Sep
03, 2021, 20:10 IST
Light Of Knowledge
Editorial by JAYANT B DAVE
190
Knowledge has been assigned the highest value both in ancient and modern times.
Expert knowledge is an inherent attribute of professional behaviour.
Educational institutions often have slogans such as: Jnana Vijnana
Vimuktaye, knowledge and wisdom liberate; and Vidya Viniyoga Vikas,
education for development and enlightenment.
Ignorance or perverted knowledge is the ultimate root cause of all our
problems. Knowledge alone is the remedy for all three types of afflictions —
adhibhautika, adhidaivika and adhyatmika. Severe Covid-19 infection and the
side effects of medication used for its treatment are recent examples of
adhibhautika factors; inexplicable mutation and rapid transmission of the virus
represents adhidaivika, and psychological breakdown due to fear and onset of
the disease exemplify adhyatmika factors. Knowledge alone is the antidote that
gradually leads to happiness, and at times is blissful simultaneously.
Knowledge is of two types, that of the objective world and knowledge of the
perceiving self, that is secular and spiritual knowledge, also known in
scriptures as apara, lower knowledge, and para, the higher one. Both types of
knowledge are conducive to happiness and success.
Apara vidya refers to all types of arts and sciences in formal education. It
can be known through perception or inference by the senses, mind and intellect.
But it cannot become a matter of one’s own experience as the known objects are
outside and not part of one’s constitution. Knowledge of the Self, indwelling
God, imparted by scriptures is also considered apara vidya until it is
subjectively and intimately experienced. The triad of knower, known and
knowledge then coalesces into one blissful self.
According to Adi Shankar, scriptural knowledge is jnana, and aparoksha jnana,
the actual experience of perfection, is called vijnana in the Bhagwad Gita,
Chapter 7. Knowledge is transformed into wisdom. Krishn promises Arjun not only
a theoretical explanation of divine life but an immediate subjective experience
of absolute knowledge and bliss that is the summum bonum of life. Only a few
can comprehend knowledge, fewer apply it in life, and an even lesser number
realise that, says Krishna.
The dilemma is how can a finite mind comprehend the infinite? When a mind is
rendered pure and subtle by various spiritual practices, it transcends its
limitations and befriends the intellect. A transformed, integrated and still
mind is no longer one’s enemy but a close ally that becomes a fit instrument
for the reception of all types of knowledge.
Any type of knowledge is subject to error. When knowledge occurs rightly, as it
is, it’s called prama, cognition; conversely, when it happens wrongly, it
becomes perverted knowledge. Any error in perceiving objective knowledge can be
corrected through authentic primary reference, proper teaching and learning
tools, functioning senses, concentrated mind, and discerning intellect. But
these tools are not enough when we assume all types of limitations about our
very self. The only recourse from self-imposed bondage is the study of
scriptures with the aid of a qualified and realised teacher, guru, and
self-effort on the part of the aspirant for the highest purusharth called
moksha.
A realised teacher can be a vyavhar jnani, or a samadhi jnani, depending upon
his prarabdha, fate, says Swami Sivananda. The former has a desire for vyavhar,
worldly activities, and works for the welfare of all with a balanced mind, such
as eminent scientists, social reformers and scholars, who are equipped with
apara vidya and focus on outer forms and reality, addressing only a part of
human predicaments. Whereas a samadhi jnani is ever absorbed in Brahmn,
displays equanimity transcending all names and forms.
A synthesis of the knowledge of object and subject, call it prakriti and
purusha, or secular and spiritual, is the way to the welfare of the world and
evolution of the self, as both are inseparable like two sides of a coin. ■
The writer is president, Divine Life Society, Vadodara
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