Journal Article

Does Liberation Entail Disembodiment? Re-examining the Concept of Pratiprasava in the Yogasūtra

Bhattacharya, Susanta

2025

Overview

One of the central concepts in understanding the spiritual goal of Pātañjala Yoga is pratiprasava, which means a process of reversal. Yet disagreements persist over how pratiprasava and kaivalya (liberation) are to be interpreted. Two main lines of interpretation may be identified as the ‘ontological’ and ‘epistemological’ approaches. According to the first interpretation, pratiprasava means the literal dissolution of the empirical world, including one’s physical body and mind. According to the second, it means undoing of the misidentification of puruṣa with prakṛti . I will defend an interpretation that combines aspects of both of these approaches. I suggest that pratiprasava has two sequential stages: the epistemological stage and the ontological stage. In the epistemological stage, pratiprasava is the first stage of freedom ( kaivalya ) from all sorts of physical and mental bondages. This type of freedom is attained when all negative and positive effects of prakṛti’s manifestation no longer affect the yogin while living in this physical body. In the subsequent ontological stage, pratiprasava is final freedom from existence altogether, including the body and mind. Based on this understanding of the two stages of pratiprasava , I will contend that there are correspondingly two types of kaivalya : embodied and disembodied.

• Publisher: Springer Netherlands
• Subject: Education / Non-Western Philosophy / Philosophy / Philosophy of Religion / Religious Studies