Jnana Yoga is the Yoga of true knowledge, which
incessantly strives to know and understand the difference between the
real and unreal, the permanent and the temporary. The holistic path of
Jnana Yoga was described as a straight, but steep course, by Sadananad
in his Vedanta-Sara, a 15th century text. Jnana Yoga preaches that there
are four means of salvation. According to Jnana Yoga, the person should
be able to detach himself/herself from everything that is temporary,
after following the holistic path. It also aims to attain tranquility,
the control of the mind and the senses, endurance, faith and the ability
for perfect concentration.
It is a popular belief that Jnana Yoga is based on the Hindu philosophy
of nondualism. Contrary to the assumption, the holistic path of Yoga
also finds its place in many branches of Buddhism, including Zen,
Islamic Sufism and some branches of Christianity that follow the Gospel
of Thomas. Jnana Yoga emphasizes on the use of mind to surpass or
discern the mind. It aims to explore knowledge. There are the Eight
Limbs of Yoga in Jnana Yoga. The person, who follows this holistic path,
attains self-discipline, hears the truth and reflects upon it. There is
an urge in the person to attain freedom from whatever is temporary.
The 'liberation' is attainted through knowledge, rather than following
rituals and ceremonies. However, not everyone is knowledgeable.
Knowledge is limited to the special few people, who are prepared for
sound examination and clear judgment of the nature of consciousness.
This knowledge is attained only if the person goes through conclusions
of the seers by reading scriptures, accumulated through millions of
years. The knowledge, thus accumulated, is examined by the individual in
the light of his own intelligence and then comes to his own realization.
After going through this rigorous process of Jnana Yoga, the person
seeking the knowledge ultimately gains insight, the ability to
discriminate what is true, and what is untrue.
The benefits of Jnana Yoga are manifold. The person, who follows this
holistic path of Jnana Yoga, attains tranquility, which is the art of
remaining calm even in the face of adversity. A self-control in one's
own self is attained by following Jnana Yoga. Another benefit of
following this holistic path is cessation, or keeping one's self
abstained from the actions that are irrelevant to the maintenance of the
body and the pursuit of inner-enlightenment. After a significant period,
the person even attains endurance. He/she is remains unruffled by the
play of the opposites in Nature, such as heat and cold, pleasure and
pain, praise and censure. Apart from this, the person remains
single-minded in all the situations. He/she also becomes able to
increase his/her concentration power.
