| Jnana Yoga is the yoga of intellectual inquiry, using the | | | | the yoga of the intellect. This understanding takes the |
| mind to come to the profound realization that our | | | | form of reading, understanding and accepting the |
| God-Self, the consciousness that we are in reality a | | | | message in the Hindu scriptures, which date back from |
| manifestation of God, is beyond and behind our mind. | | | | before the Bible was written and which some sages |
| However, we should not fall into the mistake of thinking | | | | believe gave inspiration to the writers of the Old |
| that we can discover God through the use of the mind | | | | Testament. These scriptures espouse the philosophy |
| alone. To achieve Cosmic Consciousness, what can | | | | of Vedanta, the philosophy of the Vedic scriptures, the |
| be called Self-realization, we must continually ask | | | | scriptures, which Hindus accept. |
| "Who am I", in other words, am I just this material body | | | | It must, however, be firmly understood that Jnana |
| and material mind, or am I in fact an integral part of | | | | Yoga is not just an intellectual exercise. We may learn |
| something greater. That something greater is | | | | about the omnipresence of God through the Vedic |
| considered by yogis to be God, the presence of which | | | | scriptures, but to actually experience the feeling of |
| everything and everyone is made up, whether or not | | | | God, the aspirant has to perform some exercise that |
| the individual realizes it or not. The purpose of Jnana | | | | will transcend his limited intellect. This is done through |
| Yoga is to come to just that realization, in a way in | | | | meditating on the question "Who am I". The point of |
| which the small mind cannot impose limitations. | | | | this exercise is eventually to come to the realization |
| One of the great features of yoga is that there is a | | | | that "I" transcends the limitations of the body and is |
| yoga for every type of personality or character. For | | | | really a part and an expression of the universal "I", or |
| those who are contemplative, there is Raja Yoga, the | | | | God. |
| yoga of meditation. For those who are very action | | | | Thus, it can be seen that Jnana Yoga helps the |
| oriented, there is Karma Yoga, the yoga of selfless | | | | aspirant by first appealing to his intellect, valuable for |
| service. For those who are very emotional and who | | | | those who are very intellectually oriented, but then it |
| are inspired by feelings of love for the Divine, there is | | | | helps the aspirant transcend his limited intellect by |
| Bhakti Yoga, the yoga of love. For those who like | | | | becoming aware of the Cosmic Intellect that forms |
| ceremonies and are inspired by them, there is Tantra | | | | and permeates everything. He focuses on the question |
| Yoga, the yoga of forms. Finally, for those who are | | | | of "Who am I" and by so doing, achieves the |
| very physical, there is Hatha Yoga, the yoga of | | | | realization that the small I is really a part of the |
| movement and the one which is best known outside | | | | universal I. His intellectual exercises can be considered |
| of India. | | | | as the sugar, which coats the substance of his |
| However, there are still others who are driven by the | | | | eventual God-Realization. |
| need to understand and for them there is Jnana Yoga, | | | | |