The Scripture of Yoga - Bhagavad Gita

The Gita addresses the discord between the senses and the intuition of cosmic order. It speaks of the Yoga of equanimity, a detached outlook. The term Yoga covers a wide range of meanings, but in the context of the Bhagavad Gita, describes a unified outlook, serenity of mind, skill in action, and the ability to stay attuned to the glory of the Self (Atman), and the Supreme Being (Bhagavan). According to Krishna, the root of all suffering and discord is the agitation of the mind caused by selfish desire. The only way to douse the flame of desire is by simultaneously stilling the mind through self discipline and engaging oneself in a higher form of activity.

However, abstinence from action is regarded as being just as detrimental as extreme indulgence. According to the Bhagavad Gita, the goal of life is to free the mind and intellect from their complexities, and to focus them on the glory of the Self, by dedicating one's actions to the divine. This goal can be achieved through the Yogas of meditation, action, devotion and knowledge. In the sixth chapter, Krishna describes the best Yogi as one who constantly meditates upon himself (which is taken to mean either Krishna directly, or Brahman). The Gita is unique amongst many world scriptures in that it lends its authority to the understanding of God as both a personal, more theistic conception as well as an impersonal, causal entity without form (whose primary attributes are truth, consciousness, and bliss without any kind of limiting personality).

Krishna summarizes the Yogas through eighteen chapters. There are four kinds of Yoga:

• Bhakti Yoga or Devotion,
• Karma Yoga or Selfless Action
• Jnana Yoga or Self Transcending Knowledge
• Dhyana Yoga or Psycho-Physical Meditation

While each path differs, their fundamental goal is the same - to realize Brahman (the Divine Essence) as being the ultimate truth upon which our material universe rests, that the body is temporal, and that the Supreme Soul (Paramatman) is infinite. Yoga's aim (moksha) is to escape from the cycle of reincarnation through realization of the ultimate reality.

Read English Translation of Bhagavad Gita