Yoga does not mean union — it means Samadhi. Dr. M.K. Nagaraj Rao unpacks Vyasa’s radical interpretation of the Patanjali Yoga Sutras.

Dr. M.K. Nagaraj Rao opens with a challenge to the most popular definition of yoga: it is not “union of individual and universal self.” According to Vyasa’s authoritative commentary on the Patanjali Yoga Sutras, yoga means samadhi — a state of no-action, no perception, no attribution, where one has simply understood oneself and is with oneself. That distinction, Rao argues, changes everything about how yoga is practised and taught.

The lecture develops a philosophy of ānanda as one’s natural state — not something achieved but something revealed when false overlays are removed. With clarity and warmth, Dr. Rao addresses the paradox of “effort without effort” in asana practice (Patanjali’s sutra: no force, no challenge), explains the difference between searching for the divine and being in the divine, and anchors the entire teaching in the Vedantic understanding that bliss is not a destination but one’s original, permanent condition.

About The Speaker:

Dr. Nagraj Rao M. K. is a seasoned yoga practitioner with over 30 years of experience, rooted in the Adi Shankaracharya tradition. Trained in the Vedic Gurukula system, he studied classical texts like the Yoga Sutras and Hatha Yoga Pradipika. A certified teacher and author, he conducts programs on Hatha Yoga, Vedanta, and personal development.