while adding nuances that probably responded to the intellectual environment of his time.