Tuesday, June 15, 2010

j~nAna yoga & Slow Thinking

j~nAna yoga is the yoga of knowledge. Only this knowledge is not intellectual in the conventional manner. Rather it is intuitive or, we might say, intellective (in the Platonic sense).

To acquire this knowledge one follows the triple method of shravaNa, manana and nididhyAsana, or hearing vedAnta teaching from a qualified teacher, reflecting upon it and assimilating it.

Although this method is not haphazard; neither is neat and tidy. It is organic. It dawns in the mind in a manner interdependent with our particular vAsAna load. It can not be forced. It has to be natural.

According to Carl Honoré "Slow Thinking is intuitive, woolly and creative. It is what we do when the pressure is off, and there is time to let ideas simmer on the back burner. It yields rich, nuanced insights and sometimes surprising breakthroughs."

I believe there is some resonance between j~nAna yoga and Slow Thinking.

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