Jnana – Wisdom of Our World Teachers
Oxford Dictionary…” Wisdom – the capacity of judging rightly in matters relating to life and conduct; soundness of judgment in the choice of means and ends.”
Jnana Yoga represents the path of wisdom and the search of the human being to comprehend the truths of the universe and unite the knowledge of the heart (Bhakti) and the mind (Raja). The wealth of past knowledge and life experience of both the love nature and the intellect of past human beings of spiritual stature provides the nourishment and inspiration for those that follow.
Wisdom is therefore universal in essence and ‘belongs’ to no one or to one system devised by human culture and civilization. We have many great teachers whose wisdom has been encapsulated in the written word and in traditional teachings that survive the centuries and passing trends of thought. Wisdom is never changing. Its simplicity can be applied to our own nature and to the circumstances of life at all times.
We are fortunate in this age to have access to the records preserved so admirably by dedicated scholars. All we have to do is to make personal effort to partake of it. We generally become introduced to the long line of great teachers and Gurus according to our education and cultural background. To explore the wisdom of some of these great human beings is rewarding and expands our comprehension of the variety of applications of wisdom that offer ideas to enrich our lives.
Those of classical Indian origin are less known but amongst those revered in Yogic teachings are Patanjali, Shankara, (Shankaracharya) Vyasa, Vishnu, Krishna, Narayana, Vasishtha, Kapila and Govinda.
In the West we are more familiar with -
Aeschylus – ancient Greek dramatist of the 5th century B.C.
Apollonius of Tyana -1st century A.D. magi, philosopher Aristotle – classical Greek philosopher of 3rd century B.C.
Arnold, Sir Edwin – 19C poet Bacon, Francis – 15 -16 C English Lord Chancellor Blake, William – 19C English mystic poet
Buddha –500 BC founder of Buddhism
Burns, Robert – 18 C Scottish poet
Charlemagne, Charles the Great – 8 C the ruler of much of Europe
Cicero, Marcus Tullius – 2C B.C. Roman orator
Confucius – 5C B.C established classical Chinese philosophy
Dante – 13 C Italian poet
Democritus – 4C B.C. known as ‘the laughing philosopher’
Demosthenes- 4 C B.C. orator of excellence
Descartes – 17C French philosopher, scientist
Eddy, Mary Baker- 19c founder of Christian Science
Emerson, Ralph Waldo –19C American writer, philosopher
Erasmus, Desiderius – 15C scholar, translator of New Testament
Euripides – 5th century BC – classical philosopher
Francis of Assisi, Saint – 13th century spiritual sage
Franklin, Benjamin – 18C U.S. Statesman
Gandhi, Mohamdas Karamchand (Mahatma Gandhi) – in 20th Century
Goethe, Johann Wolfgang – German poet, philosopher
Goldsmith, Oliver – 18C Irish poet
Hermes Trismegistus –unknown origin but works attributed to him translated into Latin by Flemish mathematician and astronomer/astrologer Joannes Stadius 1556
Hippocrates – 4C B.C. ‘the Father of medicine’
Homer – 9C B.C. Greek poet – heroic epic tales
Horace – 1 C B.C. Roman poet Iamblichus – Neo Platonic philosopher, author of the life of Pythagoras
Jefferson, Thomas –18C American President
Jesus – teacher of the Essenes – founder of the Christian faith
Josephus , Flavius – 1 century A.D. Jewish historian
Kant, Immanuel – 18C philosopher, mathematician
Kipling, Rudyard – 19C English author
LaoTse – 600 B.C. Chinese sage
Lincoln, Abraham – 19 C American President
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth -19C American poet
Luther, Martin – 16C founder of Protestant faith
Marcus Aurelius – 2C last of the great Roman Emperors –author ‘Meditations’
Mencius – 372-289 B.C. Chinese philosopher following Confucius
Milton, John – 17C English poet
Mohammed – 5C founder of Islamic faith
Montaigne, Michael –16 C French essayist
More, Sir Thomas –15C English Lord Chancellor
Omar Khayyam – 12C Persian poet, astronomer, sage
Paracelsus – 15C Alchemist, philosopher
Patanjali – 250 B.C author of the classical ‘Aphorisms’ of Yoga
Pericles – 5C B.C.Greek statesman, hero
Plato – 5C B.C Athenian – philosopher
Plotinus – 2 C mystic, philosopher, teacher
Porphyry – 2 C from Tyre, philosopher
Proclus, Lycaeus- 4C A.D. Neoplatonis,sage
Pythagorus – 5C B.C.Greek philosopher, from Samos
Raleigh, Sir Walter – 16C English author- historian
Rhodes, Cecil John – 19C Sth African statesman
Shankaracharya- the revered Indian sage and teacher of the Vedas
Shakespeare -16C playwrite and believed nom- de- plume of Sir Francis Bacon
Socrates – 4C B.C. classical philosopher Solomon, King of Israel – the third King and famed for his wisdom
Solon – 600 B.C. Greek lawgiver- the wise Athenian
Spencer, Herbert – 19C English philosopher
Tagore, Rabindranath Sir – 19C Indian poet
Thompson, Francis – 19C English spiritual poet
Thoreau, Henry David –19C American essayist
Vaughan, Henry- 17C Welsh poet
Virgil, Roman poet- 1st century B.C. Roman poet
Voltaire, Francois –18C French philosopher
Wordsworth,William – 18-19C English Poet Laureate
Zoroaster (Zarathushtra)- 6C B.C. – Persian prophet,founder of Zoroastrianism
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