“Knowledge and ignorance-

a man who knows them both together,

Passes beyond death by ignorance,
And by knowledge attains immortality.”1

This verse from the Isa Upanishad describes knowledge as a tool to attain immortality, it is a
tool which will ensure that your legacy will remain alive even after you depart. Knowledge,
in its most basic sense can be described ‘to know something’ and by ‘knowing’ this we are a
step closer to the truth. Knowledge equips us with the power to move away from ignorance
and lies to truth and enlightenment.

For very long philosophers did not mark a distinction between self-knowledge and
knowledge of the external world as there was great debate about whether a difference
actually existed or not. However, once a distinction was begun to be made, the knowledge
of one’s own mental states known as self-knowledge gained attention2. I believe, the Isa
Upanishad is a gateway to this idea of self-knowledge. Not only does it describe what the
‘self’ might entail but also how must one approach knowledge.

“Just performing works in this works in this world,

you should desire to live your hundred years.
Thus, and not otherwise, in fact,
does work not smear off on you”3

This verse quite succinctly explains what one’s approach to knowledge should be- selfless
and without expectations. If one wants to lead a virtuous life, the pursuit of knowledge
should be a journey, not the destination. The only responsibility a human has is to continue
doing their work and carrying out their responsibilities gaining knowledge about oneself
without letting it get to your head. This is the only way, humans even stand a chance to gain
knowledge.

Knowledge is a dangerous tool, nonetheless. It is something humans should strive to gain

and yet, when humans are aware that they possess it, it leads to the manifestation of
negative emotions such as pride and vanity, suggesting that they are once again plunging
themselves in ignorance as this human fails to see that they have not gained all the
knowledge. This sort of pushes humans in a vicious cycle where they aim to gain knowledge,
they believe they have knowledge, when in reality it is their ignorance which is concealing
them from attaining the ‘true knowledge’.

References:
1. Olivelle, Patrick , The Early Upanisads: Annotated Text and Translation, The
University of Texas Centre for Asian Studies, Oxford University Press, 406-409
2. Gertler, Brie, Self-Knowledge, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2020
Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.),
https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2020/entries/self-knowledge/
3. Olivelle, Patrick , The Early Upanisads: Annotated Text and Translation, The
University of Texas Centre for Asian Studies, Oxford University Press, 406-409