jnana yoga

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Jnana yoga (devnagari:ज्ञान योग)or "path of knowledge"^[1] is one of the types of yoga mentioned in Hindu philosophies. Jnana in Sanskrit means "knowledge".^[2]

As used in the Bhagavad Gita, the monist philosopher Adi Shankara gave primary importance to jnana yoga as "knowledge of the absolute" (Brahman), while the Vaishnava commentator Ramanuja regarded knowledge only as a condition of devotion.^[3] In the Bhagavad Gita (13.3) Krishna says that jnana 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.^[4]

Jnana yoga teaches that there are four means to salvation:^{[citation needed]}

• Viveka - Discrimination: The ability to differentiate between what is real/eternal (Brahman) and what is unreal/temporal (everything else in the universe.)
• Vairagya - Dispassion: After practice one should be able to "detach" her/himself from everything that is "temporary."
• Shad-sampat - The 6 Virtues: Tranquility (control of the mind), Dama (control of the senses), Uparati (renunciation of activities that are not duties), Titiksha (endurance), Shraddha (faith), Samadhana (perfect concentration).
• Mumukshutva - Intense longing for liberation from temporal limitations.

See also

• Vedanta
• Bhakti
• Advaita Vedanta
• Vishishtadvaita Vedanta

Notes

1. ^ For translation of Jnana Yoga as "path of knowledge" see: Flood (1996), p. 127.
2. ^ For definition of jnana as "knowledge" see: Apte, p. 457.
3. ^ For the varying views of Shankara and Ramanuja, see: Flood (1996), p. 127.
4. ^ B-Gita 13.35 "Those who see with eyes of knowledge the difference between the body and the knower of the body, and can also understand the process of liberation from bondage in material nature, attain to the supreme goal."

References

• Apte, Vaman Shivram (1965). The Practical Sanskrit Dictionary. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. ISBN 81-208-0567-4.  (Fourth revised and enlarged edition).
• Flood, Gavin (1996). An Introduction to Hinduism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-43878-0. 

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