January 6, 2011

Jnana, the yoga of discrimination, is sometimes known as the yoga of "neti, neti," or "not this, not this." In searching for permanence, all around us we see impermanence, and so we say "not this, no permanence there." Jnana yoga is in one sense a great whittling away of what we have always assumed to be real. This perspective agrees with an open mind--logically, rationally,  even radically--which is why jnana is a more intellectual yoga for those who have a mind for it. This in no way demeans a bhakti or karma, or even a raja yoga, because they all feed into the same ocean. Each of us is suited differently, though Jnana is probably the most direct path.  It certainly drew some of the greatest 20th century sages (Ramana, Nisargadatta) to recast it for our age. They boiled 5,000 years of scriptures into two words: "I am." Nisargadatta describes the practice thus: "Do not bother about anything you want or think or do and just stay put in the thought and feeling 'I am,' focusing 'I am' firmly in your mind. All kinds of experiences come to you - remain unmoved in the knowledge that all perceivable is transient, and only the 'I am' endures." Ironic how simple this is, yet it took me over two decades just to dip my toe in it. Hey, but one toe is all that's necessary.