Walis (saints) can give the shadow of that Knowledge, either by touch, gaze or by placing their hand on the head of anyone they like. Why do they place their hand on the head? Because it is the seat of Knowledge. So if walis, through their tawajjuh (spiritual power or force), place their hands on the heads of any persons, they receive the shadow (of the Knowledge). Even in that case, bodily consciousness is lost. But this is not Dnyan. In the Dnyaneshwari, it is written that this Dnyan cannot be gotten except through the intervention of a Sadguru.
Then this is all about Dnyan. As for myself, I think love for God is the best avenue to Real Knowledge, for God alone is worth loving.
After completing the discourse in the morning, Baba concluded with the following remarks:
Dnyan always comes unawares. God is so kind that it is impossible to imagine His unbounded kindness! Some think they have suffered a lot, and still God is not showering His grace on them. But the fact is that the necessary preparedness is lacking. Hafiz said:
“One tip of a hair strand is in my hand.
the other in the hand of the Friend.
Our tug-of-war has been going on for years.”
But when the appointed time comes, and the necessary preparedness is there, then Dnyan comes, irrespective of what the individual is doing at that moment.
–Lord Meher (First Ed), p3916