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Jnana Yoga - the Yoga of Knowledge or Wisdom

In itself and interesting concept and certainly there must be many who aspire to this.

But perhaps  not a yoga practice for all character types. Some may be better suited for this discipline than others. All I can suggest is that you try it with an appropriate instructor. But ... don't give up after the first try ... go along for a while and see whether the concepts interest you.

Well, knowledge and wisdom, in my opinion are not interchangeable concepts.

Nor can one say that wisdom always follows the attainment of knowledge. (There are many people on this world who have lots of knowledge .... but .... Oh so little Wisdom)

So there is a great element of sense in mastering the other 3 Paths, Raja, Bhakti and Karma before attempting Jnana, if wisdom or enlightenment is your ultimate goal.

In my opinion it takes a special person, one who has mastered Karma Yoga and has learnt to act selflessly and leave ego behind in search of a more noble and refined self, who'll be able to have the discipline to master the teaching of the Jnana Yoga path and perhaps attain true enlightenment.

It is a goal that I have left for a while, as I feel I am still far from ready.

Is Jnana Yoga a style you're ready to embrace?

As I have little experience with the path of Jnana Yoga I have researched it and obtained this excerpt:

" "Jnana in Sanskrit means "knowledge", and is often interpreted to mean "knowledge of the true self".

In the Vedanta school of the Hindu religion, to know Brahman as one's own Self is jnana.

To say, based on experience "I am Brahman, the pure, all-pervading Consciousness, the non-enjoyer, non-doer and silent witness," is jnana.

To behold the one Self everywhere is jnana.

Jnana yoga is one of the four basic paths in yoga (jnana, bhakti, raja and karma.)

Jnana yoga teaches that there are four means to salvation:

Viveka - Discrimination: The ability to differentiate between what is real/eternal (Brahman) and what is unreal/temporal (everything else in the universe.)

Vairagya - Dispassion: After practice one should be able to "detach" her/himself from everything that is "temporary."

Shad-sampat - The 6 Virtues: Tranquility (control of the mind), Dama (control of the senses), Uparati (renunciation of activities that are not duties), Titiksha (endurance), Shraddha (faith), Samadhana (perfect concentration).

Mumukshutva - Intense longing for liberation from temporal limitations.

One of the philosophical fundamental pillars of Jnana yoga is nondualism which is a fundamental belief in the unity of the universe, especially of the individual soul atman with brahman or transcendent, all pervasive ultimate reality. This is expressed in Hindu philosophical school of Advaita Vedanta.

The desire for liberation mentioned above might be described as "wanting to be one with the universe.""1

1. Excerpt taken from wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jnana_Yoga