In Yoga, Jnana refers to Awareness and Knowledge. According to ancient Indian philosophy, all that one needs to know and understand for a meaningful life is actually present within. This concept is further illustrated in the theory of Jnana Yoga. Jnana Yoga is the path of knowledge and is one of the types of yoga based on the Hindu philosophy of non-dualism, called advaita vedanta (non-dual Vedic knowledge). `Jnana` in Sanskrit means "knowledge". Jnana yoga is, therefore, described as the path of yoga that follows the wisdom of divine intelligence. This branch of yoga deals with realization of God and consciousness in everything and every being. The Hindu philosophy of Jnana Yoga further states that Brahma alone is real; the phenomenal universe is unreal; the living being is none other than Brahma. Jnana Yoga, thus, establishes the sole reality of Brahma. Some of the best-known Hindu connoisseurs and Gurus of Jnana Yoga are Vashishtha, Ramana Maharshi, Adi Shankara, and Nisargadatta Maharaj.

Jnana yoga looks into the truth about the person`s inner reality and what the person is experiencing. The full realization of this truth brings about enlightenment. Although, all Yoga asanas offer a direct road to enlightenment, but whether a particular road is suitable to reach the objective is a personal aspect and largely depends upon from where the person hails. The great Advaita philosopher Adi Shankara gave principal importance to jnana yoga as "knowledge of the absolute" (Brahma), while the Vishishtadvaita commentator, Ramanuja regarded Jnana yoga only as a condition of devotion. In Bhagavad Gita too, Krishna says that Jnana consists of the concept and proper understanding of kshetra or the field of activity i.e., the body and kshetra-jna or the knower of the body--that is, the soul.

Jnana yoga also explains that there are four means to salvation, namely Viveka, Vairagya, Shad-sampat and Mumukshutva. Viveka is the ability to differentiate between what is real or Brahma and what is unreal or everything else in the universe. The concept of viveka is indeed an important concept in Hindu texts and is even older than the Bhagavad Gita. The concept of differentiating between real and unreal in Viveka ideally evokes the image of a mythical Swan, which was said to be able to separate milk (or Soma) from water while drinking.

While Vairagya or Dispassion says that after practice of Jnana yoga, one should be able to "detach" himself from everything that is "temporary"; Shad-sampat is the amalgamation of six virtues, namely Tranquility (control of the mind), Titiksha (endurance), Dama (control of the senses), Shraddha (faith), Uparati (renunciation of activities that are not duties) and Samadhana (perfect concentration). Mumukshutva, however, is the intense desire for liberation from temporal limitations.

Jnana yoga is all about knowing the truth. When an individual desires to know the truth about something, they usually do not judge by appearances. In fact truth lies beyond apparent vision and, thus, is never changing and eternal. Jnana yoga helps in establishing the fact that truth requires consistency. Appearances also have some truth and reality. They may be called relative, temporary, or partial truth. In Jnana Yoga, however, the aim is to know the absolute truth about life, the truth that is eternal. Absolute truth is the truth about the individual and his/her experiences. The person has to look beyond the mere aspects of himself/herself and then he/she will see that experiences change all the time.

Jnana Yoga is a particular technique for seeking liberation in which identification with the real Self is necessary, rather than with the body or ego that is developed by a steady effort to distinguish between pure awareness and the objects of awareness. Closely associated with Advaita Vedanta, Jnana yoga represents one of the six darshans or philosophies of Hinduism and reflects the idea that everything in the universe shares a single soul. There are three particular techniques of Jnana yoga, namely Viveka, Vicara and Neti-neti. Viveka means "discrimination" in English that is associated especially with deliberate, continuous effort to understand the concept that the real Self is separate from the objects of which the person is aware of. Vicara implies the attitude of "self-inquiry," but literally it means examination, reflection, or looking within. This technique involves a continuous, deliberate effort to become aware of the real Self. Neti-neti technique speaks about the action "not this, not this". This formula is to be applied mentally to all objects of awareness to destroy the false sense that live within the mind. When all the objects are banished, the real Self is revealed

With such lofty principles Jnana Yoga is considered the most difficult paths because it requires a radical shift in perception. To seek the knowledge hidden in all of the mass through questioning, meditation, and contemplation is the basic idea of this type of Yoga. Before practicing jnana yoga, the student needs to have thorough lessons related to yogic paths, for in Hindu philosophy effort is inadequate without selflessness, love of God, the strength of body and mind and the search for self-realization. Different paths in Jnana Yoga lead to different ideas, thus, the path should be carefully chosen by the individual.

For the Jnani, who has successfully reached the conclusion of Jnana Yoga, all the three states of consciousness are equally unreal. But the ajnani or the ignorant is unable to comprehend this because for him the standard of reality is the state of awakening, whereas for the jnani the standard of reality is reality itself. This reality of pure consciousness is everlasting by its nature and therefore subsists equally during all the actions like waking, dreaming and deep sleep. The Jnani experiences the ever-waking state because he is awake to the eternal Self; his is the ever-dreaming state and to him the world is no better than a continually presented dream occurrence.

Jnana yoga can serve all kinds of people, whichever path they take. It retains the true objective of yoga perspective and offers the blessing of truth getting closer at every step. But this feature does not make Jnana Yoga the only or even the primary yogic path for everyone. Most yogis combine jnana yoga with other yogic paths, such as bhakti yoga, karma yoga, and tantra yoga. Jnana yoga is not based on any preliminary idea or belief that the individual is bound to accept. The path of Jnana yoga starts from direct experiences that anyone can have, even though these experiences may sometimes require deep meditation.