Answered from scripture
What is yoga in the Bhagavad Gita?
In short
In the Bhagavad Gita, yoga means far more than physical postures — it is union with the Divine and skill in action. Krishna defines it in verse 2.48 as evenness of mind (samatva): acting with full effort while remaining balanced in success and failure. The Gita teaches several paths of yoga — of action, devotion, and knowledge.
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The verse
“yoga-sthaḥ kuru karmāṇi saṅgaṁ tyaktvā dhanañjaya”
Bhagavad Gita 2.48 · Chapter 2, Sankhya YogaSteady in spirit, do your work and let go of attachment, calm alike in success and failure. This evenness of mind is yoga.
Spoken by Krishna to the warrior Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra — the Gita sits within the Mahabharata's Bhishma Parva — as Arjuna, overcome with grief and unwilling to fight his own kin, laid down his bow before the war.
In depth
The word yoga means 'to join' or 'to unite' — the union of the individual with the Divine. In the Gita, Krishna presents it not as escape from life but as a way of living: 'yoga is evenness of mind' (2.48), and 'yoga is skill in action'.
The Gita describes complementary paths: karma yoga (selfless action), bhakti yoga (loving devotion), and jnana yoga (knowledge of the self). All lead to the same freedom — a mind steady, unattached, and turned toward the Divine.
Related questions
What does yoga mean in the Bhagavad Gita?
Union with the Divine and evenness of mind — acting with full effort while staying balanced in success and failure (2.48). It is far broader than physical postures.
What are the paths of yoga in the Gita?
Karma yoga (selfless action), bhakti yoga (devotion), and jnana yoga (knowledge) — different routes to the same union and freedom.
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