In the Gita’s dialogue, Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga, and Bhakti Yoga are presented as distinct yet converging disciplines, each emphasizing a different primary orientation of the seeker. Karma Yoga centers on action: it teaches the performance of one’s duty (dharma) without attachment to the fruits, offering all work to the Divine and maintaining equanimity in success and failure. Such selfless action, carried out as a sacrifice rather than for egoic gain, purifies the mind and loosens the grip of desire. Jnana Yoga, by contrast, emphasizes discriminative knowledge and contemplative insight into the true nature of the Self (Atman) and ultimate reality (Brahman). It involves discerning the eternal from the transient, recognizing the distinction between the field (body, mind, world) and the knower of the field, and understanding that the Self is unborn, imperishable, and untouched by change. Bhakti Yoga, finally, is grounded in loving devotion and surrender to Krishna as the Supreme Being, cultivating a heartfelt relationship through remembrance, worship, and the offering of all actions and experiences to the Divine.

These three yogas are not set forth as rival systems but as complementary paths that address different temperaments and capacities. Karma Yoga disciplines the outward life, transforming ordinary work into a spiritual practice by removing attachment and centering intention on the Divine. Jnana Yoga refines understanding, dissolving ignorance through insight into the unity underlying all multiplicity, so that actions no longer bind the knower. Bhakti Yoga suffuses both action and knowledge with love, presenting devotion as an accessible path open to all, regardless of status, when the heart is one-pointed toward Krishna. The Gita repeatedly suggests that the highest spiritual life integrates these strands: performing one’s duties with right understanding and offering them in loving surrender. In this integrated vision, liberation (moksha) arises through the convergence of selfless action, true knowledge, and unwavering devotion.