The Path of Jhana Yoga Maria Meacham I wish there were more than four technical paths to God under a Hinduistic belief. I do not see myself as a practicer of bhakti yoga, karma yoga, or raja yoga, and only by a series of elimination am I forced to say that the path of jhana yoga is the best fit for me. You see, I am in fact a very loving person, who works hard and participates in physical activities regularly, but those are not my means of mediation. Neither is studying textbooks, but the jhana yoga path to God is not so literal as to take a seat and start reading a dictionary like a romance novel. For me, jhana yoga is the moments after a dispute when I am reasoning a solution to it, or the brainstorming ways I could have done better. …show more content…
Now as I wouldn’t necessarily name myself a spiritual aspirant with mirror-like qualities, I can agree that a reoccuring theme in my thought process is self-reflection and hence, an awareness of how I not only affect situations but how those instances affect me, and the overall purpose, or “bigger picture” so to say. An awareness like this can begin with the first step towards God for jhana yogis, learning. In Smith’s book, the general first step would look more like a yogi seeing that her Being is actually in fact her own essential being by listening and reading relevant texts, but I have simplified it into a format that better fits my lifestyle. An instance that comes to mind when I look back on times I’ve used this process, is usually during a car ride. I drive a lot, and that leaves me much time to replay arguments I have had with someone close to me. I always have this guilt hanging over me after a dispute, even if it was not my fault. This, I believe, is the effect of realization of the other person’s point of view and the urge to be a better person. The yogi meeting her Being, and I learning the dynamics of the fight, lead to the next step in this technique of knowledge,