The Four Yogas: A Guide to the Spiritual Paths of Action, Devotion, Meditation and Knowledge

by Adiswarananda

Choose the Yoga path that best suits you, and you choose the way to know God. The philosophy of Yoga tells us that the root cause of our sorrows and suffering is loss of contact with our true Self. Our recovery is only possible by reestablishing contact with our innermost Self, the Reality of all realities, and by recognizing that knowledge of Self is our salvation. In this comprehensive guide, Swami Adiswarananda introduces the four spiritual paths of Yoga―Karma-Yoga, Bhakti-Yoga, Raja-Yoga and Jnana-Yoga―and what you can expect as an aspirant on each path. Covering the message and practice of each of the Yogas as well as philosophy and psychology, preparatory practices, common obstacles and ways to overcome them, this accessible book will prove invaluable to anyone wishing to follow a Yoga practice in order to realize the goal of Self-knowledge.

Genres: Religion, Nonfiction

314 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Abhi Yerra · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Four Yogas divides the four Yogas of Karma (Action), Raja (Meditation), Bhakti (Devotion), and Jnana (Knowledge). While the ideal is that any one path taken leads to the same goal each path has its own set of practices and obstacles that Swami Adiswarananda covers thoroughly.

While we may be driven by any of the particular path the other three should always be there to support the path taken. Unfortunately, this book does no synthesis on how to combine the different paths together and I am assuming this is because it is a personal choice.

One thing that is common in every path is the need for meditation. The object of meditation may differ but each path basically seems to need the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali as a framework for meditation. The Jnana path seems to my amateur mind indistinguishable from Vipassana meditation of Buddhism though with a focus on knowledge instead of experiencing of non-self.

Anyways, the book was a good synthesis of the four yogas but it does require some background before reading as it is definitely not written for someone who has not read the Four Yogas of Vivekananda.

[Kelsey Mhyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful and very in-depth. This book goes through the four spiritual paths of yoga - Karma, Bhakti, Raja, and Jnana. I recommend this book for anyone who is into the practice of Hatha yoga, meditation, Vedanta, and spirituality in general. Thank you Swami Adiswarananda 🙏

[Devika Koppikar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent study on the philosophy of the Hindu religion.

I've enjoyed it so far. But it is very detailed and scholarly. At the same time, Swami Adiswarananda's language is concise, to the point, and easy to understand. It's just the amount of information that requires more careful concentration.

I am returning it to the library, however, because it is coming due and I want to wait until I can devote more time to this study.

[रोहन आचार्य]

5/5