In Yoga philosophy, there are four major paths available for
spiritual progress: Karma, Bhakti, Jnana and Kriya. Bhakti Yoga proceeds
through control and channelization of emotions. Karma Yoga proceeds through
unselfish service of society. Jnana Yoga proceeds through intellectual
discrimination between real and unreal, usually accompanied with a deep study
of the scriptures. And Kriya Yoga proceeds through refinement of the gross and
subtle energies. Each of these four paths is said to be capable of taking the
spiritual aspirant to the highest state of enlightenment. However, it is not
possible for a human being to follow only one of these four and exclude all
others. Human existence is a mixture of all these aspects and thus, a good
combination of these paths is required, somewhat like a cocktail. The primary
difficulty here is that there is no simple formula available, which can help us
in deciding which combination to follow. Pursuing the path of Yoga is a bit
like consuming alcohol. It tastes bitter in the beginning, but then slowly one
starts appreciating its deep flavours. And mindless over-consumption of both
results in severe problems! But just to avoid misconceptions, please note that
consumption of alcohol is generally not conducive for progress in Yoga.
