Jnana Yoga [Yoga of Knowledge]
1. Shri Ganesha spoke -- In ancient times, at the time of
creation, I, Ganesha, with three forms (Brahma-Vishnu-Rudra), after creating
the universe of three qualities, instructed this supreme yoga to Vishnu, the
sustainer of the world.
2. Vishnu relayed this yoga to the Sun. The Sun told it to
his son Vaivasvata Manu. From him, this yoga was obtained through tradition by
the great sages.
3-4. O King! In the Kali Yuga, after much time had passed,
this yoga was lost. It was deemed unworthy of faith and reverence by the people
of that age. Now, you have heard from my mouth this ancient yoga, which is most
secretive, highly beneficial, and the essence of all Vedas.
5. King Varenya said -- O Elephant-faced one! You have just
been born from the womb; how and when did you describe this supreme yoga to
Vishnu?
6-7. Ganesha said -- [O King!] Many of your and my births
have passed; I remember all of them, but you do not. O mighty-armed one! From
me, Vishnu and other deities have originated, and at the time of dissolution,
they merge back into me, cycle after cycle.
8. I am Vishnu and Brahma, I am the great Rudra, I am all
that is stationary and moving, the entire universe.
9. I am unborn, indestructible, the eternal lord of all
beings, and residing in the three-qualitied Maya, I take on various
incarnations.
10-11. Whenever there is an increase in unrighteousness and
a decline in righteousness, I incarnate to protect the good, destroy the
wicked. I destroy the cluster of adharma, establish dharma, and joyfully
perform various divine plays, slaying the wicked and the demons who harm
dharma.
12-13. Taking many forms, I protect the varnas, ashramas,
sages, and saints. Thus, he who knows my divine glory, my actions, valor, and
forms in each age, and abandons the sense of 'I' and 'mine', he becomes
liberated.
14. Many have attained me, purified by insight and penance,
being desireless, fearless, free from anger, dependent on me, and worshipping
only me.
15-16. Excellent people serve me with whatever sentiment,
and I, the imperishable Supreme Self, surely grant them the corresponding
reward. O King! They behave in a way that others might follow, treating both
themselves and others in accordance with my path.
17-18. People in this world worship gods desiring the fruits
of their actions, and according to their actions, they quickly achieve success.
O sinless one! In the mortal world, I have created the four varnas from the
qualities of sattva, rajas, tamas, and from the portions of actions.
19-20. Although I am the creator of these, the wise know me
as non-doer. They consider me as beginningless, the lord, eternal, and detached
from the qualities of actions. He who knows me as desireless does not get bound
by karma. Knowing this, ancient sages performed actions.
21. Understanding that desire, which is the root and firm
cause of the worldly cycle, and the very bondage of ignorance, once known, a
being becomes free from all bonds.
22. What is action and what is inaction, I shall now tell
you. Even the intelligent seers, obtaining confusion in knowing this, have
remained silent.
23. O dear one, those desiring liberation must know the
essence of action, inaction, and forbidden action, for all three are indeed
forms of karma. Understanding their ways is greatly difficult.
24. He who perceives inaction in action and action in
inaction, he alone, even while performing all actions in this world, becomes
liberated.
25. He who has burnt his power of action in the fire of the
knowledge of truth, and having abandoned the seed of karma through resolve,
engages in the performance of actions, such wise individuals are called
"pundits" by the learned.
26. Those who, having abandoned the desire for fruits,
remain ever content even without means, even if they engage in actions, they do
nothing.
27-28. Those who are without desire, have conquered the
self, and have relinquished all possessions, even if they perform actions while
living at home, no sin touches them. They, devoid of duality and envy, see
success and failure equally and remain satisfied with whatever comes their way,
such beings, while performing actions, do not get entangled.
29-30. All actions of a person freed from all subjects and
endowed with knowledge and realization are sacrifices. All his activities
dissolve. The fire, the oblation, the one offering, and the offering that is
presented to me, all are myself. Understanding this, he attains Brahman; for he
resides in Brahman.
31. Some yogis consider the sacrifice to gods as sacrifice,
others consider offering into the fire of Brahman as sacrifice.
O King, some yogis offer the senses like hearing into the
fire of control, others offer the objects of senses like sound into the fire of
senses.
32. Some others offer all senses, actions, and the breath
into the blazing fire of dispassion kindled by knowledge.
33. Some perform sacrifice with material possessions, some
with austerity, some with study, some great souls with severe vows, and some
with knowledge. Those who offer the prana (life breath) into apana with
inhalation, and apana into prana with exhalation, and by practicing retention
halt the movement of prana and apana, they are absorbed in pranayama.
34-35. Others, with regulated diet, offer the five pranas
into each other in sacrifice; thus, various types of yogis, through different
forms of sacrifice, destroy sins by sacrifice. Others always consume the
ambrosial remnants of sacrifice and attain the eternal Brahman. For those who
do not perform sacrifices, even this world is not attainable, how then can they
achieve the next?
36-37. Others, by regulating their diet, offer the five
pranas into each other, thus through various types of sacrifices, these
wandering yogis destroy sins by means of sacrifice. Yet others, consuming the
ambrosial remnants of sacrifice daily, attain the eternal Brahman. For those
who do not perform sacrifices, even this world is not attainable, how then can
the next world be?
38-39. O King! In the Vedas, sacrifices of three kinds
(physical, verbal, mental) have been expounded; understanding them fully, you
will be freed from all bonds. O King! Of all sacrifices, the sacrifice of
knowledge is supreme. For those seeking liberation, all actions dissolve in the
sacrifice of knowledge.
40-41. O best of men! Obtain that knowledge sacrifice
through service to the virtuous, through prostration, and through inquiry. The
knowers of truth, the wise, will instruct you in this knowledge. He who
associates with various types but does not once associate with a sage, he gets
bound in the world.
42. From the company of the good, one gains virtues,
destroys calamities, and obtains welfare in this world and the next.
43-45. O King! All else is easily attainable, but the
company of the good is very rare. It is necessary to know that by which one
does not return to the bondage of the world. From good company, when knowledge
is attained, the seeker sees all beings in himself. Through this yoga of
knowledge, even the most sinful creature gets liberated. Just as fierce fire
turns everything to ashes in a moment, similarly, in the fire of knowledge,
both sinful and virtuous actions are instantly destroyed.
46. O King! There is nothing as purifying as knowledge; the
great souls who have achieved yoga realize this knowledge through the practice
of yoga in due time.
47. Only a devoted person, who has control over the senses
and is diligent, can attain knowledge, and upon gaining knowledge, he soon
attains liberation.
48-49 He who is devoid of devotion, lacks faith, and has a
doubtful mind everywhere, does not achieve prosperity, nor gains knowledge, and
his life in this world and the next is ruined. O King! Those who are engrossed
in self-knowledge, who have dispelled all doubts with knowledge, and whose
actions have diminished due to being established in yoga, they are not bound.
50. Therefore, with the sword of knowledge, one should
forcefully cut the doubts born of ignorance in the mind, and it is right for a
man to take refuge in yoga.
Thus, Chapter 140 named "Jnana Yoga" in the Krida
Khanda of the glorious Ganesha Purana is complete.