For many of us who are aspirants on the path of self realization – Sanatana Dharma (aka Hinduism) can be confusing as it provides a ‘library of books’ (Swami Chinmayananda) and a multitude of paths as compared with other religions that have a single book and a prescribed single path.

We spend an entire lifetime listening to our Guru’s, puzzling over our choices – is Karma Yoga (the path of Action without worrying about the fruits of action) suitable for me? Should I be an adherent of Bhakti Yoga (the path of love and complete surrender to the Higher Spirit) – which certain sects claim is the ONLY path. Or since I am an intellectual – should I embark on the path of Jnana Yoga (self-realization through knowledge or reasoning). Or is it Hatha Yoga, or Kriya Yoga or the myriads of Yogas (89 or so – Swami Chinmayananda) available to us. Confusion ensues, we are frozen by doubt and just like Arjuna in the Mahabharata we do not act.

This blog is centered around a simple thought, rather than spending a lifetime wondering about which path to follow – try them all – a little bit of each and the path that is most suitable for you will become self-evident. Just do it!! Act!!

Don’t take it from me, here are the words from realized souls that will back up this idea. The central idea came from Swami Sarvapriyananda (a brilliant Swami of the Ramakrishna order) in his Youtube talk – fast forward to 7 mins 48 seconds for the start of the question (or 13:05 if you are impatient and only want the answer): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nrlQxDmK_4&t=3271s

In his commentary on the Bhagavad Gita Adi Shankaracharya says (English translation):

But the truth is this: Devotion to action is a means to the end, not directly, but only as leading to devotion to knowledge

In his commentary on the Bhagavad Gita Chapter 3 Verse 3 – Arjuna asks Sri Krishna to tell him if the path of action (Karma Yoga) or the path of renunciation (Sanyasa Yoga) is better. Here is a wonderful explanation from Swami Chinmayananda who confirms the ideal expounded by Adi Sankara:

To consider the ‘Path of Action’ (Karma Yoga) and the ‘Path of Knowledge’ (Jnana Yoga) a competitive is to understand neither of them. They being complementary are to be practiced SERIALLY one after the other. Selfless activity gives a chance to the mind to exhaust many of its existing mental impressions. Thus purified, the mind gains such a flight and ethereal poise that it can steadily soar into the subtlest realms of meditation, and finally come to gain the experience of the transcendental Absolute.

So in closing, here is the prescription: Action! Meditate for a few minutes each day, join the Bhajans for a taste of Bhakti Yoga, take the Northwest Harvest seva opportunities for Karma Yoga, join the discussion class to add to your knowledge. Do it all – just do it!!