All week long when this word was the class theme for my classes I had that pop song, “to know, know, know him, is to love, love, love him”. I felt guilty. What does that syrupy song have to do with an ancient Sanskrit word that means to know who you are, where you’re from, and ultimately, your relationship to your God, your maker? Clearly this is a love song to some guy with a Hollywood slick back hairstyle, not God. But the lyrics can be applied to what Jnana Yoga is all about. Devotion and love. To know him is to love him. Makes your life worthwhile. One day I’ll walk alongside him. Him. Your God, whatever that means to you.
What do you put into your yoga? Does it go beyond once a week? Does it go beyond the actual physical practice? Do you pay attention to the lessons that unfold before you, do you delve a little more deeply to truly understand what yoga is all about and how you can constructively apply it to your life to better understand your behaviors, your drive, your inner consciousness? To really get to know who you are and ultimately, the meaning of your life? Perhaps you have considered delving into the sacred texts that have brought us this beautiful tradition called yoga. Maybe you have picked up a book about yoga, whether it be a classic text, like The Bhagavad Gita or The Yoga Sutras, or something a little more modern, like BKS Iyengar’s Light on Yoga. Perhaps you have read many. It’s okay if you haven’t, but………Maybe. Maybe one day. A more thoughtful and quiet way to awaken your consciousness. Afterall, my most powerful yogic moments occur OFF the mat. Sometimes as I interact with others, sometimes with my nose in a book.
The Bhagavad Gita, the classic and quintessential guide to yoga, identifies three styles of yoga. They are Karma (action) Yoga, Bhakti (devotion) Yoga and Jnana (knowledge) Yoga. Each is different though with overlapping ideas and qualities and all lead to the same thing, a stillness of the mind. Jnana, pronounced nYA-nah, means knowledge, to know. Jnana Yoga is a practice devoted to the path of self-realization and spiritual liberation, firmly grounded in a physical practice but with an earnest desire to delve more deeply through the careful study of yoga, generally with a teacher or a mentor. It is not an easy journey, but one marked by duty, integrity and sincerity, with a sense of selflessness and a commitment to evolve and to serve mankind and ultimately God. It’s a union with the Absolute. Again, Your Absolute, whatever and whoever that means to you.
While this does require reading, and maybe some writing, it’s important that we don’t get too steeped in the scholarly approach, after all there is a sense of physicality in the very word yoga, which remember, means to connect, to unify. The very idea of union denotes physicality. The experience of yoga is a prime element of its main essence. To know about yoga but to not experience what it feels like and its rippling bodily, energetic and emotional effects would be akin to knowing everything there is about cooking but not actually ever making a single dish. What would be the point of knowing how to concoct sumptuous and nutritious meals without ever actually doing so and sharing your creativity with those around you? It would be a waste and a lost opportunity to give an offering of love and devotion. And an opportunity to be happy!