Kṛṣṇa says that jñāna is better than abhyāsa. By performing practice (abhyāsa) alone, it is difficult to achieve meditation on the Lord. So better than practice is fixing the intelligence on the Lord, which is jñānam. But dhyāna, meditation, which is continuous contemplation on the Lord, is better than jñāna. Another way of understanding this is brahma-jñāna, which is knowledge of the soul as different from the body is better than practice of niṣkāma-karma, where one simply is unattached to the fruits of work. Better than knowledge of the soul is meditation, where one realizes the Supersoul.
Kṛṣṇa says that jñāna is better than abhyāsa. By performing practice (abhyāsa) alone, it is difficult to achieve meditation on the Lord. So better than practice is fixing the intelligence on the Lord, which is jñānam. But dhyāna, meditation, which is continuous contemplation on the Lord, is better than jñāna. Another way of understanding this is brahma-jñāna, which is knowledge of the soul as different from the body is better than practice of niṣkāma-karma, where one simply is unattached to the fruits of work. Better than knowledge of the soul is meditation, where one realizes the Supersoul. From meditation one becomes devoid of desire for fruits of sakāma-karma in the form of svarga, and the fruits of niṣkāma-karma in the form of liberation. Even though these are attained without his endeavor, the devotee is indifferent to them. Before the devotee reaches steady meditation, when he has not yet attained rati (bhāva), he has just a desire to give up liberation. But one who is fixed in meditation (at bhāva stage) is repelled by mokṣa. He takes liberation as insignificant. That meditation is the cause for indifference to mokṣa. Thus meditation gives rise to niṣkāma-karma-yoga naturally, where one works and offers the results of work to Kṛṣṇa. After developing distaste for the fruits of action, one then attains peace in the form of stopping the senses from dwelling on all objects except Kṛṣṇa’s form and qualities. Better than this is sādhana-bhakti, where one performs bhakti under rules and regulations, and among all processes, the best is to always remember Kṛṣṇa in prema bhakti.