What is Yoga, Anyway? The Four Paths of Yoga
by Lauren Lalita
What do you think of when you think of yoga?
Are you thinking of flexible folks in stretchy pants making peaceful faces whilst twisted up on rubber mats?
Me too! Yes, that is yoga! However, that physical part of the practice is a fairly recent development. Yoga poses can make you strong, flexible, repair postural imbalances, and feel awesome. While wonderful and beneficial, the poses, called asanas, are only one tiny part of the vast tradition of yoga.
So if yoga is not just physical asanas, what else is it?
As a system of philosophy and spiritual practice, yoga emerged as various realizations threaded across Vedic spiritual evolutions. The branches of yoga have split, changed, woven and evolved with the needs, traditions, and tastes of the people practicing it. Yoga has endured this long because of its ability to adapt, grow, shift and bloom.
Western civilization is plagued with sedentary lifestyles and stressed-out minds. We have adopted and expanded upon the part of yoga that we most need: reconnecting with our bodies and our breath. Sometimes, after we connect with our bodies on our yoga mats, we discover these deeper layers awaiting us.
Underneath the physical practice, there is a philosophical wellspring of insights and spiritual practices that lead to spiritual experiences. At its most basic level, yoga is a spiritual path that seeks union with the divine.
The word yoga means to join, to unite. On this spiritual path, we are seeking union with the Self, the Atman, the universal soul. The root word for yoga, yuj, means to yoke or join together. The first time this word appears is in the Upanishads, in reference to yoking the breath for the purpose of chanting Om.
Since that time, yoga has expanded as a system of philosophy and practice into four main ways to seek union with the highest self. These are the four marga or paths of yoga:
Karma Yoga - Yoga of Action & Selfless Service
Jnana Yoga - Yoga of Wisdom & Self-study
Dhyana Yoga - Yoga of Meditation
Bhakti Yoga - Yoga of Love & Devotion
These four paths are not limited to yoga philosophy. Every spiritual tradition contains these aspects. Think of a church where the congregation studies scripture (wisdom), sings hymns (devotion), prays the rosary (meditation), and holds a coat drive for the homeless (action).
Karma Yoga
In the yoga of action, we practice seva, or selfless service. Whether that service is to the Earth, animals, or humans, we offer our hours and sometimes the sweat of our brow to serve the wellbeing of creation. We see the divine as manifest in each other, in those who are suffering, in all life. We serve the divine by working for peace and wellbeing in the world. Read more about Karma Yoga here.
Bhakti Yoga
The yoga of devotion is a spiritual practice of love and reverence. Through Bhakti yoga we enter into a personal relationship with divine reality. It is offering love to the divine, however, the divine appears to us. Bhakti practices can include poetry, song, myth, ceremony, and more. Read more about Bhakti Yoga here.
Jnana Yoga
The yoga of wisdom seeks union through sacred study and the pursuit of holy knowledge. Sometimes it is learning from teachers and masters who inspire us, whether in person, through texts, or story. However, the yoga of wisdom is not a cold academic study of philosophy. Jnana yoga is taking the great teachings of the ages and applying them to your own life.
Dhyana Yoga
The yoga of meditation takes many forms. At the simplest, meditation is the practice of focusing our mind on something so steadily that our very being flows into the object of our concentration. When we meditate, the separation disappears and we eventually become one with what we are focusing upon.
You may find yourself drawn to specific paths more than others. You get to choose what works for you. You will likely practice a blend of all the paths and go through phases where some are dominant.
But do not box yourself in. Think of spiritual pursuit as a journey to the top of one mountain.
People live on different sides of the mountain. They see different slopes, the sun moves around the mountain differently depending on their vantage point. Different villages may have different names for the same peak. If they live on the north side, the slopes are shadowed and verdant. On the south side, the mountain is sunny and dry. But it is the same mountain.
Yoga philosophy says that there are four main paths up this mountain. Each path contains practices and tips for getting up the mountain from their perspective. It gives us signs and waymarkers we may pass along the way, but we are all going the same place.
The mystic Ramakrishna said there are “as many paths as there are faiths.”
Karma yoga works in the physical body and in the physical world. Bhakti yoga works in the emotional realms of feeling and love. Jnana yoga is more cerebral, working in the mind. Dhyana yoga works in the spiritual realms beyond thought. Together, they represent a united practice that works on all levels of our beings: body, heart, mind, and spirit.
All the paths are going to the top of the mountain. Combined together, all four of these paths are called Raja Yoga, or the Royal Yoga.
The great secret is that everything, every step you take, is a path to the summit. There is no way to be off the path, which I always find to be a great relief.
You’re on the right path, whether you like it or not. You’re on the right path, whether you know it or not. Any spiritual tradition, yoga included, is just tips and tricks that make the going easier for some.
The truth is that you are already one with the Self, the Universal Soul, the Atman. How could you fail at being that which you really are? You cannot fail. You cannot be off the path, because you are already there. There is nowhere for you to go after all.
Yoga offers the pathways to climb the mountain while also reminding us that we have always been at the top, even if we did not know it.
When we serve the highest with every aspect of ourselves, we become one with who we really are. We become what we have always been. That is union. That is yoga.
