jivayajna: (Sanskrit) "Self sacrifice.

jivayajna: (Sanskrit) "Self sacrifice." See: yajna. jnana: (Sanskrit) "Knowledge; wisdom." The matured state of the soul. It is the wisdom that comes as an aftermath of the kundalini breaking through the door of Brahman into the realization of Parasiva, Absolute Reality. The repeated samadhis of Parasiva ever deepen this flow of divine knowing which establishes the knower in an extraordinary point of reference, totally different from those who have not attained this enlightenment.

Jnana is the awakened, superconscious state (karana chitta) working within the ordinary experience of the world, flowing into daily life situations. It is the fruition of the progressive stages of charya, kriya and yoga in the Saiva Siddhanta system of spiritual unfoldment. Jnana is sometimes misunderstood as book knowledge, as a maturity or awakening that comes from simply understanding a complex philosophical system or systems.

Those who define jnana in this way deny that the path is a progression of charya-kriya-yoga-jnana or of karma-bhakti-raja-jnana. Rather, they say that one can choose his path, and that each leads to the ultimate goal. See: God Realization, door of Brahman, Self Realization, samadhi. Jnanamrita: (Sanskrit) A treatise of poems by Gorakshanatha on the duties of a yogi. See: Gorakshanatha.

jnana pada: (Sanskrit) "Stage of wisdom." According to the Saiva Siddhanta rishis, jnana is the last of the four successive padas (stages) of spiritual unfoldment. It is the culmination of the third stage, the yoga pada. Also names the knowledge section of each Agama. See: jnana, pada. jnana shakti: (Sanskrit) "Power of wisdom." One of Siva's three primary shaktis. Also a name for Lord Karttikeya's vel. See: Karttikeya. shakti, trishula.

jnana yoga: (Sanskrit) "Union of knowledge." Describes the esoteric spiritual practices of the fully enlightened being, or jnani. An alternative meaning, popularized by Swami Vivekananda, is the quest for cognition through intellectual religious study, as one of four alternate paths to truth, the other three being bhakti yoga, karma yoga and raja yoga. See: jnana, yoga. Jnaneshvari: (Sanskrit) Foremost religious treatise in the Marathi language.

Written by the Natha saint Jnaneshvar (or Jnanadeva) about 1290. It is a verse-by-verse commentary on the Bhagavad Gita. jnani: (Sanskrit) "Sage." One who possesses jnana. See: jivanmukta, jnana. joint family: Kutumba or kula.