Jnana Yoga – Path of Knowledge

Jnana Yoga aims at liberating soul from illusionary world by the realization of the oneness of the individual self (Atman) and the ultimate Self (Brahman).
Jnana yoga has four pillers viz. Viveka (discrimination between self and non-self), Vairagya (detachment from worldly objects), Shad-Sampat (sixfold qualities of perfection i.e. Sama - peace, Dama - control over senses, Uparati - satiety, Titiksha - forbearance, Sraddha - faith and Samadhana - concentration of mind.) and Mumukshutva (intense longing for liberation).
Bhagwat Geeta has lucidly explained the characteristics of a muni or a wise man as under:

1. Whose all doubts have been cleared by knowledge,
2. Whose mind is steady to pleasures and miseries,
3. Whose attachment, fear and anger etc have been destroyed,
4. Who is totally involved in the interest of the entire creatures and whose mind is won by the absolute in the divine, they receive divinity.

The means of salvation, Jnana yoga explained by Shree Krishna in Bhagwat Geeta and manifestations of wisdom are given hereunder.
Pillers of Jnana Yoga

1. Viveka is discrimination between the real and the unreal, between the permanent and the impermanent, between the Self and the non-Self. Viveka comes through Seva (self-less service) and Satsang (association of saints).
2. Vairagya (dispassion) does not mean abandoning one's social duties and responsibilities of life and live in a solitary cave of the Himalayas. Vairagya is mental detachment from all worldly objects.
3. Shad-Sampat consists of Sama, Dama, Uparati, Titiksha, Sraddha and Samadhana. All these six qualities are taken as one because they are calculated to bring about mental control and discipline, without which concentration and meditation are impossible.
4. Sama is peace, serenity or tranquility of mind which is brought about through the eradication of desires.
5. Dama is restraint or rational control of the senses.
6. Uparati is satiety or renunciation; it is resolutely turning the mind away from desire for sensual enjoyment. This state of mind comes naturally when one has practiced Viveka, Vairagya, Sama and Dama.
7. Titiksha is the power of endurance. An aspirant should patiently bear the pairs of opposites such as heat and cold, pleasure and pain, etc. Forbearance of all misery, without even a thought of resisting or driving it out, without even any painful feeling in the mind, or any remorse — this is Titiksha.
8. Shraddha is intense faith in the word of the Guru, in Vedantic scriptures, God and, above all, in one's own self. It is not blind faith but is based on accurate reasoning, evidence and experience. As such, it is lasting, perfect and unshakable. Such a faith is capable of achieving anything.
9. Samadhana is fixing the mind on Brahman or the Self, without allowing it to run towards objects. The mind is free from anxiety amid pains and troubles. There is stability, mental poise and indifference amid pleasures.
   1. Mumukshutva is intense desire for liberation. When purification of mind and mental discipline are achieved, the longing for liberation dawns by itself.
   2. The next training is Nityanitya-Viveka — discriminating between that which is true and that which is untrue, between the eternal and the transitory. God alone is eternal, everything else is transitory. Everything dies; the angels die, men die, animals die, earths die, sun, moon, and stars, all die; everything undergoes constant change. The whole universe is a mass of change. But there is one who never changes, and that is God.

 
Who is wise? 
Bhagwat Geeta has explained the qualities of a wise person as under:

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