Gnana Yogam implies that through learning and learning alone, one develops the conscious ability to completely understand and relate to all actions that ever occurred, are occurring and will occur in the future. 

Practitioners of Gnana Yogam in modern times have been the Sankaracharyas of the different Madas that were set up by Adi Sankaracharya and different branches of learning that have sprung from His teachings.  Most exponents of the Gnana Yogam are endowed with extraordinary abilities in learning, and grasping, within a very short time, the vast volumes of information that have to be assimilated in order to acquire the abilities of the mind to be able to interpret the events and occurances in ones life into a meaningful sequence of cause of effect relationships. 

If for example a Man, woman or Child is seen by the Gnani (one who has acquired gnanam or ultimate knowledge of the truth), the Gnani will be able to see through that person to give an accurate account of his/her, past, present and future.

Acquiring Gnanam through study of scriptures requires a highly evolved mind as well as the good fortune to be in an environment where there is no room for distraction.  The combination of factors that come into play to enable the creation of that environment is indeed very rare.

The following are the obstacles in the path of attempting Gnana Yogam:

1. The endowment of an evolved mind. 

2. The good fortune to have been born in a family that has no needs and yet pursues Vadantic studies.  It is essential that one is born in this environment so that the parents are able to impart thier knowledge and also support the pursuit of the study of the scriptures.

3. The ability not to succumb to the  distractions and temptations of the external world. 

4. A good knowledge of sanskrit.

5. The ability to retain humility even though one is far beyond the general level of learning and understanding attained by most people.

6. The intent to use the knowledge only for the welfare of humanity as a whole and not for self propogation. This is very important, since the learning will not be possible unless the intent is selfless. 

7. The good fortune to find a Guru who has himself attained the level of knowledge that is required to teach his/her Sishyas or students.

8. The lack of worldly ambition such as married life, children or career.  One has to pursue the life of a sanyasi in order to attain the level of detachment from worldly matters. This detachment is the attribute that will enable the mind to acquire a balanced and dispassionate approach towards learning about itself and its components. Without detachment, the attainment of Gnanam is not possible. 

Unles all the above requirements are met, it is almost impossible to pursue the path of Gnana Margam. 

Now, given the stresses and strains of Kali Yugam,  how many of us would be born and raised in an environment that meets all the above requirements?  So few that we can count them on our fingers, that live among the billions of people on this planet. 

This is why the Paramathma does not  prescribe Gnana Yogam for the massess in the Kali Yugam. 

Quote from Sringeri Mahasanidhanam - Sri Abhinava Vidya Theertham - 

“Sastra Vasana is of three types; obsession with study, preoccupation with many subjects and marked squeamishness with regard to observances specified in the scripture. The Taittiriya Brahmana contains a narrative that can serve to illustrate the first kind of Sastra Vasana. Bharadvaja, the Veda says, seriously applied himself to the study of the Vedas for three successive births. In his fourth life too, he wished to strive unremittingly. Taking pity on him, Indra explained the impossibility of learning all the Vedas and then taught Bharadvaja about Brahman with attributes. While Bharadvaja’s study of the Vedas was not wrong, it was his obsession with mastering all the Vedas that was the problem. To get rid of this type of Sastra Vasana, the aspirant should impress upon himself that it is impossible to know a subject in its totality. Addiction to the study of many subjects is also bad. The story of Durvasa encountered in the Kavaseya Gita is pertinent. Durvasa, it is said, once came to the assembly of Lord Mahadeva to pay his respects. He arrived with a cart- load of books. Narada made fun of him by comparing him to an ass burdened with a great load on its back. Irritated and cured of his obsession, Durvasa dumped his books into the sea. Thereafter, Mahadeva initiated him into the knowledge of the Atma. One should realize that the Supreme cannot be known by being preoccupied with books on a variety of topics. Thus, the Katha Upanisad declares, “This Atma is not attained through much study, through the power of grasping the meaning of the texts or through much mere hearing”. Likewise, in the Chandogya Upanisad, we read that in spite of mastering a wide variety of subjects, Narada was not free from grief as he had not realized the Atma. To attain that sorrow-eradicating knowledge, he approached Sanatkumara as a disciple. It has been said, “What is the point in vainly chewing the filthy rag of talk about sacred treatises? Wise men should, by all means, seek the light of consciousness within”. Sincere practice of scripturally ordained rituals is essential for a person who has not progressed to the stage when he can dispense with rituals. However, undue fastidiousness with respect to religious observances, which characterizes the third type of Sastra Vasana, is an impediment. In the Yoga Vasista, we encounter the story of Dasura which is relevent here. Dasura, on account of his intense fastidiousness was unable to locate a single spot in the whole world adequately pure for him to perform his religious rites. Sri Vidyaranya who has elaborately dealt with the destruction of Vasanas in his Jeevanmukti Viveka, points out that Sastra Vasana leads to pride of learning. This is a reason, in addition to the impossibility of consummating the needs of Sastra Vasana, for the Sastra Vasana being labelled as impure.”