According to Osho, ignorance is not the absence of information but the absence of awareness—the trance of identification with mind, belief, and ego. It is secondhand knowing, borrowed conclusions, and the sleep of mechanical living. Trying to fix it with more ideas is another mistake; only watchfulness dissolves it. When awareness flowers, ignorance vanishes without struggle.
Ignorance is like being asleep with your eyes open; only quiet, alert watching turns on the inner light.
From the Discourses
Passages where Osho speaks to this question — each links to the complete discourse.
The first step in sannyas is to get rid of knowledge and the second step is to get rid of ignorance and the journey is complete. But first one has to get rid of knowledge because it is knowledge that covers your ignorance, protects your ignorance. It gives you a false notion that you know, when in reality you know nothing. But people are even afraid to ask the question 'Do I know? Do I know god? Do I know truth? Do I know love? Do I know what this universe is? Who am I?' People are afraid of asking these questions, afraid because they will bring you to your ignorance, you will have to encounter your ignorance, and ignorance is very shattering to the ego. Knowledge is a nourishment to the ego, so everybody wants to remain knowledgeable.
What exactly do yowl mean by 'conscious ignorance'? Is it the recognition that one is ultimately, fundamentally ignorant? Or is there more to it?
Ashoka, conscious ignorance is not ignorance at all. It is the ultimate state of consciousness -- how can it be ignorant? It is pure knowing. Of course, there is no knowledge, hence it is called ignorance. But there is knowing, utter knowing, clarity, transparency. No knowledge is gathered, but all is known. Conscious ignorance means innocence AND conscious. If innocence is unconscious, sooner or later it will be corrupted by knowledge. Unconscious mind is always ready to be corrupted, polluted, distracted. Consciousness means centering, awareness -- you cannot be distracted. You remain in your knowing, but you don't accumulate knowledge. Knowledge is always of the past: knowing is in the present, is of the present. Like a mirror: the mirror reflects if something comes before it, but when it passes the mirror is empty again. This is conscious ignorance -- not that the mirror does not reflect: it reflects, but…
Osho, could you say something about what is going on in Delhi?
I’ll tell a little story. When Lanka’s former ruler Ravana was on his deathbed, Rama sent Lakshman to learn statecraft from him—saying, “Son, we may have won, but we have no experience of running the administration here; go and ask him how to run things.” Lakshman went there and said to Ravana, “You are dying now—tell us how to govern here.” Ravana said, “Half the politics I handled, half Kumbhakarna did. Had you gotten in touch with Kumbhakarna as well?” Lakshman said, “Yes—he said: eat to your heart’s content and then sprawl on the sofa with your eyes closed. This is the best method.” “Tell me,” Ravana asked, “are you going to unleash dictatorship, or will you run things by democracy? Which method will be suitable?” “What will go down well with the people?” “Nothing,” said Ravana. “When you impose dictatorship, the people will yearn for democracy; and when you…
Osho, “Even now, awaken, O ignorant one”—this address by Paltu Dasji is for everyone; but what is the single basic ignorance we all share? Please tell us.
There is only one ignorance: we do not know who we are. All other ignorances are born out of this one. There is a single seed; then the tree grows large—many branches and sub-branches, many leaves and flowers, fruits. And in one seed, countless seeds appear. Botanists say a tiny seed is capable of covering the whole earth with greenery. And a tiny seed of ignorance has filled the human being with utter darkness. The seed is small: the lack of the awareness “Who am I?” One who lacks this very awareness—whatever he does will go wrong. When the inner lamp has not been lit, there is no possibility that your actions will be right. Yet we all try to set our actions right. It is like not lighting a lamp in the dark and instead practicing how to walk correctly—so that in the dark I can walk without falling,…
Osho: To think is the nature of the mind. And if you don't think then there is no mind. A state of no-mind comes, then you know. That is nature, this too is nature; that is not against this nature which creates ignorance, creates unknowing, creates conflict. We have not known the total mind, we have known only the mind which thinks. If you transcend it then you know the total mind -- which knows. Thinking is one thing, knowing is quite another. QUESTION: THE NATURE OF THE MIND IS TO THINK, AND THEN IT CEASES TO THINK. WHAT DO YOU DO IN ORDER TO CAUSE IT NOT TO THINK? DOES IT NATURALLY NOT THINK? Osho: If you become aware of your thinking process, then the process by and by is dissolved.