Yoga Research Foundation The Teachings of Sri Swami Jyotirmayananda

A free course by email

The Four Paths

A Course with Swami Jyotirmayananda

Swami Jyotirmayananda's teaching on the four paths of yoga, in his own words, one short lesson at a time.

Send me Lesson 1Free, by email
Four paths, one lamp at the center.
  1. Karma Yogathe path of actionLessons 4 to 6
  2. Bhakti Yogathe path of devotionLessons 7 to 10
  3. Raja Yogathe path of meditationLessons 11 to 14
  4. Jnana Yogathe path of wisdomLessons 15 to 18

What it does for you

Swamiji teaches that the personality has four sides: action, emotion, will and reason. Each path cultivates one of them, and the course covers all four, so none is left out.

  1. Karma Yogaaction unfolds one’s hidden potentialities
  2. Bhakti Yogaemotion cultures the feelings and brings about emotional integration in the personality
  3. Raja Yogawill allows one to develop a strong will and a controlled mind
  4. Jnana Yogareason trains and renders the reason sharp and subtle

In order to succeed, all these four must be cultivated in a balanced and integrated manner.

Swami Jyotirmayananda, The Four Paths, Lesson 3

It is free and comes by email: a lesson every other day, 19 core lessons on action, devotion, meditation and wisdom, then 10 lessons called Going Deeper.

Along the way it covers the philosophy of yoga and Vedanta, and the practice of meditation: concentration, meditation and samadhi in Raja Yoga, and the Vedantic practice of listening, reflection and meditation in Jnana Yoga.

New to the Sanskrit words? One Term at a Time defines them one by one, with a short film of Swamiji using each.

Begin The Four Paths

Start where your interest is. If you came for kundalini, mantra or kriya, choose it below and that lesson comes first. Then we return to the beginning, because a firm grounding in the fundamentals makes the advanced lessons far richer.

Where would you like to start?

Free. One lesson every other day. Unsubscribe whenever you wish.

Prefer to look first? Read Lesson 1.

The core course

19 lessons, about six weeks

  1. 1
    When Did Yoga Begin? (free to read now)
  2. 2
    The Classification of Yoga
  3. 3
    The Four Paths Together
  4. 4
    Life: Accidental or Controlled?
  5. 5
    The Practice of Karma Yoga
  6. 6
    The Peasant and His Two Daughters
  7. 7
    What Is Love?
  8. 8
    Different Types of Devotees
  9. 9
    The Five Attitudes of Bhakti
  10. 10
    Nine Methods for the Practice of Bhakti
  11. 11
    A Code of Ethics: Yamas and Niyamas
  12. 12
    A Healthy Body: Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara
  13. 13
    The Mind: Dharana, Dhyana, Samadhi
  14. 14
    Your Nature and Moods: the Gunas
  15. 15
    The Parable of the “Sheepish” Lion
  16. 16
    The Four Qualifications: Viveka, Vairagya, Shat-Sampat, Mumukshuttwa
  17. 17
    The Parable of the Three Questions
  18. 18
    The Practice of Vedanta
  19. 19
    Review of the Four Paths

Going Deeper

10 lessons, about three weeks

  1. 20
    Tantra: the Worship of God as Mother
  2. 21
    Kundalini: the Chakras of the Astral Body
  3. 22
    How to Awaken the Kundalini Shakti
  4. 23
    Mantra: Sounds, Their Meanings, and Om
  5. 24
    Making Your Mantra Effective; Mantra Initiation
  6. 25
    How to Repeat a Mantra, and Its Effects
  7. 26
    Hatha Yoga
  8. 27
    Kriya Yoga: Tapas, Swadhyaya, Ishwar-Pranidhan
  9. 28
    Nada Yoga and Shanmukhi Mudra
  10. 29
    Conclusion

Ready to begin?

Where would you like to start?

Free. One lesson every other day. Unsubscribe whenever you wish.

Prefer to look first? Read Lesson 1.