Gyanmarg-Path of gyan

An unwavering realization of reality is called gyan (Devanagari: ज्ञान​ ISO15919: jñāna).

The word gyan means true knowledge. Firm knowledge of God is gyan. Knowledge of God is comprised of the knowledge of eternal and temporary matters, which results in detachment from the entire realm of Maya i.e. all luxuries which range from Earth to the abode of Brahma (creator).

The path of gyan for attaining God is called gyan marg. Before learning "a b c" on the path of knowledge one has to master the following four traits. Together all these traits are referred to as Sadhan-chatushtaya (Devanagari: साधन चतुष्टय ISO15919: sādhana catuṣṭaya).​

Those who pursue this path of gyan are referred to as gyani (Devanagari: ज्ञानी ISO15919: jñānī).

Sadhan Chatushtaya Sampann

One who has mastered the Sadhan-chatushtaya, outrageously difficult traits is called Sadhan-chatushtaya-sampann  (Devanagari: साधन चतुष्टय सम्पन्न ISO15919: ​sādhana catuṣṭaya sampanna).​​ Such a person becomes eligible to enter the path of gyan.

Knowledge of permanence-impermanence

1. The unwavering cognizance of permanent and temporary entities is called nity-anitya vastu vivek pariganyate (Devanagari: नित्यनित्य वस्तु विवेकः परिगण्यते ISO15919: nityanitya vastu vivekaḥ parigaṇyate).

Thorough detachment

2. Having thorough detachment from all material desires is called ihamutraphalabhoga parityāgah (Devanagari: इहामुत्रफलभोग परित्यागः ISO15919: ihāmutraphalabhoga parityāgaḥ). The above mentioned knowledge would lead the aspirant naturally to get thoroughly detached from the material desires. In sansar there are many abode and they have varying degrees of material luxuries. The abode with maximum luxuries is Brahm lok. All these abodes and the luxuries in them are transient.

Six virtues of mind

3. Shamadi shat sampatti (Devanagari: शमदमादि षट संपत्ति: ISO15919: śamadamādi ṣaṭa saṁpatti:) are the six virtues of mind.
   1. Control on mind is called sham (Devanagari: शम ISO15919: śama) - absolute control on the mind and then navigating it towards God.
2. Absolute control on the five senses is called dam (Devanagari: दम ISO15919: dama).
3. Forbearance is called titikchha (Devanagari: तितिक्षा ISO15919: titikṣā) - Having patience and forbearance due to unwavering understanding that every good or bad fortune is the outcome of one's own deeds, which one has to bear.
4. Unyielding faith in God is called shraddha (Devanagari: श्रद्धा ISO15919: śraddhā).
5. Clarity in the concept is called samadhan (Devanagari: समाधान ISO15919: samādhāna). All doubts have been cleared and there is clarity in the concept of God realization.
6. Desire of liberation is called is called uparati (Devanagari: उपरति ISO15919: uparati). Total detachment from the world and then the desire of liberation is extremely strong. This inspires an aspirant to do anything to be liberated from Maya. This is the beginning of the path of Gyan.

Unflinching desire of liberation

4. Unflinching desire of liberation is called mumukshatvamitisphuṭam (Devanagari: मुमुक्षत्वमितिस्फुटम् ISO15919: mumukṣatvamitisphuṭam).

Once all these states of mind are mastered the gyani can then start practicing the path of gyan.

Practices of gyan

Once the above-mentioned mental states have been mastered then the person can start practicing the path of gyan. This path has following eights practice. 

1. Vivek (Devanagari: विवेक ISO15919: viveka) - Ability to discriminate eternal from transient things, and thus exclusively pursue eternal things.

2. Vairagya (Devanagari: वैराग्य ISO15919: vairāgya) - Complete detachment from the world. In this state if all of a sudden one were to loss of wife, son, wealth, business, all at the same moment, then too the aspirant's mind wont be distracted.

3. Shat-sampatti (Devanagari: शमादि षट् सम्पत्ति ISO15919: śamādi ṣaṭ sampatti) – above mentioned six properties of the mind.

4. Mumukchhuttva (Devanagari: मुमुक्षुत्व ISO15919: mumukṣutva) - intense desire for  liberation.

5. Shravan (Devanagari: श्रवण ISO15919: śravaṇa) – Listening to the philosophy to attain liberation.

6. Manan (Devanagari: मनन ISO15919: manana) – to contemplate deeply on the philosophy.

7. Nididhyaasan (Devanagari: निदिध्यासन ISO15919: nididhyāsana) –  to follow the teachings sincerely.

8. Samadhi (Devanagari: समाधि ISO15919: samādhi) – to go deep in transcendental meditation.

Levels of detachment

By practicing all the above mentioned practices one tries to grow the level of detachment. In Sanskrit detachment is called vairagya (Devanagari: वैराग्य ISO15919: vairāgya).

the realy meaning of vairagya is that the person has neither affinity nor malice towards anything or anyone in the world. 

By following these the above practices one has to cross the following seven classes of gyan

1. agyan (Devanagari: अज्ञान ISO15919: ajñāna) - Ignorance

2. bhranti (Devanagari: भ्रांती ISO15919: bhrāṁtī) - Confusion

3. Avaran (Devanagari: आवरण ISO15919: āvaraṇa) - Shroud

4. paroksha gyan (Devanagari: परोक्ष ज्ञान ISO15919: parokṣa jñāna) - Knowledge of perceptible matters

5. ​aparoksha gyan (Devanagari: अपरोक्ष ज्ञान ISO15919: aparokṣa jñāna) - Knowledge of imperceptible matters

6. dukha nivritti (Devanagari: दुःख निवृत्ति ISO15919: duḥkha nivr̥tti) - Relief from suffering

7. tripti (Devanagari: तृप्ति ISO15919: tr̥pti) - Satisfaction

These classes of gyan are increasing levels the detachment.

The achievement

There are five types of gyanis. First they learn the theory, then try to put it into practice. Eventually the gyani conquers Swaroopavarika Maya which hides our own self from us. We are souls, immortal and divine, yet, we do not know this reality. 

The gyani crosses this part of Maya and becomes free from the two gunas of Maya. Yet, the third mode satva guna still remains and the jeev attains the knowledge of self (atma or jeev). 

Knowledge of self is called atmagyan (Devanagari: आत्मज्ञान ISO15919: ātmajñāna) and the person with that knowledge is called (Devanagari: आत्मज्ञानी ISO15919: ātmajñānī).

The Gita says,  ​​

सत्त्वाद् संजायते ज्ञानम्
sattvād saṁjāyate jñānam

"The knowledge of atma generates from the satva guna ".

Atmagyan is so blissful that the gyani mistakenly feels that he has actually attained the bliss of God realization.

This state of a gyani is called brahmbhoot avastha (Devanagari: ब्रह्मभूतावस्था ISO15919: brahmabhūtāvasthā), the level where he knows or feels nothing except the bliss of atmagyan.

The Gita says for such a gyani -

ब्रह्मभूतः प्रसन्नात्मा न शोचति न कांक्षति। समः सर्वेषुभूतेषु मद्भक्तिं लभते पराम् ॥ गीता १८.५४
brahmabhūtaḥ prasannātmā na śocati na kāṁkṣati। samaḥ sarveṣubhūteṣu madbhaktiṁ labhate parām ॥ gītā 18.54

"A gyani at this stage is ever cheerful. Neither he feels sad nor does he desire anything". He feels Atma in everyone and everywhere. Hence he becomes totally impartial.

But he hasn't attained the Nirakar Brahm, so spiritual downfall from this state is still a possibility. So, what does a gyani who has reached the state of self-realization do next?

What after self-realization?

God cannot be realized by any means other than bhakti. Therefore, devotion is inevitable for emancipation from Maya.

As Jagadguru Shankaracharya says -

मोक्षकारणसामग्र्यां भक्तिरेव गरियसी॥ शंकराचार्य
mokṣakāraṇasāmagryāṁ bhaktireva gariyasī॥ śaṁkarācārya

"Bhakti is far superior to all forms of mukti".

Jagadguru Shankaracharya asserts that

शुद्धयति हि नान्तरात्मा कृष्णपदाम्भोजभक्तिमृते ॥ शंकराचार्य
śuddhayati hi nāntarātmā kr̥ṣṇapadāmbhojabhaktimr̥te ॥ śaṁkarācārya

"even sham (purification of mind) is not possible without Shri Krishna bhakti, then it is obvious that liberation is unattainable"

But, there are two kinds of devotion, since there are two forms of the same Almighty Supreme God. The Vedas say -

द्वेवाव ब्रह्मणो रूपे, मूर्तं चैवामूर्तं च।
dvevāva brahmaṇo rūpe, mūrtaṁ caivāmūrtaṁ ca।

There are two forms of God;

• one with a Sakaar Brahm, and
• other form is Nirakar Brahm.

Jagadguru Shankaracharya also asserts the same in the following words;

मूर्तं चैवामूर्तं द्वे एव ब्रह्मणो रूपे। इत्युपनिष्त्तयोर्वा द्वौभक्तौभगवदुपदिष्टौ॥
mūrtaṁ caivāmūrtaṁ dve eva brahmaṇo rūpe। ityupaniṣttayorvā dvaubhaktaubhagavadupadiṣṭau॥

A gyani worships Nirakar Brahm. They meditate upon a dot of light as the symbol of God whereas a devotee chooses ones of the forms as God as one's Deity, endows that divine form of God with all divine qualities and then meditates upon that divine form. Thus, both are devoted to God. Gyanis worship formless God and devotees worship God with a particular form of their choice.

So when both worship God then which path is easier to follow?

Challenges on the path of Gyan

The path of knowledge is more difficult as compared to the path of devotion. An aspirant of Gyan Marg cannot lean-in on any name, form, pastimes and attributes of God, so focussing the fickle mind on nothing is extremely difficult.

क्षुरस्य धारा निशिता दुरत्यया॥ कठोपनिषत्
kṣurasya dhārā niśitā duratyayā॥ kaṭhopaniṣat

"Gyan Marg is like walking on the edge of the sword".

Pursuing the path of gyan is like walking on the edge of a knife

ग्यान अगम प्रत्युह अनेका। साधन कठिन न मन महुँ टेका॥
ज्ञान कै पंथ कृपाण कै धारा। परेत खगेस होहिं नहिं बारा॥
राम चरित मानस
gyāna agama pratyuha anekā। sādhana kaṭhina na mana mahum̐ ṭekā॥
jñāna kai paṁtha kr̥pāṇa kai dhārā। pareta khagesa hohiṁ nahiṁ bārā॥
rāma carita mānasa

"Gyan Marg is very difficult to walk on. Sadhana of Gyan marg is also very difficult".

But if someone were to meet the pre-qualification of walking on the gyan marg and  bravely faces all the hardships, still there are many more challenges to combat on the path of Gyan such as, 

1.       As Lord Krishna says  in the Gita;

क्लेषोऽधिकतरस्तेषा मव्यक्तासक्तचेतसाम् । अव्यक्ता हि गतिर्दुःखं देहवद्भिरवऔयते॥
गीता 12.5
kleṣo'dhikatarasteṣā mavyaktāsaktacetasām । avyaktā hi gatirduḥkhaṁ dehavadbhiravaauyate॥
gītā 12.5

"Human beings have a tangible body so it is very difficult for them to focus on intangible, unmanifested personality of Nirakar Brahm".

 2.       Eligibility to take the first step on this path is very challenging. As I have explained earlier in this article, one has to master four qualities (sadhan chatushtaya sampann) prior to stepping on path of gyan.

निर्विणणानां ज्ञानयोगः॥
nirviṇaṇānāṁ jñānayogaḥ॥

"One cannot tread on the path of knowledge without being totally detached from material attractions."

विवेकिनो विरक्तस्य शमादिगुणशालिनः। मुमुक्षोरेव हि ब्रह्मजिज्ञासा योग्यता मता॥
शंकरा.
vivekino viraktasya śamādiguṇaśālinaḥ। mumukṣoreva hi brahmajijñāsā yogyatā matā॥
śaṁkarā.

"At first, total detachment is extremely difficult. Then the other conditions are even more complicated".

In comparing this to the path of bhakti... Those who are neither completely detached nor attached to the world are eligible to follow the path of devotion.

नातिसक्तो न वैराग्यभागस्यामधिकार्यसौ॥ भ. र.सिं.
nātisakto na vairāgyabhāgasyāmadhikāryasau॥ bha. ra.siṁ.

सर्वेधिकारिणो ह्यत्र हरिभक्तौ यथ नृप॥ पदम पुराण
sarvedhikāriṇo hyatra haribhaktau yatha nr̥pa॥ padama purāṇa

शास्त्रतः श्रूयते भक्तौ नृमात्रस्याधिकारिता॥ भ. र.सिं.
śāstrataḥ śrūyate bhaktau nr̥mātrasyādhikāritā॥ bha. ra.siṁ.

भगवत्प्राप्त्युपायो हि सर्वसाधन हीनता॥ रामानंद  
bhagavatprāptyupāyo hi sarvasādhana hīnatā॥ rāmānaṁda

कहहु भगति पथ कवन प्रयासा। जोग न जप तप मख उपवासा॥ रा.च.मानस
kahahu bhagati patha kavana prayāsā। joga na japa tapa makha upavāsā॥
rā.ca.mānasa

According to Saint Tulsi das "What is the problem in walking on the path of Bhakti. One does not practise yoga to control the mind, perform penance, perform elaborate Vedic injunctions". ​[3]

 3.       If someone successfully meets the prerequisites to follow the path of knowledge, there is always a possibility of downfall at every step because the gyani relies on his own knowledge and detachment [4], and does not take the support of God.

On the contrary, a devotee walks on the path depending completely on the grace of God and with total reliance on God. The Bhagavat says the same in the following verse:

येऽन्येरविन्दाक्ष विमुक्तमानिनस्त्वय्यस्तभावादविशुद्ध बुद्धयः ।
ye'nyeravindākṣa vimuktamāninastvayyastabhāvādaviśuddha buddhayaḥ ।

"Upon self-realization, the gyani might consider himself to be free, but he is still not past the realm of Maya. He can again fall from there into pit of Maya".

आरुह्यकृच्छ्रेण परं पदं ततः पतन्त्यधो नादृतयुष्मदंघ्र्यः॥ 
भाग. 10.2.33
āruhyakr̥cchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ patantyadho nādr̥tayuṣmadaṁghryaḥ॥ 
bhāga. 10.2.33

"Even after attaining the higher levels of gyan the gyani can experience utter downfall".  But the devotees, depending thoroughly on God, never fall. Instead due to being protected by You, they roam freely without any cares

तथा न ते माधव तावकाः क्वचिद् भ्रश्यंति मार्गात् त्वयि बद्धसौहृदाः।
tathā na te mādhava tāvakāḥ kvacid bhraśyaṁti mārgāt tvayi baddhasauhr̥dāḥ।

त्वयभिगुप्ता विचरन्ति निर्भया विनायकानी कपमूर्धसु प्रभो॥ भाग. १०.२.३३
ttvayabhiguptā vicaranti nirbhayā vināyakānī kapamūrdhasu prabho॥ bhāga. 10.2.33

Some people like the challenge and whereas others take the easy road... Gyani too reaches his destination, after overcoming numerous hurdles. 

So, after reaching the destination, is there any difference between gyani and bhakt?

Do Gyani and Bhakt reach same destination?

Gyani's destination is not different than that of a devotee. Both of them attain the same God, as God is one.

​Hence, Lord Krishna said in the Gita

ते प्राप्नुवन्ति मामेव सर्वभूतहिते रता: ॥
गीता 12.4
te prāpnuvanti māmeva sarvabhūtahite ratā: ॥
gītā 12.4

"...by restraining their senses and being even-minded everywhere, such persons, engaged in the welfare of all beings, also attain Me.."

The greatest difference actually begins after attaining the goal.

​A gyanidoes not believe in any form of God and wishes to have mukti from material agonies only. So upon perfection gyani gets
• freedom from Maya and cycle of birth and death forever.
• the divine soul, without senses, mind or intellect, merges into Supreme Being forever after leaving the sthool sharir.

Thus, gyani becomes one with God, THE who is the ocean of bliss. Now the triputi (trio) ends, then how can gyani ever enjoy that bliss? If you yourself become a sweet, then how would you enjoy the taste of that sweet?

The sweetness of the bliss of the Sakar Brahm (personal form) [5] of God is ineffable and ever increasing. Many great God-realized Gyanis lived on the earth as paramhansa. This is the state in which one is always being engrossed in transcendental meditation and has no inkling of this world. They happened to experience bliss of the personal form of Brahma - Supreme Lord with merely one faculty (sight, hearing, taste, touch, smell). That single exposure to the sweetness of the personal form of Brahma with one sense forced them out of their meditative state, and naturally immersed them in divine sweetness of love bliss. For example,

1. the 4 Kumars who are the greatest gyani of Sat yug once experienced an unknown fragrance through the air. The moment they smelt the fragrance and they forgot about their transcendental meditation. Not only that they became restless to know where it came from. Through their samadhi, they came to know that the Divine fragrance is from a Tulsi leaf which is placed on the lotus feet of MahaVishnu. Because of the touch of His feet, the scent had become divine and extremely blissful. They thought, 'If the bliss of Tulsi-leaf, which has touched His feet is so idyllic, then what can be said about His lotus feet!’ They immediately left to see Him, thus leaving behind the charm of meditating on formless God [6] which was this highest bliss as far as they knew, and asked for a boon to let him dwell at His lotus feet forever. (Bhagavat 3.15.43 \& 3.15.49).
2. Similarly, in Treta yug, King Janak saw Shri Ram just once and lost consciousness of everything around him, including the awareness of the grandiose wedding ceremony of his daughter, Mother Sita.
3. In the age of Dwapar yug, Shukdev Ji, the orator of Shrimad Bhagavat, had  heard merely one attribute of the personal form of God, Shri Krishna, and lost all interest in meditating on formless Brahma.

All these greatest of the gyanis were exposed to the subject of only one Gyanendriyan, and experienced such an extraordinary divine bliss that they forgot about their transcendental meditation. Such is the bliss of the personal form of God [5][7].

A gyani, who worships the abstract form of God and attains mukti and after leaving the gross material body the jeev merges in the Nirakar Brahm(Formless Brahma) without body, mind or senses. Thereby, one loses the opportunity to attain the bliss of love because Formless Brahma has no form, name or pastimes [7] .