Jnana yoga "Jnana" is knowledge, and refers to any cognitive event that is correct and true over time. It particularly refers to knowledge inseparable from the total experience of its object, especially about reality (non-theistic schools) or supreme being (theistic schools). In Hinduism, it is knowledge which gives Moksha, or spiritual release while alive (jivanmukti) or after death (videhamukti). According to Bimal Matilal, "jnana yoga" in Advaita Vedanta connotes both primary and secondary sense of its meaning, that is "self-consciousness, awareness" in the absolute sense and relative "intellectual understanding" respectively. According to Jones and Ryan, "jnana" in "jnana yoga" context is better
Vedas and "Know your Ātman" their thematic focus. The Upanishads are the foundation of Hindu philosophical thought and its diverse traditions. Of the Vedic corpus, they alone are widely known, and the central ideas of the Upanishads have influenced the diverse traditions of Hinduism. "Aranyakas" are sometimes identified as "karma-kanda" (ritualistic section), while the Upanishads are identified as "jnana-kanda" (spirituality section). In an alternate classification, the early part of Vedas are called Samhitas and the commentary are called the Brahmanas which together are identified as the ceremonial "karma-kanda", while "Aranyakas" and "Upanishads" are referred to as the "jnana-kanda". The Vedangas developed