Jnana yoga of Hinduism is the path to gaining enlightenment in present life. The path of jnana yoga can only be traveled by following teachings contained in Bhagavad Gita. Path of jnana yoga is following path of jnana (wisdom) that necessitated contemplation on wisdom contained in scriptures of different religions of world.
Jnana (wisdom) is totally different from intelligence (bookish knowledge). Jnana (wisdom) helped human beings evolve further in cosmic life cycle. Intelligence (bookish knowledge) was intended for physical manifest self to earn daily livelihood. In present times everything rotated around intelligence that was ephemeral. Indulgence in jnana (wisdom) meant studying scriptures.
Unless human beings contemplated on whatever was written in scriptures… none could travel spiritual path sincerely and diligently. For knowing inner truths of life… for realizing our true inner self… our soul atman, the spirit within… assimilating pearls of wisdom contained in Bhagavad Gita of Hinduism was an absolute must.
The contents of Bhagavad Gita could only be understood by traveling path of jnana (wisdom)… never path of intelligence. Most religious people preferred path of intelligence than path of jnana (wisdom). It was not within their capability to contemplate on wisdom contained in scriptures. In the present scientific age dominated by bloated egos people found it easier to travel path of religion, rituals… never realizing that God Almighty could ever be reached that way.
As practiced and preached by Maharishi Ramana… path of self enquiry was a sure shot method for reaching God in present life. Unless we indulged in Neti (not this, not this) none could reach God in present life. People desirous of reaching God in present life must indulge in Satsanga (spiritual congregations) to find answers to their queries.
In absence of a spiritual master… medium of Satsanga is the best course for human beings to realize self… realize God… reach stage of enlightenment forever! To reach inner truth contained in scriptures… to understand sublime truths of life our understanding teachings contained in Bhagavad Gita was an absolute must. In present times… jnana (wisdom) contained in Bhagavad Gita sufficed for humanity to reach stage of enlightenment (termed kaivalya jnana in Hinduism).
Jnana yoga is the path… reaching God, our ultimate goal of life! Both Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa and Maharishi Ramana followed path of jnana yoga (path of absolute wisdom) to reach God in their lifetime. Path of jnana yoga meant following path of absolute truthfulness… always and ever. When we were truthful… the underlying meaning of wisdom contained in Bhagavad Gita becomes crystal clear to us.
Prime reason why Americans were much ahead of Indians in matters spiritual! Unknowingly all Americans followed teachings of Bhagavad Gita in their daily life. Truthfulness writ large on their faces… they were always truthful from inside. The glow on their faces said it all. There was no pretension in Americans who lived life as if it was their first and the last day.
The entire world must emulate American standard of living. Even though they knew nothing of Bhagavad Gita… still, most Americans followed teachings of Bhagavad Gita by remaining truthful all their life. The most important ingredient for following Bhagavad Gita… for traveling path of jnana yoga was remaining truthful all throughout. In the glare of material riches… following path of jnana yoga seemed difficult… but was not impossible!
If Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa and Maharishi Ramana did it… so could others! The world must follow example of Swami Vivekananda… the famous pupil saint of Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa. Swami Vivekananda could have easily gained enlightenment in his lifetime had he desired so. But goal of life for Swami Vivekananda always was community service… nothing else mattered to him more. Swami Vivekananda truly was a spiritual traveler par excellence.
No matter how much Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa tried and goaded Swami Vivekananda to change his path… he was adamant on living his life… his way! Under the able preceptorship of Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa, Swami Vivekananda could have easily gained enlightenment in his lifetime… but destiny willed it otherwise.