Discover your innate inner wisdom & find your true self when you follow the path of Jnana yoga…

As we traverse the 4 yogic paths, finding a sense of inner wisdom or “knowingness” is one of the deeper truths that we will discover on our journey. The Jnana yoga path is one way to find this state of being.

According to this article,

Jnana yoga is the path of ‘doubt-free intellectual knowledge.’ It is the study of the texts of Self-Realization and a deep inquiry into the nature of who we really are. This enables us to understand all the subtle nuances of the mind, its attachment to sense-objects, and how these create the veils of Avidya (ignorance/forgetfulness).

Do you ever have a sense that there is so much more to you than what you feel and see on the surface?  According to Jnana yoga philosophy, our ego-based ignorance (or Avavana) is what hides our true nature and keeps us from realizing the deeper wisdom that we all have inside us. By using logic and reason, Jnana says, we are able to actually use the mind to remove the veil and see our inner Truth that is the unchanging core of who we really are.

Learning to realize this inner wisdom is getting to finally know and experience your own inner power, and this is what the Jnana yoga path can do for you.

Obviously, this pathway isn’t always that easy to follow. Those who study the Jnana yoga path often use a variety of resources from ancient yogic traditions, such as the Upanishads, Patanjali’s Sutras, and the Bhagavad Gita among others. It often requires continued study and the guidance of a knowledgeable teacher in order to break through the veils of Avidya and begin to understand our minds and our deeper truth as a part of the Divine Universe on an intellectual level.

However, this is not the end of the Jnana path, but only the beginning:

This part of the journey can only take us to the doorstep of true wisdom, however. Our human minds are limited in their capacity for this type of knowing. The next stage leads us to surrender the mind-based knowledge and move towards a deeper ‘knowing’, which can only be felt in the realm of the heart.

This is called Vijnana, an experience-based knowing that cannot be understood from reading a text or listening to a lecture. It is the supreme mystical aspect of yoga, one that is often overlooked in the external scramble for inner peace.

The greatest of Life’s mysteries is how and when this experiential knowing will present itself. When it does, it reveals the magic and profound intelligence of All Life going far beyond what words can describe.

It is an instant of blossoming from the mind-based ‘identity’ to a felt experience of being so much more. It’s a shift from the triputi – the 3-way division between subject, object, and action – to identifying with Life as One. It knows no distinction between knowing, knower, and known.

As is true for all of the yogic pathways, there is no real end to the journey. However, there are many marvelous experiences to be had as you go. Each pathway winds together, and while you can follow any or several at once, all require you to be open to experiencing things you may not have expected. This is part of the wonder of following the pathways of yoga! And the journey, in itself, is its own reward.

Keep practicing and studying and inquiring, for the delight of the journey itself. All will unfold and blossom – perhaps not in the ways that we expect or want – but always perfectly in the ways that we need.

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