9. "KNOWLEDGE VERSUS ACTION"

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"Upanisad is an answer to the eternal doubt as to whether a 'life of action or a life of meditation' is the ideal way of living":-

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'Knowledge versus action' has been the eternal problem with every generation of thinkers that had come to observe life closely as a theme for their scientific investigation.

Even today, we find, off and on, controversies over "the religious versus the secular," etc which are all nothing but new epithets used in expressing this eternal problem in the mind of every generation.

In this 9th mantram,  the Rishi has opened up the problem and he is to summarise his conclusions in the following three manrams.


"Outward activity versus inward contemplation ( avidya and vidya)":-

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Vidya and Avidya have been used also to connote upasana ( vidya ) and karma ( avidya ). In that general sense of term, those are keeping themselves engaged in a field of ritualistic activities certainly find themselves reaching thicker delusions. 


Ritualism ( karma) can be undertaken only when the individual is whipped by desire for the fruits thereof. That individual is spiritually falling into 'blinding darkness.'  Those who are following the path of upasana or introvert life, meditate deeply, seeking nothing but the all-pervading Reality; and they seem to fall "as  though into a still greater darkness"because such hasty and unprepared meditated may overdo the negation-aspect of technique of meditation and reach a destination of blind non-existence!

 In this connection, the term 'as though a greater darkness' is very significant; it is not really darkness.



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