The ultimate goal of all mankind, the aim and end of all religions, is but one –– re-union with God, or, what amounts to the same, with the divinity which is every man's true nature. But while the aim is one, the method of attaining varies with the different temperaments of men.
Both the goal and the methods employed for reaching it are called Yoga, a word derived from the same Sanskrit root as the English "yoke," meaning "to join," to join us to our reality, God. There are various such Yogas, or methods of union, but the chief ones are Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Raja Yoga, and Jnana Yoga.
Every man must develop according to his own nature. As every science has its methods, so has every religion. The methods of attaining the end of religion are called Yoga by us, and the different forms of Yoga that we teach are adapted to the different natures of men. We classify them in the following way, under four heads:
Karma Yoga–The manner in which a man realizes his own divinity through works and duty.
Bhakti Yoga–The realization of the divinity through devotion to, and love of, a Personal God.
Raja Yoga–The realization of the divinity through the control of mind.
Jnana Yoga–The realization of a man's own divinity through knowledge.
These are all different roads leading to the same center –– God. Indeed, the varieties of religious belief are an advantage, since all faiths are good, so far as they encourage man to lead a religious life. The more sects there are, the more opportunities there are for making successful appeals to the divine instinct in all men.
