IN Hinduism, there is a free will. Everyone has the opportunity to choose the path that suits them or the easiest path for them that will lead them to liberation. Hinduism does not advocate to its followers that if they do not accept a particular creed they are doomed. It doesn’t say that if its followers don’t accept a particular belief they will be perished or perhaps they will not be allowed to continue their practices of the religion. Every man has different capacities, tendencies and aptitudes, and as such Hinduism as taught by its Rishis of ancient India, caters for people of all temperaments. Hindu Sages were very wise and most realistic. They were aware that since the likeness and temperaments of people differs, no one method for God’s Realisation or Liberation could suit everybody alike. Therefore, they arranged Yoga(paths for God’s Realisation) into four basic varieties suitable to all people of different temperaments.
Editor, before I proceed further to talk of the four Paths of God’s Realisation, permit me to define the term ‘Yoga’. Yoga is sometimes used to signify the practical side of religion. It is indeed, the path of blissful living. The nearest equivalent of Yoga in English is ‘yoke’, or union, bringing together, which derived from the Sanskrit root ‘yuj’. Yoga, therefore, is the union with one-self, with all living beings, and with the Supreme Being. Yoga means yoking of all powers of the body, mind and soul to God. It stands for disciplining of the intellect, mind, emotions and the will. It means a conscious attempt to lift one’s personality and attune it to a higher, perfect ideal.
Yoga is not only a science of unlimited spiritual value, but also the art of perfect living. It offers the techniques for stilling the mind, and for harnessing the physical, mental and spiritual energies of man. Yoga is an exact science that guarantees result if sincerely practiced. The practice of Yoga leads to communion with God.
The Human Being is basically classified under four psychological types, their general characteristics and sources of inspiration being:
(1) The emotional or loving type which has great capacity for feelings; Bhakti Yoga is suited for this type. This is the called the Path of Devotion. Followers of this path seek God’s Realization through Devotion.
(2) The active or working type; Karma Yoga is suited for this type. This is known as the Path of Action, where its followers seek to become one with God through selfless actions.
(3) The discriminating, reasoning and enquiring type. A philosophical mind responds quickly to this kind. Jnana Yoga is most suited for this type. This is recognized as the Path of Knowledge. Followers of this Path unite with God through Divine Knowledge.
(4) The psychic or the mystic type, which responds to mental stimuli than to sense stimuli; Raj Yoga is suited for this type.