Question: There are several paths to spiritual attainment and each stresses something different, such as Bhakti Yoga, Karma Yoga and Jnana Yoga. How can a person know which path is his path, which aspect of the spiritual life he should stress?

Sri Chinmoy: One can easily know. An individual knows whether he likes love and devotion in his life more than knowledge or wisdom. He himself knows whether he is more inclined to work and serve or he is more inclined to pray and meditate. Each individual knows what he wants to do. When morning dawns, immediately he may start working because he feels that work gives him joy; or he may start praying with love and devotion because he feels that this gives him joy. When an individual enters into the spiritual life, he is bound to feel whether he is most inclined toward Bhakti Yoga or Karma Yoga or Jnana Yoga — whether he is most inclined toward love, service or knowledge.

If there is a Master who advocates the path of love, devotion and surrender, one aspirant will go to him. If there is a Master who wants dedicated service, devoted service, surrendered service, someone else will go there. If somebody teaches knowledge and wisdom, then somebody else will go to him. Some will teach the path of the heart, some will teach the path of the mind and some will teach the path of action. It is the seeker who will know which path is meant for him. Then he has to stick to his path. In the university if you like history, you go to the history professor. You don’t go to the geography professor if you don’t like geography. The subject you like, you study; the subject that you do not like, you do not study.

You are bound to know which path is for you because there is always an inner urge for you to achieve something, embody something, reveal something and manifest something. If you want to manifest something, naturally you first have to have it inside you. And why do you have to have that particular thing? Just because there is someone who is pushing you and inspiring you to achieve it. That someone is God within you.