Jnana Yoga focuses on recognizing the relationship of our individual soul with God through proper understanding and introspection. Assuming that the individual soul and God (Brahman) are indistinguishable (non-duality; advaita model of life), the aim of Jnana Yoga becomes—realizing that we are God. This concept is also termed as “realizing the self” in many communications, where the individual soul, devoid of any ignorance, is referred to as the “self.” It is intended for people who desire to know God or experience oneness with him rather than to love him and reach him. Because a firm balance and purity of mind is required, meditation is often used as a tool in Jnana Yoga. All duality has to be renounced in the process of removing illusion to experience God. At this stage, all the unreal stuff (the universe) vanishes and we become Brahman ourselves.

Jnana Yoga is not about memorizing theoretical concepts or a philosophical model of non-dualism or believing in it; it is about verifying the material from within. Our self is supposed to reply back in response to our introspection. We should be careful about separating Jnana Yoga from jnana. While spiritual knowledge (jnana) can be one of the highest gifts to humanity, this should not imply that jnana-yoga is the only path for achieving jnana. Lives of saints demonstrate that all routes lead to similar spiritual knowledge naturally irrespective of the path saints begin with.

Excerpted from Devotional Hinduism by M.S. Goel (2008), p. 10.

Bhakti Yoga is about surrendering the self to God through love and remembrance. It is based on the belief that God accepts whatever is offered with love, whether it is a meal, a piece of clothing, a chant (mantra), a thought, or the soul (jiva). More commonly, it involves love towards a personal form of God. Once a seeker falls in love, which has an exceptional potential to transform, all types of attachments and desires vanish; ego and all associated impurities evaporate on their own. All philosophical concepts become secondary for the devotees who learn to surrender everything, including their path, to God.

Devotees who are submerged in the love of God never expect anything higher than love in return because for them, nothing higher exists. God takes care of the seekers who expect his care. Furthermore, once we develop or are awarded bhakti (love of God) by him, we are all set in our path towards God with such a momentum that we become unstoppable; we become destined for realization and knowledge. The greatest advantage from the devotees’ point of view is that travel itself on this route to God is blissful. The quality and number of saints it has given India shows that it has had the highest success rate in the last few hundred years.

Excerpted from Devotional Hinduism by M.S. Goel (2008), p. 10.

Karma Yoga is about altering our attitude towards work in such a manner that all our actions start leading us to God. Whether we earn for our family, engage in non-profit organizations, or are a homemaker, Karma Yoga teaches us how to gain spiritual advancement from every action. And the procedure to concurrently get in touch with divinity while working is simple: we have to give up our affection to profits or favorable results. … For believers in the laws of karma, attachment to results is worth being sacrificed as we do not have any control over the results of our actions anyway—only God does.

Whenever we are placed in a set of circumstances, we only have the freedom to make a decision and perform an action, but we do not enjoy the right to its results (2: 47). While God gives us fruits according to our own actions of the past, he expects us not to get involved in or attached to the results so that we can reach the spiritual plane where actions do not cause binding to the world anymore. Surrendering or leaving the outcome of our actions to God by not being attached to the outcome is termed as Karma Yoga.

Excerpted from Devotional Hinduism by M.S. Goel (2008), p. 9.