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Drawing upon the work of Surendranath Dasgupta (1887-1952), this paper explores a set of deep and unexpected parallels between the ethical theories of Patañjali and the post-Kantian philosopher J. G. Fichte. In Yoga as Philosophy and Religion (1924), Dasgupta claims that Patañjali's Yoga Sūtras put forward two essential requirements for reaching ultimate liberation: (1) an ethical ideal of absolute freedom and (2) a path of action that leads towards this ideal. Dasgupta terms this "yoga ethics"—and he hints at a parallel in the western philosophical canon in Fichte's notion of striving for self-sufficiency. My paper proceeds in three parts: §I examines the evidence of Dasgupta's familiarity with Fichte’s Das System der Sittenlehre (The System of Ethics, 1798), demonstrating his awareness of its systematic affinities with classical Yoga. §II turns to a comparative analysis of the ethical principles of the Yoga Sūtras and Fichte’s moral philosophy, highlighting their common notions of ethical practice, moral perfection, and freedom. Finally, §III briefly reflects on the significance of such cross-cultural encounters in the history of ethics, recognizing the value of exploring diverse intellectual traditions across geographical boundary lines.
