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Balance of the four yogas

A discourse on the essential principles and integrated paths of yoga.

"To practice yoga means to keep everything in balance; it means everything functions accordingly."

"You cannot say, 'I am a Bhakti Yogī,' or 'I am a Karma Yogī'... If you define yourself only as a particular yogī, then you are discriminating against yourself."

The speaker explains yoga as the universal principle of balance underlying all existence and spiritual practice. He outlines the four main branches—Karma, Bhakti, Rāja, and Jñāna Yoga—arguing they are inseparable and that any true practice incorporates all four. The talk critiques a purely intellectual approach to spirituality, emphasizes humility, and connects yoga practice to beneficial living for the entire planet.

Filming locations: Strelka, Czech Republic.

DVD 246

Yoga is the path. Yoga is as old as the universe itself. You have heard this many times because it is that balancing principle. The entire universe is balanced. All visible and invisible elements, stars, moons, and suns are balanced. All vegetation and life on this planet are balanced. All five elements within this body are balanced. Our body, mind, intellect, and emotions are balanced. When something falls out of balance, we become ill. Therefore, to practice yoga means to keep everything in balance; it means everything functions accordingly. Here, emotional balance also encompasses our devotion, our beliefs, and our relationships. Our sādhanā—everything—must be balanced, and it is for this that we practice. The most ancient scriptures, like the Vedas, speak about yoga. And the yogic principles are these: discipline. Yogic principles are discipline, belief, trust, meditation, prayer, help, compassion in your heart, and non-violence. These are all yogic principles, and they are present in every religion of the world. So when you practice yoga, you are aligned with a universal religion. Every religion is universal because it is the preaching of a particular holy incarnation. Now, it depends on how you understand. Every religion has prayer, belief, and kindness. Every religion speaks about truth, discipline, and ethics. All these principles are in those religions, and these are yogic principles. Thus, in the Rāmāyaṇa and the Bhagavad Gītā, there is also a fullness of yoga. If you read the very old Upaniṣads and the Purāṇas, there is yoga: mantra practice, meditation, prayers. We have divided yoga into different kinds. It is not only Patañjali who modified it into four main branches, for when you look into the old scriptures that predate Patañjali, there is also mention of Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Jñāna Yoga, and Rāja Yoga. Also, in the Gītā, the Bhagavad Gītā, it speaks of eighteen different kinds of yoga. There are eighteen chapters in the Gītā, and every chapter, from beginning to end, bears the name of a yoga. We normally speak mostly of four different branches of yoga. We are going to talk about these four key elements: Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Rāja Yoga, and Jñāna Yoga, which you know. So, let us come to Karma Yoga. Karma means to do something. If you are not doing, you are lazy. If you are not doing anything, it means you are already doing. You are doing the act of being lazy, and you are living on behalf of others. Others have to work for you, so already you are doing bad karma. If you are active, you are doing karma. Eating is karma, drinking is karma. When you eat, it is karma; when you drink, it is karma; when you breathe, it is karma; when you sleep, it is karma. Everything that happens through this body is known as karma, or action, or function, or work. So even our earth is working, the seasons are working, nature is working, and so humans are also working, animals are also working. That is karma. Karma means something happening or doing. Karma means that something is happening or is working. And there are different forms of karma. Something is natural. Without inhalation and exhalation, we cannot live. Without drinking and eating, we cannot live. But you should know what you inhale and exhale. If you inhale poison, you will die, and if you inhale good fresh air, a lot of oxygen, then you will live longer. If you eat bad quality food, then there is no proper nutrition, and you will damage your health. If you drink water, milk, or juice, you support your health. And if you drink other liquids, like alcohol and so on, you damage your health. So what you do reflects on your mind, your body, and your consciousness. Everything that you do is reflected on your body, mind, and consciousness, including your emotions and temptations. Although it is something natural and necessary for life, it is very important how the body will react to it. Then, for humans, there is what is called niṣkāma karma, selfless service: help others. Helping others means loving your neighbor. Now, yoga says, "Help others." And some religions say, "Love your neighbor." You cannot help if there is no love. This means Karma Yoga is incomplete if there is no Bhakti Yoga. And helping needs discipline; you should have a discipline to help. So it means there is Rāja Yoga involved. And helping also means you need knowledge for that; then you can help. Thus, Karma Yoga is incomplete if there is no Bhakti, Jñāna, and Rāja Yoga. Similarly, Bhakti Yoga is also incomplete without Karma Yoga. So, all these four branches of yoga are connected to each other. If you have one leg amputated, then your body is incomplete. Or one hand, or one eye, or one ear, or one kidney. Everything has its meaning for this body. Similarly, all these four branches of yoga are important. You cannot say, "I am a Bhakti Yogī," or "I am a Karma Yogī," or "I am a Rāja or Jñāna Yogī." If you define yourself only as a particular yogī, then you are discriminating against yourself, and you have no knowledge. That is the big mistake most people make. "We are Jñāna Yogīs. We are not Bhakti Yogīs." Many people who read some books—Rāmaṇa Maharṣi speaks about Jñāna Yoga—and after reading his book they say, "Now we are Jñāna Yogīs." But look at the life of Maharṣi Rāmaṇa. He was a complete Bhakti Yogī. Complete. Complete surrender to God. And surrender to Karma Yoga. And tyāga—immense renunciation he had. You see how little dress he had on his body. Not that he couldn't afford it, but he renounced. In Europe, I saw many people, after reading Rāmaṇa Maharṣi's scriptures, climb to the top and say, "We are Jñānī Yogīs, and we know the Brahman." Then they are like a crow sitting on the peak of a church, very proud. Why? Because the crow is thinking all the people who are praying in the church are praying to me. But they are not praying to the crow. They are praying to Jesus, but that crow doesn't know. So these people in Europe, mostly, they become kind of atheists. They think they know everything now. And that is the biggest mistake they are making. Because when you know what Brahman is, then you will be the greatest Karma Yogī and Bhakti Yogī. You will be the greatest Rāja Yogī, but you don't know. You have merely read, and this intellectual reading has made you blind: not to believe anything, not to believe in photos, statues, no prayers. When you don't believe in photos, then why do you make a photo of yourself? You say everything is Brahman, everything is Nirākāra, formless. Then why do you eat bread? That is physical. Just say, "I am eating bread," that is all, thinking. How many days will you just think, "I am eating mental food"? How long would you survive on a mental diet? So we have to use our logic. Faith, confidence. That confidence can melt rocks. And you should have that knowledge. So, Haṭha Yoga, practicing for our good health, is also part of yoga from these four parts. You cannot practice Haṭha Yoga without Bhakti Yoga, without Jñāna Yoga, without Rāja Yoga, and without Karma Yoga. Any kriyā of Haṭha Yoga you are doing, you are doing karma. And you must have knowledge of how to do it, so you are a Jñāna Yogī. And you must do it correctly, with discipline; you are a Rāja Yogī. And you must have love to do it; you should have the value for it to do it—you are a Bhakti Yogī. Even the Haṭha Yoga kriyās, āsanas, and prāṇāyāmas you cannot do without these four parts of yoga. Patañjali said that practitioners should have devotion to their practice; then they can be successful. Otherwise, merely from talking, your problem will not be solved. A very good mechanic, if he has no tools, cannot do anything. The best mechanic understands what the tools mean, and he or she loves the tools and keeps them very carefully. A musician who plays the sitar or guitar or any instrument keeps this instrument so carefully, like his own body. That is to understand what it is. That person comes through. Also, we should understand what our body means and what it means to keep our body healthy. We are not living only for ourselves; we are living for the entire planet. And our being on this planet should be beneficial to all—to the environment, to all creatures, and to humans. So, that is for us what yoga in daily life means. So, till today, what you have not achieved, the answer is clear. Because you have doubts, you have different moods, changing moods. You have anger, you have jealousy, you have selfishness, pride, and what not more. And that's the answer to our own situation. So many, many things we have to change in our life. Then we will be successful. So tomorrow we will again have a nice day, nice practices, and don't make any excuses. You must come to the practice. Why did you come here to Strelka? You drove so many hundreds of kilometers. And you don't come to practice. It's a pity. A thirsty person goes to the water fountain and, without drinking, comes back. So, what was the sense in going to the water fountain? You are here to do and get something. So, don't make excuses that you're tired, that you can practice meditation in your room. To practice in the room and to practice here with your brothers and sisters is a big difference. When you think like this, it's again your pride, again your blindness. That's it. So, yoga in daily life means, again, to find out your own qualities, your behaviors towards yourself first. The answer, you know already now. I don't force you to tell me. So you know very well. In German they say "Sie, heilig." That's it. So we are so many sitting here with "Sie, heilig." What is it in English? Hypocrite. Hypocrite. That's it. At least I wish you good night. Even in a dream, don't think "sing highly." Even in the dream, many are dreaming at night and playing perfect: "I'm the best yoga teacher. I am the best yoga instructor, so many people lie down in front of me and I am teaching. And so many admire my classes." It must be very nice. A man died, unfortunately. I don't want to tell the name. He said, "Swāmījī, when I was young, I was a professor of sports in the physical field, you know, and had good muscles and was a beautiful-looking man." He had good muscles and was a good man. And he was very disciplined in his exercises. And when he was 70 or 80 years old, he fell into depression. He wanted to consult me, and he said, "When I was young, at my age, there were so many respected people. I teach now too. Only a few of them come now, and they don't respect anyone else." I said, "My dear, those were sweet dreams. And now we are where we should be. So, they don't admire you, your knowledge; they admired something different, but how long?" That's it. The most beautiful thing is knowledge. And knowledge comes where there is humbleness. When the rain falls, the water flows down to where it is low. It doesn't remain on the hilltop. Similarly, wisdom goes to that heart where there is humbleness. Wisdom doesn't remain on the mountain of the ego. Even in the dream, we should feel humbleness and devotion.

This text is transcribed and grammar corrected by AI. If in doubt what was actually said in the recording, use the transcript to double click the desired cue. This will position the recording in most cases just before the sentence is uttered.

The text contains hyperlinks in bold to three authoritative books on yoga, written by humans, to clarify the context of the lecture:

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