Jnana yoga

Adi Shankara with Disciples, by Raja Ravi Varma (1904), propounding knowledge of absolute as of primary importance

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Jñāna yoga (Devanāgarī: ज्ञान योग; the pronunciation can be approximated by "nyaana yoga") or "path of knowledge" is one of the types of yoga mentioned in Hindu philosophies. Jñāna in Sanskrit means "knowledge".

Goal of jnana-yoga

As used in the Bhagavad Gita, the Advaita philosopher Adi Shankara gave primary importance to jñāna yoga as "knowledge of the absolute" (Brahman), while the Vishishtadvaita commentator Ramanuja regarded knowledge only as a condition of devotion. In the Bhagavad Gita (13.3) Krishna says that jñāna consists of properly understanding kshetra (the field of activity—that is, the body) and kshetra-jna (the knower of the body—that is, the soul). Later in the Gita (13.35) Krishna emphasizes that a transcendentalist must understand the difference between these two. Sri Ganapatrao Maharaj Kannur emphasizes the significance of knowing self so as to know the supreme and that it is essential to vanquish the ego and the identification with the body.

Fourfold discipline

Classical Advaita Vedanta uses the "fourfold discipline" (sādhana-catustaya) to train students and attain moksha. It consists of four stages:

• Samanyasa, cultivating oneself the following qualities:
  • Viveka, the capacity to discern between the real and the unreal. This was an important concept in texts older even than the Bhagavad Gita, and often invoked the image of a Swan, which was said to be able to separate milk (or Soma) from water, whilst drinking.^{[citation needed]}
  • Viaragya, dispassion, detachment, indifference to pleasure and pain under all circumstances;
  • Shad-sampat, the six virtues:
    • Sama, tranquility or control of mind, calmness;
    • Dama, control of the senses;
    • Uparati, renunciation of worldy activities;
    • Titiksha, endurance of changing and opposite circumstances;
    • Shradda, faith in the guru, the atman and the scriptures;
    • Samadhana, concentration of the mind.
  • Mumukshutva, intense longing for liberation.
• Sravana, listening to the teachings of the sages on the Upanishads and Advaita Vedanta, and studying the Vedas and Vedantic texts, such as the Brahma Sutras, Bhagavad Gita, Ramayana and Mahabharata. In this stage the student learns about the reality of Brahman and its relationship with atman;
• Manana, the stage of reflection on the teachings;
• Dhyana, the stage of meditation on the truth "that art Thou".

See also

• Bhakti yoga
• Kevala Jnana
• Ramana Maharshi
• Vedanta
• Yoga Vasistha
• Vivekachudamani
• Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

Sources

• Apte, Vaman Shivram (1965). The Practical Sanskrit Dictionary. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. ISBN 81-208-0567-4.  (Fourth revised and enlarged edition).
• Basu, Asoke (June 2004). "Advaita Vedanta and Ethics". Religion East and West (4): 91–105 
• Feuerstein, Georg (2001). The Yoga Tradition: Its History, Literature, Philosophy and Practice. Prescott, Arizona: Hohm Press. ISBN 1-890772-18-6.  (Unabridged, New Format Edition).
• Flood, Gavin (1996). An Introduction to Hinduism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-43878-0. 
• Puligandla, Ramakrishna (1985). Jñâna-Yoga--The Way of Knowledge (An Analytical Interpretation). New York: University Press of America. ISBN 0-8191-4531-9. 
• Varenne, Jean; Derek Coltman (1976). Yoga and the Hindu Tradition. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-85114-1.