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    Jnana Marg

    namasker,

    i am very much interested to know about Jnana marg. how does it differ from bhakti marg. i was debating with one of my friend who told me that Jnana Marg is very difficult to attain and a sheer waste of time. he advised me to stick to bhakti marg. is it really true that bhakti marg is more convenient than Jnana Marg?

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    Re: Jnana Marg

    Quote Originally Posted by Bishawjit View Post
    I am very much interested to know about Jnana marg. how does it differ from bhakti marg. i was debating with one of my friend who told me that Jnana Marg is very difficult to attain and a sheer waste of time. he advised me to stick to bhakti marg. is it really true that bhakti marg is more convenient than Jnana Marg?
    Namaste Bishwajit,

    As you must be aware, Jnana means knowledge. Jnana Marg is the direct route to the Ultimate Truth. It is not difficult but the first exposure to this "knowledge", even theoretically, shatters you from within & if you "experience" the Reality then ..... . It changes the way you see & perceive yourself & this world.

    In fact, imo, the Bhakti Marg cannot be well understood without having at least the theoretical knowledge of Jnana Marg. It is a wrong understanding that Bhakti Marg & Jnana Marg are in contradiction/conflict with each other. They actually complement each other. There are many examples - Sri Ramkrishna Paramhans who was a Bhakti Margi par excellence but took to Jnana Marg to attain enlightenment. Adi Shankaracharya was a Jnana Margi par excellence but did many things in accordance with Bhakti Marg.

    Is it a sheer waste of time ? The Jnana only can lead to the knowledge of :
    i) What you really are
    ii) What this world really is
    iii) Why do you suffer & what is the way out of this infinite eternal hell of cycles of death & birth
    iv) What is reall happiness after attaining which you won't ever desire anything & you won't fear anything, even death

    Mind it, you cannot know these answers by doing good & accumulating "Punya", by any method of fasting, rituals of worship, going on pilgrimage, chanting mantras etc. The ONLY way to break this Grim Nexus what binds us into sufferings is Jnana Marg. Bhakti Marg finally leads to Jnana only but Bhakti Marg without having even theoretical understanding of Jnana may lead to superstitious beliefs & endless sufferings.

    You can yourself decide whether it is a sheer waste of time !

    OM
    "Om Namo Bhagvate Vaasudevaye"

  3. #3

    Re: Jnana Marg

    Quote Originally Posted by devotee View Post
    Namaste Bishwajit,

    As you must be aware, Jnana means knowledge. Jnana Marg is the direct route to the Ultimate Truth. It is not difficult but the first exposure to this "knowledge", even theoretically, shatters you from within & if you "experience" the Reality then ..... . It changes the way you see & perceive yourself & this world.

    In fact, imo, the Bhakti Marg cannot be well understood without having at least the theoretical knowledge of Jnana Marg. It is a wrong understanding that Bhakti Marg & Jnana Marg are in contradiction/conflict with each other. They actually complement each other. There are many examples - Sri Ramkrishna Paramhans who was a Bhakti Margi par excellence but took to Jnana Marg to attain enlightenment. Adi Shankaracharya was a Jnana Margi par excellence but did many things in accordance with Bhakti Marg.

    Is it a sheer waste of time ? The Jnana only can lead to the knowledge of :
    i) What you really are
    ii) What this world really is
    iii) Why do you suffer & what is the way out of this infinite eternal hell of cycles of death & birth
    iv) What is reall happiness after attaining which you won't ever desire anything & you won't fear anything, even death

    Mind it, you cannot know these answers by doing good & accumulating "Punya", by any method of fasting, rituals of worship, going on pilgrimage, chanting mantras etc. The ONLY way to break this Grim Nexus what binds us into sufferings is Jnana Marg. Bhakti Marg finally leads to Jnana only but Bhakti Marg without having even theoretical understanding of Jnana may lead to superstitious beliefs & endless sufferings.

    You can yourself decide whether it is a sheer waste of time !

    OM
    Namasker devotee,
    i think you misunderstood me. it was not my opinion. my friend told me that many have tried to attain Jnana Marg but failed. and since i dont have much knowledge in this field i was a bit confused.
    but now i think i should collect some of the works of bibekananda to get a better understanding of this path. do you think that should help.

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    Re: Jnana Marg

    Quote Originally Posted by Bishawjit View Post
    i think i should collect some of the works of bibekananda to get a better understanding of this path. do you think that should help.
    Namaste Bishwajit,

    Yes, there is a book having a good compilation of Swami Vivekananda's lectures on Jnana Yoga. It is named, "Jnana Yoga". You may also like to read Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj's "I Am That".

    There are some very good books having compilation of talks with Sri Ramana Maharishi. These books are available on Internet too.

    Upanishads are the origin of Jnana Yoga ... The Katha Upanishad, Svetasvatara Upanishad, Mundak Upanishad, Mandukya Upanishad, Brihdaranyak Upanishad, Isha Upanishad etc. are my favourites. All these Upanishads are also available on Internet.

    In Buddhism, you may like to read, Heart Sutras, Diamond Sutras & Lotus Sutras.

    OM
    "Om Namo Bhagvate Vaasudevaye"

  5. #5

    Re: Jnana Marg

    i have collected the complete works of swami bibekananda. his logics are simply awasme. but i found that he called it Raja yoga.

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    Re: Jnana Marg

    As Devotee has rightly pointed out, I think the jnAna and bhakti paths are not exclusive of each other. Perhaps the bhakti path is more suitable for this Kali Yuga than the jnAna path and this is why even the most accomplished jIvan muktas (such as Sankara, RamaNa, Kanchi Paramacharya, Ramakrishna Paramahansa--to name a few) of Kali Yuga have always stressed the path of devotion for everyone and the path of jnAna as the next level for the jIvas that could equip themselves with its rigours.

    I think in jnAna marga, there is no worship of the SaguNa Brahman, only meditation of the NirguNa Brahman as the Atman which is the Universal Self and the source of the JIvas. The Bhakti path was the most preferred by the Hindu subjects even in the other Yugas as we infer from the Puranas and Itihasas.

    A river tends to flow on its own accord through where its waters take it, but it is still influenced by other factors such as the ground it flows on, the checks and balances on its way and so on.
    रत्नाकरधौतपदां हिमालयकिरीटिनीम् ।
    ब्रह्मराजर्षिररत्नाढ्यां वन्दे भारतमातरम् ॥

    To her whose feet are washed by the ocean, who wears the Himalayas as her crown, and is adorned with the gems of rishis and kings, to Mother India, do I bow down in respect.

    --viShNu purANam

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    Re: Jnana Marg

    Namaste,

    I think it is fruitless to compare the different paths to jnana. These paths are intended for people with different temperaments. It is akin to choosing majors in college. The ultimate goal is to get a 'good' job, so one decides to follow the path that he is interested, and has an aptitude in, to fulfill that goal. It is puerile to denigrate one path while praising another; it would be akin to the idiotic christians/muslims if Hindus resort to that. Hinduism realizes that one size does NOT fit all; therefore it has several schools of thought that appeal to people of different progress, capabilities, and temperaments. No one path is higher or lower than the other. The real question is, "What is the best path for YOU?!"

    Namaskar.

    Quote Originally Posted by Bishawjit View Post
    namasker,

    i am very much interested to know about Jnana marg. how does it differ from bhakti marg. i was debating with one of my friend who told me that Jnana Marg is very difficult to attain and a sheer waste of time. he advised me to stick to bhakti marg. is it really true that bhakti marg is more convenient than Jnana Marg?

  8. #8

    Re: Jnana Marg

    Quote Originally Posted by TatTvamAsi View Post
    Namaste,

    I think it is fruitless to compare the different paths to jnana. These paths are intended for people with different temperaments. It is akin to choosing majors in college. The ultimate goal is to get a 'good' job, so one decides to follow the path that he is interested, and has an aptitude in, to fulfill that goal. It is puerile to denigrate one path while praising another; it would be akin to the idiotic christians/muslims if Hindus resort to that. Hinduism realizes that one size does NOT fit all; therefore it has several schools of thought that appeal to people of different progress, capabilities, and temperaments. No one path is higher or lower than the other. The real question is, "What is the best path for YOU?!"

    Namaskar.
    Namasker TatTvamAsi,
    i did not compare Jnana bhakti marg. i was just curious to know whether it is possible to attain this path. but the word choice was probably wrong. my apologies.

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