Jnan (knowledge) means the real knowledge and realization of one's own self as to who am I and to know one's own self in reality which is the ultimate goal and the noblest aspiration of mankind. All other worldly and earthly knowledge of materialistic objects and subjects like Science, Physics, Chemistry, History, Technology, Geology, Biology, Psychology, Physiology, Astrology, Philosophy, Geography, Mathematics, Economics, Politics, languages and all other faculties of all the universities of the whole world is only called 'information' and not knowledge in the real sense of the term. Informations are always changing every time while knowledge is eternal and real.

Even if you can quote the names of all the mountains of America, or all the rivers of India, or the production figures of all the gold mines of Africa and Australia, or the population figures of all the cities of Europe and Asia, or if you can give eloquent speeches with comments on the constitutions of all the countries of the world, or even if you are the Manager of the World Bank, or the President of UNO - You are only a part of the encyclopedia of information and not of 'Knowledge' and hence you cannot be called Jnani in the real sense of the term unless you know your own original eternal real self.

Jnani means the person who has the knowledge of his own real eternal self and who has realised as to originally and eternally who is he during all his past and present births. He is known as Prabuddha (the awakened soul) and all his Sanchit Karmas would be burnt in the fire of Knowledge (self-realization) as soon as he is awakened.

For example, a man got a very long dream between 1.00 to 1.30 a.m. (midnight) in which he committed a murder. After a long trial in the dreamland criminal court for about three years (of course between 1.00 to 1.30 a.m.) he was sentenced to a rigorous imprisonment for 20 years and was sent to jail where he started suffering terrible physical and mental torture. In such a treacherous condition, according to the time span of dream life, about four years elapsed (of course between 1.00 to 1.30 a.m.). One day the jailer, in his furious temperament and rage started beating him with an iron rod so mercilessly that blood started oozing on his back, and in a frightened tone he screamed so loudly that his dream was broken and he woke up. Immediately and instantaneously he became totally free from all punishments and he found himself safely and quietly Iying actually in his soft bedding. As soon as he realised his own original self that he is purely a pious, innocent man and not a murderer, prisoner, his Sanchit unexpired imprisonment of 16 years of his dream life was instantaneously totally wiped off apd burnt in the knowledge of his original self. Now the jailer of the dream world will never come to take him back to the dream jail for finishing his Sanchit unexpired jail period of 16 years as it is already finished and expired immediately when he awoke.

In the same way the present worldly life span between your physical birth and death is also nothing but a relatively long dream in which your pangs, pains and pleasures are totally false and unreal (Mithya) just as those in your dreams. You are in fact continuously dreaming your pains and pleasures in your worldly life span and you are changing your dreams of happiness and sufferings one after the other according to your past Sanchit Karmas becoming ripe in due course of time in each worldly life span called births in numerous different creeds.

When the dream starts, you yourself are not newly born in that dream world and when that dream is broken or ends, you yourself do not die in and from that dream land. In the same way in this world when you get a new body, you yourself are not newly born and when you leave your old body, you yourself do not die. Thus there is no birth or death of your own original eternal soul. Your old body goes to the grave and not you - your eternal immortal self; you yourself continue eternally and changelessly in all your ever changing different mortal bodies.

Life is real, life is earnest
And the grave is not its goal;
"Dust thou art to Dust returneth"
Was not spoken of the soul.
I slept and dreamt that life is beauty
I awoke and found that life is duty.

The ultimate duty of a human being is to strive for realization and emancipation.