Moksa: A Historical Overview of Yoga in India

Roberto de Andrade Martins was born in Juiz de Fora, Brazil. He graduated in Physics from the University of São Paulo (USP) and obtained his doctorate in Philosophy of Science from the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), where he also earned his Habilitation in General Physics, specializing in History, Philosophy, and Teaching of Physics. He completed postdoctoral fellowships at Oxford, Cambridge, and the University of Oklahoma.

Throughout his academic career, he served as professor at the State University of Londrina, Federal University of Paraná, and UNICAMP, retiring in 2010. He has published over three hundred articles and books on the History and Philosophy of Science. He served as president of the Brazilian Society for the History of Science and the Association of Philosophy and History of Science of the Southern Cone, and was a Research Productivity Fellow of CNPq from 1979 to 2023. Parallel to his academic work, Professor Martins has maintained lifelong involvement with Yoga, meditation, and Indian thought since age 15. He has taught classical Yoga texts, including the Bhagavad Gītā, Upaniṣads, Yoga Sūtra of Patañjali, and Haṭha Yoga Pradīpikā. Since retirement, he has intensified his Yoga activities, organizing workshops and teacher training courses throughout Brazil with his wife Flávia Bianchini.

His publications include translations and commentaries on classical Sanskrit texts, as well as Mokṣa: uma visão histórica do Yoga na Índia (2020) and História do Yoga no Brasil (2025). He collaborates on www.shri-yoga-devi.org and offers online courses on Indian Philosophy.