7-Day Jnana Yoga Practice Guide

Discover your true Self through daily self-inquiry and the wisdom teachings of the Bhagavad Gita

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About This Practice

This 7-day program introduces you to Jnana Yoga—the path of self-knowledge. Each day guides you through contemplations and inquiries that reveal your true nature beyond the body and mind.

Time Commitment: 25-35 minutes morning practice + brief contemplation moments throughout the day

Best For: Philosophical seekers, those who learn through understanding, anyone questioning "Who am I?"

Day 1: The Eternal Self

Theme: You Are Not the Body
"The soul can never be cut by any weapon, nor burned by fire, nor moistened by water, nor withered by the wind."
— Bhagavad Gita 2.23

Morning Contemplation (25 min)

Today we begin the most fundamental inquiry: Are you the body? Sit quietly and investigate.

Self-Inquiry Practice
  • Close your eyes. Notice your body sitting. Ask: "Am I this body, or am I aware of this body?"
  • Your body has changed completely since childhood. Yet "you" remained. What is this "you"?
  • If you lose a limb, are you less "you"? What does this reveal?
  • Rest in the recognition: "I am the awareness that knows the body, not the body itself."
Contemplation Throughout the Day

Periodically notice: "I am aware of this body moving, speaking, eating. But I am the witness, not the witnessed."

Day 2: Beyond the Mind

Theme: You Are Not Your Thoughts
"One who has conquered the mind, the mind is the best of friends; but for one who has failed to do so, the mind remains the greatest enemy."
— Bhagavad Gita 6.6

Morning Contemplation (25 min)

Yesterday we saw you're not the body. Today: Are you the mind? Are you your thoughts?

Self-Inquiry Practice
  • Watch thoughts arise. Notice: there is thinking, and there is awareness of thinking. Which are you?
  • Thoughts come and go. If you were a thought, you would disappear with it. But you remain.
  • Between two thoughts, are you absent? Or is awareness present even in the gap?
  • Ask: "Who is aware of these thoughts?" Don't answer with words—feel for the one who knows.
Contemplation Throughout the Day

When caught in thoughts, pause: "I am watching this thought. The thought is not me. I am the watcher."

Day 3: The Witness of Emotions

Theme: You Are Not Your Feelings
"One who is not disturbed by happiness and distress and is steady in both is certainly eligible for liberation."
— Bhagavad Gita 2.15

Morning Contemplation (25 min)

Emotions feel very personal—but are they what you essentially are?

Self-Inquiry Practice
  • Recall a recent emotion—joy, sadness, anger. Where is it now? It passed, but you remain.
  • When emotion arises, notice: "I am aware of this feeling." You are the awareness, not the feeling.
  • Emotions appear TO you. They are experiences you have, not what you are.
  • Even intense emotion is witnessed by something unchanging. What is that witness?
Contemplation Throughout the Day

When emotion arises: "This feeling is arising in awareness. I am the awareness, not the feeling. Let it pass."

Day 4: The Unchanging Witness

Theme: Discovering Pure Awareness
"Know that which pervades the entire body to be indestructible. No one can cause the destruction of this imperishable soul."
— Bhagavad Gita 2.17

Morning Contemplation (30 min)

Having seen what you're not (body, thoughts, emotions), now turn attention to what remains: pure awareness itself.

Self-Inquiry Practice
  • Sit in stillness. Let go of focus on any object—just be aware of being aware.
  • This awareness is present in every experience. It never changes, even as experiences change.
  • Try to find the edges or limits of awareness. Can you? Or is it boundless?
  • This awareness was present in childhood, youth, and now. It is the one constant. This is your Self.
Contemplation Throughout the Day

Pause periodically to notice: "Awareness is here, now, unchanged. This is what I am."

Day 5: Discrimination (Viveka)

Theme: Real vs. Unreal
"The unreal has no being; the real never ceases to be. The truth about both has been seen by the seers of truth."
— Bhagavad Gita 2.16

Morning Contemplation (25 min)

Viveka is discrimination between real (eternal) and unreal (temporary). Today, apply this to your experience.

Self-Inquiry Practice
  • What in your experience is temporary? (Body, thoughts, feelings, situations, possessions)
  • What is permanent? Only awareness—the knowing presence—remains constant.
  • The temporary comes and goes; only the permanent truly IS. Which are you?
  • Practice: "This situation is temporary. This emotion is temporary. I—awareness—am eternal."
Contemplation Throughout the Day

Before reacting to any situation, ask: "Is this permanent or passing? Am I getting attached to the temporary?"

Day 6: The Self in All

Theme: Equal Vision
"The humble sage, by virtue of true knowledge, sees with equal vision a learned brahmin, a cow, an elephant, a dog, and an outcaste."
— Bhagavad Gita 5.18

Morning Contemplation (25 min)

True knowledge reveals the same Self in all beings. Today, practice seeing beyond appearances.

Self-Inquiry Practice
  • The awareness in you—is it fundamentally different from the awareness in others?
  • Bodies differ, personalities differ, but is awareness itself different?
  • Contemplate: The same consciousness that looks out through your eyes looks out through all eyes.
  • When you meet anyone today, silently recognize: "The same Self dwells here."
Contemplation Throughout the Day

See each person as the same awareness dressed in different bodies. Notice how this changes your interactions.

Day 7: Abiding as the Self

Theme: Living from Knowledge
"Those whose ignorance is destroyed by knowledge of the Self—their knowledge, like the sun, reveals the Supreme."
— Bhagavad Gita 5.16

Morning Contemplation (35 min)

Today, integrate the week's understanding. Abide as the Self you've recognized.

Self-Inquiry Practice
  • Review: I am not the body, not thoughts, not emotions. I am awareness itself.
  • Rest as awareness. Don't try to do anything—just be what you are.
  • When thoughts arise, let them. They appear in you, but you are not them.
  • This awareness is always free, always at peace. It is your true home.
Week's End Reflection
  • What has shifted in my understanding of who I am?
  • When did I most clearly recognize the witness consciousness?
  • What practices will I continue to deepen self-knowledge?
  • How does knowing my true nature change how I live?

Continue Your Journey of Self-Knowledge

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Related Resources

Complete Jnana Yoga Guide 30-Day Reading Program Weekly Meditation Practice Chapter 2: Sankhya Yoga Verses on Wisdom Verses on Self-Knowledge

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