Jnana Yoga

Jñāna yoga or Jnanamarga refers to the "path of knowledge", also known as the "path of self realization" in Hinduism. It is one of the three classical paths (margas) or types of yoga for the liberation of the Atman (self, soul). The jnanamarga ideas are discussed in ancient and medieval era Hindu scriptures and texts such as the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita.

The jnana yoga is self-liberation through the pursuit of intellectual knowledge. The other two are karma yoga (path of action, karmamarga) and bhakti yoga (path of loving devotion, bhaktimarga).

Jñāna in Sanskrit means "knowledge". The root is cognate to English , as well as to the Greek (as in γνῶσις gnosis). Its antonym is ajñāna "ignorance".

Jnana is knowledge, and refers to any cognitive event that is correct and true over time. It particularly refers to knowledge inseparable from the total experience of its object, especially about reality (non-theistic schools) or supreme being (theistic schools). In Hinduism, it is knowledge which gives Moksha, or spiritual release while alive (jivanmukti) or after death (videhamukti). According to Bimal Matilal, jnana yoga in Advaita Vedanta connotes both primary and secondary sense of its meaning, that is "self-consciousness, awareness" in the absolute sense and relative "intellectual understanding" respectively.

According to Jones and Ryan, jnana in jnana yoga context is better understood as "realization or gnosis", referring to a "path of study" wherein one knows the unity between self and ultimate reality called Brahman in Hinduism. This explanation in found in the ancient Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita.

Jñāna yoga is the path towards attaining jnana. It is one of the three classical types of yoga mentioned in Hindu philosophies, the other two being karma yoga and bhakti. In modern classifications, classical yoga, being called Raja yoga, is mentioned as a fourth one, an extension introduced by Vivekananda.

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