Yoga is an art of discovering the ‘true Nature’ of the self to unite with ‘divine Nature’.

In life we can act, we can think, we can feel, or we can do nothing. To act is  Karma Yoga,
to think is Gyana Yoga, to feel (love) is Bhakti Yoga, and to do nothing completely
is Samadhi—the final step of Raja Yoga and goal of all Yoga.

Let’s look at each of the Paths of Yoga and see how we can incorporate them into our
lives.

1. Bhakti Yoga (the yoga of devotion)

Bhakti is the yoga of devotion, ultimately to the Divine. Bhakti is the easiest of the paths.
Bhakti is the path of love which removes jealousy, hatred, lust, anger, egoism, pride, and
arrogance. It replaces those feelings with feelings of joy, divine ecstasy, bliss, peace, and
wisdom.

Vedanta says no matter what you do or where you go, our Divine connection can never
be broken.

Characteristics :

 Pure in thoughts, words, and actions

 Looks for the Divinity in the ordinary
 Honors and respects all life
 Purification of heart through devotion
 Singing, dancing, chanting, and listeining to Divine verses
 openness to everything.

The Nine Limbs of Devotion )

i. Shravana – “listening” to the ancient scriptures, especially potent if told by a saint or
genuine bhakta.
ii. Kirtana – “singing” devotional songs usually practiced in a call-and-response group
format.
iii. Smarana – “remembering” the Divine by constantly meditating upon its name and
form.
iv. Padasevana – “service at the feet” of the Divine, which incorporates the practice
of karma yoga (selfless service) with bhakti (devotion).
v. Archana – the “ritual worship” of the Divine through practices such as puja (deity
worship), and havan or homa (fire offering).
vi. Vandana – the “prostration” before the image of one’s chosen image or
representation of the Divine.
vii. Dasya – the “unquestioning” devotion of the Divine involving the cultivation of
serving the will of God instead of one’s own ego.
viii. Sakhya – the “friendship” and relationship established between the Divine and the
devotee.
ix. Atmanivedana – the “self-offering” and complete surrender of the self to the Divine.
Importance of Bhakti yoga

 Bhakti softens the heart and removes jealousy, hatred, lust, anger, egoism, pride,
and arrogance.
 It infuses joy, divine ecstasy, bliss, peace, and knowledge.
 It helps to reach the state of rasa (essence), a feeling of pure bliss achieved in
the devotional surrender to the Divine.
 Bhakti Yoga has a positive influence when combined with all yoga or if practiced
alone.
 It helps reduce the ego as we look to perform action beyond our own self-
centered desires.
 It steer us to do the right thing, rather than just act on our own likes and dislikes.
 It purifies our emotions as our emotions are directed to God, righteous people, or
virtuous scripture.
 The path of devotion can be combined with Jnana Yoga as knowledge gained
with devotion to the sages and saints who passed it down, keeps the spiritual
aspirant humble.
 Relief from stress and worry
 It diminishes your identity and wards off you from negative feelings like an
annoyance, a sense of self, and presumption.
 It takes away fear, anxiety and worry and keeps you peaceful.
 This Yoga lets you control your feelings and hold tough conditions with ease.

2. Karma Yoga (the yoga of action and selfless service)

Karma yoga is a path to reach moksha (spiritual liberation) through work. It is rightful action
without being attached to fruits or being manipulated by what the results might be, a
dedication to one's duty, and trying one's best while being neutral to rewards or outcomes
such as success or failure..

The heart is purified so egoism, hatred, jealousy, selfishness, and similar negative
qualities vanish, creating space for humility, pure love, sympathy, tolerance, and
compassion.

With Karma Yoga, all desires eventually merge into one, which is to serve and ultimately
serve the Divine.

Karma Yoga is about purifying the heart and counteracting egoism. It involves the
dedication of all work as an offering, with no thought of personal reward. From this rule
follows the four guiding principles: Right Attitude, Right Motive, Give up Result, and
Serve the Self in All.

Characteristics of Karma Yoga:

 Emphasis on process than outcome.

 Obligation towards others

 To act with equanimity

 Seek perfection / Excellence in action

 To regard work as an offering to higher self.

  Do the duty, but do not concern with results.
 The fruits of actions are not for doer’s enjoyment, but for God.
 Giving up the pride of doership.
 Do not attached to inaction

i. Duty: Everybody has duties in life. In Karma Yoga it is important

to prioritize your duties; to know what is most important and which duty you
should give more importance over other.
ii. Ego: Ego is all the ideas you have about yourselves or others. The main purpose
of Karma Yoga is to control and eventually let go of your ego.. It controls our
perception and understanding.
iii. Attachment: Practicing Karma Yoga means doing your duty without attachment.
Always perform your duty without any kind of attachment to the process or result.
iv. Expectation of reward: When you do something without the expectation of
reward, the outcome of your action doesn’t affect if and how you do your duty.
You do it because it is your duty, not because you get something out of it.

Importance / Benefits of Karma Yoga

i. A karma-yogi is free from kama (desires) and sankalpa (mental worry about
results).
ii. He is also free from the sense of doer-ship and enjoyer-ship.
iii. He works with total efficiency, but he works non-attached.
iv. His body and mind are always under control, and not affected by the success or
failure of his actions.
v. Karma Yoga helps us work with a sense of total relaxation.
vi. Allows us to work with more focus and concentration, and thereby achieve better
results.
vii. Helps to decrease ego. We do what is supposed to be done, not what we would
like to do.
viii. Provides the major motivation to live a moral life.
ix. Teaches how karma performed by us can beneficially lead towards self-
realization.
 x.  Karma yoga cures bhavarog (Cycles of birth & death)
xi. It is necessary to perform karma, bearing in mind that if wise display good
conduct, even the unwise shall follow.
xii. Setting ideals for society.

3. Gyana (Jnana) Yoga- (the yoga of will and intellect)

Jnana yoga also known as the jnana marga , is one of the classical paths for  moksha

(liberation), which emphasizes the "path of knowledge”, also known as the "path of self-
realization". It is considered to be the most difficult path to attain self-realization
because Jnana yogi requires having an intense spiritual practice and discipline.
Through meditation, self-inquiry, and contemplation, the yogi can attain wisdom about
the true reality of self and be liberated from the  Maya (illusions).Jnana Yoga is also
called the Yoga of Intellect.
Characteristics
Jnana Yoga utilizes a one-pointed meditation on a single question of self-inquiry to remove
the veils of illusion created by our concepts, world views, and perceptions. This practice
allows us to realize the temporary and illusionary nature of maya and to see the oneness of
all things. A Jnana yogi Possessess Fearlessness, predominance of sattva, well
established in the yoga of knowledge, (engaged in) charity, self-restraint, self-study of the
scriptures, austerity and simplicity.
There are four prescribed steps in Jnana Yoga known as Sadhana Chatushtaya (the Four
Pillars of Knowledge).
i. Viveka (discernment, discrimination) - a deliberate, intellectual effort to distinguish
between the real and the unreal.
ii. Vairagya (dispassion, detachment) - cultivating non-attachment toward worldly
possessions and the ego-mind.
iii. Shatsampat (six virtues) - six mental practices to stabilize the mind and emotions.
The six virtues are
a. Shama (tranquility, calmness),
b. dama (restraint, control),
c. Uparati (withdrawal, renunciation),
d. Titiksha (endurance, forbearance) ,
e. Shraddha (faith, trust) and
f. Samadhana  (focus, concentration
iv. Mumukshutva (longing, yearning) - an intense and passionate desire for achieving
liberation from suffering.
 After completion of these, there are three core practices of Jnana Yoga, according to
Upanishadic teachings:
i.Sravana - hearing or experiencing Vedantic philosophy through a guru or spiritual
teacher.
ii.Manana - thinking and reflecting on the teachings of non-duality in an attempt to
understand their subtleties.
iii.Nididhyasana - constant and profound meditation Brahman and the inner self

Importance /Benefits of Jnana Yoga

 Liberation from the illusionary world of maya (self-limiting thoughts and perceptions)
and to achieve the union of the inner Self (Atman) with the oneness of all life.

 Attainment of the supreme knowledge that helps you realise your selfish desires,
limitations, ego, illusions, and ignorance. 

 Jnana yoga focuses on helping a person achieve liberation from suffering through
experiential knowledge of the absolute divine truth and universal consciousness. 

 One of the most important benefits of jnana yoga is that by means of channelling the flow of
energy in your body and coupling it with conscious breathing, it improves your blood
circulation. When your circulation improves, your organs, such as kidneys, liver, and heart,
function better. This, in the long run, helps prevent serious diseases of these organs.
 One of the most important components of jnana yoga practice is stilling your mind and
keeping all thoughts away. This is an excellent technique of mindfulness that reduces stress
and anxiety. Reduced stress not just keeps you happier but also has several benefits for
your body. These include a lower risk of hypertension, headaches, heart diseases, high
blood sugar levels, etc.
 When you practice jnana yoga mudra, which involves touching the tips of your thumb and
index finger together, it works as a technique of acupressure. This helps in making your
pituitary and pineal glands healthy and reducing the risk of hormonal imbalance and thyroid.
 Regularly practising jnana yoga benefits in improving your concentration and focus. This
enhances your focus and creativity.
 One of the most important jnana mudra benefits is that it prepares your body in reacting to
the stressors of stress and anxiety attacks. 
 By inducing self-realization, jnana yoga helps you realize your full potential and achieve your
personal and professional objectives. 

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Reference: poddtoppen.se,
yogabasics.com,
fitsri.com,
upaya-goga.com,
sanatan.org,
yogapedia.com,
arhantayoga.org