Two syllables are hidden in the infinite supreme Brahman — knowledge and ignorance. Ignorance is perishable; knowledge is immortal. He who rules over both knowledge and ignorance is other — He is the One.
Browse topics
Source
- Tradition
- Hindu
- Source text
- Shvetashvatara Upanishad
- Chapter
- Shvetashvatara Upanishad
- Verse / page
- SU.5.1
- Topics
- IgnoranceKnowledgeLiberation
Same theme, different voices
Constant abiding in the knowledge of the Self, and clear perception of the purpose of the knowledge of ultimate truth — all this is declared to be knowledge; whatever is contrary to this is ignorance.
People quarrel over the very name of God. A man who describes the Almighty as Ram is found to be always ready to quarrel with the other who calls it Allah. Why do they fight when Ram and Allah are one and the same? This is so because we have not allowed the divine light to enter our minds, enter our lives.
To learn and obtain knowledge is an essential obligation, and to profess one's self independent of knowledge is mere infidelity. It is one of the evils of the present age that many who pretend to be pious dervishes reject knowledge in favour of ignorance.