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Wellsprings
hindu-liberationfeatured in 5 works

The Path of Knowledge (Jñāna)

If bondage is a case of mistaken identity, the cure is simply to know.

Jñāna is liberating knowledge — not mere book-learning but the direct, transforming realization of who one truly is. For Advaita Vedānta, bondage is fundamentally a case of mistaken identity, so the decisive remedy is correct knowledge: when ignorance ends, liberation is already present. The path of knowledge proceeds by hearing the teaching, reasoning it through, and meditating until it becomes direct insight.

How it traveled

  1. Bhagavad-gītā
    Kuru-Pañcāla region · -150
    explains
  2. Yoga-sūtra
    Kāśī (Varanasi) · 375
    applies
  3. Upadeśasāhasrī
    Kālaḍi (Kaladi) · 710
    explains
  4. Vivekacūḍāmaṇi
    Śṛṅgeri (Sringeri) · 1400
    explains
  5. Aṣṭāvakra-gītā
    Kāśī (Varanasi) · 1450
    explains

Key passages(20)

Upadeśasāhasrī · Ādi Śaṅkara

Very high

Bhagavad-gītā · Vyāsa (Yoga-bhāṣya commentator)

Very high

Aṣṭāvakra-gītā · Aṣṭāvakra

Very high

Aṣṭāvakra-gītā · Aṣṭāvakra

Very high

Bhagavad-gītā · Vyāsa (Yoga-bhāṣya commentator)

Very high

Tantrasāra · Abhinavagupta

Very high

Vivekacūḍāmaṇi · Śaṅkara (traditionally ascribed; authorship doubted)

Very high

Vivekacūḍāmaṇi · Śaṅkara (traditionally ascribed; authorship doubted)

Very high

Upadeśasāhasrī · Ādi Śaṅkara

Very high

Yoga-sūtra · Patañjali

Very high

Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad · Vedic Revelation (śruti)

High

Aitareya Upaniṣad · Vedic Revelation (śruti)

High

Chāndogya Upaniṣad · Vedic Revelation (śruti)

High

Chāndogya Upaniṣad · Vedic Revelation (śruti)

High

Kaṭha Upaniṣad · Vedic Revelation (śruti)

High

Paramārthasāra · Abhinavagupta

High

Vijñāna-bhairava · Anonymous (Bhairava Āgama / Tantra)

High

Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad · Vedic Revelation (śruti)

High

Gītārtha-saṃgraha · Yāmunācārya (Ālavandār)

High

Yoga-sūtra · Patañjali

High