Jñāna literally means “knowledge, wisdom, understanding, or cognition,” and refers to existential knowledge. The Greeks called this revealing power epiginosko (ἐπιγινώσκω). The word yoga means “union.” Thus, jñāna-yoga is a path that aims to realize the essential...
The path
On Krishna, or God
मत्त: परतरं नान्यत्किञ्चिदस्ति धनञ्जय ।
मयि सर्वमिदं प्रोतं सूत्रे मणिगणा इव ॥ ७ ॥
mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat
kiñcid asti dhanañ-jaya
mayi sarvam idaṁ protaṁ
sūtre maṇi-gaṇā iva
“O conqueror of wealth, there is no truth superior to Me. Everything rests upon Me, as pearls are strung on a thread.” (Bhagavad Gita, 7.7)
The God that we pray to, to whom we refer as Kṛṣṇa, resides deep within each of us and everywhere.
गतिर्भर्ता प्रभु: साक्षी निवास: शरणं सुहृत् ।
प्रभव: प्रलय: स्थानं निधानं बीजमव्ययम् ॥ १८ ॥
gatir bhartā prabhuḥ sākṣī
nivāsaḥ śaraṇaṁ suhṛt
prabhavaḥ pralayaḥ sthānaṁ
nidhānaṁ bījam avyayam
“I am the goal, the sustainer, the master, the witness, the abode, the refuge and the dearest friend. I am the creation and the annihilation, the basis of everything, the resting place and the eternal seed.” (Bhagavad Gita, 9.18)
Kṛṣṇa offers us his guidance and direction from deep within. His divine grace and protection are always available to you. Kṛṣṇa is both what is personal and what is impersonal, and simultaneously transcendental to both. In his personal aspect, he possesses form and name as Vrajendra Nandan Kṛṣṇa Śyāmasundara. But simultaneously, in its impersonal aspect, he lacks objective qualities and he is omnipresent. Consciousness manifests the most in human beings, but enlightened devotees and saints are its full manifestation. Through service to enlightened beings, one gains access to realization.
श्रीभगवानुवाच
अहं भक्तपराधीनो ह्यस्वतन्त्र इव द्विज ।
साधुभिर्ग्रस्तहृदयो भक्तैर्भक्तजनप्रिय: ॥ ६३ ॥
śrī-bhagavān uvāca
ahaṁ bhakta-parādhīno
hy asvatantra iva dvija
sādhubhir grasta-hṛdayo
bhaktair bhakta-jana-priyaḥ
“God said to the brāhmaṇa: I am completely under the control of My devotees. Indeed, I am not at all independent. Because My devotees are completely devoid of material desires, I sit only within the cores of their hearts. What to speak of My devotee, even those who are devotees of My devotee are very dear to Me.” (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, 9.4.63)
Kṛṣṇa resides in our hearts, and we are all expressions of him. Always near, he is closer to you than you are to yourself. Everything and everyone are part of his manifestation.
अहं सर्वस्य प्रभवो मत्त: सर्वं प्रवर्तते ।
इति मत्वा भजन्ते मां बुधा भावसमन्विता: ॥ ८ ॥
ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo
mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate
iti matvā bhajante māṁ
budhā bhāva-samanvitāḥ
“I am the source of all things. Everything proceeds from me. The wise who accept this worship me with deep feeling.” (Bhagavad Gita, 10.8)
Kṛṣṇa not only exists, he is the only reality or existence itself. It is impossible to find Kṛṣṇa through the mind, but he can be found through the heart.
