Introduction
The 8 Limbs of Yoga or Yoga Astanga were developed by the Great Sage Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. This is a reference that Yoga Trainee Teachers learn early on in their training. The Four Paths of Yoga are introduced to the students of Yoga at the same time. However, where they come from, and what their nature and meanings are more complex.
During my Teacher Training, with the task at end of writing an Essay about the Four Path of Yoga, I felt that I needed first to really understand the relationship and chronology of the main references or sacred scriptures prior to understanding the meaning of Yoga and therefore the nature and meaning of the Four Paths of Yoga.
My main sources of research for an overview and understanding of the Origins of Yoga were first and foremost the Introduction to ‘Light on Yoga’ from BKS IIyengar. This helped me understand the origin of the Four Paths of Yoga. I then looked into an article from Gill Lloyd (BYW Spectrum Mag Autumn 2007) which was titled: The Origins of Yoga – from the Upanishads to the Sutras.
Section 1- Origin of Yoga and History
The Four Vedas which are the pillars of Hinduism are traced back to 1500 BC and would descend from an ancient Indu Valley civilisation that was pre-existing and merged with the Aryan tribes who settled in the Indu Valley at that time. They believed in the forces of nature and their Gods reflected this: Agni (Fire), Surya (Sun), Wind. Their Hymns were passed on in an oral tradition and were captured by the Indu Brahmans or Priests in an effort to translate, explain and preserve this God Passed-on Knowledge to Humanity. The priests kept developing the sacred texts as teaching of spiritual conducts and sacred knowledge for many years and these sacred scriptures became the Vedas.
At the end of the Vedas, hundreds of additional texts were written over the period 800BC to 300BC, called the Upanishads. They are seen to be the culmination of the Vedas. The 14 principal Upanishads are the main texts or references which are being studied. The word Upanishad means Sitting Close to a Master in the Yoga Guru / Teacher tradition. This is I feel of particular relevance when studying the nature and meaning of the Four Paths of Yoga as this provides a channel by which Teacher/Guru and Student can relate to. We will come back to this.
Although the Vedas do refer to Yoga Philosophy, it is only in 4 of the Principal Upanishads that there is a specific reference made to Yoga (Taittiriya, Katha, Svetasvatara and Maitri)
For instance, the Katha Upanishad is the first one to explain what Yoga actually means and to make reference to Yoga paths and specifically the path of Karma Yoga. These Upanishads are instrumental as they lay out the Yoga concepts. However these concepts will be built upon in the Yoga Sutras and the Baghavad Gita which are considered to be the Yoga Authorities.
The great Sage Patanjali wrote the Yoga Sutras at the end of this period around 300BC – 200BC to provide a system of spiritual guidance, teaching and tools so that the Philosophy contained in the sacred scriptures could be captured in a practical way.
The Yoga Sutras of Pantanjali established the 8 Limbs system or Astanga to provide a method and path to the yoga student. The 8 Limbs or Stages can be separated in 3 main Quests or Paths: The Outer Quest, the Inner Quest and the Quest for the Soul.
BKS Iyengar recommends to focus on the Asanas as the main path of the Outward Quest and Prana or Life Force as the main path of the Inward quest. Similarly T.K. Desikachar describes the Asanas and Pranayama as the external world and the last four limbs of Yoga as the internal world where Pranayama and Pratyahara (withdrawal from the senses) are the transitions from one world to the next.
This together represents a method which enables the student to quieten the mind. Only when one quietens the mind (or withdraws from the senses) can one be ready to progress to the last stage or the Third Quest that is Samadhi, or self realisation where the Self or Atman within will merge with the Higher Self or God.
Lastly, the Hatha Yoga Pradipika of Swatmarama became another Yoga Authority in 1500AC which also sought to provide a practical Path for the Yoga Student, again with the view to achieve control of the mind and transmit the Yoga Philosophy from the ancient scriptures. Although the Hatha Yoga path views itself as an opposite approach to Raja Yoga at that time (1500AC), BKS Iyengar now explains that they are in fact working together in a very complimentary way such as a means to an end, where the means are just as important as the end.
With this history of Yoga in mind, we can see that some Yoga Paths such as Hatha and Raja Yoga clearly takes their origin from the Sacred texts. We now need to investigate the other major Path of Yoga available to the serious Yoga Student.
2- Section 2 – The Four Paths of Yoga
The type of spiritual practice or Sadhana which the student undertakes to pursue Self realisation depends on ones personality, inclines and also abilities. Self realisation can be achieved by four different Paths. The Paths may be different but the end goal is the same. BKS explains that the Raja Path of Yoga ‘is the fountain for the other Three Paths. It brings calmness and tranquillity and prepares the mind for absolute unqualified surrender to God, in which all these four paths merge into one.
The four path of Yoga correspond to different personality types which are clearly defined as follow:
- the Active person who will pick the Karma Path
- the Devoted/ Emotional person who will succeed with the Bhakti Path
- The intellectual Person who will succeed through the Jnana Path
- The meditative and reflective person will follow the Raja Path
According to Swami Sivananda, the division between the Four Paths are not black and white. There is some overlap and eventually all paths merge into one. For instance it is difficult to say where Karma Yoga ends and Bhakti Yoga starts or where Raja Yoga ends and Jnana Yoga starts. The education must not be one faceted and therefore all paths co-exist along each other and whoever achieves the Supreme Path of Jnana Yoga has already mastered the other Paths.
Swami Sivananda explains that although the Path of Karma yoga may be the lowest spiritual Path, it is also one of the most essential in the sense that it prepares the student to receive the knowledge of the Self in the future. Each of the Yoga Paths prepares the student for the learning curves of the next Yoga Paths. Every Yoga is a fulfilment of the preceding one.
- The Karma Path of Yoga
The Karma Path of Yoga is first explained in The Baghavad Gita, it is the actions and work that one undertakes in pursuit of their duty and of the righteous conduct and never in pursuit of the fruit of the action themselves.
In the Baghavad Gita, Krishna explains to the warrior Arjuna that he should perform his duty and fight whilst remaining detached of the fruits of the actions i.e. the results, loss and profits of the war. He should hand over the outcome of the action entirely to Krishna his Lord. This attitude will enable Arjuna to carry out his duty without any vested interest, selfishness or in this case guilt. This will bring him closer to the Supreme Self.
Through Karma Yoga, or the Yoga of Action, one should perform their duty or their work continuously and not have a vested interest in the results of the work i.e. they should not carry out the work for selfish reasons. In addition they should surrender the results to the Lord or the Higher Self/Supreme Being or the Universe.
Mother Theresa is one example of an individual who has devoted her entire life to selfless love and service of humanity. Her work was absolutely not interested in personal rewards for herself but was an act of Giving to the people she helped with Love.
The Path of Karma Yoga is said to lead to the Path of Bhakti Yoga when the performer of the duty is dedicated to God.
- The Bhakti Path of Yoga
Bhakti Yoga is the Yoga of Devotion, specifically the religious devotion to God. All other paths do not require necessarily to be religious, i.e. to belong to a religion.
The Spiritual student develops gradually devotion to his Lord by practicing the nine modes of devotion incl. studying the Holly scriptures, worshipping, singing, praying and further religious practice.
In the Baghavad Gita, Krishna asks total devotion and surrender from Arjuna and this is an example of the Bhakti Path of Yoga. Here the inspiration is with the relationship between Krishna and Arjuna, not so much the selfless service and duty as with Karma Yoga.
Mother Theresa could also very well represent an example of Bhakti Yoga where we can see that there can be much overlap between Karma and Bhakti Yoga when the religious person is also very active and altruistic.
2.3 The Path of Raja Yoga
The term Raja Yoga from the Sanskrit Royal, was used from 15th Century to differentiate Raja Yoga from Hatha Yoga when Hatha Yoga Pradipika became a reference in the Yoga world.
Raja Yoga is based on the 8 Limbs of Yoga from the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. It is particularly suitable for the meditative person because the emphasis is on the last few steps prior to Samadhi ie Dhyana and Dharana or the ability to concentrate and meditate. Although Raja Yoga does not preclude the initial steps referred to earlier as the outer and inner quests, it does really mean that the student has achieved such level and now focuses on meditation.
Hence Raja yoga is known as the King of Yoga as all Yoga practices converge towards this goal. Hatha Yoga is a different approach as it focuses on the journey to achieve the same goal however focusing on the Outer and Inner Quest i.e. the taming of the body and the control of the breath in order to achieve control of the mind. This will in turn prepare the student for Raja Yoga. In this sense the 2 approaches are complimentary. This is highlighted by BKS Iyengar in his book Light on Yoga and by Swami Sivananda.
2.4 The Jnana Path of Yoga
The translation of Jnana in Sanskrit is Knowledge. The Jnana path of Yoga is therefore the Path of Knowledge or the intellectual Path through the studying of the scriptures and through self study. This is also known as the Supreme Path of Yoga.
In the Baghavad Gita, Krishna says that Jnana Yoga consists of properly understanding the field of the Body from the knower of the body i.e. the Soul. In the Katha Upanishad, this is explained in an analogy where the senses are represented by the horses pulling a Chariot (the Body) while the Atman of Self is likened to the Passenger and the Mind to the Charriotter who must control the vehicle. My understanding is that the one pointness concentration and withdrawal of the senses is what helps become aware that the mind, the self and the body are separate entities within us. This transcended knowledge is the Path to self realisation.
An example of an individual on the Jnana Path of Yoga is possibly Swami Sivananda who was a very well educated man in many fields including the field of medicine and sciences. He always sought to expand his knowledge and pass it on to others during his lifetime which also reflects on his ability to know himself well.
- Other Paths of Yoga
The are Three other paths of Yoga in addition to the four Path detailed above, they are Hatha Yoga, Mantra Yoga and Kundalini Yoga. This is both explained by Swami Sivananda and BKS Iyengar, the latter was a disciple of Krichnamacharya who was a disciple of Swami Sivananda himself.
Hatha Yoga as explained earlier is the physical approach to Yoga for the student who is willing to master his body and breath in order to control the mind. Hatha Yoga is not different from Raja Yoga,it is the necessary preparation to taking up Raja Yoga. The Raja Yogi however would start his yogic practices with the mind.
Mantra Yoga relates to the practice of repeating certain Mantra. BKS Iyengar explains that if the student has not adequate abilities, then the Guru may only suggest the Mantra Yoga path which will take the longest.
Kundalini Yoga also known as Laya Yoga focuses on the rising energy from the lower chakras to the higher chakras which can be attained through meditation.
Section 3 Conclusion
The nature and meaning of the various Paths of Yoga assumes a knowledge of the origins of Yoga, and a basic understanding of the main Yoga scriptures, as studied in Yoga Teacher Training. All Paths of Yoga focus on the end goal that is self realisation (ie the purpose of Humanity in the early tradition) while the contemporary Yoga Authorities such as Swami Sivananda and BKS Iyengar tend to focus on the journey to self realisation as much as on the end goal. It seems that the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali were absolutely instrumental in translating the scriptures into very detailed theological but practical steps and later the 15th century Hatha Yoga Pradipika helped to focus the attention on the Physical journey to Yoga self realisation.
It is amazing to see that the science of Yoga that we are studying today seems more or less intact from 300BC and the 15th century. The teachings of Swami Sivananda and BKS Iyengar are very much in line with the scriptures and it seems they hardly had to adjust their teachings to the modern world. Yet again the world is continuously changing and the world of Swami Sivananda is perhaps quite different to todays IT and communication world. This means that Yoga as a universal system transcends every world and time and that each person today can still recognise themselves in some facet of the whole and make this meaningful for them whatever background and personality they may be.
The Four Path of Yoga are very much a way to show that all personalities are in the Universe and each Path can lead to the end Goal. None are better than the other because they all merge into one. BKS Iyengar does mention that some paths will take longer for some students than others and that this is reflection of their abilities. Perhaps it is also reflection of the intensity of the relationship between the Student and the Guru, the latter having the huge responsibility to educate each aspirant through their chosen path and according to their abilities.
If the student has supreme abilities, then the student is fit for all forms of Yoga and can reach enlightment in 3 years, however if choosing Mantra Yoga with poor or average abilities it could take many more years, perhaps a life time. In our days however the opportunity to live with a Guru for 3 years at the top of a mountain is very rare. Very few people are nowadays able to realise this path where the ancient scriptures can be passed on to the student by the Guru in the ancient verbal tradition. Some of the Four classical Paths such as Raja and Jnana do require the student to do just this though, which give us a measure of how rare this achievement is.
As for the Karma and Bhakti Paths, it seems to be open to a wider number of subjects: it seems well suited for people of religious background and people who have chosen to dedicate their life to the service of others, for instance people of the religious functions,the medical field, the education field and also people who work for international charities to support others.
As far as the other majority of students where I feel I belong, I think we have chosen the Hatha Yoga Path. It is a classical path as well as I have discovered thanks to the research necessary for this essay. As for the Teachers Training Courses (whether British Wheel, Astanga, Iyengar, Hatha, Tri-Yoga, Dru-Yoga) I now understand that all Teachers Training Courses are the closest modern equivalent of the Guru-Student environment for the Hatha Yoga Path. Asanas, Breath and Meditation are therefore the dominant Path for us Students. The journey lies ahead…
References
Light on Yoga – B.K.S Ilengar
The 8 Limbs of Yoga Sutras – Patanjali
Practical Lessons in Yoga – Swami Sivananda
The Bhagavad Gita – Eknath Easwaran
The Upanishads – Eknath Easwaran
Leave A Comment