Vedanta - Know Not You Know

SH VENKATRAMANI





The complexity of life bewilders us. Whether it be selecting and pursuing a career, deciding on a holiday destination or even the way you want to spend an evening, the plethora of options that stares you in the face is staggering. At some point, we are eager to run away from it all. To destress, we suddenly want to renounce all worldly desires and retire to a simple life.Which is why all philosophies and religions preach austerity . But is renouncing the desire for worldly possessions all that there is to simplicity? Should we aspire for intellectual joys that will sustain longer? To equate spirituality with saintly renunciation and religious penance is delusional. As you don the mantle of the spiritual seek er, you contin ue to be a pris oner of your ego, nurtur ing grandiose notions about yourself. True spiritual quest involves our going much further.
As the 13th-14th century German theologian-priest Master Eckhart explained, “Man ought to live as if he did not live, neither for self, nor for the truth, nor for God.'' He added, “A man ought to be empty of his own knowledge, as he was when he did not exist, and let God achieve what he will and man be unfettered.“ This is not being mired in ignorance. This is about not knowing that we know, not feeling any exultation in our knowledge. When we bask in the glory of our knowledge, we are trapped. The boundaries of the ego are the most formidable barriers to selfrealisation.