Knowledge and Ignorance
If absolute Knowledge required the aid
Of some other kind of knowledge to know Itself,
It would be nothing but ignorance.
Of course, light is not darkness;
But, to itself, is it even light?
If there is a pot, a pot is perceived,
And if the pot is broken, its brokenness is perceived;
If there is no pot at all,
Is not its absence perceived as well?
It can be seen, therefore,
That he who perceives that there is nothing
Does not himself become nothing.
The Self has this same unique kind of existence,
Beyond both existence and non-existence.
The ultimate Reality
Is neither an object to Itself
Nor is It an object to anyone else.
Should it then be regarded as non-existent?
In a tank the water may be so clear
That it appears non-existent;
Though one who looks into the tank may not see it,
Still it is there.
Similarly,
The ultimate Reality exists in Itself,
And is beyond the conceptions
Of existence or non-existence.
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~ Jnanadeva ~
From his: Amritanubhava