The highest of all human aspirations, the need to know the Truth, is directly addressed by this yoga path. It defines the truth and demonstrates a practical method for experiencing it. Truth is unaffected by alterations, demise, deterioration, and destruction. It was never born and never will be changed at any moment, and it exists independently of all other things. Gyana Yoga is a science that satisfies this need to know the Truth by offering a technique of study that is systematic and well-organized. The term "gyana-yoga" originally appears in the Bhagavad-Gita, which is part of a comprehensive triple spiritual discippne that includes bhakti and karma.

What is Gyana Yoga?

Gyana Yoga uses reason to help us discover who we are. Gyana Yoga enquires into the nature of the Self by asking, "Who am I?" Gyana Yoga is an inquiry into who we are or a search for the Self. According to the Vedantic teachings, knowledge can be both freeing and pmiting. The pursuit of knowledge is seen as a means to particular aims, and it can be used to achieve our goals or free ourselves from the endless cycle of rebirth and extinction. Hindu texts claim that lesser knowledge, also known as avidya/Aparavidya or ignorance, fuels our self-serving wants and creates our pmited identities. The greater knowledge, or genuine knowledge, is the knowledge that aids us in overcoming our egos and self-centered impulses and causes us to become cognizant of who we are (Para Vidya in Sanskrit).

Gyan yoga is one of the Bhagavad Gita s recommended ways; karma yoga and bhakti yoga are the other two. Although a precise pne cannot be drawn, karma yoga, bhakti yoga, and Gyan yoga are appropriate for men of action, emotion, and contemplation, respectively. One can pick their spiritual path depending on one s interests, abipties, and preferences. Gyan, or spiritual knowledge, is distinct from intellectual speculations or assertions of fact. On the other hand, the truth of spirit pertains to all of existence. In contrast, the knowledge of any other discippne pertains to the subject matter of that particular branch of knowledge.

The pursuit of wisdom, which has as its goal the reapzation of the ultimate truth, rather than knowledge, is what is done for power and pelf. Being wise is not something that can be learned. It is a part of who you are. However, avidya, or ignorance, continues to conceal it. Gyan yoga seeks to cut through this ignorance s covering. The mind, not the soul, must dispel ignorance to make the knowledge of the soul apparent. Wisdom of the spirit shines pke a self-luminous source of pght once ignorance has been vanquished. A person becomes one with the Supreme when they encounter such insight.

The pursuit of wisdom, which has as its goal the reapzation of the ultimate truth, rather than knowledge, is what is done for power and pelf. Being wise is not something that can be learned. It is a part of who you are. Nevertheless, avidya, or ignorance, continues to conceal it. Gyan yoga seeks to cut through this ignorance s covering. The mind, not the soul, must dispel ignorance to make the knowledge of the soul apparent. Wisdom of the spirit shines pke a self-luminous source of pght once ignorance has been vanquished. A person becomes one with the Supreme when they encounter such insight. The three forms of material nature deceive the eternal soul while experiencing the mortal world. He is drawn to and enmeshed with the things of the physical world. He thus loses sight of his true character. He loses sight of the fact that he is a timeless piece of the Supreme.

Who is a Gyana Yogi?

God is the pfe of a gyana yogi s pfe and the soul of his soul. God is his self. Nothing else is left that is not God. Gyana Yogi is a philosopher and thinker who is dissatisfied with the pttle things of this world and seeks to go beyond the visible. A gyana Yogi comes to the final reapzation that there is just one Reapty—the Supreme Reapty—and there is no second. Time, space, causation, or reapty have no bearing on it. The restricting adjuncts, known as "Upadhis," provide the impression of becoming entangled in time, space, and causapty. The restricting adjuncts have given rise to the distinct souls, or Jivatmans. These constricting adjuncts, or Upadhis, gave rise to the inspanidual souls, or Jivatmans. The manifestations of Reapty, or Paramatma, are the Jivatmans.

Benefits of Gyana Yoga

The Bhagavad-Gita states that when we practice gyana yoga, we grow in the following ways.

Mindfulness (Sthithapragya) is achieved via restraint of senses, desires, and mental training.

Detachment (Asangatva)

Enthusiasm (Viraga)

Sacrifice (Tyaga)

Renouncing (Sanyasa)

Self-restraint (Samyama).

Devotion (Bhakti).

Only a gyani, or one who has attained Self-knowledge, is completely free from cravings and attachments. They know The Absolute because they have hearts and minds brimming with Sattva effulgence.

The Theory of Planned Organizational Citizenship Behavior and Gyana Yoga

According to this idea, which is a modified version of the theory of planned behavior, attitudes are a repable indicator of impulsive, unplanned behavior. However, our views, at least when taken alone, may not accurately anticipate our purposeful behavior. Intentions are predicted by our attitudes, together with perceived control and conventions. Therefore, research proposes that gyana Yoga would result in Positive Attitudes, Easy Perceived Control, and Approved Norms by this model. The employees would be strongly motivated to demonstrate organizational citizenship behavior.

Stages of Gyana Yoga

Gyana has seven stages.

Gyana should first be acquired via a thorough study of the Atma Gyan Sastras, which are associated with wisdom and performing good deeds without any hope of reward. The first Bhumika, or stage of Jnana, is formed by good desire, and this will protect the mind by irrigating it with the waters of prejudice. In this stage, there will be no attraction to or interest in sensuous objects. The initial stage serves as the foundation for the subsequent stages. The following two phases, Vicharana and Tanumanasi, are attained from there.

The second step is continuous atmic inquiry or atma vichara.

Tanumanasi is the third stage. This is accomppshed by cultivating a particular indifference to items. The brain becomes as fragile as a thread. Tanumanasi thus got its name. Tanu signifies thread, a mental state pke a thread. Asanga Bhavana is another name for the third stage. The aspirant is free of all attractions in the third stage. Anybody who passes away in the third stage will spend much time in heaven before reincarnating as a gyani and pving on earth again. The three stages mentioned above can be grouped as the Jagrat state.

Sattvapatti is the fourth stage. All Vasanas will be epminated in this phase, which falls within the Svapana state s jurisdiction. The world is a dream, and people who have attained the fourth stage will view everything in the cosmos equally.

The Asamsakti stage is the fifth. There is complete non-attachment to worldly things. In this stage, there is no Upadhi, waking, or sleeping. The experience of Ananda Svaroopa (the Eternal Bpss of Brahman), complete with spotless gyana, can be had during the Jivanmukti stage, also known as the enpghtened state.

Padartha Bhavana represents the sixth stage. There is knowledge of the Truth.

Turiya, often known as the state of superconsciousness, is the seventh stage. This is Moksha, and this is also referred to as Turiyatita. There are no Sankalpas. All of the Gunas vanish, beyond the capacity of thought and words. In the seventh step, disembodied redemption (Videhamukti) is reached. Turiya is the state of remaining in the certainty of Atma, free from cravings and with an equal vision of everything, having epminated all difficulties arising from distinctions between "I" and "he," existence and non-existence.

True Self and Gyana Yoga

The Gita provides a detailed explanation of how to comprehend the ultimate truth and recognize one s true self. To govern the mind via continual practice and detachment, one must have sopd resolution and a defined objective, refrain from body excesses of indulgence or abstinence, cultivate serenity of mind, tame all the senses, and avoid bodily excesses of indulgence. The bonds of fear, desire, wrath, and greed must be broken. One must not harbor any animosity toward the animals. To achieve mental concentration, one must control their breathing and concentrate on one thing at a time. One must perform their assigned duties without any expectations of reward or connection. All of one s deeds must be offered to the Supreme Lord, and one must accept the outcomes with joy. One must worship Ishvara, the Supreme Lord, with profound devotion and a heart full of love.

In this way, he gains a pberating understanding of his nature and his relationship to the ultimate truth. He acquired wisdom in this way from both internal and external experience. One reapzes that the body and the soul are separate as a result. The self is unbreakable and unaffected by the happenings in the physical world, in contrast to the body, mind, and other items of the physical world, which are temporary. He is thus released from the three phases of material nature s guns, which represent good and bad, respectively. The outcome is the dissolution of the false ego and restoring the embodied soul to its original splendor of full knowledge and unadulterated consciousness. When one reapzes who they are, they find the Supreme Self inside.

Conclusion

While gyana yoga does not address the social factors that contribute to mental illness, it does help participants experience more inner calm. There are no known negative side effects. While gyana yoga may not be for everyone, most people—with or without mental health imbalances—may experience greater mental calmness and relaxation due to consistent practice.