The only purpose for which this book has been written is to reveal to the world what jnana - knowledge really is and to acquaint them with its condition at different levels of approach. It is of course certain that our religious books speak a lot about it, but unfortunately the (quack) commentators of the later period have on account of their wrong understanding misrepresented the facts in such a way as to drown the very sense.

The responsibility for it lies mainly on those who have made it their profession to indulge in false dealings presenting imitations for the real. They, not taking into account its evil consequences, went on recklessly engendering poison into the hearts of the people. Thus poison alone was administered in place of the nectar and spirituality was in fact strangulated at the very outset. Undoubtedly they ruined not only themselves but also others by their misguidance. Learned lectures, spirited sermons and manifold discourses are all the merit that attracts the minds of the people these days. As the masses were so did they get the leader to guide them on? They applauded him for his show of knowledge and he in his turn went on imposing more and more of his importance upon them. Thus he came to be generally accepted as the knower of true knowledge, who deserves all honour and respect. Thus his means of livelihood were ensured safely and in a most honourable way. This is all that he got as the reward of his labours.

But if anyone was to question him as to whether the sermon he preached was the one based on his personal experiences or on experiences of others which he had borrowed from books, he would only say "whatever it might be it is after all the very wisdom". Some people went even so far as to presume that mere acceptance of the transitory nature of the material world and the infinite character of the Divine is all that wisdom implies. This goes to mean that they can relish the taste of a mango by simply talking about its sweetness. Can the description of the taste ever satisfy the appetite of the listener or can the hunger of a man be ever appeased by preaching to him that bread can satisfy the hunger? Certainly not. But still these pseudo-religious leaders feel greatly exalted to think that they had preached a grand sermon and that they were real gnanis (knowers of true knowledge). This is exactly as a man who enacts the role of a king on a stage goes about afterwards thinking himself to be a king in a real sense. Can he ever command the same honour and influence as a real king would? Let a person assume himself whatever he wills but that will always be far from reality and it will not be difficult to judge at sight the real worth and the level of approach of such vain preachers. They may however silence others by the logical display of their scholarly knowledge but still the reality at the bottom seldom remains unrevealed. May God have mercy on those who are in the hands of such impostors who keep themselves confined only to books.

The real wisdom not being the concern of such persons, they pretend to preach and lead people on the path, which they themselves have never traversed. Living is not for them to bother about, forbearance is a foreign word to them, and toleration is against the code of their so-called saintly conduct. Acceptance of personal service from others is their birthright while to serve others in the same way is below their exalted dignity. To them divine knowledge is quite exclusive of all these most common rules of etiquette and good conduct. In their view wisdom is only an academic current meant for the fickle minded masses, theirs being the only job to divert it towards them. This is all the greatness of their saintly personalities. How to awaken the various states of the real wisdom in the abhyasi's mind is not their concern at all. To understand the mysteries of the granthis (knots) or to attain layavastha (merging) and to unfold and master the different states of enlightenment is all beyond their conception. Neither do they themselves know anything about it nor would they condescend to learn it from anyone and accept his guidance in the matter. Yet from whom, after all, are they to learn when all of them are alike in this respect?

They feel and proclaim themselves to be teachers of men following a family life. To learn anything from the latter is beyond their understanding and their sense of dignity and pride. This vanity and egotism has entirely ruined their spirit and thus the real merit is lost though the outward form still remains intact. When it comes to be so, similar developments began to come into effect as its result. Everything assumed a crude state and the same effect began to be reflected from it. The significance of yoga was lost and parrot like recitations were taken to be all needed for the purpose. This began to be preached all round as the highest mark of perfection. Thus they not only remained blind to reality but have also been incapable of even imitating it in its outer ways through their external practices. On the contrary adverse thoughts began to settle down in their minds and they began to teach the same to others. If they turned towards devotion (bhakti) they began to display playful show of human qualities; and if they leaned towards knowledge (jnana) their wantonness was revealed in its true colours. They squeezed out only that which their garment was drenched with. In short the people inherited the very defects, which existed in those teachers.

A common man being pleased with their easygoing rules adopted them for their practice only to drive themselves finally to a state of distortion. They are in fact following the very practices, which go against the attainment of the real knowledge, yet still the vanity of being a gnani (knower) stands. They do not bother about what others say about it. Their only concern is about what they themselves say. They do not even allow others the privilege of pointing out the right thing to them, because that would be a rude shock to their sense of self-perfection, and in that capacity they inwardly feel justified for it. What the Nature wants men to lead to is quite unknown to them because they have no access up to it. They do not even know that now the time has come for them to mend.

A person can rightly be taken as the knower of the divine knowledge in true sense when he has mastered the various conditions depicted in this booklet. He who transcends them is capable of being a guru or teacher and he who transcends beyond where one might rarely be able to reach deserves to be called a sadguru. Further beyond there remains nothing, which is not within his comprehensive knowledge. I have written this book not to cast aspersions on any one, but only to help the so-called gnanis (agnostics) in throwing off their vanity and egotism to secure their firm stand in the Absolute Reality so that they may also be helpful in transforming the world in accordance with the demand of Nature. Mend, the times will, but it would be better if such persons too had their share in it.

Ram Chandra