Page 25 - Wisdom Unfurled

Knowledge and its Nature
The word jnana in ordinary sense means knowledge which may be of different kinds – physical, mental, material or spiritual. In the spiritual sense the term is applied so vaguely that often it becomes very difficult to understand its true significance. The range it covers, extends from the baser level of common understanding to the higher level of inner enlightenment. This gives rise to a lot of confusions and misunderstanding. A man who has learnt a few scriptures, another who recites every moment set phrases like “aham brahmasmi” (I am Brahman) etc. claims to be a jnani or enlightened, and is accepted as such by the masses, irrespective of his real inner state. Jnana in the real sense refers to the inner condition of mind, which an abhyasi develops during the course of his pursuit, while passing through different spiritual states at different knots or granthis. Jnana, in fact, is the realisation of the conditions prevailing at each knot. Now since the knots are innumerable, the knowledge gained is also different according to the level of approach of an abhyasi. Thus it is almost meaningless to call one a jnani without defining his level of approach or the limit of knowledge realised by him. The real state of enlightenment comes when we get into full consciousness of the condition of enlightenment, and after imbibing its effect secure our merging in it. When we develop this state and merge into its consciousness we come to know all about it and thus become jnani, i.e., enlightened – up to that extent. If we try to gain the knowledge by applying our force of thought, it will only be artificial and not true and genuine. The real knowledge of a state means complete identicality with the state we have merged in. The help that knowledge at different states offers is that it infuses us with a longing for the search for the Ultimate.
Ignorance and knowledge are the two extremities of the same thing. Up to a certain extent it is termed as ignorance, after that it turns into knowledge. They are like the two poles of a magnet. Thus avidya (ignorance) has no existence without vidya (knowledge), or vidya without avidya. If one is there, the other must also be there. That means when the veil of ignorance is torn off, avidya and vidya are both gone. Avidya comprises the entire sphere included in both avidya and vidya. That is the state of tam which is beyond both. It is in true sense the state of realisation – where is neither avidya nor vidya. What is it there then? Neither of the two – a state of perfect latency, not-knowingness, nor complete knowledgelessness which may roughly be denoted as the state of Ignorance, just as it is at the age of infancy. Ignorance in fact is the highest pitch of knowledge. That comes to mean that we start from the level of ignorance and finally end in a state of higher Ignorance (or