by Tirtha Acharya | Jan 6, 2018 | Yoga
Bhakti Yoga is the path of devotion among different types of yoga. In this yoga, a yogi is devoted to the God, higher self or the higher power, universe, the true self or any higher being in this world or the beyond. Bhakti yoga was started in the ancient time. Bhakti yoga is mentioned in Shvetashvatara Upanishad.
The detailed description can be found in the Shreemad Bhagvat Geeta, the most famous holy scripture of the Hinduism. Simply, Bhakti means to love without any condition and doubt. When we love unconditionally to the God or any higher being or things for the purpose of spirituality, we can be in this path. It is also a way to be liberated as in other types of yoga. This yoga is the natural way of getting enlightenment.
The main goal of all yoga is to be oneness with the higher self by practicing different techniques. After all, yogis want to dissolve themselves to the God. Bhakti yoga believes that if our ultimate goal is to unite with the higher self, why we don’t practice of acting as we are already united with the God or higher self from the starting point. If one doesn’t have the total faith, for him or her this yoga is not suitable. Who are emotionally powerful and can dedicate themselves to the God or to the higher self are the real devotees of this Bhakti yoga. Intellectual personality can choose the Gyana yoga for their spiritual quest.
There are many ways in Bhakti yoga. The most famous way is to sing hymns to the God whom they love and make their beloved God. The Bhakti yogis forget everything and surrender themselves to their beloved God. Yogis make the hymns by praising to their favorite Lord. There are many lords in Hinduism to pray such as Shiva, Debi, Krishna, Bishnu, Ram etc. It is believed that God exists in all the particles of the world. There is nothing which doesn’t have the presence of God so if we feel the presence of God in anything; we can realize the existence of God.
In most religions of the world, devotion to the God is essential because it is an easy way or the effective way to attain God. In the Christianity also we can find the devotion to the Christ to find the God. Christ is the main lord to devote to the Christianity. There is great value in praying to the Christ in the Christian religion.
It is believed that love to the Christ leads us to the salvation or to the God. Praying is the main way to dedicate them to the Christian culture. They believe that the seat of the heaven is secured to whom who pray to the God in the name of Christ. Christ is the son of God and he is the representative of God in this world to give the message of God to the people of this earth.
Bhajans and Kirtans are the main part of Hindu culture. In Hindu culture, Hymns are the inseparable part of every aspect of their life. In every function of the Hindu culture, there are the different types of hymns of songs to celebrate. The main purpose of those songs is to praise the almighty God.
Hindus offer their food to the God before they eat. They think that it is not good to eat without offering the food to the God first. They have the opinion that God is our guide; he is the real security in our life. If we become the right hand of God, we never have to be frightened in our life for anything. This types of activities are also the example of Bhakti yoga.
Bhakti Yogi believes that whatever happens in our life, that happens for the good reason. There can’t be mistaken for the God. God puts us in the right place at the right time. There is not any doubt about God or the creator. There never can be replaced anything and any event. God’s choice is always right and he never fails to make this world beautiful. They enjoy the creation and become grateful to the God for this beautiful world.
Bhakti yogis think that every part of their life is the gift of God and they pray to God for giving them abundance in their life. They never ask anything in their praying but they become thankful to be the part of the God in this world. Bhakti Yogis worship making the statues of the God they love. They think the real God of the statue and respect that statue as their lover or beloved. Sometimes, they forget themselves in the worship of their beloved God. They forget to eat and sleep because they sink in the worship that they don’t feel the time and place.
Some of Bhakti yogis find their Guru is the reflection of God and devote to the Guru as he is the representative of God in this world. At last, the devotion converts into the salvation to those who are really believed in the existence of God. This yoga is the person who never doubts the existence of God. Who is skeptical about the presence of God cannot go with this yoga. For him or her, Gyana yoga is suitable. Yoga can be chosen by the quality of the person.
In Shrimad Bhagvat Geeta, Lord Krishna said not to be fearful. If we surrender everything to Lord Krishna, he is the protector of all the dangers in the life yogis but for that, they have to totally believe him. Bhakti yoga believes that what we love that we become. If we love the higher self, sooner or letter we become dissipated with the higher self or the supreme power. Our love to the God determines how fast we will get salvation in our life. If we love God totally forgetting ourselves, we can be at the deeper level.
Bhakti yogis think about only God in their mind whatever they do. Their body does many things but the mind always repeats the name of God. They become aware of reciting the holy name of God. For Bhakti Yogis, there is nothing important than to worship the God and to praise the God’s Grandeur. For them, God is omnipotent and omnipresent.
Some person gives their love to the people and believes totally. One day they are deceived and become sad and live sorrowful life. They become unhappy in their life because they put their belief in the wrong place. If we put our belief in the wrong place, we surely get betrayed. There is the right place to put our love that is God or higher self. If we can put our love to the supreme power, we never have to be deceived. And that becomes the way of Bhakti yoga.
by Tirtha Acharya | Jan 5, 2018 | Yoga
Integral Yoga integrates everything: body, mind, spirit. It is the combination of six parts of yoga: Hatha, Raja, Bhakti, Karma, Jnana, and Japa Yoga. This theory states that an individual requires these six parts of yoga for all-round development. The Goal of Integral Yoga, According to Swami Satchidananda Saraswati:
“The goal of Integral Yoga and the birthright of every individual is to realize the spiritual unity behind all the diversities in the entire creation and to live harmoniously as members of one universal family. This goal is achieved by maintaining our natural condition of a body of optimum health and strength, senses under total control, a mind well-disciplined, clear and calm, an intellect as sharp as a razor, a will as strong and pliable as steel, a heart full of unconditional love and compassion, an ego as pure as a crystal, and a life filled with Supreme Peace and Joy.”
Swami Satchidananda Saraswati brought Integral Yoga to the west from India. It is taught according to sage Patanjali and Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. So it includes all branches of Astanga yoga: Yama, Niyama, Aasana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi.
Shree Aurobindo has also talked on Integral Yoga. He aimed to human being to achieve deep and wide spiritual consciousness through integral yoga.
The Six Branches of Integral Yoga
Hatha Yoga
Hatha refers to the practice of physical yoga postures. Power yoga, Iyengar, Astanga, Vinyasa are all hatha yoga. The word “Hatha” gives two meaning- the first is ‘willful’ or ‘forceful’ or yoga activity. The second is: ‘ha’ means sun, ‘tha’ means moon, the yoga of balance. Hatha yoga aligns and strengthens the body.
It also calms the body, mind, and spirit and prepares for the meditation. Yoga asana helps to increase awareness on body and breath. As awareness and consciousness increase; one proceeds to the path of enlightenment. Swami Satchidananda wants Yoga asana to be “steady and comfortable.” So overexertion or force is avoided during the yoga pose. It should be practiced with rest and relaxation bestowing for meditative motion.
Raja Yoga
Raja means ‘king’. It also means ‘best or chief of its kind’. It means the highest stage of yoga. Hatha Yoga is one of the paths to reach the Raja Yoga. In the 19th-century, Swami Vivekananda summarized the Raja Yoga with “Yoga Sutras of Patanjali”. Raja Yoga is a path of meditation and self-discipline, based on ethical principles.
The practice of Yoga Sutras of Patanjali strengthens and harmonizes all aspects of the individual, engrossing in Self-realization. The Yoga Sutras are not just philosophy or intellectual game but it is the tool for Raja Yoga. Swami Satchidananda fostered his disciples to put into the practice manifesting that, “Raja Yoga is a golden key to disclose true spirituality, health, happiness, peace, and joy.
Bhakti Yoga
It is the path of loving and devotion towards the God. There are different names of the God. The individual can be a devotee on any name of the God. This is the practice to cultivate love and devotion toward God. The teachings on Bhakti Yoga draw references from the Bhagavad Gita, Shreemad Bhagwat Mahapuran and the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. This teaching asserts Bhakti i.e. devotion aids the practitioner on the path to enlightenment.
There are many ways of Bhakti. Normal practices of Bhakti include bhajan (song on the name of God), kirtan (a form of call-and-response chanting), “dancing on God’s song”, puja (worship), prayer, “persistent reminiscence of the divine” etc. Some of the examples of Bhakti Yogi are- Mira Bai, Prabhupada, Akka Mahadevi etc. In Bhakti internal attitude of gratitude is expressed externally, which is said to be Devotion or Bhakti. Ego, selfish wanting etc are released by the Bhakti.
Karma Yoga
Karma Yoga is the act of selfless service. All the efforts without desire for fruit are called Karma Yoga. The egoless efforts for others’ good are also known as Karma Yoga. The Karma Yogi dedicates all the deeds to the lord. It reaches meditation in action. Any work that is dedicated to god is itself is a path to enlightenment. As practitioner generates love towards all beings he starts selfless serving. It is the yoga of giving without expecting anything in return; thinking of the actions themselves as an offering to the divine. Being loyal to all of humanity, perceiving the lord within all beings and working for common happiness is the essence of Karma yoga.
Jnana Yoga
It is the path of wisdom or knowledge in the Integral Yoga. Jnana Yoga is related in search of the truth. Different types of study, analysis, awareness, etc are required to proceed towards the path of truth. The ceaseless effort of knowing the truth helps the practitioners to stop identifying themselves with their bodies and minds, and realize the unchanging “witness” within.
Jnana yoga focuses on separating the self from mind, body, and situation; and understanding the self as a permanent observer. This path is comparatively difficult. Janan Yoga helps to be free from delusion about the self and world. To awaken consciousness and awareness, Integral Yogi’s practice reflection, self-inquiry, study, and meditation. A part of the mind stands back and observes; this part of the mind is the witness to everything.
Japa Yoga
It is the yoga of repeating mantra or name of God. In Bhagawat Geeta, Lord Krishna says, “Yajnanam Japa-Yajnosmi-Among Yajnas I am Japa Yajna. Swami Satchidananda advised that Japa Yoga is one of the easiest methods to develop a successful meditation. Jnana Yoga requires mental sharpness while Japa Yoga does not require it. So it is an easy method for all.
Mantra has divine power. When one continuously enchants mantra, that mantra creates “cosmic vibration” in the space. His mental and spiritual body adapts to cosmic vibration. It creates the path to the goal. There are various types of Mantras. However, mantras received during initiation could be more beneficial. It is not necessary that mantras should have some meaning. Repeating any types of mantra with devotion can be a mantra.
You may like some other types of Yoga: Hatha Yoga, Kundalini Yoga, Tantra Yoga, Ashtanga Yoga, Restorative Yoga, Sivananda Yoga, Nada Yoga
by Tirtha Acharya | Dec 29, 2017 | Yoga
The meaning of Siddha is the person who is enlightened. The name itself shows that the main purpose of this yoga is to help for salvation. Siddha yoga is a different yoga than other because it needs to be initiated by the saktipat, power transformation from an authorized master or a Guru. Siddha yoga is a style of yoga which is founded by the Swami Muktananda.
He established as a Siddha path and taught all around the world. He founded SYDA Foundation in the United States of America. Saktipat is the starting point of this path. From the saktipath, our body can open to enter the divine presence in our life. It is the spiritual initiation in our life. In Saktipat, the divinity enters into our body. After that, we have to practice for the higher achievement in our life. When we practice more and more, slowly we can get our destination in our spiritual path.
According to Siddha Yoga yogis should see the divine power to each other and everything in the world. Every situation of our life is the opportunity to see the divine source. We have to see everyone as a part of the divine power. When we can achieve the presence of divine power within us then we can see every part of this earth and universe is the inseparable part of the divinity. Divinity is not different from us but it is within us. We have to know that is within us. To know the divinity is within us we have to practice by exercising to see the divinity every event and every action.
Siddha Yoga believes that salvation is our birthright which is possible in our life. The problems that come in our life are not the problems but they are the chance of meeting with the divinity in the disguised form. If we can see the divinity everything in our life then we can be blessed by the power of God. This path of yoga can be found all around the world if we want to practice.
When Swami Muktananda died in 1982, Gurumayi Chidbilashananda received the power and authority to be a master or a Guru of Siddha Yoga path. Gurumayi Chidbilashananda has the spiritual power to initiate the people in Siddha yoga. She helps to open the spiritual energy of the seekers.
She awakens the Kundalini power of the people who want to be a yogi in Siddha path. She guides many people in the spiritual journey by teaching many ways to be enlightened. She is the head of Siddha yoga hierarchy and she gives the classes of meditation, mantra chanting, contemplation and study of the knowledge. After getting the Saktipat, we should practice yoga for our higher progress. So, we have to practice yogic path in our life until we get enlightened.
Self-realization is the diamond of our life and our best effort should be to achieve the precious gift of our life. If we want to seek the most important factor in our life i.e. spirituality, we can walk the path of Siddha Yoga. In Siddha yoga, we get illuminated by the power of spirituality when Guru or master gives Shaktipat to us. That beautiful experience can motivate us to get salvation in our life.
Siddha yoga is based on the eastern philosophy and it focuses on brotherhood and harmony among all the humanity. It teaches us to see the God within every single person and respect everybody. Everybody of this world has the power to be liberated in their life. If they get the right Guru or master and they practice from their heart, they can be free from the ego and they can attain mastery.
Under the guidance of the master, Siddha yogi practices his or her spiritual activities for the higher achievement in spirituality. When we start our journey in this path of Siddha yoga, our journey begins to the infinite from finite. The study is important of the yogis who have achieved the goal of spirituality because we have to understand how the masters had gone through in their spiritual achievement. That experience can be the inspiration to walk in the path to the spiritual journey.
Siddha yoga includes meditation to practice and mantra chanting for going in the deeper level. When we practice more and more, we can take more benefits from our practice. We can get practical knowledge of love and tolerance from selfless services and offer Dakshina to our Guru or master. Selfless service increases our detachment and love to all the humanity.
We also practice praying others for their betterment. Praying practice brings in a higher state of our mind. In the praying, we become calm and we make our mind positive and that positive power can heal the discomforts and stresses of our mind and of others too. Praying increases our positive thinking power. Positive thinking can be very helpful in the path of spiritual journey.
We practice the spiritual life after initiating in Siddha yoga. We start to behave in a humble way and we make others happy from our side. We start to give love towards the people which can lead us to the higher state of being.
How much we deeper we can go into our learning, that much we can get the benefits from the classes. And the second part is to practice what we learn in the class and in our self-study. By implementation the knowledge, we can understand the knowledge in depth. The knowledge which is not applied in our life, that becomes the burden of our mind.
In Siddha yoga, Hatha yoga is also very important to practice because it equally gives the emphasis on body, mind, and spirit. For the exercise of our body Hatha yoga is needed. There are many ways to make aware our mind in Siddha yoga they are mantra chanting, meditation, retreats, rituals, services, study, and contemplation.
There are many centers of Siddha yoga around the world. When we practice yoga in the group, we can get the synergy and we can get more power that when we do yoga alone. Siddha yoga can be practiced after getting initiated by the Guru who has the power to show the path in our spiritual journey. We have to practice Siddha yoga from inside to live yogic life. By practicing this yoga continuously to achieve our spiritual goal, we can be a real yogi of Siddha path.
by Tirtha Acharya | Dec 22, 2017 | Yoga
Raja is a Sanskrit word and its literal meaning is the king so Raja yoga means the king of yoga or the best of all types of yoga. The main aim of yoga is to get salvation or to reunite with the higher source of this universe. Raja yoga is the best way to be enlightened. Especially, raja yoga is meditation which controls our mind and leads us to the liberation.
Raja yoga seeks the discipline of our body and our mind. By controlling our thoughts, we can achieve the complete salvation in our life from this raja yoga. If we want to do yoga for the purpose of getting enlightenment in our life, this yoga can be the best choice.
Patanjali, the Hindu Classical writer of Yoga Sutras, focuses on the eight limbs of yoga which are very important ways to get enlightened. Patanjali is the first systematic writer of yoga in the history of Hindu philosophy. He focuses on the scientific process of yoga in his book. If we follow the path of Patanjali being sincere, we can surely get salvation in our life. All eight paths are very useful to apply in our life to attain our spiritual goal. If we can make yoga as our lifestyle just like Patanjali mentioned in Yoga Sutra, our life will not remain the same. He shows the exact way that cannot be ignored.
According to many yogis, Astanga yoga of Patanjali is the foundation of Raja yoga so we are discussing the eight limbs of yoga here. It is compulsory us to give the importance to every eight paths because all are practicable and significant to apply in our life. They have the reciprocal relationship among all of them. If we know eight paths of yoga, we can understand the yogic way of getting achieved our spiritual goal.
Yama
Yoga means to control the self. Controlling desires and other our habits we can start our journey in the field of Raja yoga. Yama gives us the self-esteem to be free from all the negative actions. The practice of non-violence, truthfulness, not stealing, not accumulating the things more than we need in our life and purity way of life are branches of Yama.
Yama is the first step of the 8 stepped paths of yoga. If we can be perfect in controlling the self, we can go ahead to the path of liberation. For the practice of raja yoga, we have to be pure from our body and from our mind. If we can’t make our behavior positive, we never can start the higher journey of spirituality in our life.
Niyama
Niyama is the second step of the process in raja yoga. It is the discipline from outside and inside. In this step, the yogi starts to practice internal and external purification and habit of satisfaction with our life in which situation we are. He or she practices living in minimalism. Yogi focuses on the study of the real knowledge and surrenders him or her to the God. Yogi surrenders every action to the God. At first, it becomes so hard to apply 8 limbs of yoga in our life. after practicing in our daily life, slowly we can get mastery in each of the steps.
Asana
Asana is the third step in getting liberation. There are active and passive many postures in the world. It is very important to purify our body to be ready for the spiritual achievement. In raja yoga, the yogi uses the sitting postures to practice concentration. In the ancient time, Asana used to refer to the sitting postures but nowadays it becomes popular in Hatha yoga. We practice seating for a long time in a sitting posture. Ashana increases the capacity of being still.
Pranayam
Pranayam is the breathing exercise. It helps in raja yoga to go into the deeper level of the meditation. Raja yoga focuses on the meditation but it is not easy to practice raja yoga directly. We can practice pranayama first before meditation. It helps to be free from all the blockages. It originates the prana, the vital breath. Pranayama prepares our body to have the spiritual connection.
Pratyahara
Pratyahara is very important for our inner spiritual strength. In the way of our practice of Raja yoga, we have to be determined. It helps us not to distract from our spiritual goal in our life. By controlling our five sense organs, we follow the nature of our mind. Our unnatural mind leads us to the wrong way. We focus inward rather than the outer materialistic world. We have to try to be aware everything we do. We have to be calm from inside and we can hear the internal sound of the soul. That is the first step of the spiritual experience. We start to maintain our awareness in our daily life.
Dharana
Dharana is to focus on our thoughts and feelings. We can observe our thoughts and our state of mind. Our mind wants to distract but we have to bring our awareness again and again on our thought. If we cannot concentration on our thoughts and feelings, we can practice concentrating our body parts. Slowly, we can get mastery in the concentration. We have to focus only one thing to apply Dharana in our life. This is the last part of the yoga which we can do from our effort. After this, further two steps are not in our hand but we can practice Dharana as much as we can.
Dhyan
Dhayan means real meditation and it is not the part that we can learn or practice. It is the part of happening in our life. When we practice Dharana, we can be in the state of bliss. But we cannot say when it happens. When our mind becomes quiet and calm without any thoughts, it can happen to us automatically. When we are in our logical mind, meditation cannot happen in our life. When we leave all our efforts to be enlightened after practicing a long time in, Dhyana will have happened. In the meditation, the divine light comes to appear in our body. The experience of meditation doesn’t give us to be distracted from our yogic goal.
Samadhi
Samadhi is the state of complete bliss. It is the last destination of raja yoga and rest of all yoga types in the world. In this state, we unite with the Supreme Being. When we are in the state of Samadhi, we can be in the state of complete peace. We gain the knowledge of the entire universe. We can be liberated from our self and ego.
We can achieve complete freedom. Just life the river reaches the sea, we can reach our ultimate goal. Our spiritual goal has been achieved, when we are in the state of Samadhi. We can see the radiant light and heavenly sound. This state cannot be explained to give detailed information. We have to taste to know the taste of orange, we cannot understand by explaining the taste of orange.
The main purpose of every style of yoga is salvation. Raja yoga is an easy style of yoga that can be a very powerful tool to achieve our spiritual goal. If we can be sincere doing this yoga, this yoga surely leads to the way to purification. When we get to the supreme state, the path will not become important. Raja yoga can be the best choice in our life because this yoga is easy to do whenever and wherever we are.
by Tirtha Acharya | Dec 19, 2017 | Yoga
Sivananda Yoga was founded by Swami Vishnudevananda. His guru was Swami Sivananda (1887-1963). Swami Sivananda taught a synthesis of all the formal doctrines of Yoga. He was born in 1887 in Pattamadai, Tamil Nadu, South India. His childhood name was Kuppuswami. He was a brilliant boy at studying, gymnastics and naturally inclined toward spiritual and religious practices.
His parents were devotees of Lord Siva. He authored more three hundred books on Yoga and health. Before renouncing worldly life for the spiritual path he was a medical doctor. He was one of the greatest Yoga masters of the 20th century. Serve, Love, Give, Purify, Meditate, Realize.The main essence of his teaching are: serve, love, give, purify, meditate, realize. He sent his one of the disciple Swami Vishnudevananda to the west to spread the teachings of Yoga and Vedanta.
He remains a world authority on Raja Yoga and Hatha Yoga. He created International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centers. His bestsellers book is “The Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga and Meditation and Mantras. Sivananda Yoga defines Yoga as “union of the mind, body, and spirit with the Divine and while this refers to a certain state of consciousness both individual and Universal, it is also a method to help one reach that goal.”
It teaches traditional and easy learning system that aims at naturally achieving the goal. It focuses on creating healthy body and mind that leads to spiritual evolvement. Swami Sivananda, Swami Vishnudevananda summarized the yoga philosophy in Five Points.
FIVE POINTS OF YOGA ACCORDING TO SIVANANDA YOGA:
A) Proper Exercise (Asanas) – Asana is the third limb of yoga. It helps to develop a strong and healthy body. It enhances flexibility and improves circulation and immunity.
12 BASIC ASANAS
There are varieties of asanas. Among them, 12 asanas are given more priority.
- Headstand (Sirshasana)
- Shoulderstand (Sarvangasana)
- Plough (Halasana)
- Fish (Matsyasana)
- Sitting Forward Bend (Paschimothanasana)
- Cobra (Bhujangasana)
- Locust (Shalabhasana)
- Bow (Dhanurasana)
- Spinal twist (Ardha Matsyendrasana)
- Crow (Kakasana) or Peacock (Mayurasana)
- Standing forward bend (Pada Hasthasana)
- Triangle (Trikonasana)
Asana suggests that pose should be balanced and comfortable, stable yet relaxed helping a practitioner to become more conscious of their body, mind, and environment. Asanas open the energy channels, chakras and psychic centers of the body. It increases the flexibility of the spine, strengthening bones and stimulating the circulatory and immune systems.
Along with proper breathing, asanas calm the mind and reduce stress. Regular practice ensures overall physical and mental health and the possible prevention of diseases. Conscious practice of asana, with proper pranayama, provides a mental exercise in concentration and meditation.
B) Proper Breathing (Pranayama)- Conscious breathing reduces stress and many diseases. Conscious breathing automatically corrects the way of breathing.
C) Proper Relaxation- It reliefs the body from going into overload mode, removing worries.
D) Proper Diet- Natural, healthy and vegetarian foods give a positive effect on the mind and body. It is also good for the environment and other living beings.
E) Positive Thinking (Vedanta) and Meditation (Dhyana)– Vedanta study and meditation practice are true keys to achieve peace of mind and eliminating negativity in our lives.
Sivananda Yoga talks about four types of yoga:
In order to achieve stronger and healthier body as well as a way of living that promotes peace and mindfulness to counteract day-to-day trials and tribulations, there are four paths in yoga. All these paths lead to the same place- union with the Divine. These paths give different options that fit different human temperaments and approaches to life. Whatever path is fit for a person, that path can be chosen.
- Karma Yoga( the yoga of action) states to act without egoist expectations in all activities of daily life -work, office, home, school. It says- just enjoy on work but not expect for fruit. This path is better for the person, who is outgoing and enjoys a certain sense of spiritual activism to help others.
- Bhakti Yoga(the path of devotion): Some people have emotional nature and enjoy prayer. They like worshipping and seeking God through unconditionally loving and helping others. Bhakti yoga is fit for this type of person. Bhakti Yoga normally follows kirtan or singing/chanting the names of Lord. Bhakti yogi enjoys singing and dancing on spiritual songs as well.
- Raja Yoga(the Science of the mind) takes us on a comprehensive journey to understand mind, imaginations and thinking patterns. We can be able to gain control of the physical body and the life force energy (prana) through mental control. This is good for the people who are interested in meditation and its effects on the mind.
- Jnana Yoga(the yoga of knowledge): It states intellect, wisdom and knowledge are the foundation for spiritual development. The person considered a good path for those with strong intellectual tendencies as it requires a high level of strength of will and mind. So this is not easy for all. The base of jnana yoga is Vedanta. It is good for the jnana yogi if they understand some other paths very well. This helps to broaden the path to move along towards Self-realization or profound spiritual awakening.
by Tirtha Acharya | Dec 18, 2017 | Yoga
There are many paths to get enlightened in Hindu philosophy. We can find mainly four types of yoga in Hindu scriptures; Hatha Yoga, Raja Yoga, Karma Yoga, and Gyana Yoga. Among them, Karma Yoga is the action-oriented way of yoga. In this yoga, we try to get perfection in the action. In Shrimad Bhagvat Geeta, a holy book of Hinduism, it is written that we should work without any attachment and expectation of the fruit of the action. When we can work without any desire for anything then we become the Karma Yogi.
Karma yoga is the simple yoga to be aware of the action what we are doing. It focuses on involving in all activities of our life in the society but we have to leave any attachment of the result. We have to take our life as a drama and ourselves as an actor. Just like we act in the drama and we forget, we have to play our role of our part in this world. Most of the spiritual scriptures focus on the principle that we are in this world but we are not from here.
There are a lot of yoga styles but everyone has their capacity to adopt one of them. According to their special quality, they can choose one of them as their best yoga technique. In the context of this time, most of the people may want to practice Karma Yoga because this era is a busy era with day to day lifestyle. Everyone is busy with their work and can’t manage the time to do yoga. In this situation, we can apply Karma Yoga in our life because for Karma Yoga we don’t have to give extra time to practice. We can practice this yoga in our work what we are doing.
Karma yogis should think this world as a drama and play their role with a lot of happiness. They don’t have to analyze or evaluate the action. They do unselfish actions and help who are in need. They work for their livelihood and for helping others. It is the practice of yoga for the betterment of others rather than to the self. Their prime aim becomes to do something to be enlightened according to their Dharma. We always focus on being selfless in this yoga.
Karma Yogis don’t separate the action from their life but they work according with their previous collection of karma. Our main fault is that we concern very much in the result of the action but that types of action are not Karma yoga. Karma yoga is the yoga in which we don’t have any expectation about the result of the action.
We don’t have to work with our ego in this world to be karma yogi. We dedicate our actions to the God every time. In our every action, we see the God. Karma yoga is the way of salvation through our karma or our deeds. Salvation is the main goal of every yoga types but their path can be different. Karma yoga is the easier path to get enlightened in this world to the people who knows every detail about karma yoga.
Karma yoga is very helpful for our mental health. We do every deed for getting the positive result but if we get negative result, we become sad. If we do our deeds without concerning the result, we can be happy. The result oriented deed always invites sadness, frustration, and confusion. The deed without any expectation always leads us to the perfection in our action. Geeta says that getting perfection in action is yoga.
Karma yoga focuses on only the factor how we do the action but it doesn’t attach with the result. We regret after doing something. If we can be aware before doing the action or when we are doing the action, we don’t have to regret. Karma yoga always tells to find the happiness while doing something in our life.
Karma yoga is the best way to the people who are over active in their life because they can’t stay without doing anything. If they know the art of action then they can be happy by doing the action what they are doing.
Karma yoga believes that it is not our right to aspect anything by our deed but our right is to work perfectly. And the amazing fact is that if we don’t aspect the result, we can get more positive result than when we aspect from our action. It is a contradiction in our life, not only a contradiction but also the ridiculous. If we want something, that becomes very hard to find. If we don’t want something, that starts to come near to us.
Karma yoga wants to teach us how to be egoless. Ego is the main barrier in the path of enlightenment. To decrease the ego, we have to practice slowly this karma yoga and finally we can be egoless which can be the state of salvation. Expecting something by our action is the ego and egoless action don’t demand anything for the action. Egoless person becomes happy either they get something or they don’t get something from their action.
Karma yoga is the part of positive psychology in this scientific era. Researchers have proved that who is less attached with the result, he or she can be happy than who is attached with the result of the work. To be free from stress and mental discomfort, we have to apply karma yoga in our daily life. We have to be happy in the process of doing something not in the outcome of the action what we do.
In many cases of the famous people of the world, we find that they do anything in their life, they do for happiness. They enjoy their work and don’t wait the result to be happy. The action without any expectation leads towards the great happiness. But the result follows us at any cost because it is the law of action. The law is that what we sow, so we reap.
Lord Krishna in Geeta says, “Who don’t attach with the result of the action and who fulfill his or her responsibility in the life, he is a good yogi.” In this world, we should work and we should not attach with the result of our deeds. In this way, we can be a karma Yogi in this world. We are very lucky to be Karma Yogi because we can experience every part of our life but we become free from our Karma by our knowledge.
Karma yogi doesn’t take anything as a serious matter because he or she knows that this world is like a stage to act their role. If we play our part of the role with the knowledge that we are performing our role in this world, then the life becomes easier than before. We have to know the fact of this world before applying this yoga. If we get the right knowledge then only we can start the path of this yoga. Karma yoga can be very useful for the stress management because stress comes from the expectation. Karma yoga teaches us to be far from any expectation and desire from the work.
