1 Gita Sloka Every Day - Chapter 13 - Kshetra Kshetrajna Yoga - Sloka 25

The entire content of this mail is from Swami Adidevananda's translation of Ramanuja's  Gita  Bhashya and Swami Chidbhavananda's Bhagavad Gita, both published by Ramakrishna Mission

The four yogas 24-25

1 Gita Sloka  Every Day - Chapter 13 - Kshetra Kshetrajna Yoga - Sloka 25

Anye tu evam agya janantah shrutva anyebhyah upasate I

Te api cha ati taranti eva mrutyum shruti parayanah II sloka 25

अन्ये तु एवं अज्ञ जानन्तः श्रुत्वा अन्येभ्यः उपासते I

ते अपि च अति तरन्ति एव मृत्युं श्रुति परायणः II श्लोक 25 

Still others, not  knowing thus, worship as they have heard from others; they too go beyond death by ttheir devotion to what they have heard.

Among the four yogas, Bhakthi yoga is the easiest. Scriptural knowledge and keen discrimination  are not necessarily auxillaries to this all-absorbing path. The gopis of Brundavan were uneducated and  devoid of intellectual equipment. Still, through pure devotion they made the Lord  of the universe their own. But if the learning and wisdom can be properly utilised  and if pure devotion is also side by side developed, progress in spirituality becomes easier still. 

Devotion to the Lord can be compared to a ferocious tiger. As the latter destroys the cattle, the former destroys lust, greed and such like enemies to man. If Bhakthi comes up, but once, there is no more fear of being disturbed by lust and anger which will be all exterminated from the mind. The gopis of Brundavan were free from these taints because of their extraordinary love of the boy Krishna. 

The Karma yoga, the Raja Yoga, Bhakthi Yoga and the Jnana Yoga - all these four yogas are given equal status and importance in the Bhagavad Gita. Any one of these four great paths is sufficient to lead the sadhaka to perfection. Still, the salutory course is to harmonise all the four paths. The karma yoga provides man with efficiency. The Raja yoga adds to the stamina of the mind. The Bhakthi Yoga unifies beings in sweet relationship. The jnana yoga sharpens the intellect and makes it luminous. All these great qualities and divine elements require to be perfectly blended to evolve an all absorbing divinity out of humanity.

The enlightenment that ensues from a balanced spiritual life is given next.