Job Vacancy: Karma Yogis needed!!!

For most people, Yoga implies yoga postures; truth is that yoga postures comprise an extremely small part of the entire Yogic tradition. Patanjali, who is the founder of Yoga, mentions just one sutra on yoga postures in the entire text of Patanjali Yoga Sutra. So what is Yoga?

The ancient path of Indian culture provides for four main branches of Yoga:

1. Raja or AshtangaYoga (Yoga of self-mastery and discipline through postures, pranayaamas, and meditation)
2. Karma Yoga (Yoga of selfless action and service)
3. Bhakti Yoga (Yoga of pure devotion), and
4. Gyana Yoga (Yoga of knowledge and wisdom).

The reason why Bhagwad Gita is revered by Indians and outsiders alike is because Gita is a perfect blend of all forms of Yogas. In Gita, Shri Krishna explains to Arjuna that it is vital to perform the right action (Karma Yoga), but the right action needs to be performed by keeping the mind fixed (Raja Yoga), having devotion to the supreme Being (Bhakti Yoga), and possessing the right knowledge of the scriptures (Gyana Yoga). In older times, society produced Yogis of all kinds, and all form of Yoga was equally prevalent. Buddha was probably a combination of Raja and Gyana Yogi. The Sikh Gurus, and Christ were predominantly Karma and Gyana Yogis. Tulsidas and Surdas were Bhakti Yogis. Adi Sankaracharya, like Sri Krishna, combined all the different forms of Yoga. And that is why the society was in perfect balance.

But the last eight hundred years in India, we have seen a wave of Bhakti Yoga that seems to prevail over all other forms of Yoga. Too much emphasis is given on rituals, pujas, bhakti to God, and visiting temples. Even the Bhagvad Kathas organized in different places in India are less about knowledge but has become either a social occasion or more about devotion to the person reciting the Katha.

Bhakti or devotion should definitely be part of our culture, as devotion to divine or a Guru brings unshakable faith. Also, devotion brings an element of sacredness to life and relationships, a quality that I often find missing in USA. But a society whose people just have devotion, but are physically or mentally weak, or do not have right knowledge, or do not have leaders who devote their life for betterment of society and nation, how can that society survive and advance?

What India needs today is not more Bhakti or Gyana yogis; but Karma and Raja Yogis, people who are both physically and mentally fit and willing to serve the society and the nation.