The baggage of subconscious impressions ( sanskaras) accumulated over time is the aberration that prevents a person on the spiritual path from reaching the desired state. If one can find a way to rid themselves of this baggage, they would succeed in their spiritual endeavor. Truth, bliss, and light exist in each of us. But the clouds of subconscious impressions resulting from our past actions and thoughts smother it, like the sparkle of a precious diamond completely smothered and concealed by the trash that overlies it. As the concealing material gradually clears, the glitter of the diamond starts to shine through. The day the clouds of our subconscious impressions completely dissipate, we become fully accomplished, complete yogis. This is the desired state and the ultimate vision that one aims for in one’s spiritual pursuit.

Different types of yoga are nothing but pathways to help us get rid of these sanskaras that deprive us from experiencing internal joy and bliss. All of them aim at getting us to the same desired state. The practitioners of Hathayoga try to get there by Hatha techniques or physical actions ( karma). The ones who follow the path of devotion and worship (Bhakti yoga) try to get there by illuminating their hearts with worship and devotion. Those who follow the path of knowledge (Gyan yoga) utilize their intellect to mold themselves into the desired state. Unfortunately, none of these three groups fully succeed in reaching their target. This fact is probably going to be jarring to everyone, but it is the truth. First, let us talk about the Hathayogis who focus on physical actions (Karma). As these practitioners make progress, they acquire special abilities and powers to do extraordinary things. This invariably results in great pride and an inflated ego that brings about their downfall. Everyone who has reached their goal on this spiritual journey has only done so by nullifying their ego and surrendering themselves. Those with an inflated ego, and belief that they are powerful and accomplished enough to get there on their own, never get there.

The shortcoming of the practitioners who follow the path of devotion and worship is that they get entirely fixated on the physical form of the one they are devoted to and spend their entire life, focussed only on the external physical components of devotion and worship. The subtle, more profound, and uplifting internal component of devotion fails to capture their attention. As a result, they cannot progress past the realm of the body (annamaya kosh) and the realm of the energy (pranmaya kosh).

People who try to mold themselves into the desired state solely based on knowledge, or the followers of the Gyan yoga also do not find it easy. The reason is that although they can acquire the knowledge of what they need to do and what needs to happen, they are generally unable to lift themselves to actually experience those states themselves . Therefore , they end up merely talking about knowledge without truly acquiring and living it. They set out to clear misconceptions but eventually end up getting more entangled in them.

Therefore people who follow the paths of action (Karma,Hatha Yoga), path of devotion and Worship (Bhakti yoga) and the path of knowledge (Gyan yoga) do not fully succeed if they follow these paths in isolation. The ultimate success on the path of spiritual progress only comes to people who follow an approach that represents a fusion of these three concepts of action ( karma) , devotion ( Bhakti ) and knowledge ( gyan).These are not separate from each other but are like three parts of the same body. Just like a body cannot thrive if one part becomes dysfunctional, success on the spiritual path will not happen unless actions, devotion and knowledge all work together to get us there.

Lord Krishna says in the Gita:

teṣhāṁ jñānī nitya-yukta eka-bhaktir viśhiṣhyate
priyo hi jñānino ’tyartham ahaṁ sa cha mama priyaḥ

“the one who is knowledgeable and has steadfast devotion, is the one who pleases me.”

Let us try to understand this further. Whatever bodily effort and discipline it takes for us to become steadfastly devoted, constitutes action (Karma). Therefore the Union of steadfast devotion with knowledge described in Gita is actually a call for a unified approach incorporating action, devotion, and knowledge.

It is essential to understand that whatever we accomplish utilizing our physical body and external senses constitutes actions. Therefore the practice of various asanas, chanting, acts of charity etc , are all actions. It is also imperative to have a clear concept of the actions that constitute effective and meaningful worship (Upasana) that result in steadfast devotion. The Geeta and Upanishads both vividly elucidate this. Still, unfortunately, many who claim to have repeatedly gone through these texts fail to make this distinction and end up wasting considerable time on actions that do not help in their spiritual advancement in an efficient and meaningful way.
Action performed with the right mindset and thought process, so that one feels the presence of the one being worshipped next to them, is Upasana (meaningful worship). Getting to truly know Him over time, based on one’s experiences during meaningful worship (Upasana), constitutes knowledge. Therefore, contrary to what many believe, the paths of action (karma), worship (Bhakti), and knowledge (Gyan) are not three different paths, but represent a continuum with one leading to the other to get us to our desired goal.
Appropriately selected actions (Karma) lead to effective and meaningful worship (Upasana), Upasana over time builds knowledge, and this knowledge (Gyan) leads us to liberation.