KAIVALYA

Kaivalya is a term used in Raja Yoga that Vivekananda describes this way:  “When the soul (Atman) realizes that it depends on nothing in the universe, from gods to the lowest atom, that is called kaivalya, meaning isolation, perfection.”

Kaivalya is also defined as solitude or detachment, the ultimate goal of Raja Yoga.  Raja Yoga is one of the four yogas or paths to union with the Divine. 

There are actually many yogas, but the four main ones, as set down in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, are Bhakti Yoga, the way of devotion, Karma Yoga, the way of works, Jnana Yoga, the way of knowledge, and Raja Yoga, the way of concentration or control of the mind. 

Vivekananda stated that kaivalya is attained when the mind has been made as pure as the Atman itself.