Reading through Swami Ashokananda's "How to cultivate love for God"
I came across a very lateral presentation of the traditional pathways...

Jnana Marg

"Jnana Yoga - the path of knowledge, the philosophical path.
There, also, analysis is called for, not exclusively of the mind
but of all the reality that is presented to oneself. By such analysis,
all erroneous ideas about reality are given up, and there remains
only the true idea. And when this true idea has been most clearly
defined, it becomes an experience. You, see, when thinking, or
thought, becomes very intense, it becomes tinged with emotion,
and very soon it bring us to an actual experience of reality; it does
not remain merely conceptual. That is the path of knowledge,
the philosophical path."


Commentary:
Look at the wordings
"When the thought becomes very intense - it becomes an experience...."
Such usage can only come from one who is Self realised.
None else can speak in such a manner..
The lesser exponent will fall back on standard rhetoric.....

-----Original Message-----
From: Vivekananda Centre [mailto:vivekananda@...]
Sent: Tuesday, July 17, 2001 2:55 PM
To: list; Self Knowledge List
Subject: [advaitin] Jnana Marg


Reading through Swami Ashokananda's "How to cultivate love for God"
I came across a very lateral presentation of the traditional pathways...

Jnana Marg

"Jnana Yoga - the path of knowledge, the philosophical path.
There, also, analysis is called for, not exclusively of the mind
but of all the reality that is presented to oneself. By such analysis,
all erroneous ideas about reality are given up, and there remains
only the true idea. And when this true idea has been most clearly
defined, it becomes an experience. You, see, when thinking, or
thought, becomes very intense, it becomes tinged with emotion,
and very soon it bring us to an actual experience of reality; it does
not remain merely conceptual. That is the path of knowledge,
the philosophical path."


Commentary:
Look at the wordings
"When the thought becomes very intense - it becomes an experience...."
Such usage can only come from one who is Self realised.
None else can speak in such a manner..
The lesser exponent will fall back on standard rhetoric.....

**************************
The analysis Swami Ashokananda offers is preliminary to serious meditation
and enquiry.

Thoughts are an experience whether intense or not. The notion of "intensity"
itself requires a criteria by which intensity can be judged. This criteria
is also in the conceptual realm. All ideas of reality (intense or not)
depend on the mind only. Therefore giving up speculation about perceived
reality, one should focus directly on perceiver. This is the direct path and
leads to Jnana.

Self Realization transcends thoughts and concepts totally and utterly,
revealing Absolute Beauty of the Self which is devoid of all things and
manifests as the Self-Radiance free of any support. The ancients called it
Sat-Chit-Ananda-Nityam-Poornum for a reason. A person who knows the Self
Knows that thought cannot reach it no matter how intense and subtle. All
notions of a "true idea" "false idea" die and vanish like a phantom before
Self-Knowledge manifests. Self is neither an experience nor that which
arises from experience. It is neither the center nor the circumference.
Although it is simple and obvious to the sage, it has no point of reference.
This is why Advaita Vedanta beautifully applies the Neti, Neti, method and
goes no further.

Love to all
Harsha