- What is vijnana? You must know God in a special way. One person has heard of milk, another has seen it, and yet another has drunk it. He who has only heard of milk is an ajnani (a man of ignorance), he who has seen it is a jnani (a man of spiritual knowledge), and he who has drunk it has attained vijnana. That is to say, he has known God in a special way. When one sees the Lord and talks to Him as a near and dear one, it is vijnana.
- When one has attained vijnana, one may live in the family. Then one realizes very well that God has become the universe and its living beings, that He is not outside the world.
- The knowledge of many things is ignorance. Jnana consists of knowing that the Lord dwells in all beings. Knowing the Lord intimately is vijnana. Talking with the Lord, knowing Him as your near and dear one, is called vijnana.
- There is the element of fire in wood, and fire is the essence. Knowing this is jnana. Burning this firewood, cooking rice over it, eating it, and then becoming strong is vijnana.
- When a thorn pricks your foot, you look for another thorn to take it out. With the latter thorn you take out the former one and then throw both of them away. In the same way, to take out the thorn of ajnana, you have to acquire the thorn of jnana. When ignorance is dispelled, you throw away both knowledge and ignorance. Then comes vijnana.
- A man cannot stay on the roof a long time. He comes down from the roof. They who have attained samadhi and had the vision of Brahman see when they come down that He Himself has become all living beings and the universe. Do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti – one cannot stay long at ti [the highest note]. One cannot rid one’s self of I-ness. On coming down from samadhi, one sees that He is me, and that He has become the entire universe and its living beings. This is vijnana.
- Vijnana means knowing God in a special way. The awareness, the belief, that there is fire in wood is knowledge. To cook rice on the fire, eat it and be strong is called vijnana.
- To have the inner experience of the real nature of Atman is knowledge. To talk with Him, to enjoy yourself with Him – in the attitude of a son, a friend, a servant, or a lover – this is vijnana. Being able to see that God has become the universe and its creatures is known as vijnana.
- He who has knowledge also has ignorance. Lakshmana said to Rama, ‘Rama, how strange! Even a saint like Vaishishtha Deva is suffering the bereavement of his son!’ Rama said, ‘Brother, he who has knowledge also has ignorance. You must go beyond both knowledge and ignorance.
- A person’s foot is pierced by a thorn. He finds another thorn to take out the first one. After he has removed the former with the help of the latter, he throws away both thorns. To pull out the thorn of ignorance, one has to use the thorn of knowledge. When one throws away both the thorns of knowledge and ignorance, one attains vijnana. Assimilating the idea that the Lord exists, one has to know Him in a special way. One must talk to Him intimately. This is vijnana.
- Lakshmana said, ‘Rama, Vaishishtha is a great sage but even he grieved at the death of his son.’ Rama replied, ‘Brother, he who has knowledge also has ignorance; he who is aware of light is also aware of darkness. Go beyond both knowledge and ignorance. One attains such a state only when one knows God intimately – this is what is known as vijnana.
Vijnani
- The jnani gets rid of his worldly identity by saying, ‘Not this, not this,’ and thus attains the knowledge of Brahman. It is like one who reaches the roof by leaving one step after another behind. But the vijnani has a special contact with Him and sees more than the jnani. He sees that the steps are made of the same material as the roof – bricks, brick dust and lime. He sees that He who has realized Brahman by saying, ‘Not this, not this’, has Himself become the living beings and the universe. The vijnani sees that He who is attributeless is also with attributes.
- The vijnani sees that He who is Brahman is also Bhagavan. He who is beyond attributes is also the Lord of six supernatural powers. His powers are the world and its living beings, the mind and intellect, love, dispassion and divine knowledge.
- The vijnani conducts himself differently. He doesn’t care about anything – maybe his wearing cloth is off, or held under his arm as children will do.
- He who knows that the Lord exists is a jnani. He who knows that there is fire in firewood is a man of knowledge. But the vijnani is he who makes fire with the wood, cooks his food over it, and eats to his fill.
- The vijnani always sees the presence of God. That is why he is in such a relaxed state of mind. He sees God even with his eyes open. At times he comes down from the Absolute to the phenomenal world, and at other times he goes up from the phenomenal world to the Absolute.
- The jnani reaches the Eternal and Indivisible Sat-chit-ananda by discriminating, ‘Not this, not this.’ He reasons, saying to himself, ‘God is not the embodied being, He is neither the universe nor the twenty-four cosmic principles.’ Reasoning thus, he reaches the Absolute and sees that God has become everything and dwells in all – embodied beings, the universe, and the twenty-four cosmic principles.
- God indeed has become everything. Therefore, ‘the world is a mansion of joy’ for the vijnani. For the jnani, however, this world is ‘a veil of deception’.
- The vijnani has enjoyed the Bliss of God in a special way. Some have heard of milk, others have seen it, and yet there are some who have drunk it. The vijnani has drunk milk, enjoyed it, and been nourished by it.
- Religious teachers like Narada are vijnanis; they are more courageous than other rishis. They are like expert checker players who call out, ‘What do you want, a six or a five of the dice?’ And lo! Each time he throws the right number! What an expert player!