Jnana Yoga

Each basic form of yoga serves as the way to attain enlightenment.  These are the five basic yogas:

Bhakti Yoga  -  stresses love and devotion
Karma Yoga - selfless work
Jnana Yoga -  knowledge and discernment
Raja Yoga - eight-limbed system of disciplines emphasizing meditation.
Hatha Yoga - purification of the physical to attain purification of the mind.

Jnana means wisdom. The end sought for in Jnana yoga then is wisdom.  The central purpose of jnana meditation is to detach the mind and emotions from erroneous perceptions of life and self to be able to be in tune with the unblemished truth or Spirit.

To achieve "jnani", the devotee of discernment must meditate to let go or ignore all thoughts and feelings until the bright glow of the soul fills the mind and heart and begins the work of conversion and enlightenment within the immersed yogi.

To do this almost impossible task of ridding oneself of wayward thoughts and emotions the use of the technique called neti-neti is encouraged.  Neti-neti simply means "not this, not this."  You utter those words silently when a thought or feeling which is not in harmony with the aim of the meditation and does not reflect the soul or the inner self comes to mind. 

The meditator simply repeats, "Not this, not this," and ignore thoughts, views, feelings, sounds, or anything that can cause disturbance to the meditation. These unwanted thoughts and emotions are patiently set aside over and over again until a state of clarity of mind is achieved and the soul is finally revealed.

It is important to keep in mind that meditation should be done consciously that is in a state of alertness. It is not attained by meditation in a passive way.

The "neti-neti" habit enables the practitioner to let go of negativity such as those feelings of worry, insecurity, or fear.  The inner self becomes apparent. Those negative emotions no longer have power over the person.