A Study of the Means of Attaining Direct Knowledge of the Supreme Brahman in the Bhagavadgītā

• Satish Barman

  Research Scholar, Department of Philosophy, University of North Bengal

  Author

  https://orcid.org/0009-0006-1992-9962

The central problem of this article is to explore how the Supreme Brahman or Paramātman can be realised or known. The concept of pramāṇa is one of the central issues in Indian philosophy. Systems like Nyāya and Vedānta classify perception, inference and verbal testimony as the chief forms of pramāṇa. However, in the Bhagavadgītā, we do not find a systematic discussion of the concept of pramāṇa. But some of the hints on the same are there in the Bhagavadgītā. This article examines how the Bhagavadgītā implicitly addresses knowledge (jñāna), the object of knowledge (jñeya) and the means of knowledge (pramāṇa). The Bhagavadgītā defines actual knowledge as ādhyātmika, which is the realisation of the Self (Ātman) and the Supreme Brahman. Brahman, the eternal and all-pervading reality, is identified as the object of knowledge. The study argues that conventional pramāṇas, such as perception and inference, are inadequate for knowing this ultimate truth, as the Self is subtle, unchanging, and beyond sensory or logical grasp. While verbal testimony (śabda), especially the divine teaching of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, provides an authoritative means of knowledge, the Bhagavadgītā emphasises that śabda or verbal testimony must be supported by śravaṇa, manana and nididhyāsana. Ultimately, the Bhagavadgītā shows that the Supreme Reality or Brahman is realised only through direct, intuitive experience (aparokṣa-anubhūti). Thus, in the view of the Bhagavadgītā, intuition or inner realisation is not perception, inference, or scripture, but it constitutes the actual and direct means of knowing the ultimate reality, the Self and the Supreme Brahman.

Apurbananda, S. (2022). Śrīmadbhagavadgītā. Udvodhan Karyalay.

Brahmachari, M. (1993). Geeta dhyan. Shri Mahanambrata Cultural & Welfare Trust.

Madhurananda, S. (2023). Bhagavat Gītā as viewed by Swami Vivekananda. Advaita Ashrama.

Pradhan, K. (Ed.). (2017). Gītā (Samanvayi bhasya) by Acharya Brajendra Nath Seal. Pragtishil Prakasak.

Radhakrishnan, S. (1993). The Bhagavad Gītā. HarperCollins Publishers.

Ramsukhdas, S. (2024). Śrīmadbhagavadgītā Sādhaka Sañjīvanī (Bangla ed.). Gita Press.

Saradananda, S. (2019). Gītātatva. Udvodhan Karyalay.

Sharma, I. C. (1965). Ethical philosophies of India. George Allen & Unwin.

Sri Aurobindo. (2018). Essays on the Gītā. Sri Aurobindo Ashram.

Tilak, B. G. (1935). Bhagavad Gītā Rahasya (B. S. Sukthankar, Trans., Vols. 1–2). Lokamanya Tilak Mandir.

• PDF

Copyright (c) 2026 Satish Barman (Author)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.