Which definition of jnāna applies to the

ātmā?
The word jnāna has the common meaning of ‘knowledge’. However,
in Sanskrit usage, the word jnāna carries different meanings
depending on the context. Here we examine these meanings, and how
they apply to the ātmā.
The word jnāna can have the following meanings (Śrī Babaji’s
commentary on the Paramatma Sandarbha, page 184):

1. jnaptir jnānam
Here jnānam carries the meaning of contentless awareness. This
awareness exists in the ātmā, in the state of deep sleep for example
where there is no content-knowledge, or after liberation in Brahman
where there is no mind to hold any content. Naturally, this meaning
has nothing to do with the common meaning of jnāna as ‘knowledge’.

2. jnāyate anena iti jnānam

jnānam here means knowledge by which an object is known. Here,
the word implies content-knowledge, and generally can be taken to
mean the relationship between a word and its object (vācya-vācaka
sambandha).
For example, when one sees a cow, one recalls the relationship of the
word cow with the object cow, and then there is cognition or
knowledge. If the knowledge of the relation between the word and the
object is absent, such as if one has never seen a cow before, there is
still perception of the object with its qualities. This is also a type of
knowledge.
All content knowledge exists in the moment when it is perceived in
the mind. Once the moment passes, i.e. the object is out of one’s
perception, there is no more knowledge per se, only stored
information in the memory which can later be recalled. The stored
information has the name saṁskāra, and is distinct from jnānam.
3. jnānam asti asminn iti jnānam
The person who knows or cognizes an object can also be called
jnānam. In this meaning, jnānam refers to a person who possesses
knowledge.

What definition of jnāna applies to the ātmā?

If we strip away the mind, senses, intelligence etc. from the ātmā,
such that it is reduced to itself alone, what kind of knowledge does it
possess? Some say that the ātmā is full of content-knowledge such as
knowledge of the Vedas. Others (the Advaitavādis) say that the ātmā
cannot possess knowledge with content, but is only conscious- i.e. not
inert. In the Paramātmā Sandarbha, Śrī Jīva Goswami analyzes the
properties of the ātmā, including what type of meaning of the word
jnānam applies to the pure ātmā; we summarize his explanation
below.

First, the ātmā cannot be modified in anyway (it is avyaya, see 2nd
chapter of Bhagavad Gita). If any new knowledge or information
‘entered’ the ātmā, this would modify it, and therefore it follows that
the ātmā cannot know anything ‘new’.

And yet, there is obviously cognition in us all the time! Who is the
knower in a child who learns Math or language?
All knowledge with content or information is a modification of the
mind

Śrī Jīva explains that knowledge is a mano-vṛtti, or modification

of the mind. Therefore, it remains external to the ātmā. Perception
occurs in the mind, which is external to the ātmā, but it cannot occur
unless the ātmā is present; the mind is conscious because of the ātmā
in the body, and knows because the ātmā has the śakti or potency to
know (jnātṛtva in Śrī Jīva’s terminology).

The Advaitavādis do not accept that the ātmā has the capacity to
know anything. Their definition of consciousness is that the ātmā is
not inert- they negate inertness, but do not accept the ātmā as a
knower. In Śrī Jīva’s view, the ātmā cannot know anything without
the mind even though it has the capacity to know, and the mind
cannot know anything without the ātmā because the mind does not
have any capacity to know being inert, and therefore perception
occurs only when these two combine together. The perception of
content knowledge occurs in the mind, and therefore the ātmā remains
unmodified. All knowledge is ultimately a modification of the mind,
which is external to the ātmā.

When words like jnāna-svarūpa or cid-ātmaka are used for the

ātmā, they imply that it is conscious of itself, and can know things
external to itself (when combined with the mind). Thus,
consciousness is a quality possessed by the ātmā, like the rose
possesses the red color. It is therefore erroneous to think that the ātmā
is ‘full of knowledge and bliss’, because the ātmā cannot store any
information with content in it. All information remains external to the
ātmā.
Summary

Of the above three meanings of jnānam, the third definition applies

to the ātmā when it is conjoined to the mind-body complex,

the second definition refers to the modifications of the mind,

and the first definition applies to the ātmā’s contentless awareness

when it is in a state like deep sleep.