Yoga have evolved much from the ancient times to modern times. With the evolution, various forms of yoga have also emerged. Now a days, yoga forms named after individuals have also come up. But classically, there are some empirical forms of yoga which have been the basic ingredient for all other forms. Let’s have a look…
1) Karma Yoga
It is a path of dutiful and noble actions, in accordance with the dharma. To perform actions saturated with selflessness and with a spirit to help and serve others. One who follows this path is called a karma yogi. A karma yogi should do his karma without being attached to the results of the process. It is human tendency to get attached to almost anything, but the karma yoga, as per ancient Indian scriptures teaches that one should be detached to the results or fruits of one’s noble karma. Moreover, in the bigger picture, the selfless actions performed by a karma yogi to serve others is further intended to realise the self which leads to the union with the Supreme Universal Power or God.
2) Bhakti Yoga
Also sometimes referred to as the path of love, bhakti yoga is the path of attaining union with the God through devotion and love. This is the most natural path for almost all humans, since love and devotion is the core philosophy for almost all religions. In this path, a devotee or bhakt expresses his irresistible love and devotion to the divine which is intended to attain the God consciousness. Of all the emotions, perhaps love is the most powerful one. It is also mentioned in many ancient texts that love is the core philosophy of all the creation. Love is the emotion that sustains the universe. We all love one or the other person in our life. We may also love other creatures as well. When this love rises above our family, friends, religion, country,etc. and surpasses the material plane and is expressed for the divine beloved, the individual is said to be following the bhakti path. Most humans let the power of love go in vain. Vedanta suggests to use this power of love to attain God realisation. Thus, by consciously channelling this great power of devotion and love, a bhakti yogi proceeds on the path that leads to union of self with God. This is called bhakti yoga.
3) Jnana Yoga
The Sanskrit word ‘jnana’ means wisdom and knowledge. This path, also known as the path of knowledge, emphasises on pursuing the goal of God realisation through curiosity and questions such as “Who am I, Why am I here, What is my real identity” and hence in obtaining the supreme wisdom of the Universe. The yogi usually follows a guru, who teaches him the methods and practices intended to attain the said state. Be it meditation, philosophy, self reflection or any other tool, a guru guides his jnana yogi disciple to progress on the path. Jnana yoga tells the devotee to shed one’s ego and ignorance and thus, gain the knowledge of the true self and understand the difference between real and unreal.
4) Hatha Yoga
Traditionally, Hatha Yoga is referred to as the yoga of force, since the word Hatha means force in Sanskrit language. It can be considered as something you can do forcefully to your mind and body to attain God realisation. This includes:
• Asanas – yoga postures
• Pranayam – life force control
• Chanting Mantras
• Certain Hand Gestures or Mudras
• Visualisation techniques
Hatha yoga mostly deals with the physical being and its discipline, which is intended to raise the level of one’s consciousness. The word Hatha also has another bifurcation. ‘Ha’ refers to as the Sun and ‘Tha’ refers to as the Moon. Thus practise of Hatha yoga also leads to balancing of the two esoteric forces in the body.
5) Raja Yoga
Term ‘Raja’ refers to a king or royal. The Raja Yoga thus, is also known as the royal yoga. It comprises of body and mind discipline and other psychophysiologic practices. It has been practised long since ages. It was sage Patanjali in the ancient India who organised this yoga into eight-fold path also known as ashtanga yoga. As per Raja Yoga, the biggest obstacle to realising the Self is an unstable mind, excessive thinking, attachment to the bodily senses, and the egoistic concept of a “ME” which is individual and separate from the rest of the Universe. The method to overcome obstacles is to calm the mind and hence breath so that the senses could be shut down. But the mind is much clever and resists the calmness induced . The yogi perseveres in practice and thus, after practising certain disciplines and meditation techniques for a considerable amount of time, when the chaos of the mind body and intellect is slowed down, the inner intuitive wisdom attends the devotee. This clears the mind of delusion and pseudo-wisdom and thus the devotee attains the goal of God realisation.
