Chapter XIV

"Nahi Jnanena Sadrsam." There is nothing to equal Jnana. And what is Jnana? That which makes you cross this sea of flux, this Sam-saara. Of course, it is of two kinds; the first is objective knowledge (Vishayajnana) and the second, integral knowledge, or A-bhedajnana.

The first type is knowledge of the world; the second is the knowledge of the identity of Brahmam and the individual Atma, which is called A-bheda or undifferentiated or integral Jnana. This Jnana is not a function of the intellect or Buddhi; it is a feature of something beyond it, something which witnesses the activities of even the Buddhi. It destroys the delusion about this constant flux, mistaken to be a reality; it removes fear from the heart of man; it reveals to him the Brahmam which he and all this is. So it is called the right Jnana or Samyak Jnana, the Sameepa Jnana or the nearest Jnana.

There are two paths by which man can approach this A-bheda Jnana; the inner and the outer. The outer Sadhana is "Nishkama Karma," engaging in activity without attachment towards the result of those activities as dedicated to the Lord. The inner Sadhana is Dhyana and Samadhi. In Vedanthic terminology, this is named Nididhyasana. Listen and meditate on what you have listened to - these two steps are the bases of this Nididhyasana or inner concentration. Without these, Dhyana is impossible of achievement.

This is the meaning of what is called Atma-samyama, the control of the senses, detachment from the outer sensory world, the withdrawal of the mind from the outer world. This is the goal of all life; knowing the Paramatma, attaining liberation. There can be no second aim for man. Man is endowed with life, not for the purpose of building bungalows, the requisition of estates, the accumulation of wealth, the addition of progeny, the earning of titles or ascent into higher rungs of social life. His greatness does not depend on these. The chiefest success in life lies in the winning of permanent bliss, permanent escape from grief and agitation.