Swami Vivekananda’s Synthesis of

Four Yogas – The Ideal For

New Civilization

Our present civilization is passing through a great crisis. There is an

urgent need to usher in a new civilization based on spiritual culture for
our survival.

Our achievements in the field of Science and Technology are phenomenal.

The communication technology has advanced so much that geographical
distance has been reduced; the world has become a ‘global village’. One
can communicate instantly through internet, telephone, ISD etc. The
paradox of the present civilization is –one can communicate easily with
one’s friend living thousands of kilometers away sitting on a sofa through
ISD but there is no communication for many days with his brother or wife
sitting on the same sofa! Human relationships have become artificial.
There is phenomenal increase in the number of suicides, psychic patients,
drug addicts, violence etc. all over the world. Contrary to our belief the
phenomenon is more prominent in the so-called developed and affluent
countries.

The Oxford dictionary has added a new word –– ‘Affluenza’. This is a

disease afflicting the affluent people. In USA, the wealthy are taking steps
to ensure that their kids do not fall victims to affluenza--the moral,
emotional and practical problems associated with having too much
money. (The Times of India, Ahmedabad, 13th March, 2002). Some time
back London School of Economics carried out Happiness Survey and found
out that Bangladesh, India and other developing countries were for ahead
in term of happiness compared to developed countries like USA, U.K.,
Canada, Japan, Netherlands, etc. (Gujarat Samachar 11-12-1998)

According to the report of World Health Organisation 10 lac people

committed suicide in the year 2000. WHO is worried over this
phenomenon of increased rate of suicide and has decided to celebrate 10th
September as ‘Suicide Prevention Day’ in collaboration with International
Association of Suicide Prevention. (Fullchhab, Rajkot, 08-09-2003).

Derek Humphrey the founder of Hemlock Society wrote the book-‘The

Final Exit’. It became a best–seller. What is written there? The ways of
committing suicide. Similarly, in Japan, Tsurumi Wataru’s book ‘Kanzen
Jisatsu Manual’ (The Complete Manual of Committing Suicide) became the
best seller. Some people were found to have committed suicide with the
book in their hands! In France also the book ‘Suicide-user’s Instructions’
became the best seller.

According to the comprehensive Health Report prepared for the first time
by Japanese Ministry of Health, 42% of salaried workers aged 44 and
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above, are suffering from one or other kind of mental problem leading to
insomnia, stress and depression. According to National Institute of Mental
Health, USA on an average at least one person in every family is regularly
visiting a psychiatrist. According to Chicago based Research Corporation,
the executives and employees are so much under tension that 40%
companies are conducting regular courses on stress management.

Samuel P. Huntington in his book “The clash of civilizations and the

remaking of the World Order, (considered as ‘one of the most important
books to have emerged since the cold war,’) writes:

“Far more significant than economics and demography are problems of

moral decline, cultural suicide, and political disunity in the West. Oft-
pointed-to manifestations of moral decline include:

1. Increase in antisocial behavior, such as crime, drug use, and

violence generally;
2. Family decay, including increased rates of divorce, illegitimacy,
teen-age pregnancy, and single parent families;
3. At least in the United States, a decline in ‘social capital’, that is,
membership in voluntary association and the interpersonal trust
associated with such membership;
4. General weakening of the ‘work ethic’ and rise of a cult of personal
indulgence;
5. Decreasing commitment of learning and intellectual activity,
manifested in the United States in lower levels of scholastic
achievement.

(‘The Clash of civilizations and the remaking of the World Order—Samuel

P. Huntington – p 380-382)

Danah Zohar in her latest book ‘Spiritual Intelligence—the ultimate

intelligence’ rightly points out that development of IQ (Intelligece
Quotient) or EQ (Emotional-Quotient) is not enough, SQ- (spiritual
quotient) is very important for ultimate success and fulfillment in life. To
illustrate she gives a beautiful example.

An American businessman was standing on the jetty of a Mexican coastal

village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the boat
were several large yellowfintuna. The American complimented the
Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it had taken to
catch them.

The Mexican replied, ‘Only a little while.’

The American then inquired why he didn’t stay out longer and catch more
fish.

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The Mexican said he had enough to support his family’s immediate needs.

The American then asked, ‘ But what do you do with the rest of your
time?’

The Mexican Said, ‘ I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take
siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip
wine and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life, Senor.’

The American scoffed, ‘ I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You
should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds buy a bigger boat.
With the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats.
Eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your
catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor, eventually
opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and
distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and
move to Mexico City, then Los Angeles and eventually New York, where
you would run your expanding enterprise.’

The Mexican fisherman asked, ‘But Senor, how long would this take?’

To which the American replied, ‘Fifteen to twenty years.’

‘But what then, Senor?’

The American laughed and said that was the best part. ‘When the time is
right you would sell your company stock to the public and become very
rich. You would make millions.’

‘Millions, Senor? Then What?’

The American said, ‘Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing
village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take
siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evening where you could
sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos.’

Commenting on this example, Danah Zohar says:

“We can easily see that the American businessman in this story is
spiritually dumb, while the Mexican fisherman is spiritually intelligent.
Why? The fisherman has an intelligent sense of his own deep life’s
purposes, his own deepest motivations. He has evolved a lifestyle that
meets his own and his family’s needs, he takes time for the things that
matter to him, he is at peace, he is centered. The American businessman,
on the other hand, is a child of his own spiritually damb culture. He is
driven, he has to achieve for the sake of achievement, he is out of touch
with those things in life that deeply motivate someone like the fisherman,
he has absorbed goals that make no sense just because he learned them
at Harvard. The fisherman will most likely live a long life and die at peace.

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The businessman is set for a coronary at fifty-five and will die feeling he
never achieved his goal.”

[Spiritual Intelligence – The ultimate intelligence – by Danah Zohar and

Ian Marshal published by Bloomsbury, London p. 282)

People all over the world are in tension. What is the cause? One of the
important causes is ‘consumerism’ which has brought in its wake,
Noogone Neurosis (which makes the people believe in themselves as
‘economic animals’’ in the words of Alvin Toffler), ‘Hedonistic paradox’
(the more a person seeks happiness outside, the more he gets away from
it), affluenza etc. According to Eric Fromm ‘man’ himself has become a
commodity. He pointed out in his book ‘To have or To Be’ that a person is
judged unfortunately by what property he has amassed rather than how
great he is in term of character. Most of the people nowadays believe that
H is directly proportional to M where H means happiness and M means
Money. The statistics reveal that reverse is true;the more affluent nations
are having more number of suicides and psychic patients. That does not
mean that economic prosperity is not important. It only means mere
prosperity cannot bring peace of mind and fulfillment of Life.

In search of peace the modern man is going madly after sense enjoyment
but is not getting peace of mind. Vedanta says “Vain is the search for
lasting peace in external objects, search within yourself”. The source of
infinite knowledge and bliss the atman is present in each and every
human being; by realizing this self one obtains peace that is everlasting
Kathopanishad says---

(5/13)

In Chhandogya Upanishad also it is told

__________
__________

In saint Kabir’s song we find these beautiful lines ‘Dear friend, where are
you searching for me? I am very near you…. if you search, you will get
me (the source of infinite peace) in a moment.

Swami Vivekananda has given the gist of this message of Vedanta in his
introduction to Raja Yoga. –

“Each soul is potentially divine. The goal is to manifest this divinity within
by controlling nature external and internal. Do this either by work or by
worship or psychic control or philosophy by one or more, or all of those –
and be free, this is the whole of religion. Doctrines or dogmas or rituals or
temples or forms, are but secondary.”

According to Swami Vivekananda there are four paths by which one can
manifest this divinity present in each human being---

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 1. Karma-Yoga —The path of Action
2. Bhakti-Yoga —The path of Love
3. Raja-Yoga —The path of Meditation
4. Jnana-Yoga – The path of Knowledge.

All these four paths are independently capable of leading a person to self-
realization. However Swami Vivekananda advocates combining all the four
Yogas in one’s life for harmonious development of personality and for
reaching the goal quickly. There may be predominance of one particular
Yoga according to one’s temperament but other Yogas should also be
practiced otherwise it will lead to one-sided development of personality.
This synthesis of Yogas has many distinct advantages for the modern
man.

By synthesis of the four yogas one develops all–round personality ––

physical, mental, intellectual and spiritual Combination of Head, Heart and
Handa gives success in daily life as well as spiritual life.

In the field of management, the experts advocate maximum utilisation of

all resources for higher productivity. By practising all the four Yogas
simultaneously we are utilizing all the faculties available with us. – i.e.
Hands for working (Karma Yoga), Mind for Meditation (Raja-Yoga),
Intellect to reason out (Jnana-Yoga) and heart to love (Bhakti-Yoga).
Thus by practising all the four yogas simultaneously we are utilizing all
our facucties.

All the four Yogas have distinct advantages and disadvantages of their
own. By combining all the four yogas we get advantages of all the fours
yogas minus their disadvantages .

The special advantage of Karma Yoga is that every work can be converted
to worship. The modern man is busy, he spends most of his available time
in pursuit of activities, and he cannot devote much time for meditation or
prayer. Without scarifying this time, just by changing the attitude of
mind, the ordinary work performed by him becomes a path to divinity.
But there is the risk of his becoming workoholic or becoming egoistic.
However, if one meditate a little everyday, -the restlessness of mind will
be less and if one prays a little everyday dedicating the work as well as
the result of work, then this work instead of binding him will lead to
liberation. Swami Vivekananda points out, “ the calmer we are, the less
disturbed our nerves, The more shall we love and better will our work
be.”

Rajayoga is the royal path, scientific in approach and consists of eight

steps—Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahar, Dharana, Dhyan
and Samadhi. By meditation one can obtain tranquility and increase the

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power of concentration of mind, One’s health also is improve. The
disadvantage of this path is that if the yoga is not practised properly it
may lead to insanity Sometimes temptations in the form of siddhis
(miracles) may hinder one’s spiritual development. It is difficult to
meditate for long hours for an ordinary human being so if it is combined
with some work, the danger of insanity can be avoided.

Bhaktiyoga is the most natural path for most of the people. Every one
wants to give love and receive love. By loving God–the most loving and
most beloved one has never to repent as it happens in many cases. But in
this path of love there is the possibility of one’s becoming too much
emotional and getting lost in following external rituals. Swami
Vivekananda termed it as “sentimental nonsense. By combining this Yoga
with Jnana-yoga i.e. by reading or listening to the truth shravan
intellectually reasoning the truth (manan and meditation on the ultimate
truth Nididhyasana) emotion will be kept under check.

JnanaYoga is the quickest but most difficult path. According to

Kathopanishad – it is difficult like walking on the edge of a sword.
Moreover, one tends to become dry by following this path. A little practice
of Bhakti yoga would make the path easier and less dry.

Thus disadvantages of all the fours yogas can be made up by practising

these yogas simultaneously.

Swami Vivekananda has wonderfully demonstrated in his own life as to

how these four yogas could be combined in life.

He was an adept in meditation right from childhood, he would play the

game of meditation with other children, and while other children ran away
once after seeing a serpent, he was completely oblivious of the
surrounding being engrossed in meditation. While travelling by tram in
America sometimes he would be so absorbed in meditation that the
conductor had to remind him to get down. Before he attained
mahasamadhi on 4th July 1902, his last words to his attendant were
“Meditate, till I call you.”

As regards work, what a phenomenal work he performed during his short

span of life of 39 years! The nine volumes of his Complete Works give a
glimpse of his literary work and preaching work. He travelled to so many
places- in India as well as aboard and inspired people everywhere with his
lectures and letters and established the organisation – Ramakrishna
Mission and started ------ service activities.

As regards ‘Bhakti Yoga’ he himself had acknowledged that he was

actually all ‘Jnana’ without but a Bhakta (within whereas his Guru Shri
Ramakrishna was ‘Jnana’ within and ‘ Bhakta’ without.

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As regards Jnana Yoga he had so much of ‘Vivek’ (Power of
discrimination) the basic trait necessary for Jnana Yoga that he was
named ‘ Vivekananda’. Shri Ramakrishna remarked about him that
Mahamaya cannot come near Naren as he always keeps with him the
sword of Knowledge.

Thus by combining all the four yogas in his life Swami Vivekananda
developed a wonderful harmonious personality so far unknown in the
world history.

The French savant Romain Rolland has beautifully summed up the genius
of Swami Vivekananda. ---

“ In the two words – equilibrium and synthesis Vivekananda’s constructive

genius may be summed up. He embraced all the paths of the spirit: the
four yogas in their entirety, renunciation and service, art and science,
religion and action from the most spiritual to the most practical. Each of
the ways that he taught had its own limits, but he himself had been
through them all, and embraced them all. As in a quadriga, he held the
reins of all four ways of truth, and he travelled towards Unity along them
all simultaneously. He was the personification of the harmony of all
human Energy.”

[The Life of Swami Vivekananda and the Universal Gospel by Romain

Rolland, pub. By Advaita Ashrama, Kolkata, 19th Impression 2003 p–235]

Thus the synthesis of four yogas is most suited for the modern man in
order to have all-round development of personality – and for success,
happiness and peace in everyday life as well as for obtaining infinite bliss,
infinite knowledge and infinite life by manifesting the divinity within.

The followers of Ramakrishna – Vivekananda Ideology try to practice the

four yogas in this way -- Early in the morning they get up and meditate
and pray and in the evening or at night again they meditate and pray for
some time thus practising Raja yoga; and Bhakti yoga and try to read
some holy books for some time and ponder over it (Jnana yoga) and
whole day they try to do work in the spirit of worship thus practising
Karma yoga.

As the number of such people practising four yogas in daily life increases,
a revolution in society will set in and a new civilization based on spiritual
culture will usher.

Fritjof Capra–the celebrated author of the book “The Tao Of Physics” has
pointed out the need for such a cultural revolution –“ I believe that the
world view implied by modern physics is inconsistent with our present
society, which does not reflect the harmonious interrelatedness we
observe in nature. To achieve such a state of dynamic balance, a radically

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different social and economic structure will be needed; a cultural
revolution in the true sense of the word. The survival of our whole
civilization may depend on whether we can bring about such a change. It
will depend, ultimately, on our ability to adopt some of the yin attitudes of
Eastern mysticism; to experience the wholeness of nature and the art of
living with it, in harmony.”
[The Tao of physics –Fritjof Capra – published by –Wildhood House –1975
p. 325]

Let us pave the way for the new civilization based on spiritual culture by
practising four yogas in our life and inspiring others to do so.