I Dont Know

*Most of us fear saying I dont know, but for a seeker it becomes the journey to Freedom and peace. This article explores how embracing unknown can free the mind, ease daily struggles, and open us to lifes deeper mysteries*

On the PoK, this single phrase I do dont know has many layers of meaning and it is the key to freedom.
In ordinary sense, this phrase I dont know is considered as ignorance, which implies the person does not know. So nobody wants to utter theses words easily. It would mean he lacks something or is incompetence or is inferior. In our school days we may recall, if a student said I dont know, he would be ridiculed or looked down upon. Therefore everyone avoided saying that. Even if the person doesnt know, he would fill up the blanks with unasked things rather than saying I dont know. It feels very uncomfortable to say I dont know.
Where is this discomfort coming from? Why it feels awkward to accept that I dont know. The answer lies in how the mind developed. This comes from the minds fascination to know. Human mind always wants to know. It operates best in the area of known. It is wired to work in certainty. Uncertainty feels very threatening, frightening for the mind. Uncertainty requires the mind to be in a constant state of alertness, always ready to face the unknown. This is very tiring, a highly energy consuming mode of the brain. So the mind likes it if everything is certain and known for example, what is coming up next, what I need to do, what am I going to face etc. If it has answers to these questions, the mind feels comfortable. It settles down. It remains peaceful for sometime till another uncertainty erupts. In our society too we see, most appreciated person is who has answers, is well prepared, who knows a lot. To not know or plan or be prepared is fearful or even dangerous. Culture values knowing, accumulation of knowledge.
But isnt trying to know or to get knowledge is a very good quality. It seems a valuable quality in our world. However if we try to look deeper, it is the mind working in the survival mode. It can be said to be the most sophisticated and finest kind of survival program. The moment the individual tries to go beyond the certainty of knowing, mind begins to feel uneasy. The survival program prevents the mind to go in that area. Mind wants to run away from it. Not knowing feels insecure. Knowledge gives the mind a sense of control. Not knowing feels like being vulnerable, being in the scary space of uncertainty.

The journey of a spiritual seeker begins from this space of uncertainty. It always begins with I dont know. There lies a strength in I dont know. The courage to say I dont know leads you step outside the known. Certainty seems very relaxing but it is a great bondage. It does not let you leave it. When we let go of the comfort of known, the vastness of the unknown appears for us. We will realise find that all knowledge is contextual and not true. A seeker on the PoK begins with I dont know. 
Knowledge was the ladder to reach the unknown. After that he drops the ladder. In the Unknown, I dont know is not a statement, but a state of being. This is the state of agnosticism. It is not a state of ignorance. It is also not denial of knowledge but realising that Truth is beyond knowledge. It is a state where seeker says I dont know and still I am at peace of not knowing. There is no compulsion to find answers. This state brings great peace. 
In daily life, the state of I dont know can bring acceptance, peace and humility. For example, if a loved one falls sick, our mind begins racing to find answers. Why has it happened, what did I miss, Is it serious, when Will he get better. These questions keep hovering and when no answer comes, anxiety grows. In that when you gently say I dont know, a shift of state happens. I dont know will not mean that I am not going to do anything. It means you are also not forcing the mind to find answers it cannot. So the focus will be 100% on whatever care I can give now, what else can I do now. The mind calms down in the I dont know. Better decisions and actions can be taken in such a state of mind. Another example, Suppose a friend suddenly cuts ties with you or someone cheats you badly. The mind asks why me? What did I do? Will I be able to get over this? Saying I dont know opens the possibility to what can I do now, instead of fighting to get the explanation of what happened. Also when the mind does not get answers, it tries to blame people and situations. It will use people and events to explain the cause. In this way the mind satisfies its desperation to find answers.
 I dont know is like standing in a dark room. The mind struggles and wants to switch on the lights and know what is around. But there is no switch in the space of I dont know. So it lets you sit down quietly in the dark until your eyes adjust. You will learn to see a little in the dark. Slowly, you will be able to see many things than you never thought were possible. So, saying I dont know means I am not demanding explanation or clarity. I allow life it to happen, to flow. I accept the situation, not because I have resigned but by understanding that the things are beyond the mind to explain. I dont know is to accept the limitation of how much can the mind understand. If we look around us. the most fundamental things are a mystery. The universe is too complex and mysterious to understand. To keep on insisting for answers is like intellectual arrogance. By saying I dont know, we actively accept the unknown and be at peace in unknown too. It allows us to be comfortable with the mystery and be able to appreciate its complexity.
For the seeker on the PoK, the journey begins with I dont know and the journey ends with I dont know. I dont know opens a door of curiosity, beginning of seeking. I dont know is also the end of seeking and doorway to agnosticism.

टेलीग्राम ब्राउज़र चेतावनी

ज्ञानाक्षर

I Dont Know

Neelam Nimare