(New Discoveries, Vol. 3, pp. 340-41.)
[New York Herald, January 19, 1896]
The following is a brief sketch of the Swami's fundamental teachings: (A summary of the Swami's teachings taken from what appears to be a written statement.)
Every man must develop according to his
own nature. As every science has its methods so has every religion.
Methods of attaining the end of our religion are called Yoga, and the
different forms of Yoga that we teach are adapted to the different
natures and temperaments of men. We classify them in the following way,
under four heads:
(1) Karma Yoga — The manner in which a man realizes his own divinity
through works and duty.
(2) Bhakti Yoga — The realization of a divinity through devotion to and
love of a personal God.
(3) Rajah Yoga — The realization of divinity through control of mind.
(4) Gnana Yoga — The realization of man's own divinity through
knowledge.
These are all different roads leading to the same center — God. Indeed,
the varieties of religious belief are an advantage, since all faiths
are good, so far as they encourage man to religious life. The more
sects there are the more opportunities there are for making successful
appeals to the divine instinct in all men.