Knowledge - VivekaVani

Knowledge will remove all misery. Knowledge will make us free. This is the idea of Jnana-Yoga: knowledge will make us free! What knowledge? Chemistry? Physics? Astronomy? Geology? They help us a little, just a little. But the chief knowledge is that of your own nature. ‘Know thyself.’ You must know what you are, what your real nature is. You must become conscious of that infinite nature within. Then your bondages will burst.
— Swami Vivekananda

Swami Brahmananda Says —

[To the question: “Why must a spiritual aspirant worship the Divine Mother first.”] Mother has the key to the knowledge of Brahman. Unless she shows her grace and opens the door, no one can enter into the realm of Brahman. (Et. Comp. p. 96)
Intelligence is but another name for ignorance, because its area is limited. Therefore, if a man wants to attain all knowledge and understand all mysteries, let him devote himself to the knowledge of God. (Et. Comp. p. 195)
Knowledge, the knower, and the object known — these three lose themselves in the Absolute; that is all the scriptures can tell us. What takes place after this, no one is able to describe. It is directly experienced only by one who practices meditation. Only God can know himself. Be a god, that you may know the infinite God. In that knowledge there is neither want nor fear. The very thought of such knowledge is uplifting. (Et. Comp. p. 205)
True devotion, faith and knowledge, are the results of long persistence in spiritual practices. (Et. Comp. p. 247)
To hear about the knowledge of God is one thing, to live in God is another. But the knowledge acquired through realization is different from both. (Et. Comp. p. 256)

Swami Shivananda Says —

The Lord has two powers — Vidya Shakti (knowledge) and Avidya Shakti (ignorance). If He removes from us the influence of the latter and helps with the former, then everything goes on well. (Apos. p. 225)
This is a difficult path, my son. This pursuit of the knowledge of Brahman is very difficult. Not every brain can comprehend this, for it is subtler than the subtlest. It is easier to master secular knowledge. It is comparatively easier to become a great philosopher, a noted scientist, a great poet, a famous artist, or a well-known politician; but it is extremely difficult to acquire the knowledge of Brahman… Those who do not tread on this path cannot even guess how difficult it is. In the Upanishads, this knowledge ‘by which is realized that immutable Brahman’ is called higher knowledge, while all other secular knowledge is called lower knowledge. One must practise absolute continence if one desires to have this higher knowledge. (For Seekers p. 217)
Illumination means the knowledge of God. One can have true and firm devotion only when one is vouchsafed this knowledge, and not otherwise. Pure knowledge and pure devotion are the same. And all that comes from the grace of the Mother alone. Knowledge is dispensed at her bidding. (For Seekers p. 250)
One must make the sincerest effort and exert oneself — especially when engaged in a good work — in spiritual exercises. One has to put forth a lion’s strength to secure the knowledge of the Self. Nothing can be achieved without diligence and self-exertion. (For Seekers p. 258)
There’s no contentment in the non-Self; true contentment comes from knowledge of the Self. And one has to seek that contentment within oneself. Peace is within, it is not outside. Knowledge, devotion, love of God — all that lies within. (For Seekers p. 281)
Now with the idea of finding the ultimate truth, if we push our analysis further, we shall see that back of the changeable phenomena is the immutable Brahman. First, gross objects, then subtle and subtler objects — whatever we analyze in the outer world — we fail to find any permanence in them. Baffled we finally turn within ourselves. This self-withdrawal or abstraction is the only way to the knowledge of Brahman or the Supreme Reality. (Man p. 70)
Inscrutable are these matters. A person cannot understand these ideas of Vedanta unless he engages in constant selfless activity, hearing (words of the scriptures), thinking (about them), worship, study, japa and meditation, a taste for which he develops spontaneously through His grace. (Man p. 203)
To go beyond the world is to have the knowledge that Brahman is both immanent and transcendent. The knower of Brahman becomes Brahman — in essence the embodied soul does not have any separate existence… Freedom is not achieving something external; it is Self-knowledge attained by the renunciation of phenomena. (Man p. 203)
For what is misery? It is the absence of real knowledge. So where there is knowledge there is no misery but bliss. (Spir. Talks p. 342)

[To the question: “When one feels a strong pull towards the path of knowledge, can one repeat merely the word Om, without repeating the mantra of one’s Chosen Deity?”] Yes, there is no harm in that, for that Om is nothing but Brahman. One can think of the Master as Om. There is no harm in it.

[A few days later he asked the brahmacharin:] Well, are you practising your Om? [The brahmacharin replied in the affirmative.] That is fine; that is fine. [Brahmacharin: “But, Maharaj, as I keep on repeating Om, the body becomes stiff, and that produces some fear.”] When you feel that way, you should pray to the Master thus: ‘Master, you yourself are this Om. Kindly lead me along the right path. Do please ordain it in such a way that I may attain the truth — be it knowledge or devotion (for both are the same). Pray thus with all earnestness. (For Seekers p. 236)

Swami Premananda Says —

The experiences of the seers and prophets of old are recorded in the scriptures, but the mere study of the scriptures is not enough. In order to gain the true knowledge of God you have to have the experience yourself. (Prem. Teach. p. 71)
It is when his grace descends that infinite knowledge unfolds. Then one no longer cares for the study of the scriptures. Direct knowledge is one thing and ‘book’ knowledge is another. This, however, does not mean that one should give up the study of the scriptures; for, as Sri Ramakrishna used to say, ‘The fan is needed until the spring breeze blows.’ (Prem. Teach. p. 73)

Swami Turiyananda Says —

Through the power of Ojas the knowledge of Brahman unfolds itself. The knowledge already exists, we have only to unfold it. If you can maintain your chastity for twelve years, the mind gets steady, with the result that the knowledge unfolds itself. (Spir. Talks p. 200)
Jnana, fully evolved, becomes Bhakti. Practice of knowledge leads the mind higher and higher, beyond the bounds of duality. But true Bhakti is its own end. Wherever he be, the devotee is ever full of the nectar of love and bliss Divine. Knowledge is necessary in the first stages of spiritual life to master the senses. Afterwards it is one continuous enjoyment of the beatific love of God. (Spir. Talks p. 287)
One attains knowledge through the grace of the great sages. ‘Through the grace of the great ones or of the Lord,’ says the scripture. Then one feels a strong yearning for emancipation from the world, and the Cosmic Will makes circumstances favourable to him. (Spir. Talks p. 291)
The Jnani who has realized Oneness, behaves in the world in the same way as we do when we happen to bite our tongue — we are not angry with the teeth. (Spir. Talks p. 300)
Perception of unity is knowledge, perception of variety is ignorance. Because we have separated ourselves from That, all troubles ensue. (Spir. Talks p. 310)
[To the question: “They say one gets the vision of light, when the mind rises to the ‘throat-plane’. What kind of light is that? — Is it very luminous?”] Yes, one sees light. But, then, it is not any gross light — it is the light of knowledge. (Spir. Talks p. 317)
Brahman alone is real, everything else is unreal and the human soul is that Brahman. The lion shut up in a bullrush cage thinks he is caught, and escape impossible. He does not know that one blow from his mighty paw would demolish the cage and set him free. We are bound by the delusion of ignorance. Tear away the delusion and be free. All power is within you, for you are the Atman. With the sword of knowledge, sever the veil of Maya, and assert your divine nature. (Sw. in Amer. p. 70)

Swami Trigunatitananda Says —

Men do not understand this simple fact that it is of little consequence how one conceives of Him — as kind, cruel, or what not, but what is fraught with danger is not to call on Him at all. One must call on Him — no matter whether one does so under the idea that He is cruel or that He is gracious. I have no need of knowing what He really is, nor can there be any end of such knowing; and what does such knowledge count for? I have come to the mango orchard to taste mangoes, what do I care about a detailed knowledge about the tree and the orchard? (Apos. p. 346)

Swami Adbhutananda Says —

The idea of ‘mine’ produces misery, while the knowledge of the real ‘I’ (the higher Self) brings bliss. The knowledge of the Self removes ignorance, and this Self is the Atman, the real nature of man. (Adbh. p. 121)
When that knowledge dawns, body consciousness disappears, the mind stops and even the intellect vanishes; only an uninterrupted Consciousness flows. (Adbh. p. 122)
Who is a man of knowledge? Not he who has read a lot of books, studied scriptures and acquired some degrees, but he who knows the path to God and can direct people toward him. (Adbh. p. 142)
Do you think we salute trees and stones? We salute the Supreme Being, who pervades every atom of the universe. He who sees God in all creatures and all things attains the knowledge of Brahman. (Adbh. p. 144)
A knower of Brahman can give liberation; can’t he give money and wealth also? But gold and riches are insignificant things. By the mere wish a knower of Brahman can give you anything you want. Know for certain that his wish and God’s wish are the same. There is a special manifestation of God in a knower of Brahman. (Adbh. p. 168)
If one is not a jnani, how is it possible to be ‘devoted to the One alone,’ as Krishna states in the Gita? That one alone is real and all else is unreal. If you don’t realize this truth, how can you have devotion for the One? (Adbh. p. 175)
[To the question: “But can you prove that the one God resides in many?”] Why not? but it is a subjective experience. Love cannot be explained to another. Only one who loves understands it and also the one who is loved. The same is the case with God. He knows and the one whom He blesses knows. For others He will ever remain an enigma. (Apos. p. 287)

Swami Abhedananda Says —

When the mind is freed from all nervousness, it becomes pure, and the knowledge of Brahman gets revealed in that pure mind. (Apos. p. 270)
Why do we want to know? To satisfy something in ourselves. The end of all knowledge is satisfaction and this satisfaction is always one. There are three kinds of knowing, — first instinctive knowledge, then reasoning, and then inspiration. The lower animals have instinct; much of our knowledge also is instinctive. Then man begins to reason, and as long as he reasons, the ego must be there. From reasoning he can pass on to inspiration, when all knowledge will come to him — not through the process of reasoning, but by direct illumination. All slavery comes to an end when man realizes Truth. (Apos. South p. 188, Ded. Life p. 190)
God’s will-power is the cause of nature and God Himself is the source of His will-power. It is beyond the capacity of human intelligence to ascertain the First Cause or God without the knowledge of Brahman, the self-existent, beginningless One without a second. (Ded. Life p. 103)
What is known as the destruction of the mind in Vedantic literature is not a state of vacuum. It is a state of deep concentration. The mind is to be made absolutely one-pointed through meditation on God. Then alone this condition will arise… The scriptures call this experience establishment in the truth, or attainment of the supreme knowledge. (Glimpses p. 121)

Swami Saradananda Says —

In the midst of all kinds of work you must allot some time for japa and meditation for they are the means to self-knowledge. (Glimpses p. 129)
Prophets and incarnations who have come and gone have shown us one thing, that we too can become heirs of knowledge and power like themselves — if we only have the will. If we struggle, walking the path taken by them, we too will reach that goal one day. If it were not so, the life of an avatar would have no meaning. (Glimpses p. 131)
The goal of all these three paths is the same. Each path is equally powerful. But none should be undertaken to the exclusion of the others: knowledge must unite with devotion. And this unity must be expressed through action. Knowledge without love is dry. Love without service is pure sentimentalism. (Glimpses p. 137)
The more one purifies these internal organs, the more one is able to detect and interpret correctly the will of the Universal Mind. This knowledge has a transforming effect on the life and character of the individual. His unripe ego dies forever. Like a machine moved by the operator, he is a tool in the hand of God. He becomes incapable to doing anything wrong. He does not take a false step nor do his feet slip from the path. (Glimpses p. 138)
What is this knowledge? It is the experience of unity, the one ultimate Reality that alone exists. Perception of multiplicity is ignorance. (Glimpses p. 150)
First, you have to attain knowledge. After attaining knowledge when one returns to this world of diversity, one will see everything as before but will no longer be attached to anything in it. Before realizing the illusion one hopes for water in a mirage, but when one realizes its nature, though one may be seeing the mirage, one no longer expects any water in it. So also, though the world of diversity would still have to be experienced after knowledge, yet one no longer takes it to be real and so has no longer any attachment for it. (Spir. Talks p. 366)
It is impossible to understand these things without intuitive knowledge. (Spir. Talks p. 374)

Swami Akhandananda Says —

The more you take care of yourself alone, the smaller you grow, and the more you think of others as yourself, the bigger you become. Swamiji used to say ‘The happiness one derives by thinking of oneself, becomes doubly multiplied when one thinks of somebody else sharing equally in one’s own happiness or unhappiness.’ The more you practise like that way the more your Self spreads over the world, and then only can Self-knowledge dawn. The more you can think of others as yourself, the more loving your heart becomes, and the more is Self-knowledge revealed. (Apos. p. 363)
Desire to know everything: try for that end. We are learning throughout our life. How many books have I read! And only once? — not once, many times. (Call p. 149)

Swami Vijnanananda Says —

[Concerning the Fourth Dimension:] It is beyond the range of intellectual comprehension. Can it be easily known? Just see. We are told to remember God. But it is often forgotten that He cannot be comprehended by the human mind: He is beyond it. The finite cannot grasp the Infinite, the part can never contain the whole. The finite mind realizes that God is outside it: but, even then, it feels satisfied with whatever it can know about Him. But does this mean the whole knowledge of God? (Vij. Disc. p. 66)

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