Article CategoriesThe first Yoga that the Bhagavad Gita discusses is Jnana-yoga, or the path of knowledge. This path consists of acquiring the salvific knowledge that will assist us in attaining liberation from the material anxieties, fears and blockages that we so frequently encounter in our day-to-day lives. The term, jnana, does not refer to a mere academic endeavor, nor to a dry theoretical grasp of truth, but to that living - and life-giving! - spiritual wisdom that will best provide us with a direct understanding of the loving nature of the Absolute.
raja-vidya raja-guhyam pavitram idam uttamam
pratyaksavagamam dharmyam susukham kartum avyayam
“This knowledge is the king of sciences,” says Sri Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita, “the most secret of all secrets. It is the purest knowledge, and because it gives perception of the self by realization, it is the perfection of religion. It is everlasting and it is joyfully performed” (Bhagavad Gita, 9:2). Krishna praises the importance and efficacy of this unique form of knowledge throughout the entirety of the Gita. In the fourth chapter, for example, He compares the ability of spiritual insight to help us to the power of a blazing fire (4:37). Later, in chapter five, He compares it to the sun lighting up the world with its brilliant effulgence (5:16). Glorifying this divine knowledge again, Krishna says:
na hi jnanena sadrsam pavitram iha vidyate
tat svayam yoga-samsiddhah kalenatmani vindati
“In this world, there is nothing so sublime and pure as transcendental knowledge. Such knowledge is the mature fruit of all Yoga...” (4:38). Without having a direct experience of this life-freeing knowledge, a knowledge of how to achieve complete liberation from suffering, it is very difficult to make any real and meaningful progress on the spiritual path.
nasato vidyate bhavo nabhavo vidyate satah
ubhayor api drsto’ntas tv anayos tattva-darshibhih
“Those who are seers of the truth (tattva-darshibhih) have concluded that of the nonexistent there is no endurance, and of the existent there is no cessation. This seers have concluded by studying the nature of both”
(2:16)
One of the goals of the system of jnana is, therefore, acquiring valid and practical knowledge of the nature of the self in relation to our everyday empirical reality, which is comprised of both the material body we inhabit, in addition to our external environment.
We all know that we have a body. When we look in the mirror every morning to brush our teeth, or when we step on the scale to see what damage last night’s meal caused our waistline, we’re made immediately aware of that fact! As the above verse explains, though, the body of the individual is temporal in its makeup. It is not something that is eternally existent by nature. This fact can be explained in the following way.
Since the body is composed entirely of matter, it necessarily shares in all of the qualities of matter. Everything that is empirically perceivable - that is, everything that we can see, hear, touch, taste, smell or trip over - is composed of material substance (prakriti). Matter is by nature something that is temporary. It comes into being, is here for some time, begins to disintegrate, and in time, it disappears. By its very ontological constitution, anything that is material – bricks, walls, chairs, mountains, including even our very own bodies - is then necessarily temporary. All material things are in a constant state of flux, a state of perpetual becoming. They come into being, remain for some time, and eventually are resolved in a state of dissolution. The material body of the eternal true self undergoes birth, a brief state of existence, and finally the experience of death.
While a human being may potentially experience a life-span of as much as one hundred years, when seen in the broader context of infinity, this period of time is actually no longer than the proverbial blink of an eye. Consequently, the corporeal body is “nonexistent” in comparison to the eternal self, which is ever-existent. This fact is confirmed by the great Advaita philosopher, Shankara (8th century C.E.), in his commentary on the Bhagavad Gita:
"The perishables are things which have an end or anta. For instance, the idea of reality, associated with things like a mirage, snaps when tested by means of right cognition. This is its ‘end’. Likewise, these bodies of the eternal and indeterminable self are as perishable as the bodies seen in a dream or projected by a magician." (Shankara, 1983)
The material body, being of a temporal and consequently imperfect nature, is radically different from the true self, that self for which the body serves as just a temporary vehicle.
The spiritual self, according to the Bhagavad Gita, is qualitatively far superior to the physical body, being eternal, indestructible and immeasurable. Krishna states this clearly when He says:
The spiritual self, according to the Bhagavad Gita, is qualitatively far superior to the physical body, being eternal, indestructible and immeasurable. Krishna states this clearly when He says:
avinasi tu tad viddhi yena sarvam idam tatam
vinasam avyayasyasya na kascit kartum arhati
antavanta ime deha nityasyoktah saririnah
anasino’ prameyasya
“Know that which pervades the entire body to be indestructible. No one is able to destroy the imperishable soul. Only the body of the indestructible, immeasurable and eternal living being is subject to destruction...” (2:17 - 18)
The individual soul, the autonomous, monadic unit of consciousness that is the true self, is ontologically anterior and qualitatively superior to the lesser material substance of which the soul’s present physical body is composed. “Our very existence is in the atmosphere of nonexistence,” according to Bhaktivedanta Swami, “Actually, we are not meant to be threatened by nonexistence. Our existence is eternal. But somehow or other we are put into asat. Asat refers to that which does not exist” (Bhaktivedanta, 1992). The atman is, by analytic contrast, sat, or that which cannot but exist, and unceasingly so.
About the Author
Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya (Dr. Frank Morales, Ph.D.) is universally acclaimed as one of the world's most respected and qualified Dharma teachers and Hindu spiritual leaders alive today. He personifies what it means to be a true and authentic guru.
Dr. Deepak Chopra has exclaimed in 2002: "You've done truly phenomenal work teaching the pure essence of Yoga". In a similar manner, Dr. David Frawley has said about Sri Acharyaji, "Dr. Frank Morales represents the Sankalpa [the will] of the Hindu people and the cause of Sanatana Dharma. I urge all Hindus everywhere to give him your full support, assistance, and encouragement in his crucial work. He needs and deserves our help."
Sri Acharyaji began his personal spiritual journey over 35 years ago at the tender age of ten when he read the Bhagavad Gita for the very first time. He coupled his decades of intense spiritual practice and study with advanced academic achievements, earning a B.A. in philosophy/theology from Loyola University Chicago, as well as an M.A. and Ph.D. in religious studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
He has lectured on Dharma at dozens of top universities, such as Harvard, Columbia, Rutgers, Cornell, and Northwestern. He has also served as a consultant for such Fortune 500 companies as Ford Motor Corporation and Lucent Technology.
Explaining to his doctoral advisor that "I don't want to just study the history of religion…I want to make religious history", Sri Acharyaji eventually left academia to devote himself exclusively to spiritual teaching and to the preservation of the great tradition of Sanatana Dharma (Hinduism).
Today, Sri Acharyaji occupies his full time teaching Dharma spirituality to diverse audiences. In addition to leading classes, satsanghas, seminars and lecturing on Sanatana Dharma widely, Sri Acharyaji is a renowned author, as well as a personal spiritual guide (guru) to a rapidly increasing following of enthusiastic students from both the Indian and the non-Indian communities.
Sri Acharyaji was the Resident Acharya (Spiritual Preceptor) of the Hindu Temple of Nebraska (2007 - 2009), which represents the first time in American history that a Hindu temple has ever made such an esteemed appointment. He is the Founder-President of the International Sanatana Dharma Society, a global movement dedicated to teaching Dharma in its most authentic form.
Sri Acharyaji is the real thing: an enlightened guru with the ability to deliver the highest wisdom and spiritual liberation to his sincere students.
Sri Acharyaji's teachings stress the achievement of enlightenment through the practice of meditation, Yoga, and directly experiencing the presence of the Divine. Another overarching aspect of Sri Acharyaji's teachings focuses on the importance of love, compassion and service toward all living beings.
Whether speaking to an audience of thousands, or having a heart-felt discussion with only one person, Sri Acharyaji vividly conveys a deeply moving sense of compassion, peace, humility, and spiritual insight that has endeared him to thousands of students and admirers throughout the world.
Some of his books include:
"Sanatana Dharma: The Eternal Natural Way"
"Living Dharma: The Teachings of Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya"
"Radical Universalism: Does Hinduism Teach that All Religions are the Same?"
"Taking Refuge in Dharma: The Initiation Guidebook"
"The Vedic Way of Knowing God"
"The Shakti Principle: Encountering the Feminine Power of God"
"The Art of Wisdom: Affirmations for Boundless Living"
His latest book Sanatana Dharma: The Eternal Natural Way, is scheduled for publication in 2011.
For more information on following the life-transforming path of Sanatana Dharma, please visit his website:
Copyright Notice, (c) 2010-2012, Dharmacentral.com
You have the author's permission to publish and/or forward this article for educational purposes only if it is left thoroughly unaltered, unchanged and unedited (with the inclusion of this notice), and if full credit is given to the author.