The four yogic paths to evolution: What all dharma types can evolve towards
There can be four modes, four paths of yoga. Of achieving the highest union, the purpose of human life. That which should be the highest human endeavour, our highest aspiration. That which leads to the lustrous state of supra-cognition and supra-bliss.
To a life, a world free from suffering.
Yogic technology has designed four modes or ways to suit the four distinct dharma types. These four paths align with the qualities, the inclinations, the powers and strengths of each type. Since there are four fundamentally different type of people, there can be no ‘one’ true path even for Yogic union. This way the yogic technology is intelligent and flexible enough to serve individuals with different temperaments.
The Educator, the Warrior, the Merchant, the Labourer and the Outsider all have their own paths, and as the program of yoga unfolds in each type, their qualities overlap. When all types reach the peak of the yogic process, they imbibe strengths and qualities of all other types. Yogic peak is a universal state, same for all the types. A consummate yogi is an educator, warrior, merchant, labourer and outsider all at once.
Relativity of dharma-types ends in the objectivity of one kind of post-humanism.
What is most important to know is that these distinct modes of yoga are only pole positions or starting points of the process, depending on each one’s inclinations. Each Yoga style borrows from the other as the yogic process grows and consummates in the human system.
The four modes of observation for the Yogic process are:
a) Jnana yoga: The yoga of study, analysis and self-questioning.
For: The natural Educators/ Brahmins, the evolved Warriors/ Kshatriyas and the Outsider /Maleccha if he chooses the path.
It is the yoga of intense self study, of developing discretion or ‘viveka‘ by unlearning the wrong/ harmful and learning the correct laws of life. Cognitive renovation, one limb of the troika of the yogic process is integral to this path. This scientist must discover the laws of nature by study and debating, by questioning and meditating. New, fresh, correct cognitions must replace the older, wrong ones. This Yogi must align with the natural laws, with the absolute cognitions.
b) Raja yoga: The yoga of ‘tapas’; self control & meditation
For: The natural Warriors/Kshatriya, the evolved Educators/Brahmins and the Outsider/Maleccha if he so chooses.
It is the yoga of intense meditation, self control, outer and inner purification and austerities. The outer and inner purification, those of actions and thoughts are necessary to achieve high meditative states. Patanjali’s Yoga sutras outline the process of Raja Yoga in detail. Meditation, one limb of the troika of the yogic technology is essential for progress, and in fact is central to it. Sooner than later, all other yogic paths imbibe meditation for further progress.
c) Karma yoga: The yoga of selfless action, selfless service
For: The natural Merchants / Vaishyas, evolved Labourers / Shudra and the Outsider / Maleccha if he so chooses.
This is the yoga of dispassion, and unrelenting service. Action and service without attaching oneself, not expecting merit or reward. Action for the sake of action, service as a duty, and not as a transaction.
d) Bhakti-yoga: The yoga of devotion, love and service
For: The natural Labourer/Shudra, the evolved Merchants/ Vaishya and the Outsider/ Maleccha if he so chooses.
This is the yoga of emotional cleansing. Of surrender to the power of emotions, of surrender to overwhelm. The overwhelm of despair or the overwhelm of ecstatic celebration. Surrender to feeling. Emotional processing and cleansing is the main aspect of this mode of yoga.
As each dharma type walks on his yogic path, he imbibes the qualities of other types organically. You can see how this happens if you remember the three principles of of the Yoga. Remember how cognitive renovation urges emotional processing and deepens the states of meditation? Remember how constant emotional processing easily helps dismantle harmful idea to replace them with favourable, correct ones? Also how samskaras rise up for emotional cleansing with deepening meditation? The three principles of the yogic process work in tandem through the four different modes of yoga.
Not all people are emotional, but they need to be. Not everyone can change their thought processes easily but they must. Not all can meditate easily, but they need to learn. Not many are intellectuals, not all can naturally serve, not all can undertake severe austerities and exercise supreme self control.
Just like not all children can be good students, fascinating entertainers, great athletes and accomplished artists. Even among siblings, one goes to Harvard law, while the other wins an Olympic medal. One becomes a multimillionaire entrepreneur while the other a self-effacing social servant. We must realize that all of us cannot, and should not have the same paths, the same destinies. All of us have our individual roads to tread, our individual modes to pick, our individual yogic paths to walk on. Even though our eventual collective destiny may be common, the doorways, the staircases can be different. Everyone starts with the tools of the triad they are most comfortable with, embarks on the path most natural to them. In time though, the rigidly intellectual, non-emotional yogi surrenders to devotion while the devotee begins to meditate and study. They learn about each type, naturally, organically, until they culminate into all of them, an organic whole. A post human, a supra-yogi.
Clash of the dharma types : An example
In the theatrical fights and standoffs between science, religion and atheism today, we actually see the different qualities of distinct dharma types, which have devolved, at play. If they evolve, they would understand each other and reach a solution at a higher level. Solutions rarely arise at the level of the problems.
For the devoted believer who is a labourer type, devotion and love are enough reward in themselves for their belief. They being these supreme, crowning jewels of their personalities into the arena to participate in the fights over God. However this labourer who has devolved into an educator is also close-minded. The logic and critical thinking others apply to his God does not impress him enough to give up his loyalty and devotion. Not that he is necessarily stupid, but loyalty and devotion are more important to them than logic. This makes them narrow minded and parochial. This is the fundamentalist preacher, a labourer who devolved into an educator. In truth, he has no business teaching, but he should serve and build communities. He must take the path of bhakti-yoga which begins with devotion and surrender. When he progresses on the Yogic path he might then see the scientists’ point of view and agree.
On the other end we have the scientists and atheists who do not understand devotion to what they cannot see, they would rather spend time proving the existence of everything, God included. This is the educator who has devolved too because he is equally dogmatic in his approach, even if his dogma is the scientific kind. “I won’t believe it till I see it”, is a really bull-headed argument because there are many things you cannot see even when they exist. Can you see dark matter, neutrinos, strings of string theory? Maybe you will never be able to see them, the way cutting-edge science is progressing. Science is becoming post-empirical for those narrow-minded science fanatics who want to see everything to believe it. This post-empirical science does not need proof for validation, ask the pioneers. Empiricism itself is undergoing a change. This devolved educator must take the path of jnana- yoga because knowledge and critical thinking come easily to him. Maybe he needs to expand the scope of his experiments. As Yoga progresses in his system, he might become sympathetic to the devotion and surrender so characteristic of the labourer type. He might achieve what he is looking for, the empirical evidence he so assertively demands. He might achieve this through supra-cognition, at the acme of the yogic process. Neo-empirical evidence from supra-cognition.
This pseudo impasse, yes, that is what it is, between atheists and believers is just one problem the Yogic technology can solve. As a matter of fact, Yoga can be the answer to almost every problem that plagues human existence. Yoga will tell you, it will show you. Embark on the journey to know.
See it for yourself. You need not believe anyone. Blind faith is for the stupid. You need not depend on massive machines to experiment on unknowns of life. Make your own empirical tests to know. `Feel and know the evidence, all at once, by your own self.
Read more: Methodology of Yoga: How the yogic software unfolds.