along with karmamarga and the
bhaktimarga, the jnanamargais one of
the paths to liberation of the soul
mentioned in the Bhagavad Gita. In this
latter context, an appropriate transla-
tion might be “wisdom” or “realization,”
since this is not the sort of “knowledge”
that comes from reading a book or
receiving instruction, but instead
reflects profound understanding gained
through great effort.
Jnanakarmasamucchaya
(“combination of awareness and
action”) Religious discipline for ending
the bondage and reincarnation (sam-
sara) of the soul, which was advocated
by members of the bhedabhada
(“identity-in-difference”) philosophical
school. According to this school, correct
awareness (jnana) and ritual action
(karma) were both necessary elements
in gaining final liberation of the soul.
The preparatory step was to perform
meritorious ritual actions—fasting
(upavasa), worship, and pilgrimage—to
weaken one’s negative karmic disposi-
tions, such as greed, anger, and igno-
rance. These weakened dispositions
were later completely destroyed through
meditation. The assumptions behind
this path were attacked by other philo-
sophical schools, particularly the
Advaita Vedanta school, which mini-
mized the value of ritual action and
claimed that final liberation came from
awareness alone.
Jnanamarga
(“Path of Realization”) One of
Hinduism’s three generally accepted
paths to gain final liberation of the soul,
along with the Path of Devotion (bhak-
timarga) and the Path of Action (kar-
mamarga). While the bhaktimarga
stresses devotion to God and the kar-
mamarga emphasizes selfless action in
the world, the jnanamarga stresses real-
izing the ultimate identity of one’s indi-
vidual Self (atman) and Ultimate Reality
(Brahman). This realization is usually
described as coming in a flash of insight,
which may take years of effort to attain
but which fundamentally shifts one’s
perspective on the world.Jnana (“knowledge”) Mudra
A particular symbolic hand gesture
(mudra) in Indian dance, sculpture,
and ritual. In the jnana mudra, the tips
of the thumb and index finger are touch-
ing, with the palm and hand held across
the region of the heart. As its name
clearly shows, it is used to indicate a
profound understanding of the basic
workings of the universe.Jnanasambandhar
Honorific epithet for the Nayanarpoet-
saint Sambandar. See Sambandar.Jnanendriya
(“organ of awareness”) In Indian philos-
ophy, jnanendriya refers to any of the
sense organs, traditionally considered to
be the eyes, ears, tongue, nose, and skin.Jnaneshvar
(1275–1296?) Poet and saint who is the
first great figure in the Varkari Panth, a
religious community centered around
the worshipof the Hindu god Vithoba
at his temple at Pandharpurin the
modern state of Maharashtra.
According to tradition, Jnaneshvar was
an outcaste brahmin. He incurred this
penalty because his father was a lapsed
ascetic—he left his wife to become an
ascetic, only to rejoin his family at his
guru’s command. Jnaneshvar came
from a very religious family: His sister
Muktibaiis revered by the Varkaris in
her own right, and his elder brother
Nivrttinathis supposed to have been a
“spiritual grandson” of the great ascetic
Gorakhnath. Varkari tradition makes
clear that Jnaneshvar lived much of his
life in the town of Alandi, but the truth
of the accounts of many events associated
with his life is questionable—for exam-
ple, he is said to have caused a buffalo toJnaneshvar