Jnana means wisdom or discernment. Jnana yoga is the path of wisdom and jnana meditation is many-faceted.
The main purpose of jnana meditation
is to withdraw the mind and emotions
from perceiving life and oneself
in a deluded way so that
one may behold and live in
attunement with Reality, or Spirit.
One principal way that the "jnani," the yogi of discernment, meditates is to patiently release or put aside all thoughts and feelings until the luminous glow of the soul dawns in the mind and heart and is allowed to do a work of transformation and enlightenment within the rapt meditator.
One way this is accomplished is through the technique called neti-neti.
Neti-neti means "not this, not this."
Whenever a thought or feeling which is not the goal of the meditation - that is, which is not the soul, the inner self - occurs to the mind, the meditator simply says, "Not this, not this," and dismisses the thought, image, concept, sound, or sense distraction.
Any thought, any feeling, is discarded - patiently discarded - again and again if necessary, until the mind is clear and the soul is revealed.
Remember never to meditate in a passive way. This state of consciousness is one of alertness, an amazing application of awareness.
When you get into the habit of "neti-neti," you can also discard worry, doubt, or fear, and become established in the light of your inner self. You can then look back at worries and fears with deep insight and handle them.
