the Equinox - The Hermetic Library

66
THE EQUINOX
4. Hatha Yoga. Union by Courage.
5. Mantra Yoga. Union though Speech.
6. Karma Yoga. Union though Work.*
The two chief of these six methods according to the
Bhagavad-Gîta are: Yoga by Sâñkhya (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 Sâñkhya and the Yoga as
different; he who is duly established in one obtaineth the fruits of both. That
place which is gained by the Sâñkhya is reached by the Yogis also. He seeth,
who seeth that the Sâñkhya and the Yoga are one.†
Or, in other words, he who understand 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 Bhagavid-Gîta, 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 immovable,
fixed in contemplation (Samâdhi), then shalt thou attain to Yoga.‡
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: Ashtânga, Laya, and Târaka. See “Hatha-Yoga
Pradipika,” p. iii.
† The “Bhagavad-Gita.” Fifth Discourse, 2-5.
‡ Ibid. Second Discouse, 53.