Paths of Yoga
The four main spiritual paths
for God-realization are Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Raja Yoga and Jnana Yoga.
Karma Yoga is suitable for a man of active temperament; Bhakti Yoga for a man
of devotional temperament; Raja Yoga for a man of mystic temperament; Jnana
Yoga for a man of rational and philosophical temperament or enquiry. The
practice of Yoga leads to communion with the Lord. Whatever may be the starting
point, the end reached is the same.
Karma Yoga is the way of
selfless service. The selfless worker is called the Karma-Yogin. Bhakti Yoga is
the path of exclusive devotion to the Lord. He who seeks the union through love
or devotion is called the Bhakti-Yogin. Raja Yoga is the way of self-restraint.
He who seeks to have union with the Lord through mysticism is called the Raja
Yogin. Jnana Yoga is the path of wisdom. He who seeks to unite himself with the
Supreme Self through philosophy and enquiry is called the Jnana Yogin.
Man is a strange complex
mixture of will, feeling and intellectual thought. He wills to possess the
objects of his desires. He has emotion and so he feels. He has reason and so he
thinks and ratiocinates. In some the emotional element may preponderate, while
in some others the rational element may dominate. Just as will, feeling and
thought are not distinct and separate, so also work, devotion and knowledge are
not exclusive of one another.
Some maintain the practice of
Karma Yoga alone is the means to salvation. Some others hold that devotion to
the Lord is the only way to God-realisation. Some believe that the path of
wisdom is the sole way to attain the eternal beatitude. There are still others,
who hold that all the paths are equally efficacious to bring about perfection
and freedom.
To behold the One Self in all
beings is Jnana, wisdom ; to love the Self is Bhakti or devotion, to serve the
Self in all is Karma, or action. When the Jnana-Yogi attains wisdom, he is
endowed with devotion and engaged in selfless activity. Karma Yoga is for him a
spontaneous expression of his spiritual nature, as ha sees the One Self in all.
When the devotee attains perfection in devotion, he is possessed of wisdom and
activity. For him also Karma Yoga is a spontaneous expression of his divine
nature, as he beholds the one Lord everywhere. The Karma Yogi attains wisdom
and devotion when his actions are wholly selfless. All the paths are in fact
one, in which the different temperaments emphasize one or other of its
inseparable constituents. Yoga supplies the method by which the Self can be
seen, loved and served.
The Yoga of Synthesis is
the most suitable and potent form of Sadhana. In the mind there are three
defects, Mala or impurity, Vikshepa or tossing, Avarana or veil. The impurity
should be removed by the practice of Karma Yoga. The tossing should be removed
by worship or Upasana. The veil should be torn down by the practice of Jnana
Yoga. Only then Self-realisation is possible. If you want to see your face
clearly in a mirror, you must remove the dirt in the mirror, keep it steady and
remove the covering also. You can see your face clearly in the
bottom of a lake only if the turbidity is removed, the water that is agitated
by the wind is rendered still and if the moss that is lying on the surface
is removed. Even so is the case with Self-realisation. The Yoga of
Synthesis will bring about integral development. The Yoga of Synthesis
develop the head, heart and hand harmoniously and lead to perfection.
Note:
In this section a detailed in
depth study of the four main paths of yoga i.e. Jnana Yoga, Raja Yoga, Bhakti
Yoga and Karma Yoga from the writings of Worshipful Gurudev Swami Sivanandaji
Maharaj is compiled. The unique synthesis of all the four paths and its
practice, which Gurudev called as Yoga of Synthesis, is also given in this
section. Please explore the subsections for a thorough study.
Excerpts from:
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