Yoga, connecting with God

Yoga means connecting with God (Krishna) by focusing the mind on Him and learning to control the restless senses. By practicing yoga, one gradually becomes freed from attachment to material things. As attachment to matter diminishes, interest in pursuits based solely on the body fades, and one becomes interested in spiritual perfection.

If yoga is practiced to perfection, a person becomes completely happy even in this present life. After death, one attains an eternally blissful state known as liberation. Perfect yoga also means becoming free from the cycle of birth and death (see Karma and Reincarnation). One returns to the spiritual world to serve God in perfect purity.

The Ladder of Yoga

Yoga is practiced in different ways depending on one's level of spiritual advancement. This can be compared to a ladder leading to the highest spiritual realization. This ladder of yoga can be divided into three stages:

1. Karma-yoga
When a person understands that Krishna (the “All-Attractive One,” or God) is the goal of life, but still desires material comfort, that person is practicing karma-yoga.

2. Jnana-yoga
When a person knows that Krishna is the goal of life, but mainly enjoys philosophizing and reflecting upon spiritual knowledge, that person is practicing jnana-yoga.

3. Bhakti-yoga
When a person knows that Krishna is the goal of life and is no longer attached to worldly things, whether gross or subtle, that person desires only to please Krishna through his or her activities. This is called bhakti-yoga and is considered the highest perfection of the yoga system.

To practice yoga successfully, a considerable degree of self-discipline is required (see Lifestyle [LINK]). The form of yoga practiced by Hare Krishna devotees is called *bhakti-yoga*: the yoga of devotion.

In the Bhagavad-gita, Krishna Himself describes this process of yoga:

“These great souls worship Me constantly with devotion. They always glorify Me, endeavor with great determination, and bow down before Me.”

Thus, in the practice of bhakti-yoga, or Krishna consciousness, God is glorified.