Page 68 - Failure to Triumph - Journey of A Student

Yoga is the unification of thoughts and actions. Yoga can give you
full control over a restless mind. A gyan yogi is one who follows the
path of knowledge. Gyana Yoga is “the realisation of a man's own

divinity through knowledge.” According to Swami Vivekanada, if one
decides to pursue knowledge, one “needs to have integrated the
lessons of the other yogic paths – for without selflessness [Karma
Yoga] and love of God [Bhakti Yoga], strength of body and mind
[Raja Yoga], the search for self-realization [Jnana Yoga] can become
mere idle speculation”

Karma Yoga is the yoga of rightful actions. The word ‘Karma’ comes

from the Sanskrit word ‘Kri’ which means ‘to do.’ A karma yogi is one
who acts in the rightful way. He believes in serving everyone and is
never bothered about the fruits of his actions. The father of our
nation, Mahatma Gandhi was a Karma Yogi. He devoted his entire
life to tirelessly serve the nation and its people. “The best way to find

yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others”, said Mahatma
Gandhi.

The first step to become a gyan-yogi, is to pursue knowledge in the
right direction. To become a gyan-yogi is a big achievement. A lot of
people do not get the necessary guidance and they end up investing
their time and energy in wrong directions. If you have to travel from

one city to another and you know the route very well, then you can
call yourself a gyan-yogi. This bit of knowledge will keep you from
going astray, but this in itself will not be enough to take you to the
destination. For that you will have to drive your vehicle (do the
action), which is a karma, and that is how you will become a karma-
yogi.

Many a time people question the effectiveness of motivation. What
you must understand is that motivation can be of different kinds. A
certain kind of motivation comes through your thought process
(where your positive thoughts persuade you to move ahead). You
can also get motivated by others’ words. You may have heard
someone talk and you liked it, thus you got motivated. If your

motivation is limited or restricted till here only then it is going to be