ye 'vidy?m up?sate
tato bh?ya iva te tamo
ya u vidy?y?m rat??
Those who are dedicated to the cultivation of ignorance (avidy?) will enter the region of blinding darkness, but even into greater darkness will enter those who are attached to knowledge (vidy?).
Although generally, the word avidy? is translated as "ignorance", its true and authentic etymological meaning is "no knowledge" or "the absence of knowledge". In the upani?adic meaning, rather than ignoring something, avidy? refers to certain exteriorization. It is a search for happiness and well—being in the phenomenal reality of forms, through the physical body. Ignorance of our authentic nature, of what we really are, leads us to a false identification with the body. When we consider ourselves to be only a coarse body or a sack of flesh and bones, our search for happiness and well—being will be limited exclusively to the physical plane. The life of a human being then coarsens to a form of life which does not go beyond eating, sleeping, mating and defending oneself.
It is thus evident that avidy? leads us to darkness...
On the other hand, there is vidy? or "knowledge", which refers to knowledge about God, the soul, the Self, and all religious knowledge, including intellectual knowledge about the Holy Scriptures.
What may appear surprising is that the opinion of the Upani?ads about vidy? or knowledge of the Self is not different from its opinion about avidy?, whose cultivation it describes as leading to even greater darkness...
Knowledge can flourish and develop into wisdom, but if we become attached to and limited by it, we are in danger of falling into the darkest murk of intellectual religiosity. You may know a great deal about the holy books and even about God, His Name and address, you may know by heart every chapter and verse, but you will remain imprisoned in the jail of the mind. Although very similar, religiosity and religion form two completely different phenomena.
Being limited to knowledge is religiosity, while wisdom belongs to the field of true religion.
Satsa?gs, articles, conferences, workshops and books should not be seen simply as a means to distribute knowledge. Rather, they must serve as pretexts to associate with beings in whom an experience of the divine has happened. In this way, they can provide an opportunity to be touched by the transcendental.
