The Equinox (Volume I, Number IV)

THE EQUINOX 4. Hatha Yoga. Union by Courage. 5. Mantra Yoga. Union through Speech. 6. Karma Yoga. Union through Work.* The two chief of these six methods according to the Bhagavad-Gita are: Yoga by Saiikhya (Raja Yoga), and Yoga by Action (Karma Yoga). But the difference between these two is to be found in their form rather than in their substance; for, as Krishna himself says: Renunciation (Raja Yoga) and Yoga by action (Karma Yoga) both lead to the highest bliss; of the two, Yoga by action is verily better than renunciation by action . . . Children, not Sages, speak of the Safikhya and the Yoga as different; he who is duly established in one obtaineth the fruits of both. That place which is gained by the Safikhyas is reached by the Yogis also. He seeth, who seeth that the Safikhya and the Yoga are one.t Or, in other words, he who understands the equilibrium of action and renunciation (of addition and subtraction) is as he who perceives that in truth the circle is the line, the end the beginning. To show how extraordinarily closely allied are the methods of Yoga to those of Magic, we will quote the following three verses from the Bhagavad-Gita, which, with advantage, the reader may compare with the citations already made from the works of Abramelin and Eliphas Levi. When the mind, bewildered by the Scriptures (Shruti), shall stand immov- able, fixed in contemplation (Samadhi), then shalt thou attain to Yoga.t Whatsoever thou doest, whatsoever thou eatest, whatsoever thou offerest, * Besides these, there are several lesser known Yogas, for the most part variant of the above such as: Ashtanga, Laya, and Taraka, See “ Hatha-Yoga Pradipika,” p. iii. + The “ Bhagavad-Gita.” Fifth Discourse, 2-5. } Ibid. Second Discourse, 53. 66