On the Nature of Knowledge and Liberation

The entire identity of intellectuals rests on how much knowledge they can acquire. Most people believe it is knowledge that sets one free — and that may be true — but no one specifies what kind.

Knowledge, though tagged as powerful, can be both pleasurable and painful depending on perspective. So we realize it is perspective that gives weight to why knowledge is sought at all.

The Triad

Consider what knowledge means at its simplest: to know. In this universe, the only things that can be known are information and that which is perceived. Knowledge is only available when a knower is available — for it is the knower who knows, and the known is always some object. This is the eternal triad, the ever-present trinity: the knower, the known, and the knowledge of the known. Knowledge of any particular object is always transient — never complete. With every new perspective comes new information, and this will be endless, because it is individual pieces of information interacting with each other that give meaning to the perceiver.

Knowledge Shifts With the Knower

In earlier times, everyone knew that the Earth was the center and everything revolved around it — until Copernicus proved otherwise. That shift in perspective brought in more information, proving that knowledge is transitory, changing as perception changes. The perception of the knower shifts because the same object appears differently, or the knower’s vantage point moves.

The classic example is the mirage on a hot summer road — a literal image projected on the ground, giving the appearance of water. Only the one who investigates realizes its nature and never runs toward it. Just as the mirage changes when perspective changes, so does knowledge of the outer world — which is forever infinite and forever appearing.

Turning Inward

But if instead of investigating the object, one turns to investigate the knower — everything changes completely. One realizes, as one traces whose knowledge this knowledge builds upon, that it is the mind. And the mind, when investigated, completely disappears — which is the opposite of how outer things behave. One tries to find the knower but fails every time. And suddenly that entire network of information which appears in the mind dissolves. What remains is complete equanimity.

Consistent investigation of the mind — rather than its ever-changing forms — dissolves it. It dissolves thoughts. If one is able to hold this concentration for an extended period, one realizes that the universe only exists because the sensory organs exist, and each organ produces a different reality, all of them mixed, appearing as one. Investigation into the mind further causes sensory signals to turn inward, and suddenly the outer world — the outer information — disappears. What remains is existence in utter peace.

The Only Complete Inquiry

One realizes that the liberation one speaks of is not found in mountain retreats or farmhouses. It is known only when one sees that this world is a cumulation of information, ever-ending.

The only pursuit of knowledge that can ever be complete is the knowledge of the Self.

All other knowledge leaves the triad intact — knower, known, knowledge, endlessly turning. Only this inquiry dissolves the one who was asking.