Right knowledge as the Gita explains

A verse in the Gnana Yoga chapter of the Bhagavad Gita says that there is nothing more purifying and edifying than ‘Gnana’ or true knowledge. It proceeds to further elaborate on what is meant by the term ‘Gnana’. The awareness that everything in this universe is but a manifestation of the divine, the supreme power which inheres in all things sentient and insentient and that we humans are no exception to this is ‘Gnana’ or, right knowledge. It thus follows that we need not run hither and thither in search of this divinity. We only need to turn our attention inwards to where the supreme being resides.

The question now arises as to how we may recognise the existence of this power within us, immersed as we are in this worldly existence. The Gita significantly answers “every action that you do must ultimately result in the realisation of this knowledge”.

 What this means is that man must do his duty as a ‘Yagna’ as an offering to the divine with humility and without expecting any rewards or gains from it, in a spirit of service to others.

As one proceeds in this manner, the mind gradually gets rid of negative emotions like greed and selfishness and slowly moves towards a purified state. As the Gita says, the ego gets nullified gradually. The mind, in this condition, is receptive to positive thoughts which further raise the consciousness towards higher planes. 

The ‘Guru’ or preceptor is an invaluable aid in this process who turns the mind of the seeker towards hitherto unknown regions of spiritual awareness. The scriptural injunctions also play a vital role in this inner transformation, making the seeker, in the words of the Gita, “indifferent to worldly desires and gratifications”. Further, the Gita says that this knowledge prevents the person from committing any misdeeds and prohibited actions and it even rids the seeker of his accumulated sins and evils.

As the Gita succinctly says, “just as the fire of the oblatory ritual-the ‘Yagna’ completely burns down the offerings , reducing them to ashes, this ‘Gnana’ burns down the forest of ignorance, this attachment to sensual desires and wants and raises the practitioner to higher planes of mental awareness”.  Finally, what is the prerequisite for attaining this ‘Gnana’? “Shraddha-faith in the advice of the learned masters as also control over the senses are the two crucial qualifications”, according to the Gita, to mould our lives positively.