yasyāmataṁ tasya mataṁ mataṁ yasya na veda saḥ | avijñātaṁ vijānatāṁ vijñātam avijānatām ||
"To whom It is unknown, to him It is known; to whom It is known, he does not know. It is unknown to those who know, and known to those who do not know."
What This Means:
This isn't a riddle — it's pointing to something profound. Those who think they've captured Brahman in a concept have missed it. Those who humbly recognize they can't capture it conceptually are closer to the truth. Not-knowing IS the knowing.
Going Deeper:
Brahman cannot be made into an object of knowledge like other things. When you know it's not an object, you "know" it correctly. When you try to know it as an object, you miss it entirely. This is jnana (wisdom) versus vijnana (conceptual knowledge).
How To Apply This:
When you admit "I don't know," there's an openness and presence in that admission. That very presence is what you're looking for. The one who is aware of not-knowing — that awareness is the answer.
Key Sanskrit Terms: