As we have seen that there are two major paths for spiritual Sadhana to achieve Moksha or deliverance. They are Karma & Samkhya. These are divided or branched out into many streams. In the  following passages, we are going to be familiar with such  different paths of Sadhana.

There are four main sub categories next to the above mentioned major paths. They are as follows

1. Jnyana 2. Bhakti 3. Yoga & Tantra 4. Karma.

Overall Idea of Spiritual Experience

Before dwelling deeper into these concepts, we would like to recall the process of spiritual experience.  With the help of Sadhana, we in general stress some of our inner content. That might be physical, mental or psychological. With persistence on the path, the devotee will start getting some feedback from those areas via  external senses,  internal  senses or mind.  As you walk on your path further ,you will start getting experience related to mind, intellect and your awareness. This is the process of spiritual experience, told in short. The devotee follows one or more paths as per his old Sanskaras or his likings.

Also we are familiar that there are four types of people who approach God. and they are as follows 1.Aarta 2. Jigyasu 3. Bhakt and 4. Jnyani. 

Now we will consider the first path, that is Jnyana.

Jnyana Yoga

As we have discussed earlier, in the beginning jnyana is a karmayog.  The main instrument you utilize in this yoga is your buddhi or intellect. You apply your intellect to different revelations as postulated by your Guru or saints or scriptural truths like Mahavakyas. So what you do essentially is vicharasadhana or Sadhana of thoughts. During this process, all old Sanskars get replaced with these thoughts gradually and spiritual experience is the outcome of these thoughts and in this way experience is gained via Vicharasadhana. This experience further imparts knowledge on devotee. Devotees who can easily follow this path are jnyanayogis. But jigyasu and bhaktas, over the period of time, upgrade themselves into Jnyanayoga after getting consequent experience in their paths.

Karma Yoga

Karma is divided into sakam Karma and nishkaam Karma. Out of this, nishkam Karma is only called as karmayoga. Literal meaning of sakam is ‘with desires’ and that of nishkaam is ‘without desires’. There are three ways that Karma is being done via 5 karmendriyas. Karma means action.  And three ways of Karma are 1. action via Limbs mainly performed by body 2. action via mind. Thought itself is called Karma. 3. action via speech. If you perform action without any desire then automatically the doer of the action gets neglected, annhilited, that’s ego inside of your mind gets depleted gradually and this process itself will cause laya or dissolution of your false idea of ego.& via this experience, knowledge is imparted on Karmayogi. 

Bhakti Yoga

Bhakti is yoga of remembrance. By different techniques, the vicinity of God is always experienced. That method or technique may be a Mantra or Naamjapa given by Guru or any temple or Murthy -Vigrah – Statue of some deity or any natural environment or any thought. Literally it could be anything that makes devotee feel the presence of God. Here direct laya is observed, also called as Manolaya. Because in this case, you are almost devoted to your God without any condition through your deeds, your thoughts and action. In Karmayoga, yogi strive to do the karma desirelessly. In bhakti yoga, yogi does it for benefitting the presence of God. On vanishing self identification with the sense of doing any activity, gradually Karmayogi may transform himself into Bhakta. Only Bhakti alone is capable of delivering moksha but the devotees following the path of Karma & jnana And devotees belonging the category of Aarta and Jnani find this practice supportive.

Yoga & Tantra

Yoga &Tantra utilize different aspects of nature controlling or affecting the nature of an individual.  So naturally there are many substreams to yoga and tantra- for example Rajyog, Ashtanga Yoga, Mantra yoga, Kundalini yoga, Kriya yoga – all belong to this category .Tantra literally means technique so this method employees different techniques sequentially and sadhak get to know gradual transformation due to this series of techniques. Here also by pressing some of the elements of your individuality like body, mind,  or any psychological trait – bhava, experience is gained and through this experience Manolaya happens and thus presents the nature of reality to the devotee.  For a rational mind it exhibits perfect cause and effect principle so far jigyasu and jnani devotee this path is very much practical.

About the ways available to get deliverance Maharshi Patanjali says 

जन्मौषधिमन्त्रतपः समाधिजाः सिद्धयः।।

ie by birth, or way of Medicines, Mantra, Tapa, or Samadhi leads to accomplishment (of moksha).

These ways considered by Maharshi Patanjali come under Yoga Tantra.

There might be other ways which I have not mentioned in this essay, but those ways will also come under the above categories. I hope this clears many of the doubts a beginner faces to understand different paths available for Moksha and to synthesize them.a