Jnana and Vijnana

Question

According to Hinduism philosophy I want to know:

• What is Jnana (ज्ञान) and What is Vijnana (विज्ञान) ?
• What is the difference between them?

Answer 1

Jnana and Vijnana

The difference between jnana and vijnana occurs in the Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa tradition.

According to this tradition:

Jnana

Jnana means knowledge. Knowledge of what. Knowledge of Brahman as the only reality.

However this is not complete non-duality, (or Advaita), this is because if you are aware of knowledge, then you are aware of ignorance as well.

For example, if you are aware of the reality of God, then you are aware of the non-reality of the world. If you are aware of Truth, you are aware of Falsehood. Therefore you have not attained complete non-duality.

Vijnana

Vijnana implies complete self-knowledge. In this state, you make no distinction that 'This is world, this is God. This is Me, that is You. This is Knowledge, this is Falsehood'. Everything becomes One. That is absolute self-knowledge, called as Vijnana.

In this state, you view the world as a reflection of Yourself (God). You view everything as You. You make no distinctions at all.

Reference: (Sri Ramakrishna has spoken about Jnana and Vijnana several times in His gospel.)

The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa, Page 281

Jnana is to know the Atman through the path of discrimination: "Not this, not this." When this discrimination leads to Samadhi, then the Atman can be apprehended. But Vijnana is complete knowledge or realization. Some have heard of milk, some have seen it, but others have tasted it. So with God. Those who have heard of Him are still in ignorance; those who have seen Him are Jnanis; but those who have tasted or realized Him are Vijnanis. After seeing God, when one makes acquaintance with him and realizes Him as the nearest and dearest of all, that is Vijnana. At first it is necessary to discriminate "Not this, not this," that is, God is not the elements of nature, He is not the senses or sense-popwers, He is not this mind, not this intellect, not this egoism; He is beyond all the categories of nature. To go to the roof, one must climb step by step, leaving one step after another. The staircase is not the same as the roof. After coming out on the roof, however, one can easily see that both roof and staircase are of the same material. The same Infinite Brahman appears as the Personal God, Jiva, and the twenty-four categories of nature. You may ask why this earth is so hard and solid, if it has come out of Brahman? His omnipotence can make everything possible.

All the best.