Chapter 4 Gnana Yoga Verse 26
Sloka
Na hi jnaanena sadrisham pavitram iha vidyate;
Tat swayam yogasamsiddhah kaalenaatmani vindati.
Translation
Verily there is no purifier in this world like knowledge.
He who is perfected in Yoga finds it in the Self in time.
Interpretation
Continuing his lecture on knowledge and how it washes away all the sins, in this sloka Lord Krishna talks about the purity of knowledge. He says that there is nothing in this World which is as pure as knowledge. He then also talks about the linkage between the knowledge and yoga. Here Yoga means pursuing the thing that a person is looking for. So, the meaning of the second verse is if you seek knowledge as a yoga with a complete dedication then that person will be able to get that knowledge within the time that he would want it to. Time is very important here because the time here is connected to moksha or salvation.
Extending Interpretation to Mankind’s Life!
There are two things that this sloka is talking about. First one is knowledge being the ultimate purifier. Here purifier means it shapes your actions and makes you a polished person. Take an example of two highly educated professionals. First person apart from getting many degrees through education, is educated in life also and the other person holds only educational degrees but has no education on how to lead a spiritual life.
The one who is educated in life, apart from the degrees he holds, respects his fellow individuals and even treats someone who is lower in economic status also as equals and respects them. This person who is only holding degrees will be proud of his education and achievements and shows it in every action of his. He will be proud, arrogant and demanding.
Second point is In these two people the first person can attain salvation through his knowledge because he understood how to mix his knowledge through education with his knowledge of life. That makes him a perfect person, who through his yoga attains the higher state of spirituality when he starts having sympathy, concern and care for the fellow humans.
Not only that his basic knowledge also keeps increasing as his humble attitude makes him to pursue more knowledge. The second person who is arrogant, egoistic and has no knowledge about life will never be able to expand his knowledge base in any way because his ego will stop him from doing so. Thus he has nothing to integrate and spends all his time demanding respect from people, showing off his wealth and doing things only to satisfy his ego. Such people can never attain salvation.
