The word ‘Jnana' is fmiliar to all. In our parlance it means Knowledge as well as wisdom. In spiritual context it has a different meaning. It is not mere knowledge of the mundane world and its complexities. It is the knowledge of the Supreme Brahman or Absolute Reality. The Upanishad proclaims “ Satyam jnanam Anantam Brahma.” Brahman is the embodiment of Truth, Knowledge and Infinity. In short, Jnana or Knowledge is not about the transient world and its ways but about the eternal Truth which is called Brahman. Hence Jnani is one who has established communion with God by means of Knowledge. The very purpose of our birth is to realize God during our existence on earth. We have failed in that effort miserably. Mortal men as we are, Maya or illusion has cast its magic web on all of us and has led us away from the Real path. It is the Jnani, here and there, that tries to think and meditate on God. The Jnani has no other aim in life but to realize Brahman. All his efforts are directed to the realization of the Divinity. How does he do this? He leaves one unreal thing after another until he stumbles at the Real Thing namely the Brahman! He dismisses one unreal thing after another by saying “ neti”, “neti”—not this, not this and finally realizes Brahman in Samadhi!
The search of the Jnani for Brahman is analogous to the search of an expert thief for precious gold and diamonds in a palatial mansion! He enters the house and reaches the place where they are safely hidden. In the dim light, he sees and feels various other objects. Tables, chairs, boxes and other materials are felt by him but saying to himself , 'not this, not this' he proceeds further. Finally he lays his hand on the jewel box containing gold and diamonds! His joy knows no bounds and he is ecstatic! “It is here”, he exclaims and the search ends there! Jnana is of different degrees and kinds. That of the ordinary mortals, the worldly, is similar to a lamp that illuminates just the interior of a room. The Jnana of a Bhaktha or Devotee is akin to the light of the moon that illuminates things both inside and outside the room. But the Jnana of the Avatar is the most powerful and can be likened to that of the sun! His Divine Knowledge brushes aside the accumulated ignorance of ages according to Sri RamaKrishna. What is the method of Jnana yoga? How to make a beginning? Is it easy or difficult? What should be the first step?
Eschewing your ego is the first and the most significant step in achieving Jnana Yoga. There is no such thing as “I”. When the onion skin is peeled off we find no kernel in it! Identification of the body with the soul is the gross mistake that inhibits Jnana. Ultimate substance is God alone. A Jnani is expected to realize that he is not the Body but the Soul or Self. This self realization shall lead him to know other beings and God also. Divinity manifests itself as egotism melts away. It is ignorance that makes one think that God is outside and far away. True Knowledge consists in realizing God within. “ He who sees Him in the temple of his own soul, sees Him also in the temple of the universe.” Says Sri RamaKrishna. A man woke up at midnight and wanted to smoke. He went to the neighbor’s house for Fire. The neighbor was aghast at the foolish action of the man when he had a lighted lantern in his hand! It is also similar to a person searching for ghee when he has butter ready with him! What man wants is already within him but still he wanders here and there searching for it. It is knowledge that leads to unity while ignorance leads to diversity!
Seeing a young disciple engrossed in going through books on Vedanta, Sri RamaKrishna pointed out the essence of Vedantic thought. “Brahma Satyam Jagan mithya.”—Brahman is real and the world unreal. The disciple felt that a firm conviction of those truths shall lead to the understanding of everything of Vedanta. Hearing, inquiry and meditation are the three important steps for the practice of the Jnani. After hearing that Brahman is real and the world unreal, inquiry comes into play and its truth has to be established by reasoning. Then comes the next step meditation which entails withdrawing the mind from the unreal world and concentrating it on Brahman. Knowledge is useless if there is no renunciation. Merely professing that Brahman is real but yielding to the temptations of the world cannot make one a Jnani! Why is Jnana Yoga very difficult to practice?
Sri RamaKrishna points out that Jnana Yoga is extremely difficult in this Kali Yuga because our life depends totally on food which is termed “ Annagataprana”. Human life is too short in Kaliyuga for the practice of Jnana Yoga. The third obstacle is the total identification of the body with soul which is called “Dehatmabuddhi.” In short, man is under the illusion that body and soul are one! He does not realize that he is the eternal, indestructible Self or Atma embedded in the innermost recess of heart! Thus the Jnani must feel and realize that he is not the body but one with the Universal Soul or the Absolute Brahman! Since he is not the body, he should not be subject to the conditions of the body like hunger, thirst, birth, death and others. It is very rarely that we find real Jnanis in our society. According to the Bhagavadgita, “One among the thousands desires to know Him, and even among thousands of those who are desirous to know, one perhaps can actually know Him.” Less attachment to the world particularly for women and gold leads to more Jnana or Knowledge of God! The Jnana Yogi says, “I” am He.” But what is the good of repeating the statement without realization??
The search of the Jnani for Brahman is analogous to the search of an expert thief for precious gold and diamonds in a palatial mansion! He enters the house and reaches the place where they are safely hidden. In the dim light, he sees and feels various other objects. Tables, chairs, boxes and other materials are felt by him but saying to himself , 'not this, not this' he proceeds further. Finally he lays his hand on the jewel box containing gold and diamonds! His joy knows no bounds and he is ecstatic! “It is here”, he exclaims and the search ends there! Jnana is of different degrees and kinds. That of the ordinary mortals, the worldly, is similar to a lamp that illuminates just the interior of a room. The Jnana of a Bhaktha or Devotee is akin to the light of the moon that illuminates things both inside and outside the room. But the Jnana of the Avatar is the most powerful and can be likened to that of the sun! His Divine Knowledge brushes aside the accumulated ignorance of ages according to Sri RamaKrishna. What is the method of Jnana yoga? How to make a beginning? Is it easy or difficult? What should be the first step?
Eschewing your ego is the first and the most significant step in achieving Jnana Yoga. There is no such thing as “I”. When the onion skin is peeled off we find no kernel in it! Identification of the body with the soul is the gross mistake that inhibits Jnana. Ultimate substance is God alone. A Jnani is expected to realize that he is not the Body but the Soul or Self. This self realization shall lead him to know other beings and God also. Divinity manifests itself as egotism melts away. It is ignorance that makes one think that God is outside and far away. True Knowledge consists in realizing God within. “ He who sees Him in the temple of his own soul, sees Him also in the temple of the universe.” Says Sri RamaKrishna. A man woke up at midnight and wanted to smoke. He went to the neighbor’s house for Fire. The neighbor was aghast at the foolish action of the man when he had a lighted lantern in his hand! It is also similar to a person searching for ghee when he has butter ready with him! What man wants is already within him but still he wanders here and there searching for it. It is knowledge that leads to unity while ignorance leads to diversity!
Seeing a young disciple engrossed in going through books on Vedanta, Sri RamaKrishna pointed out the essence of Vedantic thought. “Brahma Satyam Jagan mithya.”—Brahman is real and the world unreal. The disciple felt that a firm conviction of those truths shall lead to the understanding of everything of Vedanta. Hearing, inquiry and meditation are the three important steps for the practice of the Jnani. After hearing that Brahman is real and the world unreal, inquiry comes into play and its truth has to be established by reasoning. Then comes the next step meditation which entails withdrawing the mind from the unreal world and concentrating it on Brahman. Knowledge is useless if there is no renunciation. Merely professing that Brahman is real but yielding to the temptations of the world cannot make one a Jnani! Why is Jnana Yoga very difficult to practice?
Sri RamaKrishna points out that Jnana Yoga is extremely difficult in this Kali Yuga because our life depends totally on food which is termed “ Annagataprana”. Human life is too short in Kaliyuga for the practice of Jnana Yoga. The third obstacle is the total identification of the body with soul which is called “Dehatmabuddhi.” In short, man is under the illusion that body and soul are one! He does not realize that he is the eternal, indestructible Self or Atma embedded in the innermost recess of heart! Thus the Jnani must feel and realize that he is not the body but one with the Universal Soul or the Absolute Brahman! Since he is not the body, he should not be subject to the conditions of the body like hunger, thirst, birth, death and others. It is very rarely that we find real Jnanis in our society. According to the Bhagavadgita, “One among the thousands desires to know Him, and even among thousands of those who are desirous to know, one perhaps can actually know Him.” Less attachment to the world particularly for women and gold leads to more Jnana or Knowledge of God! The Jnana Yogi says, “I” am He.” But what is the good of repeating the statement without realization??
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