Path of wisdom

Dr Satish K Kapoor

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‘When the I shall die, then shall I know, who am I.’

— Paramahansa Yogananda 1893-1952

Jnana yoga, is the pathway to self awareness, self knowledge and self realisation. It is also called Brahma vidya, science of Brahman, which explains the difference between the self and the non-self, the knower and the known, the permanent and the transient, thereby enabling one to realise the Absolute truth.

Just as hatha yoga strengthens the body and the mind through systematic physical activity and breathing exercises, bhakti yoga purifies the heart by love and devotion to god and karma yoga renders nobility to human actions, jnana yoga illuminates consciousness through self enquiry and right understanding. Jnana yoga does not deny a life of action but advocates steadfastness in gaining true knowledge. It is not cynicism in matter of devotion, but an exploration of the transcendent reality, generally viewed in its vyavaharika, phenomenal and pratibhashika, reflected forms. It is the Way of the sage who makes faith real and valuable by opening his jnana chakshu, the eye of knowledge, that dispels ignorance. Bhadragiriyar, a Tamil poet-mystic says, ‘It is knowledge which knows knowledge through knowing knowledge.’

Types of knowledge

Knowledge is of two types: para vidya (atma vidya) or infinite knowledge, and apara vidya or finite knowledge. The former relates to the higher dimension of being; the latter to the ways of the world. Para vidya liberates one in life; apara vidya binds one to the spatio-temporal world. Perception, inference and scriptural testimony have been traditionally described as the sources of knowledge. Avidya is ‘the state of absence of the full knowledge of oneself.’

Gaining true knowledge

The pursuit of jnana yoga entails the observance of four types of practices – viveka (discernment), vairagya (dispassion), shat sampatti (cultivation of six virtues – control of mind, sensory restraint, renunciation, forbearance, faith and contentment) and mumukshatva (desire for liberation). There are three ways to acquire spiritual knowledge — shravana, listening about the ultimate truth from one who knows it, manana, reflecting about the truth heard and nididhyasana, meditation on the truth. By deep contemplation on the identity of atman and Brahman, one can have a direct perception of the supreme reality.

Jnana yoga is based on the premises that the self alone is real; that the world is only an appearance; that to cognise appearance as reality is

erroneous; that to identify oneself with body, mind and senses, is plain ignorance which causes suffering; and that by knowing the Self, one becomes the Self. (Brahma veda brahmaiva bhavati—Mundaka Upanishad III.2.9).

Jnana yogi

A jnana yogi undergoes four stages: seeking, knowing, becoming and being. After realising his divine nature, he is able to shed false ego, maintain equipoise and live according to the Eternal law. In his cosmic vision he sees the same Self in all. To him death is ‘a state of utter ignorance’ as the soul, by its very nature, is immortal. A jnana yogi ‘offers his senses and life- energy as oblations in the fire of the yoga of self control, kindled by knowledge.’ (Bhagavadgita IV.27). He becomes one with the all pervasive One.

Jnana yoga is the path of self discovery through rational inquiry. It is witnessing one’s own self with the inner eye, and becoming a sakshi, witness, to the light of the soul that shines everywhere and in everyone. Jnana yoga is not merely an intellectual pursuit, as some may believe, since its higher aim is to transcend the mind which is ‘limited in its vision’ and ‘rigid in its conceptions’.

(Dr Kapoor is a noted educationist, historian and spiritualist)