Jnana Yoga : The Path of Knowledge

Remove The method of attaining perfection through janan yoga is based on the philosophy of non-dualism. According to Hindu philosophy, there are three ways of viewing the truth: dvaitavada ( dualism) visishta – advaitavada ( qualified non –dualism), and advaitavada ( none-dualism). These, in turn, are concerned withthree questions: what is the nature of the ultimate reality? What is the nature of the universe what is the nature of the human sould? The Sanskirt term for philosophy is darsana sastra, or that which governs and takes one through all the steps of spiritual practice, or sadhana. It establish the truth and then shows the discipline or practice to attain it. The word darsana is from the root dris, “to see, “ meaning that which gives us the power to understand, so that we may see thibgs as they are, and not as something else. Two processes are involved: right speculation and right thinking. Through these we reach a conclusion. But merely to reach a conclusion is not enough. We must be and become that which we have concluded from our philosophical speculation.

Darsana primarily concerns itself with two elements: pramana “ that by which we establish the truth,” and pramey,” that which we want to kinow.” Earlier, we discussed pramana, which connotes three ways of verifying the truth: authority ( agama), inference ( anumana), and direct perception ( pratyaksha).

Under prameya, thre are four concersn: srishti, projection or genesis: jagat, the universe of phenomena ( both the microcosm and macrocosm); jiva, the individualized self; and Brahman ( or that which perceives all this universe. We want to know what the universe is, or that which is perceived. And we want to know what the nature of the ultimate reality is, that which is the genesis of all.

The items under prameya are treated by all orthodox schools of Hindu philosophy. These fall under the three different philosophical approaches mentioned previously. It was Swami Vivekananda, by the way, who pointed out for the first time that these views ( dualism, qualified non-dualism, and non-dualism, or monism) are complementary to one another. Although apparently opposed, they are, in actuality, not so.

The philosophy of monism ( advaitavada) comprises two schools of thought: the ajatavada, or the non-creation theory, and the vivariavada, or illusion theory. The philosophy of monism which is, in particular, known as Vedanta, was expounded in the Upanishads, scriptures which are considered to be the “cream” of Vedic knowledge. Monism was firmly re-established by the great philosopher and saint, Sankaracharya, in the eighth century; but the revival of advaita Vedanta actually began with the very erudite scholar, Gaudapada Acharya, the grand – guru of Sankara. Gaudapada established the ajatavada, the non-creation theory. He expressed it something like this: “Creation is nothing but a nightmare. Wake up! That is all that is necessary.” But, nobody would listen to him; no one could understand him. He had only one disciple, Govindapada, who understood him. Gaudapada lived tobe several hundred years old. He defied death.

He would not go, he said, until his philosophy was accepted. But Yama, the kind of death, got tired waiting for him. Gaudapada was told that his teachings would have to be made teachable soon! One night Gaudapada had a vision in which he saw that a little boy of eight would come to him and would, in time, make his philosophy acceptable. He asked how he would recognize the boy. He was told that the boy would show a miraculous power of yoga, and he would write a wonderful commentary on his philosophy; he would also be the youngest sannyasin (monk) he ever saw. But he would not be his disciple; he would be Govindapada’s. he was also told that after this little boy came he could safely depart this life in peace! Meanwhile, in Malabar, in Southern India, a little prodigy of eight, Sankara, had indeed become a sannyasin and set out in search of the great acharya, Gaudapada. When he arrived at the asrama of Gaudapada, he found the sage in deep meditation. Nearby, the Narmada river was in flood and Sankara thought that it would drown Gaudapada before he could even pay his respects to him. So he commanded the river to stop. It did not and he said, “ What! You disobey me? I will show you!” And according to the story, he imprisoned the Narmada in his little water bowl.   Read Previous   Read Next