"Jnanam"

1. Jnanam  is generally translated as knowledge, But, in order to know the inspired meaning of the Rishies, we have to seek a fuller understanding of this term.

 

 

2. Knowledge is of two kinds : (a) Unconditional Knowledge, and (b) Conditional Knowledge.

 

 

3. We generally experience in the world only knowledge of things. Herein knowledge is conditioned by the things known. These conditional-knowledge bits change from place to place   and from time to time, since the objects that pure knowledge happens to illuminate are different from one another.

 

 

4. Example : When Ganges water is poured and kept in different types of bottles, the shapes of water conditioned by the different bottles should necessarily be different since the bottles are of different shapes. But this does not mean that water has any definite shapes at all.

 

 

5. Similarly, though the knowledge bits conditioned by different objects are seemingly different because of the plurality of the objects themselves,

 

 

6. the absolute Knowledge in its pure nature is unconditioned by any of the objects that it illuminates.

 

 

7. The term Jnanam indicates this Absolute Knowledge which illuminates for us the objects of experiences in the outer and inner worlds.

 

8. The Conscious principle, beaming out in its Awareness, illuminates all objects that it come across, just as the sunlight  has no preference and blesses all objects with its light and grace irrespective of their nature and quality, when the objects come into the flood of the sun's light.

 

 

9. By the word Jnanam, this Consciousness in us, is indicated.

 

 

10. We have already seen that it is this Life-Spark that is the substratum, immutable, and eternal, which makes the changes of the body, mind and intellect possible and realistic.   

 

11.Taittiriya Upanishad : Chapter-2, Section-1, Mantram-1.