[8][9] The practitioner studies usually with the aid of a guru, meditates, reflects, and reaches liberating insights on the nature of one's own Self (Atman, soul) and its relationship to the metaphysical concept called Brahman in Hinduism.
[5][16] In the Bhagavad Gita, jnana is equated with samkhya (yoga), the discernment of purusha, pure consciousness, as different from prakriti, matter and material desires.
[5] While contemporay Advaita Vedanta and neo-Vedanta incorporate meditation, Adi Shankara relied on insight alone, based on the Mahavakya.
[6][18] All three paths are available to any seeker, chosen based on inclination, aptitude and personal preference,[19][20] and typically elements of all three to varying degrees are practiced by many Hindus.
[22][20][23] Jnana yoga encourages its adepts to think and speak of themselves in the third person as a way to distance themselves from the Ego and detach their eternal self (atman) from the body related one (maya).
[9] According to Chambliss, the mystical teachings within these Upanishads discuss "the way of knowledge of the Self", a union, the realization that the Self (Atman) and the Brahman are logical.
[29] The text considers jnana marga as the most difficult, slow, confusing for those who prefer it because it deals with "formless reality", the avyakta.
[41] This three-step methodology is rooted in the teachings of chapter 4 of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad:[42][43] These practices, with the help of a guru are believed to lead to correct knowledge, which destroys avidya, psychological and perceptual errors related to Atman and Brahman.
The Shaivism traditions do not consider renunciation necessary for practicing jnana yoga, leaving ascetic yogi lifestyle optional.
[48] Spirituality can be pursued along with active life (karma), according to Shaiva traditions, and it believes that this does not hinder ones ability to journey towards self (Shiva within) realization.
[50] The Pancharatra (agama) texts of Vaishnavism, along with its Bhagavata (Krishna, Rama, Vishnu) tradition, are strongly influenced by jnana yoga ideas of the Upanishads.
[50] However, Vaishnavism also incorporates Bhakti yoga concepts of loving devotion to the divine Supreme personally selected by the devotee, in saguna form, both in silent meditational and musical expressive styles.
The Shaktism literature then adds that both lead to the knowledge of Brahman, but the first one is in the form of sound (shabdabrahman), while the insight from within is the ultimate truth (parabrahman).