Jnana Yoga

Jñānayoga

Vivekananda's lectures presenting Advaita Vedanta to Western audiences as a rational philosophy of knowledge and freedom.

Modern expositionSource not yet ingested

Tradition: Modern expositions · Advaita Vedanta · Vedanta
Difficulty: beginner → intermediate
Attribution: Swami VivekanandaSwami Vivekananda; a collection of his lectures
Period · language: Lectures given mainly in 1896, largely in London; published as a collection shortly afterwards · English
Themes: Knowledge · Maya · Self · Religion · Freedom

Why read this?

It shows how Advaita was reframed in the modern period for a global audience, in the language of reason, science and universal religion. It is a modern exposition, not a classical text, and reflects Vivekananda's own emphases.

Questions it answers

?What is maya?
?Is the real Self infinite?
?Can religion be rational?

Key teachings

Editorial overview

Maya as a statement of fact

Vivekananda presents maya not as a theory that the world is an illusion but as a description of the contradictions in which we live.

The real nature of the human being

The true Self is presented as infinite and free, identical with Brahman, with bondage an apparent limitation.

Religion and reason

He argues that Vedanta can meet the demands of reason and science, and that realisation, not belief, is the core of religion.

Structure

A collection of lecturesContents vary somewhat between editions

Source not yet ingested

The text of the Jnana Yoga is not part of this version. What you see here is an editorial overview with passage references. No verses have been reproduced or invented. The architecture is ready for the text to be added.

Concepts

Conceptज्ञानJnana — knowledgeLiberating knowledge — seeing reality and the Self as they are.ConceptमायाMayaThe power of appearance — why the world seems other than it is.Conceptब्रह्मन्BrahmanThe ultimate reality, the ground from which everything arises.Conceptआत्मन्Atman — the SelfThe innermost Self — what you are beneath body, mind and personality.Conceptमोक्षMoksha — liberationFinal freedom from bondage and the cycle of rebirth.ConceptविवेकVivekaDiscernment between the real and the unreal, the Self and the not-Self.Conceptवैराग्यVairagya — dispassionFreedom from craving — the fading of attraction to what cannot satisfy.

TextविवेकचूडामणिVivekachudamaniA classical text of the path of knowledge in Advaita Textकर्मयोगKarma YogaCompanion volume on action Textब्रह्मसूत्रBrahma SutrasThe classical Vedanta source text

Thinkers

Thinkerस्वामी विवेकानन्दSwami Vivekananda1863–1902 CE (modern).Thinkerआदि शङ्कराचार्यAdi ShankaracharyaTraditionally 788–820 CE; many scholars prefer an earlier 8th-century or late 7th-century date. Dates are debated.

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Traditions

आधुनिकModern expositions अद्वैत वेदान्तAdvaita Vedanta वेदान्तVedanta

Source type: Modern exposition. Overview text on this page is editorial.