• The word Yoga derives from the ancient Sanscrit word "yug," which means unification. According to His Holiness Sri Swami Sivananda, founder of the Divine Life Society, yoga is the unification of the soul with the Divine Reality or the Supreme Soul. Yoga is a philosophy based upon the Laws of Nature that results in a state of absolute peace or enlightenment. Each tenet of yoga deals with a different aspect of mental and spiritual existence.
  
  

Raja Yoga

• Raja yoga deals strictly with the mind. Sivananda indicates that there are five states of mind, and the mind is usually running in many different directions at once. A yoga master, or Yogi, stills the thoughts to achieve a mentally silent, thoughtless state. The experience of Asamprajnata Samadhi, the highest superconscious state of oneness, can only be achieved when the mind is completely stilled.
  
  

Karma Yoga

• Karma Yoga is one of the four supporting practices dealing with the foundation of yoga, according to the Secrets of Yoga website. Karma itself is the concept that for every action a person takes, whether helpful or harmful, another action will occur that reflects the first. For example, a person who performs a simple kindness such as helping a person pick up their dropped packages will find themselves being helped in a similar fashion at a later date. Likewise, a person who practices cruelty or unkindness will be repaid with unkindness and cruelty. The Secrets of Yoga website explains that living by the laws of karma brings love and spirituality rather than the threat of punishment, and that practicing Karma yoga is a prerequisite to enlightenment.
  
  

Jnana Yoga

• Jnana or gyana yoga is based upon the exploration of the concept of truth. This practice is not based upon any particular set of religious beliefs or dogmas, but rather upon direct experience. The Yoga of Truth website explains that truth refers to consistent, unchanging, absolute fact. Some appearances contain aspects of truth, or partial truths, and personal experiences can contain truths, but people and appearances are constantly changing. Jnana yoga seeks the absolute essential truths about human experiences through meditation and deep thought.
  
  

Bhakti Yoga

• Sri Swami Sivananda explains that the word Bhakti comes from the word Bhaj, which means attachment to God. Devotees of Bhakti yoga are dedicated to God for the sake of love, rather than through selfish desires or out of a fear of punishment. According to Sivananda, this is not simply an emotional stage. It requires intense discipline and subjugation of the will. As the devotee grows in faith through the acts of singing praises, worship and constant focus upon the presence of God, he forgets his own ego and selfish desires and surrenders even his own existence to worship of the Lord.