Jnana names both a path to moksha (jnana yoga) and the second power of creation (jnana shakti). We explored two of the other yogic paths, bhakti and karma, in previous weeks. And last week, we introduced the first power of creation, iccha shakti.
The Sanskrit word jnana translates to "knowledge" or "wisdom", in the yogic tradition, this knowledge is specifically knowledge of Atman -- knowledge of the Self. The practice of jnana yoga aims to knit together the fractured or distorted facets of the mind that conceal our remembrance of divinity.
I don't know about you, but my mind often becomes jumbled with stories, beliefs, and obsessions that cause me forget the spirit in all things. My inner world becomes so crowded with thoughts and emotions (vrittis) that yank me out of the present moment. They steal me from my home.
The master yogi, no matter their circumstance or experience, sits in perfect stillness upon the lotus of the heart. Never wavering from their eternal home. They still act in the world. They still think, still feel, still hurt, still love. But they do all these things in the world without forgetting their true nature, that which does not change amongst a world of constant change.
The master yogi is the bodhisattva, the one who attains perfect wisdom, perfect love, perfect presence, but chooses to stay in the world to be of service.
This "lotus of the heart" is called by many names across many traditions of our world... but it is all the same essence. In yoga and Hinduism, it is Paramatma, Brahman, the Supreme Self. In Buddhism it is realizing your Buddha nature, it is Liberation. In Christianity, it is entering the Kingdom of God, it is Christ consciousness... "Being in the world but not of it." Among various indigenous traditions, it is being in harmony with Pachamama, a child of Gaia, a child of the Sun, the waters, the mountains. There are infinite names for this state. The most universal perhaps is unconditional love. No matter our experience: be in love.
om mani padme hum
"the jewel is in the lotus"
the treasure you're after, is your heart.
this is the most condensed teaching.
The purpose of jnana yoga is not to get rid of thoughts or emotions or identities. The purpose is to refine them so they don't obscure us from unconditional love. A love so powerful, it reigns supreme no matter the condition... no matter the colors of our current experience, from bliss to horror, this love doesn't discriminate. Agape, as the greek language calls it. Divine love.
Yoga provides many paths and tools. All paths lead to perfect love. All tools free us more to flow into agape. There's nothing wrong with where we're at on our journey. It's not wrong. Nothing is wrong. Your experience is simply more concealed or revealed of divinity. That's what the teachings say. The purpose of the human experience is to have a human experience. To not only discover the mystery, but be a part of it. I am a mystery! Even to myself, I am a mystery. Even though I am in this world, I don't know what it is!
The path of jnana yoga aims to answer the question: "Who am I?"
And by answering that question, you answer all the other big ones. Like the rays of the sun, you can trace all differing forms of wisdom back to their source.
"What is reality?"
"What is true?"
"What is this world and who am I in it?"
"What is God? Is there such a thing?"
"What do I do?"
"What do I want?
"What do I really know?"
"What is my dharma?"
All these rays lead back to the sun. They all have the same answer. But the answer cannot be expressed it words. It's beyond words. How do you describe perfect love? How do you put that into words? Many mystics and saints have tried and gotten very close. They've surrendered their way to the source, but they come back and... what is there to say? You can't think or say perfect love. You can only be it.
Just as you can't HAVE perfect wisdom, you can only be it.
The teachings say: first, you must transition your mind from a distorted view of reality, to a correct view. It is only from a correct view, that you can drop all views.
The goal is not to be in a "yogic framework" or a "Christian framework" or a "quantum physics framework" the goal is to be the living expression of what those teachings point to!
As long as you're stuck in a framework of "mental belief" or "world view" you're always one thought away from God.
From the eternal now.
The present moment.
The here and now.
The state of yoga.
Abiding in unconditional love.
Sat Chit Ananada.
But that doesn't mean frameworks aren't important and valuable. If you find yourself perpetually stuck in distorted beliefs of reality... a framework, a spiritual method, is your boat across the river of samsara. But once you reach the destined shore, don't carry the boat with you onto land.
Many try to carry their boats with them... and it doesn't work. They stay stuck on the shore, or back in the water. You must be willing to surrender what you know. That's where the jnana yogis often get stuck. They acquire all this brilliant beautiful knowledge about the cosmos and about consciousness, but it's that same beautiful knowledge that keeps them from entering the gates of heaven. You can't take that stuff with you. "Don't store up for yourself treasures on earth." Even the most exquisite knowledge, the most divine, the most illumined: if your mind is attached to it, the path meant to liberate you, will trap you.
Do you remember when we learned about karma yoga? "Do what you do, but don't be attached to the fruits of your actions."
Learn what you do, refine your knowledge, refine your worldview, but don't be attached to what you know. The moment we believe we know something we cut ourselves off from the possibility of anything more true to be shown to us.
Socrates, a philosopher who had many wise things to say, also said, "As for me, all I know is I know nothing."
According to the non-dualists, if we stay in a place of ~not knowing~, we remain open to life's mystery. But if we are staunchly identified with a limited self who ~knows~, we live confined to a very small sliver of possibility -- a reality where we've already decided is ~how it all is~.
If you are hungry for truth, real truth, you must carry with you the humility to drop what you know at any given point along the way. What you once cherished as ~the truth~ may change, may expand. You've got to stay humble and open to that. That's the path of jnana yoga.
Is what you know getting you more free? Or more stuck?
You study, you listen, you meditate, you have more experiences in the world that teach you... you become more wise. But at the same time, you're not "getting" anything. Wisdom is not something you own. As soon as you possess knowledge, you're trapped. The goal of jnana yoga is allowing wisdom to flow through you. No stuckness. Free flow. Wisdom is a natural byproduct of what happens when you become more present and non-attached.
You become more aware of what everything already is, right under your nose. You become more sensitive, and so you have the ability to more accurately express your experience (whether through word or deed).
The yogi's aim is to move from avidya to viveka -- ignorance to clarity. You'll naturally become a better driver if your windshield is clean.
Windshield cleaning tips:
From the Upanishads, come two traditional jnana practices: using the mind to go beyond the mind. As you sit in silence, observe the content of the mind. Lots of things are happening in the thought world: analysis, stories, reflection, imagination, worries, problem-solving, fantasy, regret... these are just a few different kinds of thoughts we may be having. These methods can be used in self-study (svadyaya) or as a doorway into meditation.
The invitation, is to label the "mind-stuff" that arises, so every thought (vritti) that occurs you label it: “tat tvam asi”, which means, "I am that". You embrace it all.
"My back hurts."
tat tvam asi.
"What's for dinner?"
tat tvam asi.
"Why hasn't he texted me back?"
tat tvam asi.
"I need a new job."
tat tvam asi.
"I'm a horrible person."
tat tvam asi.
"I'm amazing."
tat tvam asi.
"Woah I'm getting pretty good at this mediation thing."
tat tvam asi.
"Nevermind, I don't think I'm doing this right..."
tat tvam asi.
"Why am I doing this dumb meditation?"
tat tvam asi.
"This isn't working."
tat tvam asi.
"Okay fine. I'm just sitting here and breathing and labeling: tat tvam asi"
tat tvam asi.
"tat tvam asi"
tat tvam asi.
With anything that arises... you embrace it: I am that.
The second practice is responding to the mind-stuff with the opposite label. This practice is called "neti neti", which means, not this not that.
Basically, you're trying to answer the question: Who am I? or What am I?
Whether, you're everything or nothing, you end up at the same place.
“Love says ‘I am everything.’ Wisdom says ‘I am nothing.’ Between the two, my life flows.” – Nisargadatta Maharaj
These two practices are ultimately like a zen koan (a paradoxical anecdote or riddle, used in Zen Buddhism to demonstrate the inadequacy of logical reasoning and to provoke enlightenment). You’re not really striving for an answer here, though insights may come.
You can bring this practice off the mediation cushion, into daily life too. That's kinda the whole point of all this stuff... retraining the mind (reminding it of its true nature) so it can be at peace as its default setting within the world.
The second yoga sutra says: yogas citta vrtti nirodhah
Translated: yoga is the cessation of the modifications, or fluctuations, of the mind.
This sutra gets right to the heart of why we practice yoga. No time is wasted.
When the chatter stops: you see right through.
Then you can return to the thoughts and maintain your seat on lotus. You can dance through this life and be home no matter where you are. Because the path of jnana teaches the mind, that home is not a place, it's a state of being.
ALSO:
When I explored the first power of creation, iccha shakti, I traced my desires back to their source and recognized that every desire is a desire for the divine. Every desire brings me closer to my desire of divinity. Similarly, in exploring the second power of creation, jnana shakti, everything we can know, guides us closer to knowing the divine. So as we refine our knowledge through the path of wisdom (jnana yoga), the power of our knowledge (jnana shakti), becomes greater. Therefore, we have a greater capacity to live in alignment with our purpose, and usher more goodness into the world.
For anything to exist (to be created), it must first be willed (iccha), then known (jnana), then acted (kriya). For cookies to exist? I must want them (iccha), then get a recipe (jnana), then actually bake them (kriya). These three powers of creation exist at every level of reality. These principles live within every atom of the universe. From the birth of a cell, to the birth of a star. The birth of a child, to the birth of a nation. Creating a workout routine, to a business. Every thought -- a creation. Every step, every breath -- creation. The sprouting of a seed, to an erupting volcano -- creation. A will, a knowledge, an action.
om mani padme hum
"the jewel is in the lotus"
the treasure you're after, is your heart.
this is the most condensed teaching.
Dance through this life upon the seat of the lotus and be home no matter where you are. The path of jnana teaches the mind, that home is not a place, it's a state of being.
go forth in love ॐ
♡ Kat
p.s. Everything I write is a transmission of my own experience. And I owe everything I've learned to my teachers and the teachings. I am just a finger pointing at the moon. Go to the moon yourself. Experience for yourself what is true.
p.p.s. Please don't hesitate to email me or comment below with any of your own insights or questions! I'd love to hear from you :)
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