Bhakti Yoga

Bhakti yoga involves devotion, attachment and love for God. Bhakti yoga history stretches back to before the
origin of hatha yogi. It is not known exactly when it started, but it has been around since before the fifth century
BC. There are nine forms of Bhakti yoga:
• Sravana (hearing about God);

• Kirtana (singing of the glory of God);

• Smarana (remembering God's name and presence);
• Padasevana (service of God):
• Archana (worship of God);
• Vandana (prostration);
• Dasya (cultivating the Bhava of a servant);
• Sakhya (cultivation of the friend-Bhava);
• Atmanivedana (surrender of the self).

Karma Yoga
Karma means action or deed, and the result of that action. By practicing karma, people try to do those actions
that bring the most amounts of good and the least amount of evil. Karma yoga dedicates actions to God. It is the
performance of actions in union with the Divine. It also involves selfless service. The history of karma yoga
dates back to before 800 BC, when yoga referred more to life disciplines and paths.

Patanjali's Ashtanga Yoga

Ashtanga yoga started around 5000 years BC, and was began by Patanjali Yoga Sutra. So what is ashtanga
yoga? It is the eight limbs or eight fold path formulated by Patanjali. The ashtanga yoga basics include paying
attention to each of the eight limbs, which are:
• Yama (principles or moral code);

• Niyama (personal disciplines);

• Asana (ashtanga yoga postures)
• Pranayama (yoga breathing);
• Prayahara (withdrawal of senses);
• Dharana (concentration on objects);
• Dhyan (meditation);
• Samadhi (salvation).

Jnana Yoga
Jnana yoga is yoga that focuses on knowledge. There are seven stages to Jnana, involving study, self-
realization, desire, protection of the mind, developing indifference to objects, letting the world appear like a
dream, non-attachment to the world, bliss and knowledge of truth.
Bhakti Yoga
Bhakti Yoga, as the name suggests, is the spiritual practice of loving devotion or 'Bhakti' to the Almighty. It
lays emphasis on the love and devotion of a devotee to the God. Highly religious though, Bhakti Yoga should
be adopted by every human being, living in this world of infidelity and rage, because it helps one to develop a
positive attitude towards life. An individual performing this Yoga concentrates on the existence of the
Almighty. It develops the peace of mind of the person. With a peaceful mind, it becomes possible for the person
to live contented. He/she expresses the emotion of compassion and love for the other creatures co-existing with
him/her. Hence, Bhakti yoga is beneficial to lead a healthy and peaceful life.

There are no fixed ways to perform Bhakti Yoga. It varies from person to person. It involves anything that talks
about God. Some may resort to religious books, religious movies that emphasize the power and existence of
God. Others may simply chant the name of the Almighty and think about the God all through the day. Singing
prayers is another way to practice this Yoga. Meditation also finds place in Bhakti Yoga. In order to surrender
themselves to the God and thus develop a close relationship with Him, some people go on pilgrimage, which is
another way to perform Bhakti yoga.

The beauty of Bhakti Yoga lies in its simplicity. There is no need to master any particular technique, which has
made Bhakti yoga as one of the most appealing types of Yoga. While practicing this type of Yoga, the
individual seems to do the things positively. Moreover, whatever an individual does, while practicing Bhakti
Yoga, proves beneficial for him/her or the people around him/her, in the long run. When he/she resorts to
Bhakti Yoga, the environment is charged with pure energy. Since, Bhakti Yoga has appealed to many people. It
gives them the confidence that the Almighty will always be there to protect them, when they face any kind of
adversity in life.

An important thing to consider, when a person is interested in following the path of Bhakti Yoga, is that he/she
should be emotionally bonded with the object of the faith in the Almighty. In most of the cases, people suppress
their emotions, which often reflect in the form of physical and mental ailments. Bhakti yoga is beneficial for
them, who want to release their suppressed emotions. Moreover, Bhakti Yoga brings the purification of inner
self. People practicing this type of Yoga are able to enhance the quality of their life. It banishes all the
unpleasant emotions of hatred, lust, anger, greed and purifies the heart with the only thought of love and
devotion to the God.

Jnana Yoga
Jnana Yoga is the Yoga of true knowledge, which incessantly strives to know and understand the difference
between the real and unreal, the permanent and the temporary. The holistic path of Jnana Yoga was described as
a straight, but steep course, by Sadananad in his Vedanta-Sara, a 15th century text. Jnana Yoga preaches that
there are four means of salvation. According to Jnana Yoga, the person should be able to detach himself/herself
from everything that is temporary, after following the holistic path. It also aims to attain tranquility, the control
of the mind and the senses, endurance, faith and the ability for perfect concentration.

It is a popular belief that Jnana Yoga is based on the Hindu philosophy of nondualism. Contrary to the
assumption, the holistic path of Yoga also finds its place in many branches of Buddhism, including Zen, Islamic
Sufism and some branches of Christianity that follow the Gospel of Thomas. Jnana Yoga emphasizes on the use
of mind to surpass or discern the mind. It aims to explore knowledge. There are the Eight Limbs of Yoga in
Jnana Yoga. The person, who follows this holistic path, attains self-discipline, hears the truth and reflects upon
it. There is an urge in the person to attain freedom from whatever is temporary.

The 'liberation' is attainted through knowledge, rather than following rituals and ceremonies. However, not
everyone is knowledgeable. Knowledge is limited to the special few people, who are prepared for sound
examination and clear judgment of the nature of consciousness. This knowledge is attained only if the person
goes through conclusions of the seers by reading scriptures, accumulated through millions of years. The
knowledge, thus accumulated, is examined by the individual in the light of his own intelligence and then comes
to his own realization. After going through this rigorous process of Jnana Yoga, the person seeking the
knowledge ultimately gains insight, the ability to discriminate what is true, and what is untrue.

The benefits of Jnana Yoga are manifold. The person, who follows this holistic path of Jnana Yoga, attains
tranquility, which is the art of remaining calm even in the face of adversity. Self-control in one's own self is
attained by following Jnana Yoga. Another benefit of following this holistic path is cessation, or keeping one's
self abstained from the actions that are irrelevant to the maintenance of the body and the pursuit of inner-
enlightenment. After a significant period, the person even attains endurance. He/she is remains unruffled by the
play of the opposites in Nature, such as heat and cold, pleasure and pain, praise and censure. Apart from this,
the person remains single-minded in all the situations. He/she also becomes able to increase his/her
concentration power.

Karma Yoga
Karma Yoga is the consecration of all the actions and their outcomes to the Almighty. Known as the Yoga of
action, Karma Yoga purifies the heart, for the reception of the Divine Light and attainment of the knowledge of
one's own self. The ultimate aim of Karma Yoga is to provide selfless service to humanity, without any ego.
People performing Karma Yoga serve the needy, without urging to bear fruit for all their actions. It is one of the
most popular types of Yoga, which cannot be done without dedication, determination and altruism.

Karma takes the shape of Karma Yoga, when the practitioner acts as an instrument in the hands of the
Almighty, as a participant in the cosmic activity of Nature and does the service without the expectation of fruits.
The person then believes that he/she is only the instrument and that the Lord is working unselfishly, through
him/her. He/she surrenders all the actions and their fruits to the Lord. He/she attains the knowledge of the Self.
Ultimately, the person is released from the bonds of Karma.

A person aspiring to follow the divine path of Karma Yoga doesn't have to possess materialistic wealth. All the
person needs is a peaceful mind, body and a selfless attitude, to serve humanity. The person following the path
of Karma Yoga, known as Karma Yogi, should be free from lust, greed, egoism and anger. His/her heart should
be filled with the thought of serving the poor and the helpless people, selflessly. Even if the person has any
traces of these 'doshas', he/she should try to eliminate them immediately. In addition, he/she should not desire
for name, fame or money in return of the service.

A jealous person can never be a Karma Yogi. He/she should be humble, free from meanness, miserliness,
harshness, hatred and jealousy. He/she should be a soft-spoken person and should never use any harsh words.
The person, who expects respect and honor from others, cannot serve people selflessly. Moreover, a Karma
Yogi should be fearless. He/she should be amiable and social. He/she should never differentiate people in terms
of their caste, creed, color and gender. The Karma Yogi should have the feeling of love, compassion and mercy
and should have perfect adaptability and tolerance.

Karma Yoga purifies the heart. It releases the Karma Yogi from the ties of the kindred and indulges him/her
into activities of selfless social service. Bad qualities of egoism, jealously, superiority and hatred are completely
removed from the mind of the person, when he/she follows the path of Karma Yoga. The person gets a broad
outlook on life. He/she attains the knowledge of the Self and realizes the concept of 'one in all' and 'all in one'.