Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 4, Verse 27

सर्वाणीन्द्रियकर्माणि प्राणकर्माणि चापरे |
आत्मसंयमयोगाग्नौ जुह्वति ज्ञानदीपिते || 27||

sarvāṇīndriya-karmāṇi prāṇa-karmāṇi chāpare
ātma-sanyama-yogāgnau juhvati jñāna-dīpite

sarvāṇiall; indriyathe senses; karmāṇifunctions; prāṇa-karmāṇifunctions of the life breath; chaand; apareothers; ātma-sanyama yogāgnauin the fire of the controlled mind; juhvatisacrifice; jñāna-dīpitekindled by knowledge




There are some yogis who follow the path of discrimination, or jñāna yog, and take the help of knowledge to withdraw their senses from the world. While haṭha yogis strive to restrain the senses with brute will-power, jñāna yogis accomplish the same goal with the repeated practice of discrimination based on knowledge. They engage in deep contemplation upon the illusory nature of the world, and the identity of the self as distinct from the body, mind, intellect, and ego. The senses are withdrawn from the world, and the mind is engaged in meditation upon the self. The goal is to become practically situated in self-knowledge, in the assumption that the self is identical with the Supreme Ultimate reality. As aids to contemplation, they chant aphorisms such as: tattvamasi “I am That,” (Chhāndogya Upaniṣhad 6.8.7)[v21] and ahaṁ brahmāsmi “I am the Supreme Entity.” (Bṛihadāraṇyak Upaniṣhad 1.4.10) [v22]

The practice of jñāna yog is a very difficult path, which requires a very determined and trained intellect. The Śhrīmad Bhāgavatam (11.20.7) states: nirviṇṇānāṁ jñānayogaḥ [v23] “Success in the practice of jñāna yog is only possible for those who are at an advanced stage of renunciation.”