The influence of four pillars of knowledge in human life

Gnana yoga is one of the paths of Yoga described in Bhagawad Gita. Gnana yoga is the path of knowledge and the goal of gnana yoga is to get liberated from maya and achieve the ultimate. This can be achieved by understanding the four pillars of knowledge called Sadhana Chatushtaya.

The first pillar is Viveka or discrimination. Viveka is able to discriminate between what really is and what really is not. Sometimes we think that the current situation is permanent. This suffering is permanent. We are not fit for this job. But what is reality? The situation is not permanent. The situation is not the result of just one cause. For example, a recession is an effect of multiple causes. The suffering from the death of a close family member need not be permanent. The soul has moved on and is happy with next life. You your soul, is here to understand that reality. You are not really changing, you are untouched, you are pure consciousness. The surroundings and Prakruti are changing. Such an understanding of discriminating what is reality and what is not, what is changing and what is not, helps us make clearer decisions and not be entangled in maya of this world.

 The second pillar is Vairagya or dispassion. Passion is needed in life. Without passion, there is no drive to look for the next day. But passion without dispassion is exhausting and can be a path to failure. Dispassion is not detachment from everything in life. Dispassion is letting go of the feverishness of desire. In fact, too much passion results in depression because desires take time to fulfil. Without letting go, there is constant distress about the desire to be fulfilled. Such distress can cause disturbed sleep, leading to an unhappy and unhealthy life. With dispassion, i.e. letting go when needed and with passion, i.e. bringing the internal drive when needed, one can lead a happy life. Taking one step further, aren’t desires also illusions/maya? We/Soul will leave the body one day. What are these desires for? To fulfil the desires of body and mind. The soul is neither the body nor the mind. A soul doesn’t have any desires or aversions, but with desires, several samskaras or impressions come on the soul. With the practice of dispassion, we are letting go of the attachment or preventing samskaras forming on the soul. With regular yogic practices, the samskaras of the past also go away. When samskaras go away, we are no longer responding similarly to our past behaviours. We are preventing repeating similar mistakes again. We are choosing a path/decision with clear awareness uninfluenced by maya. Such clarity in life is possible through practice of dispassion.

The third pillar is Shad Sampati. There are the six treasures one can have in human life. Some of these are inbuilt in us, others can be cultivated. From my experience, even understating these 6 wealths gives a sense of grounding. These are like qualities in our personality. There are certain qualities which are like your strengths and define your current persona. There are some other qualities which you realize are lacking. For example: Dama is a quality I fall back on while dealing with life situations. Given any hardship, I see myself using my willpower/Dama to its fullest. Be it not sleeping 3 nights in a row to meet a deadline or as a new driver driving 16 hours a day, including a car breakdown with car repair to help a cousin find her accommodation. Now forbearance/Titksha. I almost lost my job. I cried. I was aware that this is a phase & dealt with it. Today I know my capacity to forbear has increased. Such awareness of what wealth is and our path to attain this wealth just helps have a good quality of life. 

Finally, the last pillar, Mumukshatva or the intense desire to be free. In fact, having a desire to be free or to know the truth is a blessing. In front of Mumukshatva, materialistic desires in this world feel inconsequential or unnecessary. For example, getting a new pair of shoes or a new house could feel unnecessary in front of an intense desire to know the ultimate truth of life. That is Mumukshatva can help get rid of all the other desires in life. Life with too many desires is the source of misery. Life with limited or no desires is a fulfilling and content life. In fact, this pillar helps us see the bigger picture in life and moves us to the service of the world. This improves not only the life in one’s life but the whole world and humanity.