Knowledge

Knowledge. A valued, but somewhat ambiguous, human competence in most religions. Gnosis (Gk., ‘knowledge’) as insight into the deepest mysteries flourished in the Hellenistic world, leading to both mystery religions (with initiates alone gaining access to healing or saving knowledge) and to gnostic religions. Christian history unfolds a tension between fideism and the exploration of the universe as God's creation, out of which the natural sciences eventually emerged. In Islam, knowledge receives the highest endorsement (see ʿILM); yet even here, knowledge in contrast to behaviour in conformity with Qurʾān and sharīʿa is suspect.

In Indian religions, the tension is equally evident. Vidyā is the all-important counter-availing value. Ignorance (avidya) is the deepest fault and impediment which has to be dealt with if any progress is to be made toward a higher goal. Thus jñāna-marga (the way of knowledge) is one of the three ways (mārga) leading, in Hinduism, toward enlightenment and release (mokṣa). Avidya is countered by vidyā, samjña, prajña. Yet it is clearly recognized that there are different levels of knowledge, of which the earlier (e.g. knowledge of texts) is necessary, but comes to be seen as a kind of ignorance, compared with direct knowledge of Brahman.