(A Lecture Given at The Institute for Advanced Yogic Studies,
San Francisco, California)

Traditionally, the Bhagavad-gita is seen as a yoga-sutra, or a treatise on yoga. The entire purpose of yoga is to “link with God,” as the word itself indicates – and the Gita has often been honored as the clearest and most thorough text on how such “linking” takes place. And yet, it is not uncommon, at least in Western countries, for aspiring yogis to be intimidated by its technical Sanskrit jargon, setting it aside as something “to be studied later.” While such a response is certainly understandable, one who is serious about yoga would take the time to closely peruse this work. Indeed, only by such study will it become clear why this most sacred of scriptures is, and for centuries has been, one of India’s most important textbooks on yoga and all related subjects.

Contemplative and Active Forms of Spirituality

The Gita’s third chapter introduces its readers to two forms of spirituality: the contemplative and the active. At the time, in India, the majority of yoga practitioners were inclined to extreme acts of asceticism and renunciation, believing this to be the only way they could get close to God. But the Gita seeks to correct this misperception -- it takes the doctrine of nivriitti, negation, so dominant in ancient India, and augments it with pravriitti, or positive spiritual action. Thus, Krishna teaches Arjuna not so much about “renunciation of action” but rather about “renunciation in action.” In later Vaishnava terminology, this is the preferred yukta vairagya, or “renouncing the world by acting for the Supreme,” as opposed to phalgu vairagya, or “falsely renouncing the world by refusing to act.” Both forms of renunciation are accepted by the Gita, but Krishna prefers the “active” form, saying that it is more practical and more effective as well.

Whichever approach one happens to adopt, says Krishna, detachment from sense-objects is compulsory. Thus, whether one is inclined to be a renunciant in the usual sense or if one chooses to take up the Gita on its teaching of yogic action – the difference lies only in how one uses or participates in the external world. Along these lines, Krishna asserts that contemplative, inactive yoga is difficult, for the mind often becomes restless or distracted. Rather, as already stated, He recommends the active form of yoga, which He calls Karma Yoga. This is more to the point, He says, for one still strives to focus the mind, using various techniques of contemplative meditation, as in the inactive, more traditional form of yoga, but augments this endeavor with practical engagement in the world of three dimensions.

Krishna makes all of this quite clear in the Gita’s Fifth Chapter (in my own translation):

Both renunciation, or the contemplative approach, and the yoga of work, or Karma Yoga, can bring about the desired goal. But of the two, Karma Yoga is better. The real renunciant neither hates nor hankers; being without duality, O mighty-armed one [Arjuna], he easily frees himself from bondage -- for he is a true philosopher. The inexperienced person -- as opposed to those who are learned -- talks of philosophy and yoga as being different. But listen: if either approach is practiced in a proper and thorough way, one attains the same result. The state attained by philosophers is reached by yogis, too: Thus, he who sees philosophy and yoga as one, truly sees. But renunciation is difficult to attain without yoga, O mighty-armed one, whereas the sage endowed with yoga attains the Supreme soon enough. (5.2-6)

Meditation: Restraining the Mind

Krishna explains that both processes of yoga, the contemplative and the active, begin with learning the art of controlling the mind. In the modern world, this is often referred to as “meditation.”

By meditation (dhyana), one can learn to behold the Lord in his own heart. This can be achieved by the yoga of philosophy and by the yoga of works (Karma Yoga). (13.25)

Earlier in the Gita, Krishna refers to this same process, explaining the virtues of a controlled mind:

When the yogi, by practice of yoga, disciplines his mental activities and becomes situated in true spirituality -- devoid of material desires -- he is said to be fully established in yoga. As a fire in a place that is devoid of wind does not waver, so the true spiritualist, whose mind is controlled, remains steady in meditation on the transcendental self. (6.19-23)

Such meditation, Krishna admits, is difficult, but it can be achieved through arduous effort:

Of course . . . the mind is fickle and difficult to restrain. But by practice and a renounced mood . . . it can be attained. For one lacking in self-control, yoga is nearly unachievable. But one who strives with self-control may eventually attain it by the correct means. (6.35-36)

In verses ten through fourteen of the Gita’s Sixth Chapter, Krishna elaborates on what He means by the “correct means.” Here, one begins to see how truly difficult it is to perform this kind of meditation: The yogi must learn to properly meditate without interruption, in perfect solitude. He must fully restrain his mind and desires, letting go of both wants and possessions. And that’s the easy part.

He must prepare a seat for himself in a clean place, neither too high nor too low, covered with cloth, antelope-skin or kusha [grass[, and he must sit in this specially prepared place, says the Gita, learning to make his mind “one-pointed” -- which means utterly focused. He should practice such meditation for his own purification only, without any ulterior motive. Firmly holding the base of his body, neck and head straight and in one place, looking only at the tip of his own nose, he must be peaceful, without fear, and above any prurient interest.

With this as a starting point, the aspiring yogi is ready to control his breathing (pranayama), which serves to manipulate the energy in the body (prana) in a positive way. This, along with intricate sitting postures (asana), enabled one to control body and mind and was considered an effective means for further quieting one’s passions, controlling material desires, and focusing on God.

The yogi must engage this practice, Krishna says, while fully devoted to the Supreme. Or else it just won’t work.

Krishna calls this method Raja Yoga, because it was successfully employed by great kings (raja) in ancient times. But times have changed, and this mechanical, contemplative form of yoga -- which was eventually systematized in Patanjali’s Yoga-sutras and now popular in the West as Hatha Yoga -- is too difficult for most people, at least if they are going to do it properly, and Krishna says as much by the end of the Gita’s Sixth Chapter.

Still, He is careful not to throw the baby out with the rice water, recommending elements of contemplative yoga along with the yoga of action, or Karma Yoga.

It is no wonder, therefore, that Arjuna expressed confusion -- just which form of yoga is Krishna really recommending? Does He prefer this austere form of disciplined sitting and meditation, as described above, or action in perfect consciousness? Does the Gita recommend Hatha Yoga, or does it recommend work in proper consciousness? Although Krishna certainly answered these questions earlier in the Gita, Arjuna wants Him to articulate it in such a way that there can be no mistake.

Ultimately, the Gita reveals a sort of hierarchy, a “yoga ladder,” in which one begins by studying the subject of yoga with some serious interest -- this is called Abhyasa Yoga -- and ends up, if successful, by graduating to Bhakti Yoga, or the path of mystical devotion. All the stages in between -- and there are many -- are quite complex, and it is at this point that most modern Western practitioners become daunted in their study of the Gita. Our next section, therefore, will analyze only those concepts central to understanding this yoga ladder, and, in so doing, bypass much of the Gita’s intimidating language.

Stages of Yoga

One may wonder why the two basic approaches to yoga, the contemplative and the active, and their many variations, seem to be interchangeable in one section of the Gita, while they clearly manifest as a hierarchy in another. The answer lies in the Gita’s use of yoga terminology, a glossary that, again, can be somewhat off-putting. Suffice it to say, the different words used in this connection actually refer, in a sense, to the same thing: the various yoga systems are all forms of Bhakti Yoga. The differences are mainly in emphasis.

It is called Karma Yoga, for example, when, in the practitioner’s mind, the first word in the hyphenated compound takes precedence -- not just in the physical placement of the word, but conceptually. For instance, in Karma Yoga, one wants to perform work (karma) and is attached to a particular kind of work, but he wants to do it for Krishna -- which is what makes it yoga. In this scenario, karma is primary and yoga is secondary. But since it is directed to God, it can be called Karma Yoga instead of just karma. The same principle can be applied to all other yoga systems.

Of all yogas, however, the Gita teaches that Bhakti Yoga is the highest. This is because the first word in the hyphenated compound is bhakti, or devotional love. In the purest form of love, one becomes selfless, and thus, instead of giving a prominent place to one’s own desire, one considers the beloved first. Thus, the second part of the compound (yoga) becomes prominent -- linking with God takes precedence over the practitioner’s personal desires or wants. In fact, the first and second words of the hyphenated compound become one. The devotee wants to love (bhakti), but he considers Krishna’s desire before his own. This makes Bhakti Yoga the perfection of the yoga process.

In other words, the many types of “yoga” found in the Gita are in some ways merely stepping-stones to Bhakti Yoga. But, more directly, they are all variations on Bhakti Yoga, with specific emphases meant to gradually take practitioners to perfection. Karma Yoga emphasizes “working” for the Supreme; Jnana Yoga emphasizes “focusing one’s knowledge” on the Supreme; Dhyana Yoga involves “contemplating” the Supreme; Buddhi Yoga is about directing the “intellect” toward the Supreme; and Bhakti Yoga, the perfection of all yogas, occurs when “devotion” is emphasized in relation to the Supreme. Again, the main principle of yoga, in whatever form, is to direct your activity toward linking with God.

Conclusion

We may first of all, then, observe that the Gita accepts all traditional forms of yoga as legitimate and claims that they are merely variations on a theme -- they all focus on linking with the Supreme. However, the Gita also creates a hierarchy of sorts. Indulging some of the text’s terminology, the hierarchy runs something like this: First there is study (Abhyasa Yoga), understanding (Jnana Yoga) and meditation (Dhyana Yoga) on the meaning of scripture. This leads to the contemplation of philosophy and eventually wisdom (Sankhya- or Jnana Yoga), culminating in renunciation (Sannyasa Yoga). This, in turn, leads to the proper use of intelligence (Buddhi Yoga). When engaged practically, this is called Karma Yoga, and, when imbued with devotion, Bhakti Yoga.

All of this involves a complex inner development, beginning with an understanding of the temporary nature of the material world and the nature of duality. Realizing that the world of matter eventually ceases to exist and that birth will no doubt lead us to death, the aspiring yogi begins to practice external renunciation and gradually internal renunciation, which, ultimately, comprises giving up the fruits of one’s work (karma-phala-tyaga) and performing the work itself as an offering to God (bhagavad-artha-karman). This method of detached action (Karma Yoga) leads to the “perfection of inaction” (naishkarmya-siddhi), i.e., freedom from the bondage of works. One becomes free from such bondage because one learns to work as an “agent” rather than as an “enjoyer” -- one learns to work for God, on His behalf. This is the essential teaching of the Gita, and in its pages Krishna methodically takes Arjuna (and each of us) through each step of the yoga process to get us there.

The Gita’s entire Sixth Chapter, however, is about Arjuna’s rejection of conventional yoga; he describes it as impractical and “too difficult to perform” in our current age of distraction and degradation (known as Kali Yuga). Does Krishna castigate Arjuna for expressing this problematic view of conventional yoga or, further, for declining to practice it?

Not at all. Rather, Krishna says, “Of all yogis -- including Hatha Yogis, Jnana Yogis, Dhyana Yogis, and Karma Yogis -- you are the best.” Why is Arjuna the best? Because he is a devotee, willing to work on Krishna’s behalf. This is Bhakti Yoga, which is the best way to link with God most effectively.

Krishna explains the essential element of Bhakti Yoga that distinguishes it from all the rest: “Of all yogis, the one who is constantly thinking of Me within himself, meditating on Me within the heart, is the first-class yogi.” This, again, is because the goal of yoga is to re-link with God, as the word itself indicates. Yoga comes from the Sanskrit root yuj, which means “to link up with, to combine.” It is similar to religio, the Latin root of the word “religion,” which means “to bind together.” Interestingly, religion and yoga do, indeed, have the same end in mind: combining or linking with God. This is the essential purpose of the yoga process, and the end to which the Gita hopes to bring its readers. Thank you very much.