Urban Monk: Exploring Karma, Consciousness, and the Divine

by Gadadhara Pandit Dasa

I learned that the Gita is divided up into three sections of six chapters each – Karma (work) yoga, Bhakti (devotion) yoga, and Jnana (knowledge) yoga. I was surprised to learn that none of these three types of yoga had anything to do with the physical postures. The word yoga is derived from the Sanskrit “yuj,” which means to yoke, unite, or join. In a spiritual context, the word yoga means to unite the soul with God; thus, the three types of yoga mentioned in the Gita are three ways through which one can reach a union with Krishna, the speaker of the Gita. Chapter six of the Gita explains: A person is said to be elevated in yoga when, having renounced all material desires, he neither acts for sense gratification nor engages in fruitive activities. For one whose mind is unbridled, self-realization is difficult work. But he whose mind is controlled and who strives by appropriate means is assured of success. That is My opinion. The ancient histories are full of narratives in which individuals of all walks of life engage in physical yoga practice combined with breathing techniques to eventually pacify the mind so that it could meditate on God.