Types Of Yoga

There are 4 types of yoga:-
1)Bhakti Yoga (Deals with Emotions,Devotion)
2)Hatha Yoga (Deals with Breath Control) , Also know as Meditation or Dhyan Yoga
4)Gyan Yoga    (Deals with Spiritual Knowledge)
4)Karma Yoga  (Deals with Our daily activities)

1)In Bhakti Yoga:- Enlightenment/Salvation/Liberation is achieved by channelizing emotion towards God.

Note:- God with Personality/Attributes, because emotion and devotion cannot be reflected towards impersonal God or anything.
Example:- have you ever fallen in love with air,dirt or sky? Answer: Never, we have no emotional attachment towards impersonal elements.

So how can one love impersonal, invisible, unapproachable God?
Just shouting I love God  I love God, doesn't mean anything!

Therefore Practitioners of "Bhakti Yoga" Path worship deity/idol. Directing their emotion,feelings,devotion towards Personal God (Particular Deity).

2) In Hatha Yoga (Meditation):- Enlightenment/Salvation/Liberation  is achieved by "Breath Control" Practice that leads to Awakening of Kundalini energy from Muladhar to Sahasra. (As we know that there are seven Chakra in Human body.)

Practitioners of this path are generally Lifelong celibate. They live in seclusion away from society (In jungle, Mountains, secluded place).

Practitioner of this "Hatha Yoga" path is not required to worship God or believe in any kind of God (whether Personal or Impersonal God).

It is entirely based on self experience. So Anyone can practice it irrespective of religious tag, even Athiest.
Because "Breath Control exercise"has nothing to do with whether God exist or not!

3)In Gyan Yoga:-
Enlightenment /salvation /Liberation is achieved buy contemplating on the thought that "I am soul and I am not this body. Whatever we see in existence is Manifestation of 5 elements of Nature. Everything is temporary."

Practitioners of Gyan yoga path Continuously reflect upon reality of life,soul, matter, animate & inanimate elements. They study scriptures like Upnishads,Veda in depth.

""Practitioners of This Path know very well that Any Material Object is not desired by Atma(Soul). The Self(Soul) does not perform any activity nor is influenced by them. The self(Soul) is aloof from happiness, sorrow, pious, impious, religion, beliefs, thoughts, Knowledge,Everything."

Even Knowledge/Concepts/Thoery is Not desired by  Atma(Soul)

Living life with this consciousness leads to liberation.


4)In Karma Yoga:- Enlightenment/salvation/ liberation is achieved by bringing perfection in Activities, Lifestyle, Behaviour, Speech.
 In Nutshell, Becoming Ideal Human Being in society and living completely in tune with nature.
Example- As per scriptures, A king named Janak, achieved liberation simply by performing his Administrative duties honestly with Compassion.

Practitioners of this Path are generally householders who is living family life or social life.

Nine Types Of Bhakti Yoga

The Nine Limbs of Devotion 

1. Shravana – “listening” to the ancient scriptures, especially potent if told by a saint or genuine bhakta.

 2. Kirtana – “singing” devotional songs, usually practiced in a call-and-response group format. 

3. Smarana – “remembering” the Divine by constantly meditating upon its name and form.

4. Padasevana – “service at the feet” of the Divine, which incorporates the practice of karma yoga (selfless service) with bhakti (devotion). 

5. Archana – the “ritual worship” of the Divine through practices such as puja (deity worship), and havan or homa (fire offering). 

6. Vandana – the “prostration” before the image of one’s chosen image or representation of the Divine. 

7. Dasya – the “unquestioning” devotion of the Divine involving the cultivation of serving the will of God instead of one’s own ego. 

8. Sakhya – the “friendship” and relationship established between the Divine and the devotee.

9. Atma nivedana – the “self-offering” and complete surrender of the self to the Divine.

The most popular limb of Bhakti Yoga in the West is Kirtana (usually called Kirtan), with national and local Kirtan wala performing weekly in small to large cities. Bhakti Yoga can be practiced by itself or be integrated into other types of yoga or spiritual practices.

The benefits of Bhakti Yoga are immense, as Swami Sivananda writes, “Bhakti softens the heart and removes jealousy, hatred, lust, anger, egoism, pride and arrogance. It infuses joy, divine ecstasy, bliss, peace and knowledge. All cares, worries and anxieties, fears, mental torments and tribulations entirely vanish. The devotee is freed from the Samsaric wheel of births and deaths. He attains the immortal abode of everlasting peace, bliss and knowledge”.

The ultimate goal in the practice of Bhakti yoga is to reach the state of rasa (essence), a feeling of pure bliss achieved in the devotional surrender to the Divine.

Bhakti Yoga

Bhakti Yoga: is one of the four main yogic paths to enlightenment. Bhakti means “devotion” or “love” and this path contains various practices to unite the bhakta (Bhakti Yoga practitioner) with the Divine.Bhakti Yoga is considered the easiest yogic path to master and the most direct method to experience the unity of mind, body and spirit. While Hatha Yoga requires a strong and flexible body, Raja Yoga requires a disciplined and concentrated mind, and Jnana Yoga requires a keen intellect, the only requirement for Bhakti Yoga is an open, loving heart. But Bhakti Yoga complements other paths of yoga well, and it is said that jnana (knowledge or wisdom) will dawn by itself when you engage in the devotional practices of Bhakti Yoga.

This deeply spiritual practice draws heavily on the Hindu pantheon of deities. Each of these deities is seen as representing a humanized aspect of the single Godhead or Brahman – much the same way the Christian saints represent specific attributes and qualities of God. The use of Hindu deities in Bhakti Yoga can be a large obstacle for Western practitioners, especially for those with a deeply religious background. But the use of the Hindu deities is not required for this practice – in fact, finding your own object(s) of devotion will be all the more effective in achieving yoga (union) with the Divine.

There are nine main practices of Bhakti Yoga that can be practiced independently or together. Each of these limbs creates a specific bhava (feeling) that appeals to different inner constitutions of practitioners.