The Yoga of Wisdom
ज्ञानयोगेन सांख्यानां कर्मयोगेण योगिनाम्।
For the contemplative, the path is jnana yoga; for the active, karma yoga.
Jnana Yoga is the path of knowledge and discrimination. Not book learning, but direct realization: Aham Brahmasmi—I am Brahman.
What is Jnana?
Paroksha jnana (परोक्ष ज्ञान) - Indirect knowledge:
- Learning from books, teachers
- Intellectual understanding
- “Fire is hot” (heard, but not experienced)
- Necessary foundation, but not the goal
Aparoksha jnana (अपरोक्ष ज्ञान) - Direct knowledge:
- Immediate, personal realization
- Beyond words and concepts
- “I am burned by fire” (direct experience)
- This is jnana yoga’s aim
The difference:
- Knowing about gold vs. possessing gold
- Reading menu vs. eating meal
- Hearing about Brahman vs. BEING Brahman
The Eternal Question: Who Am I?
आत्मा किं? (Ātmā kim?) - What is the Self?
This is jnana yoga’s core inquiry. All practices, all study, all discrimination leads to this.
The Four Qualifications (Sādhana Catuṣṭaya)
Prerequisites for the Path
1. विवेक (Viveka) - Discrimination
- Ability to discern Real from unreal
- Eternal from temporary
- Self from non-Self
- Like separating milk from water
Development:
- Study of Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita
- Reflection on impermanence
- Questioning: “Is this eternal?”
2. वैराग्य (Vairāgya) - Dispassion
- Non-attachment to worldly pleasures
- Not suppression, but natural disinterest
- Seeing toys as toys, not treasures
- Freedom from seeking happiness in objects
Development:
- Understanding nothing external gives lasting peace
- Seeing suffering inherent in chasing pleasure
- Tasting higher joy in meditation
3. षट्संपत् (Ṣaṭ-sampat) - Six Treasures
a) शम (Śama) - Tranquility of mind
- Mental peace, not agitation
- Developed through meditation
b) दम (Dama) - Control of senses
- Not suppression, but mastery
- Senses serve you, not control you
c) उपरति (Uparati) - Withdrawal
- Natural turning inward
- No more running after sense objects
d) तितिक्षा (Titikṣā) - Forbearance
- Endurance of heat/cold, pleasure/pain
- Equanimity in all conditions
e) श्रद्धा (Śraddhā) - Faith
- Trust in teachings, teacher, scriptures
- Not blind belief, but confidence
f) समाधान (Samādhāna) - Focus
- One-pointed mind
- Ability to concentrate deeply
4. मुमुक्षुत्व (Mumukṣutva) - Intense Desire for Liberation
- Burning yearning to be free
- Not casual interest, but life’s primary goal
- Like person whose hair is on fire seeks water
Without these: Jnana yoga teachings fall on rocky ground. With these: Seeds sprout quickly.
The Three Practices (Jnana Yoga Sādhana)
1. श्रवण (Śravaṇa) - Hearing
Listening to Mahāvākyas (Great Statements):
- तत् त्वम् असि (Tat Tvam Asi) - You are That
- अहं ब्रह्मास्मि (Aham Brahmāsmi) - I am Brahman
- प्रज्ञानं ब्रह्म (Prajñānam Brahma) - Consciousness is Brahman
- अयम् आत्मा ब्रह्म (Ayam Ātmā Brahma) - This Self is Brahman
Study of Prasthāna Trayī (Triple Foundation):
- Upanishads (Śruti) - Revealed knowledge
- Bhagavad Gita (Smṛti) - Remembered teachings
- Brahma Sutras (Nyāya) - Logical exposition
Learning from Guru:
- Essential in this path
- Teacher who has realized Brahman
- Transmits more than words—presence, being
- Shankara: “Impossible to cross ocean of samsara without guru”
2. मनन (Manana) - Reflection
Deep contemplation on teachings:
- Not just hearing, but digesting
- Questioning, exploring, examining
- Removing doubts through reasoning
Method:
- Take one mahāvākya: “Aham Brahmāsmi”
- Reflect: What does this mean?
- Question: Am I truly Brahman?
- Examine: What am I NOT?
- Conclude: Remove false identifications
Resolving doubts:
- Return to teacher with questions
- Study commentaries (Shankara’s bhashyas)
- Reflect until conviction arises
3. निदिध्यासन (Nididhyāsana) - Meditation
Continuous contemplation:
- Sustained meditation on “I am Brahman”
- Not concentration on object
- Resting in pure awareness itself
Method:
- Sit quietly
- Withdraw attention from body, breath, thoughts
- Rest as pure witnessing awareness
- Recognize: “I am the witness, not the witnessed”
- Abide as that
Result:
- Aparoksha jnana (direct realization)
- Not experience (which comes and goes)
- Recognition of ever-present truth
- Like realizing you’re already home
The Four-Fold Method of Inquiry
1. Negation (नेति नेति - Neti Neti)
- “Not this, not this”
- Eliminate all that is not Self
- Body: Changes, observed → Not Self
- Mind: Changes, observed → Not Self
- Emotions: Come and go → Not Self
- Thoughts: Rise and fall → Not Self
What remains after all negation?
- Pure awareness
- Unchanging witness
- That which observes but is never observed
- That is Self
2. Sublation (बादह - Bādha)
- Showing falsity of apparent reality
- Like rope mistaken for snake
- World appears, but not truly real
- Brahman alone is real
3. Superimposition (अध्यारोप - Adhyāropa)
- False attribution to Self
- “I am body” - Superimposition
- “I am mind” - Superimposition
- “I am happy/sad” - Superimposition
Remove superimpositions:
- What remains is pure Self
- Like removing layers of clothing
- Naked truth revealed
4. Direct Declaration (अवधारण - Avadhāraṇa)
- Positive assertion after negation
- “I am Sat-Chit-Ananda”
- “I am pure consciousness”
- “I am Brahman”
Self-Inquiry (Ātma-Vicāra)
Ramana Maharshi’s Method
The Core Question:
“Who am I?” (நான் யார்? - Nān Yār?)
Not seeking answer in words:
- Mind cannot answer
- Self cannot be objectified
- Question itself dissolves questioner
The Practice:
- When thought arises, ask: “To whom does this thought come?”
- Answer: “To me”
- Ask: “Who am I?”
- Attention turns back on itself
- Thought subsides
- Rest in silence
Repeated:
- Every thought: Return to “Who am I?”
- Attention constantly turned inward
- Eventually, mind dissolves in Heart
- Pure “I” remains
Not meditation on question:
- Not repeating words
- Feeling back to source of “I”
- Tracing thought to its origin
Ramana’s assurance:
“The thought ‘Who am I?’ will destroy all other thoughts, and like the stick used for stirring the funeral pyre, it will itself be destroyed. Then there will arise Self-realization.”
The Nature of the Self (Ātman)
What is Discovered
सच्चिदानन्द (Sat-Chit-Ānanda):
सत् (Sat) - Existence/Being:
- Pure existence without attributes
- Not “something exists,” but existence itself
- Unchanging, eternal, foundational reality
चित् (Chit) - Consciousness:
- Pure awareness
- Not “conscious of something,” but consciousness itself
- Witness of all, witnessed by none
- Self-luminous, like sun
आनन्द (Ānanda) - Bliss:
- Not pleasure (which needs object)
- Fullness, completeness, peace
- Your nature, not something gained
- Independent of circumstances
Together: You are being-consciousness-bliss. Not “you have” these—you ARE these.
Characteristics of Brahman/Ātman
अनन्त (Ananta) - Infinite:
- No boundaries, no limits
- Not large, but beyond all measurement
नित्य (Nitya) - Eternal:
- No beginning, no end
- Not long-lasting, but timeless
अद्वैत (Advaita) - Non-dual:
- No second thing
- Not one (implies two), but alone
- All apparent multiplicity appears in it
अजन्म (Ajanma) - Unborn:
- Never created
- Cannot be destroyed
- Beyond causation
निर्गुण (Nirguṇa) - Without attributes:
- No qualities (qualities are objects)
- Yet, source of all qualities
निराकार (Nirākāra) - Formless:
- No shape, no form
- Yet, appears as all forms
Common Obstacles
The Ego’s Resistance
Obstacle 1: Intellectual Understanding Only
- Knowing “I am Brahman” conceptually
- Solution: Move from śravaṇa to manana to nididhyāsana
Obstacle 2: Using Mind to Transcend Mind
- Trying to think your way to non-dual reality
- Solution: Use mind like thorn to remove thorn, then discard both
Obstacle 3: Seeking Experience
- Wanting special state, vision, phenomenon
- Solution: Realize Self is not experience, but experiencer
Obstacle 4: Subtle Ego Remaining
- “I am enlightened” - Still duality!
- Solution: See even “enlightenment” is concept; rest before concepts
Obstacle 5: Impatience
- Wanting instant realization
- Solution: Steady practice, trust in process; fruit comes in time
The Guru’s Role
Essential:
- Teachings too subtle for solo study
- Self-deception easy
- Guru reveals blind spots
What Guru does:
- Removes doubts
- Points to Self directly
- Transmits silence and being
- Like one lamp lighting another
Shankara: “A true guru is rarer than precious jewels, philosopher’s stone, or nectar of immortality.”
The Fruit: Liberation (Mokṣa)
What Changes?
Not change in Self:
- Self always was, is, and will be
- Nothing new gained
Change in understanding:
- False identification ends
- “I am body-mind” seen as mistake
- Like mistaking rope for snake—correction of error
Jivanmukta (जीवन्मुक्त) - Liberated while living:
- Body-mind continues
- But identified as Brahman, not person
- Lives, acts, but no bondage
- “Wearing body like coat, not confusing coat for self”
Characteristics of Jivanmukta
Inner:
- Complete peace (शान्ति - Shanti)
- No desire or aversion
- Unshakeable happiness
- No identification with body-mind-ego
Outer:
- May look ordinary or extraordinary
- Spontaneous action, no doership
- Compassion flows naturally
- Teaches from being, not memorization
Bhagavad Gita 2.55-57: “One who has abandoned all desires, who moves without attachment, who has no ‘I’ or ‘mine,’ who is beyond duality—that one attains peace.”
For Contemplation
ब्रह्म सत्यं जगन्मिथ्या जीवो ब्रह्मैव नापरः।
Brahman alone is real, the world is illusory, the individual soul is not different from Brahman.
- Shankara’s Teaching Essence
The direct recognition:
- You are not seeker
- You are not body-mind
- You are not even consciousness witnessing these words
- You are That in which all seeking, all bodies, all consciousness appears
- Unborn, undying, infinite, eternal
- Always already free
Begin now:
- Not with belief, but inquiry
- “Who am I?”
- Look, don’t think
- Rest in looking
- Be what you are
The pathless path: There is nowhere to go, nothing to achieve. Only recognition of what always is. Stop. Look. Be.