Anupam Kapil

YOGA

by Anupam V Kapil

Any one of several paths of spiritual discipline intended to lead a person to deliverance from samsara and the realization of moksha--i.e., to at-onement with ultimate reality. Specifically, it means a "yoking" of the self by spiritual discipline, a method of training designed to lead to union of the human spirit with ultimate reality and release from the limits of the individual ego. Also called margas (paths to salvation). Normally following a yoga involves apprenticeship to a guru (spiritual teacher or guide).

Bhakti yoga: The way to at-onement with ultimate reality (or God) through love and devotion (corresponding to the Way of Devotion in Hinduism). The discipline of becoming so devoted to God (one's ishtadeva, one's adopted form or face of God), surrendered to his or her grace, and enflamed by love for God, that all self-centered attachments to this-worldly concerns is burnt away. It addresses and appeals to the person victimized by his or her passions and who seeks a true, eternal object of affection.

Dhyana yoga (sometimes called raja yoga): The way to at-onement with ultimate reality (or God) through psychophysical exercises and meditation (corresponding to the Way of Mystical Quest in Hinduism). (Dhyana means meditation; raja means king). The discipline of deliberately and painstakingly taking control of and dismantling the psychic mechanisms of the finite individual ego that keep one from realizing conscious at-onement with ultimate reality within, through ascetic and meditative practices. Note: it is not a single path but encompasses several distinct paths involving quite different teachings and practices. It addresses the person of an experimental "scientific" bent who would see and taste and demonstrate directly for himself or herself what is claimed about ultimate reality.

Jnana yoga: The way to at-onement with ultimate reality (or God) through knowledge or life-transforming insight into ultimate reality (i.e., the Way of Reasoned Inquiry in Hinduism). The discipline of seeking and attaining perfect knowledge of the ultimate reality through intuitive intellectual discernment, transforming one's sense of selfhood. It addresses and appeals to the person who needs to have things make intellectual sense.

Karma yoga: The way to at-onement with ultimate reality (or God) through work or right action (corresponding to the Way of Right Action in Hinduism, and fused in many ways with the Way of Sacred Rite). The discipline of doing one's own duty (svadharma) selflessly, for its own sake, without attachment to its results (its "fruits"), and with no thought that "I am the agent." It addresses and appeals to the person who feels that something must be done to set things right and insure their proper functioning, and/or the person who would draw near to and invoke through appropriate rituals the sacred archetypes that give true structure, meaning, and vitality to life.