Summary:
This is a philosophical examination of the four yogas of Hinduism. This essay uses textual evidence from Easwaran´s translation of the Bhagavad Gita to make a clear and concise argument for all of the yogas actually being a single entity.

Details or Sample:
Imagine a path. It is a cobblestone path. The stones, however, are so large in comparison to ourselves that they can appear to constitute the entire path. From our vantage point, we may come to another stone and say “this is another path that diverges from the one that I am on.” We could walk on this other stone, and sure enough it could have a different color or a different texture. Our conclusion that it is a different path seems perfectly logical given the information we have available to us. What we would fail to realize in this instance is that our perceptions are misguiding us into believing each stone is a separate path, whereas an individual that is much larger than us would be able to perceive the interplay of the stones and see them for what they are: components of a single path. But what is really being discussed here, all allegories aside, is the path to enlightenment which The Bhagavad Gita describes as four separate paths, or Yogas. In the specific instances where the Gita describes the Yogas, or compares them to each other, there may appear to be contradictions. There is evidence in the Gita, however, to suggest that these different paths to enlightenment are actually the same path, or at least parts of the same path. In this essay I will provide textual evidence to support my claim that each of the Yogas, when practiced as the Gita prescribes, are actually the same path.

First, I want to make one clarification. In this essay I will refer to the four Yogas as being the same path. I am not, however, making the distinction between the Yogas being parts of a singular path and each of the Yogas actually being the same in and of themselves. In The Bhagavad Gita, there are certainly passages that suggest that all things are one, and that disunity is a product of our perception. On this line of reasoning, I would be willing to accept that any difference between the Yogas is a product of our perception of them. However, the other view, the view that states that the Yogas are parts of a singular path, is able to be defended by the text without a leap of faith on behalf of the reader. And I do hold that each of the Yogas can be practiced, to some extent, individually of the others, but this is not the way to enlightenment. The argument presented here will show that each of the Yogas are, at least, parts of the same path, but I will leave open the possibility that a “more enlightened” person maybe be able to understand each of the Yogas as being the same in and of themselves. This distinction should be considered each time I refer to the four Yogas as being the same path.

With this clarification in the back of our mind, I will provide the set up for the rest of my essay. The Yogas will be presented here in the order that they are presented in The Bhagavad Gita. The first two yogas are karma yoga, the path of action, and jnana yoga, the path of wisdom. Krishna, our spiritual guide in the Gita, spends some time describing these two yogas and comparing them to one another. I will spend some time comparing them as well and use this comparison as a foundation for the remainder of my argument. The next section will focus on raja yoga, the path of meditation. I will show how raja yoga fits into the foundation that I´ve already laid with my comparison of the karma and jnana yogas. The final yoga, bhakti yoga, or the path of devotion, is the focus of the final section of my argument. I will present text from the Gita that show that the other Yogas have already been described in terms of devotion. With this final stone in place, we´ll be able to conceive of each of the four Yogas as being the same path to enlightenment.

In the third chapter of The Bhagavad Gita we are presented with karma yoga, the path of action. To be on the path of action is to perform yajna, which is translated as selfless action, selfless work, or selfless service. In a note by the translator, however, we learn that “[t]he literal meaning is sacrifice: essentially, self-sacrifice, giving up something one greatly values for the sake of a higher purpose” (Easwaran 269). This is an important distinction to make because the idea of sacrifice is used later in the book in reference to the other yogas, and this is a point I will draw on later in the essay. For now though, it is important to define karma yoga as being in opposition to an attachment to one´s desires or expectations. “Those that are deluded by the operation of the gunas become attached to the results of their work... [perform] all actions for my sake, completely absorbed in the Self, and without expectations” (3:29-30). This chapter also suggests that “the wise work for the welfare of the world, without thought for themselves” (3:25) because “by devotion to selfless work one attains the supreme goal of life” (3:19). The path of action is thus the path whereby a person performs actions without any attachment to the consequences they will be faced with, good or bad. “[T]he illumined man or woman understands the domain of the gunas,” the forces that make up the phenomenal—and thus illusory, according to the Gita—world, “and is not attached” (3:28).

It is no coincidence that the person that follows karma yoga is referred to as illumined and wise. Jnana yoga, the path of wisdom, is also introduced in chapter three alongside of karma yoga. “Knowledge,” says Krishna, “is hidden by selfish desire” (3:38). Also, “[s]elfish desire is found in the senses, mind, and intellect, misleading them and burying understanding in delusion” (3:40). Analyzing these passages, one can start to see the interplay of action and wisdom. I think most of us have been exposed to some form of the idiom “When you lose, don´t lose the lesson.” That is the type of message that the Gita is trying to convey here. If we act without an attachment to the consequences, then we will not trouble ourselves with whether the consequences are good or bad, but rather with what we can learn from the experience itself. The more we act without expectation, the wiser we will become, and the wiser we become the more we will act without expectation because we will understand that as a necessary component for achieving enlightenment. This is not to suggest that all selfless actions will lead to increased wisdom, or that increased wisdom will necessarily lead to more selfless action. One may act without expectation but may remain oblivious to the lessons that are available to them. At the same time, one may be wise and understand that they should act without expectation, but they may lack the self-control or willingness to do so. The claim that I´m making is that, while karma yoga and jnana yoga are separate paths so to speak, on the path to enlightenment one synthesizes both of these yogas and treats them as one, or parts of the whole. One that is on the path of enlightenment would not shirk selfless service when they have an understanding of it, and they would be open to the wisdom that they can obtain through such selfless service.

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