Introduction
The concept of jnani has implications not just for the spiritual life of the West, but for its entire intellectual and religious history. We shall make a journey from the ancient Greece of Pythagoras through the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, the modern secular world, and even consider what a post-secular society might entail. We bring to bear the distinctions and issues discussed in the site so far, and show that the jnani / bhakti and the via positiva / via negativa dichotomies, despite their ultimate oneness, can illuminate our spiritual past in a new way.
(Note: all the images in this section are from photographs taken of living moths and butterflies in the London Butterfly House, England.)