Avidya: Wrong Cognition
Wrong cognition essentially means misconception. Misconception about the true nature of life, of reality.
So is there a right cognition? Are not right and wrong relative?
No, there are highest principles, the highest truths. Meanings may seem relative, but that is because all these are meanings at some intermediary levels, not the highest one. Relativity, of all kinds; moral, philosophical, or ideological, exists only at unevolved, lower mental planes. At the acme, at the consummation of human cognition, relativity is lost to give way to absolute laws. To the highest principles.
Any deviation from these laws is a misunderstanding, a misconception and causes suffering.
These highest principles are infallible laws. Absolute and objective, like the laws of nature. In fact they are the laws of human nature; the laws of life. Like the law of gravity or thermodynamics. Clear, well defined, universal and consistent. These laws exist whether or not you are aware of them. You may not know of the forces holding together electrons and protons to a nucleus, but they exist, despite your ignorance, or your inability to see and feel them. Infrared rays on the electromagnetic spectrum exist even though you can not casually detect them.
If you refused to acknowledge the law of gravity, it would not stop acting on you! You would simply victimize your own self.
Suffering comes from ignorance of the laws of existence or misconceptions about them
Let us say you are an alien who does not know about gravity because it does not exist on your planet. You came to earth and consistently kept working against gravity, unaware of how it works. Won’t you be constantly hurting yourself? You could formulate some arbitrary reasons for getting hurt again and again, but it won’t help. These arbitrary reasons are your misconceptions which would confuse you. It will all seem random to you. Since you do not understand the causes and effects of gravity, won’t you feel that uncertainty was haunting even your smallest actions, chasing you at every turn? What a dreadful world it would be!
This is precisely how we constantly suffer in life, not aware of the highest principles, of the laws of life. We are hurting ourselves endlessly because of our wrong cognitions. Nobody, no majestic, white bearded superhuman in the sky is doing anything to you, you are simply working against natural laws, don’t you see?
You work hard but you fail; you love with all your heart but your heart breaks; you feel luck never favours you; you curse a God that caused a terrible tragedy. Everything, all kinds of suffering is simply a failure to understand the laws of nature. Also, because we do not know about these laws of nature nor their mechanisms, life feels random, uncertain and unpredictable. That seems to be the fate of us all, perplexed and angry as we are at the apparent senselessness and purposelessness of life’s ills. We simply do not know.
A very rudimentary example of a wrong cognition could be,”I sacrifice myself for the family, I put their needs before mine, hence I am virtuous, and should get its rewards.” You live with that idea picked from your environment, you suffer when you disregard your needs, and you suffer later because no one seems to acknowledge it. No one really rewards you and then it makes you resentful, angry and bitter. Society places a high, noble value on sacrifice, but sacrifice is self-negating and life-negating in its essence. When you do not take care of your needs, you will be incapable to do so for others, and it will be a vicious cycle of suffering.
If you are suffering, know you are violating natural laws. Remember that, because there can be no suffering when you align with them.
What about evil then, you could ask? The gratuitous, undeserved, senseless kind? That happens to teach you about new laws. No sweet, easy learning here, growth rarely happens in comfort. The undeserved evil we are so often angry about is a tool for massive growth. Let’s see how.