Realizing & Assimilating Ignorance

Swami Atmananda Saraswati

Vedanta has been revealing from time immemorial that ignorance alone is the root cause of all pain & grief. It is not the situations and people outside which bring pain & problems, but our ignorance, of not only to find the right way out but also of our own capabilities & capacities, more so about our real identity and truth. Not knowing something properly gives way to imaginations and mis-apprehensions. Once we know a thing wrongly, then we build up on this erroneous perception with our uncalled for expectations and the subsequent seeking. An imaginary identity, imagines potential about things around, and then pursues its projected dream. Some succeed while the others dont. One gets elated while the other gets despondent, however both the reactions are based on the fulfillment of the whims & fancies of an imaginary baseless identity. Real thirst is never quenched by imaginary waters, so we basically remain what we are, a seeker, who now seeks different things, but seeking nevertheless continues with all its joys & pains. That in short is the story of life.

The basic cause of the life of all this seemingly endless seeking is the ignorance of the truth, so the Upanishads rightly thunder that 'Gyanat eva tu kaivalyam', Knowledge alone Liberates. The Sanatan Dharma rightly respects & reveres knowledge, men of knowledge, or even the books of knowledge, in fact anything associated with knowledge. That is the hallmark of our ancient tradition. Many sincere aspirants seek knowledge with all their heart & soul. However, this is also a fact that out of the many who seek, only a rare few discover the truth. The Upanishads caution us by telling us that the path of the discovery of truth is indeed like traversing on a razors edge. Out of the various possible impediments in the realization of the truth of oneself or for that matter anything, is the proper realization of the fact that 'I am ignorant and need to know'. Someone rightly said that, 'It is only those who know that they do not know, can ever know'. We never try filling up a cup which is already full, so also a teacher never tries to teach someone who thinks that he or she already knows. It is a sheer wastage of time even discussing matter with people who are conditioned. They are more bothered about proving their point rather than ever trying to know the point of view of the other. Thus 'realization of our ignorance' is an extremely important step in the path of getting knowledge. This realization needs to be very deep, intense and enveloping. A half hearted realization is no realization, it needs to be complete & intense. In fact a half hearted realization is more of a problem than a door to any solution. Any pursuit of knowledge with a half-hearted realization of ignorance is more of an ego-trip, another way of getting some ego-fulfillment, rather than for the transcending and effacement of the very ego. 

Realization of the fact that 'I do not know' is a very humbling experience. It implies that none of my knowledge so far has been of any help. We all get various experiences, knowledge & wisdom while going through the ups & downs of life. We also get lots of knowledge by studying, observing & watching the wise people around. However, as the saying goes, the test of the pudding is in the eating, and when it comes to that our realm of existence is enough proof of the fact that nothing has been of any help. Real knowledge is all about transcending the very realm of time & space, and thus awakening to that which is timeless, and realizing it as our very self. If this has not happened then have no notions that your knowledge has been of any help. Knowledge as a means of earning your livelihood is only for the eternally condemned seekers. Real knowledge is not for learning the art of putting balm on our imaginary wounds, but for realizing that there is no need to seek and treat. It is about discovering our divinity & timelessness. It is that knowledge alone which is in discussion here. Either we have that knowledge or we dont. If we dont, then let it be a complete, and unfettered realization. Let this sincere and factual realization that 'I do not know', be very deep. Let it envelop you. Assimilate this fact first, and this alone opens the door to all knowledge. Let this awareness touch your heart & soul, let it shake you up, let it shatter you, let it make you truly humble. Let this awareness break our ego, let it make us realize that nothing has been of any help so far. Let it be instrumental to make us free from all that has been known till now. The Kena Upanishad says that 'Know the truth to be that which is neither in the realm of known nor that which is completely unknown.' That which is known is all of the realm of 'seen', while here we are interested in the truth of the seer.

Anyone even with the basic knowledge of vedanta knows that the problem of ignorance & knowledge is best highlighted with the example of the rope & snake. Not knowing a rope as a rope someone imagined it to be a snake, and this notion of it being a snake further veils the rope. Now, if someone wishes to know the rope as the rope, then the basic requirement is that he or she needs to stop looking at it as a snake. Once the mis-apprehension is removed then alone the path is paved for the realization of its truth. To conclude a dimly lit snake like object to be a snake, is projection based on our existing 'knowledge base'. Someone who is from a different land where there are no snakes, will not imagine that dimly lit object to be a snake, but maybe something else which is most near the object in his memory bank. Any erroneous perception inevitably brings about a condition of the shattering of our expectations, for the simple reason that the object was something else. Not knowing the rope as a rope is not directly a matter of pain & grief, but it is only the subsequent mis-apprehension which brings such grief-baggage with it. In another words mis-apprehension is all about believing too much in our existing knowledge, to the extent that we dont even bother to get valid knowledge, but come to conclusions, even before any proper enquiry & investigation. Till the time we continue to value our existing knowledge in such a way till then the veil of darkness only gets denser. To get knowledge of the truth of any object, the first requirement is to contain our power of imagination, the so called Vikshepa Shakti. The avarana or the basic ignorance of not knowing a thing gets removed only when we dont complicate the scene with our additional imaginations. This is where the deep 'realization of our ignorance' helps. It stops projections. In fact it negates projections, and thus paves the way to know a thing to be as it is.

It is only when we know that we do not know that there is necessity to go & seek the knowledge. Only when there is realization of our ignorance that the ego is shattered, the projections stop, and there is a deep heart-felt humility to learn. All kinds of good values start getting manifested in such a person. Thus before we even begin our pursuit of self-realization, let there be a sincere and truthful realization of our own ignorance. Realize it, assimilate it, boldly accept this fact. Dont react negatively to it too. Negative reaction to the realization of our ignorance is indicative of only a partial & conditional realization of our ignorance. It is this true & deep realization of ignorance which makes us a true student. So just learn to accept a fact boldly and then go about boldly handling the problem.