Isa Upanisad - Yajur Veda Australasia - Resources

9anyat — different; eva — definitely; åhu¿ — they say; vidyayå — by vidya;anyat — different; åhu¿ — they say; avidyayå — by avidya; iti — thus;çuçruma — we have heard; dhîrå±åµ — of the wise; ye — who; na¿ — to us;tat — that; vicacakßire — explained.10. Distinct, indeed, they say, is the result of knowledge and distinct, theysay, is the result of ignorance. Thus have we heard from those wise whohave explained to us these.We cannot grasp the nature of ultimate Reality by either discursive knowledge or lack ofit. If knowledge and ignorance are both real, it is because consciousness of oneness andconsciousness of multiplicity are different sides of the supreme self-awareness. The oneBrahman is the basis of numberless manifestations.vidyåµ ca avidyåµ ca yas tad vedobhayaµ saha |avidyayå m®tyuµ tîrtvå vidyayå 'm®tam açnute || 11 ||vidyåµ — knowledge; ca — and; avidyåµ — ignorance; ca — and; ya¿ —who; tat — that; veda — knows; ubhayaµ — both; saha — together; avidyayå— by ignorance; m®tyuµ — death; tîrtvå — having crossed; vidyayå — byknowledge; am®tam — immortality; açnute — obtains; enjoys.11. Knowledge and ignorance, he who knows the two together crosses deaththrough ignorance and attains life eternal through knowledge.See Maitri Up. 7:9.Vidya is equated with knowledge of deities and avidya with karma. Sankara makes outthat by the pexformance of rites we overcome death and by the meditation on deities weattain immortality, which is becoming one with the deity meditated upon.Vedanta Desika quotes a verse where it is said that by austerity we destroy sins and bywisdom we attain life eternal.ubhayam saha: the two together. Works though they do not by themselves lead tosalvation, are helpful in preparing our hearts for it. If we imagine that we can attain thehighest wisdom without such previous preparation, we are mistaken. If we give ourselvesto what is not knowledge we are mistaken, if we delight altogether in knowledgedespising work we are also mistaken.Avidya is regarded as an essential prerequisite for spiritual life. Man cannot rise tospiritual enlightenment if he has not first through avidya become conscious of himself asa separate ego. In spiritual life we transcend this sense of separateness. To reach thehigher self we must do battle with the lower. The endowment of intellectuality or avidyais justified on the ground that it creates the conditions for its own transformation. If weremain at the intellectual level, look upon it not only as a means but as the end in itself, ifwe deny the reality of life eternal to which we have to rise, then we suffer from