Jnana (pronounced Gyaan) in Sanskrit means "knowledge", and is often interpreted to mean "knowledge of the true self". In the Vedanta school of the Hindu religion, to know Brahman as one's own Self is jnana. To say, "I am Brahman, the pure, all-pervading Consciousness, the non-enjoyer, non-doer and silent witness," is jnana. To behold the one Self everywhere is jnana.
Jnana yoga is one of the four basic paths in yoga (jnana, bhakti, raja & karma.)
Jnana yoga teaches that there are four means to salvation:
- Viveka - Discrimination: The ability to differentiate between what is real/eternal (Brahman) and what is unreal/temporary (everything else in the universe.)
- Vairagya - Dispassion: After practice one should be able to "detach" themself 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.
One of the fundamental pillars of Jnana yoga is Brahman (non-dualism) which is a fundamental belief in the unity of the universe. The "liberation" mentioned above might be described as "wanting to be one with the universe."
Significant contemporaries include Franklin Merrell-Wolff and John Lilly
