As mentioned an a previous article, the Bhagavad Gita is one of the most revered texts in the Hindu philosophical thought. The text captures the philosophy, psychology, and practical guidelines on how we can lead a very purposeful and fulfilling life. The goal of life, as presented in the Gita and other Hindu scriptures, is to attain Self-realization which is to recognize our true nature as being beyond identification with the mind-body complex. Self-realization is also known as the state of spiritual liberation (moksha) wherein on gets liberated from the continuous cycle of birth, death and rebirth (called saṃsāra).
The Gita contains a variety of concepts and ideas that are usually folded into four paths or approaches in life that can help us in our spiritual growth and evolution:
- Karma yoga (path of action)
- Jnana yoga (path of knowledge)
- Bhakti yoga (path of devotion)
- Dhyana yoga (path of meditation)
In the present article, I will be discussing the concepts and practices as related to Jnāna Yoga. The word Jnāna is a Sanskrit word and means knowledge or wisdom. It is derived from the root word jnā (to know). Jnāna Yoga is often referred to as the “path of knowledge” or “path of wisdom”. It is considered to be one of the more challenging approaches as it entails the power of pure reasoning and Self-enquiry in attaining the desired goal.
Key concepts of Jnana Yoga
Atman (soul)
Atman is the individual soul also known as Jīva. Even though pure, unbounded and free, due to the apparent identification with the mind-body complex, it appears to be limited. As such, it goes through cycles of transmigration (saṃsāra).
Brahman or Paramatman
The ultimate reality or universal consciousness, which is infinite and unchanging. As per the philosophy of Advaita (non-dual) Vedanta, the Atman and Brahman are one. In Jnana Yoga, understanding this unity of Atman and Brahman is the key, central concept.
Neti neti
The phrase “neti, neti” which means “not this, not this” is a profound concept found in the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad. It is a powerful method of self-inquiry and meditation used in Vedanta to negate all finite and conditioned identifications. “Am I this body?”, “Am I this mind?”, “Am I this intellect?” etc. are the questions the seeker uses as part of the self-inquiry. As our intellect is sharpened and the understanding gets clearer, we get the same answer to these questions, “NO, we are none of these”. That leads to the realization of the true, infinite, and non-dual nature of the self (Atman) and its unity with Brahman. By systematically negating everything that is not the self, the seeker transcends the limitations of the mind and intellect, leading to the direct experience of the ultimate reality.
Avidya (ignorance)
Avidya is the inborn ignorance about our true reality. It is known to be beginningless; however, it does come to an end when one is self-realized. It is considered to be the main cause of human suffering and bondage and is the reason for transmigration of the soul.
In the Yoga Sutras1, Patanjali lists five kleshas (afflictions):
- Avidya (ignorance)
- Asmita (ego)
- Raga (attachment)
- Dvesha (strong dislike)
- Abhinivesha (fear of death)
Avidya is mentioned as the main klesha (affliction) and the root cause of the other four.
Ego (Ahamkara)
The ego, or sense of individual self, offers a significant barrier to the goal of attaining moksha (liberation). It creates attachments, desires, and a sense of separateness, making it difficult to recognize the true self, which is beyond the ego.
Maya
According to Vedanta, Brahman is the only reality. This material creation consisting of conscious (Chetana) and non-conscious (achetana or jada) elements is simply an appearance in the space of consciousness (Brahman). Maya is the creative energy behind this material creation. In Vedanta, the illusionary or non-permanent nature of everything in this ephemeral universe is emphasized.
Three gunas
The three gunas – sattva, rajas and tamas – constantly control our thoughts, actions and behaviors. Everything in this material creation (called Prakriti in the Yoga/Samkhya philosophy) is a composite of these three gunas. The objective of our spiritual practices is to first make the sattva guna more dominant compared to the other two. Eventually, of course, to attain liberation (moksha), we need to transcend the influence of all three gunas. In the Bhagavad Gita, this state is called ‘guṇātīta’ (beyond the three gunas).
Transmigration
As stated earlier, the individual Self, due to the apparent identification with the mind-body complex, goes through cycles of transmigration (saṃsāra). This cycle comes to an end when Avidya (ignorance) is removed and one recognizes the ultimate truth of the freedom of the individual soul and its identity with the supreme consciousness (Brahman).
Three important texts (Prasthāna-trayī)
The three texts that are most commonly referenced to help understand the Vedantic concepts of Atman, Brahman, liberation (moksha) etc., collectively known as Prasthāna-trayī, are:
The Upanishads, known as Upadeśa Prasthāna (injunctive texts). There are known to exist 108 Upanishads. Of these, ten are known as ‘major’ upanishads. They are considered major because Shankaracharya, known to be the foremost proponent of the Vedanta philosophy, chose to write his commentary on these ten Upanishads.
The Bhagavad Gita, known as Sādhana Prasthāna (practical text). A part of Bhishma Parva of the epic Mahabharata, the Gita is a dialog between the warrior prince Arjuna and Lord Krishna, who is presented as a God incarnate.
The Brahma Sutras, known as Sūtra Prasthāna (formulative texts). Also known as Vedanta sutras, attributed to sage Bādarāyaṇa (also called Vyāsa), is a text that synthesizes and harmonizes Upanishadic ideas and practices.
Qualifications of a seeker (sadhana chatushtaya)
In the text known as “Tattva Bodha”, Shri Shankaracharya mentions four qualifications that a seeker must have in order to understand the ultimate reality of life. These are:
Viveka (discriminatory wisdom)
Viveka is the ability to discriminate between real and unreal, pleasurable (preyas) and desirable (shreyas), permanent and impermanent etc. Viveka is the ability of the intellect to discriminate between something that is short-lived vs. something that is of a permanent nature. The ultimate goal is to realize that the only entity that is truly eternal is the pure Self or pure consciousness.
Vairagya (dispassion)
Two terms that are normally associated with vairagya are non-attachment and detachment. Detachment implies that you are already attached to something and would like to give up the attachment. Non-attachment, on the other hand, is to avoid getting attached to something in the first place. Our first level of attachment is to the objects that are attractive to the five senses – smell, taste, sight, touch and hearing. Achieving a state of vairagya at this level is what Patanjali calls the lower form of vairagya (sutra 1.152). The highest form of vairagya (sutra 1.163) is when we can completely transcend any form of attachment to the three gunas – sattva, rajas and tamas. That is the level of dispassion which will lead us to realize our true Self (self-realization).
Viveka and vairagya are closely linked together. It is through viveka that we know the impermanence of all the objects that we desire. Knowing their ephemeral nature will help us to not get attached to those objects. Similarly, dispassion helps cleanse the mind and lead us toward viveka.
Shamadi shat-sampatti (shama etc., the six-fold virtues)
Shama (mind control): The concept of shama is similar to the definition of yoga in Patanjali’s yoga sutras, “yogash-chitta-vritti-nirodhah” (yoga is the ability to still the mind) (sutra 1.24). Mind has the natural tendency of bringing up a constant chain of connected and disconnected thoughts. This leads to instability of the mind and does not allow a person to stay focused on a single task. The virtue of shama helps develop a stable mind.
Dama (controlling the senses): Dama is the ability to control the five senses – smell, taste, vision, touch and hearing. These five senses are constantly in contact with the outside world which is full of various objects that the senses are attracted to. Dama is the ability to keep the senses in control, and make them inward focused. In Patanjali’s yoga sutras, this is similar to the state of “pratyahara5” (sense withdrawal) which is one of the eight limbs of yoga.
Uparati (desisting from sensual enjoyment): As you can see, there is a fair amount of commonality among the values discussed so far, with only shades of differences. Uparati (also known as “uparama” in some texts) is more in terms of controlling your strong likes and dislikes (raga and dvesha). When we are not able to control our raga and dvesha, we can develop craving for certain sense enjoyments. Without this level of control, we are actually making our sense organs also week as they naturally go after their sense objects.
Titiksha (forbearance): Titiksha is our ability to deal with all the pairs of opposites that we are confronted with all the time in our life – heat and cold (physical level), joy and sorrow (mental level), honor and dishonor (intellectual level) etc. Most of the time, when we have an experience that is not favorable, we tend to feel upset, angry, dejected etc. We also tend to blame others for all our sorrows. Developing the value of titiksha will help us accept each situation and experience in life with a sense of cheerfulness, without complaining.
Shraddha (faith): Shraddha is to have faith in the words of a Guru and the ancient scriptures. As we know, our goal in life is to attain liberation. How to gain liberation is not easy to understand through intellectual deliberation. Our mind and intellect have limited capabilities. We have to take recourse to the wisdom imparted in the ancient scriptures. Even these scriptures are sometimes hard to understand; that is why we need the help of a guru to understand the depth of wisdom contained in the scriptures. Thus, we need to have full faith and trust in the wisdom given in the scriptures and imparted to us through a guru. Here also, we are not talking of blind faith. We need to constantly corroborate this faith through our life experiences.
Samadhana (single-pointedness of the mind): Samadhana is in a sense the culmination of the five values listed above. When the mind and the senses are under control, and we are in a position to withstand the pairs of opposites, we can get into a state of single-pointed focus. This is akin to the stage of dharana listed as one of the eight limbs of yoga in the yoga sutras. Dharana is the preliminary stage of meditation wherein the mind is brought into a one-pointed focus so we transition to deeper states of meditation called dhyana and samadhi.
Mumukshatva (intense longing for liberation)
Desire for liberation is perhaps the most important of all the qualifications listed above for a seeker. The purpose of life is to recognize that all pleasure is short-lived. We go through this constant cycle of birth, death and rebirth, called ‘samsara’, only to go through the same suffering over and over. It is only through self-realization that we can end this cycle and attain final liberation (also known as moksha). To have a strong desire to attain moksha or liberation is known as “mumukshatva”.
Three principles of practice
Having established oneself as a qualified seeker (sādhaka) by following the guidelines given above, one is ready to pursue the path of wisdom – Jñāna yoga.
In the ancient text Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (II.iv.5), three core practices are given that form a structured approach to attaining self-knowledge and realization of the ultimate truth (Brahman). These practices are sequential and interdependent, designed to lead the seeker from intellectual understanding to direct experiential realization.
śravaṇa: understand and experience the sacred knowledge available in the three canonical texts mentioned above. The word ‘shravana’ literally means “through hearing”. Usually, a teacher or guru will guide the seeker through discussions on the philosophical concepts presented in these texts. However, reading and understanding the texts as ‘svadhyaya’ (self study) is also considered shravana. In this stage, the student should study and assimilate these texts and achieve a deep understanding of the concepts presented.
manana: Having studied and understood the knowledge gained through shravana, the yogi needs to reflect deeply on the concepts studied. The knowledge thus gets internalized and any confusion or doubts are cleared.
nididhyāsana: profound and repeated contemplation on the knowledge gained through shravana and manana. This deep contemplation will finally lead to the realization of unity between atman and Brahman.
The need for a Guru (spiritual teacher)
A qualified guru (teacher) guides the seeker through the teachings of the scriptures, clarifies doubts, and provides the necessary support for understanding and realization. The role and need for a guru is heavily emphasized in the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita.
Jnana Yoga in the Bhagavad Gita
As we know, in the Gita, Krishna is trying to convince Arjuna to fight the war with the Kauravas. Arjuna is refusing the fight as he does not want to kill his own kith and kin.
Here are some sample verses from the Gita that expound the concepts of Jnana Yoga:
BG 2.136: Just as the embodied soul continuously passes from childhood to youth to old age, similarly, at the time of death, the soul passes into another body. The wise is not deluded by this. (2.13)
Here, Krishna emphasizes the immortal nature of the soul. It is only the physical body that dies but the soul continues to transmigrate to other physical bodies. Thus, by killing his enemies, Arjuna will be killing only their physical bodies that represent evil, not their soul.
BG 2.227: Just as a person puts on new garments after discarding old ones, in the same manner, the individual soul acquires new bodies after casting away the old ones. (2.22)
BG 18.538: Relinquishing egotism, show of strength, and self-centered arrogance; abandoning craving, anger, and the selfish power of possessiveness (greed); unselfish and resting in the peace of the supreme vision—such a person is fit for oneness with Brahman. (18.53)
Here, Krishna offers to Arjuna a list of what needs to be done to attain the supreme vision of the pure Self. The most important element of one’s personality that needs to be given up is the ego (ahamkara).
Notes
[1] अविद्यास्मितारागद्वेषाभिनिवेशाः क्लेशाः॥३॥ avidyā-asmitā-rāga-dveṣa-abhiniveśaḥ kleśāḥ ॥3॥
Ignorance, ego, attachment, aversion, and clinging to bodily life (fear of death) are the five afflictions (kleshas). (sutra 2.3)
[2]दृष्टानुश्रविकविषयवितृष्णस्य वशीकारसंज्ञा वैराग्यम्॥१५॥ dr̥ṣṭa-anuśravika-viṣaya-vitr̥ṣṇasya vaśīkāra-saṁjṇā vairāgyam ॥15॥
Detachment (vairagya) is the consciousness of perfect mastery in one who has ceased to crave for objects, seen (experienced thru the five senses) or heard about (thru scriptures etc.) (1.15)
[3] तत्परं पुरुषख्यातेर्गुणवैतृष्ण्यम्॥१६॥ tatparaṁ puruṣa-khyāteḥ guṇa-vaitr̥ṣṇyam ॥16॥
The state of supreme dispassion (higher than the one described earlier) is attained when discernment of the Self (purusha) leads to cessation of all craving caused by the three gunas. (1.16)
[4] योगश्चित्तवृत्तिनिरोधः॥२॥ yogaś-citta-vr̥tti-nirodhaḥ ॥2॥
Yoga is the cessation (nirodha) of the modifications (vrittis) of the mind-field (chitta) (1.2)
[5] स्वविषयासंप्रयोगे चित्तस्य स्वरूपानुकार इवेन्द्रियाणां प्रत्याहारः॥५४॥ svaviṣaya-asaṁprayoge cittasya svarūpānukāra-iv-endriyāṇāṁ pratyāhāraḥ ॥54॥
When the senses withdraw themselves from the objects and imitate, as it were, the nature of the mind-stuff, this is pratyahara. (2.54)
[6] देहिनोऽस्मिन्यथा देहे कौमारं यौवनं जरा |
तथा देहान्तरप्राप्तिर्धीरस्तत्र न मुह्यति || 13||
dehino ’smin yathā dehe kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā
tathā dehāntara-prāptir dhīras tatra na muhyati (BG 2.13)
[7] वासांसि जीर्णानि यथा विहाय
नवानि गृह्णाति नरोऽपराणि |
तथा शरीराणि विहाय जीर्णा
न्यन्यानि संयाति नवानि देही || 22||
vāsānsi jīrṇāni yathā vihāya
navāni gṛihṇāti naro ’parāṇi
tathā śharīrāṇi vihāya jīrṇānya
nyāni sanyāti navāni dehī (BG 2.22)
[8] अहङ्कारं बलं दर्पं कामं क्रोधं परिग्रहम् |
विमुच्य निर्मम: शान्तो ब्रह्मभूयाय कल्पते || 53||
ahankāraṁ balaṁ darpaṁ kāmaṁ krodhaṁ parigraham
vimuchya nirmamaḥ śhānto brahma-bhūyāya kalpate (BG 18.53)
Thank you for writing this article. So much good information and explanations.
Thanks, Brenda.
Thank you for this blog. As a follower of the Buddhadhamma, it seems like the Atman could be an identification with the knowing faculty of the mind..since the knowing quality is dependent on contact at the sense doors, it too is impermanent in actual experience. Therefore, a belief in jiva/atman/soul is a leap of faith rather than a verifiable fact? The problem is our conscious experience is highly prone to suggestion, this is why verifiable conclusions carry more power.
Thanks, Anita, for your kind thoughts. In the concept of Jnana Yoga, the “knowing faculty” that you refer to is NOT dependent on contact at the sense doors. The sense doors are connected to the faculty called “manas” or the mind. The “knowing faculty” simply provides the power, called ‘chetana’ or consciousness, which allows the mind and the intellect etc. to function in collaboration with the sense doors. The soul or atman is definitely not a verifiable fact through the medium of the five senses. At an intellectual level, one can get to the soul through ‘inference’ (anumana) which is one of the means of gaining knowledge. At a deeper level, the soul can only be realized at the deepest state of meditation.
Love this exploration of how to shift from “neti, neti”
To “Om” or “I am”. Understanding how the human experience through bodi, mind, ego etc. are all tools to align with truth and knowing is fascinating. Thank you Subhash for your in-depth and inspirational teachings. 💙🙏🏽
Thanks, Manal. Glad you enjoyed reading the article.
Beautiful explanation in a very meaningful way. Thank you Subhash.
Thanks, Sekaran.
Very nice Subhashji
Thanks, Meena, for this kind feedback.