Argument
Our main problem is to be free. It is evident then that until we realise
ourselves as the Absolute, we cannot attain to deliverance. Yet there are
various ways of attaining to this realisation. These methods have the generic
name of Yoga (to join, to join ourselves to our reality). These Yogas, though
divided into various groups, can principally be classed into four; and as each
is only a method leading indirectly to the realisation of the Absolute, they
are suited to different temperaments. Now it must be remembered that it is not
that the assumed man becomes the real man or Absolute. There is no becoming
with the Absolute. It is ever free, ever perfect; but the ignorance that has
covered Its nature for a time is to be removed. Therefore the whole scope of
all systems of Yoga (and each religion represents one) is to clear up this
ignorance and allow the Atman to restore its own nature. The chief helps in
this liberation are Abhyasa and Vairagya. Vairagya is non-attachment to life,
because it is the will to enjoy that brings all this bondage in its train; and
Abhyasa is constant practice of any one of the Yogas.
Karma Yoga
Karma-Yoga is purifying the mind by means of work. Now if any work is done,
good or bad, it must produce as a result a good or bad effect; no power can
stay it, once the cause is present. Therefore good action producing good Karma,
and bad action, bad Karma, the soul will go on in eternal bondage without ever
hoping for deliverance. Now Karma belongs only to the body or the mind, never
to the Atman (Self); only it can cast a veil before the Atman. The veil cast by
bad Karma is ignorance. Good Karma has the power to strengthen the moral
powers. And thus it creates non-attachment; it destroys the tendency towards
bad Karma and thereby purifies the mind. But if the work is done with the
intention of enjoyment, it then produces only that very enjoyment and does not
purify the mind or Chitta. Therefore all work should be done without any desire
to enjoy the fruits thereof. All fear and all desire to enjoy here or hereafter
must be banished for ever by the Karma-Yogi. Moreover, this Karma without
desire of return will destroy the selfishness, which is the root of all
bondage. The watchword of the Karma-Yogi is "not I, but Thou", and no
amount of self-sacrifice is too much for him. But he does this without any
desire to go to heaven, or gain name or fame or any other benefit in this
world. Although the explanation and rationale of this unselfish work is only in
Jnana-Yoga, yet the natural divinity of man makes him love all sacrifice simply
for the good of others, without any ulterior motive, whatever his creed or
opinion. Again, with many the bondage of wealth is very great; and Karma-Yoga
is absolutely necessary for them as breaking the crystallisation that has
gathered round their love of money.
Bhakti Yoga
Next is. Bhakti or worship or love in some form or other is the easiest,
pleasantest, and most natural way of man. The natural state of this universe is
attraction; and that is surely followed by an ultimate disunion. Even so, love
is the natural impetus of union in the human heart; and though itself a great
cause of misery, properly directed towards the proper object, it brings
deliverance. The object of Bhakti is God. Love cannot be without a subject and
an object. The object of love again must be at first a being who can
reciprocate our love. Therefore the God of love must be in some sense a human
God. He must be a God of love. Aside from the question whether such a God
exists or not, it is a fact that to those who have love in their heart this
Absolute appears as a God of love, as personal.
The lower forms of worship, which embody the idea of God as a
judge or punisher or someone to be obeyed through fear, do not deserve to be
called love, although they are forms of worship gradually expanding into higher
forms. We pass on to the consideration of love itself. We will illustrate love
by a triangle, of which the first angle at the base is fearlessness. So long as
there is fear, it is not love. Love banishes all fear. A mother with her baby
will face a tiger to save her child. The second angle is that love never asks,
never begs. The third or the apex is that love loves for the sake of love
itself. Even the idea of object vanishes. Love is the only form in which love
is loved. This is the highest abstraction and the same as the Absolute.
Raja Yoga
Next is Raja Yoga. This Yoga fits in with everyone of these Yogas. It fits
inquirers of all classes with or without any belief, and it is the real
instrument of religious inquiry. As each science has its particular method of
investigation, so is this Raja-Yoga the method of religion. This science also
is variously applied according to various constitutions. The chief parts are
the Pranayama [breath control], concentration, and meditation. For those who
believe in God, a symbolical name, such as Om or other sacred words received
from a Guru, will be very helpful. Om is the greatest, meaning the Absolute.
Meditating on the meaning of these holy names while repeating them is the chief
practice.
Jnana Yoga
Next is Jnana Yoga. This is divided into three parts. First: hearing the
truth--that the Atman is the only reality and that everything else is Maya
(relativity). Second: reasoning upon this philosophy from all points of view.
Third: giving up all further argumentation and realising the truth. This
realisation comes from being certain that Brahman is real and everything else
is unreal; giving up all desire for enjoyment; controlling the senses and the
mind; intense desire to be free. Meditating on this reality always and
reminding the soul of its real nature are the only ways in this Yoga. It is the
highest, but most difficult. Many persons get an intellectual grasp of it, but
very few attain realisation.