Eastern philosophers have a great deal to say about ignorance; not intellectual ignorance, but spiritual ignorance. Most people believe that the way they perceive the world is the only way it can be perceived; that belief is due to ignorance.
But now, even physics suggests that nothing is really solid. Behind the appearance of solidity are masses of swirling atoms—with a lot of space between them. Solidity is only the appearance, not the nature, of a thing. If we believe that the appearance of something is the only reality, we are trapped in ignorance.
Hinduism and Buddhism tell us that this sort of ignorance is precisely what keeps us tied to samsara, the wheel of birth, death, and rebirth. To escape that wheel we must come to understand the true nature of things. On this subject Krishna in The Bhagavad Gita states:
Men of understanding think of Me, the Unmanifest as having Manifestation, not knowing My higher nature, changeless and Supreme.
Veiled by my creative power, I am not revealed to all. This bewildered world knows Me not, the unborn, the unchanging. I know the beings that are past, that are present . . . and that are to come, but Me no one knows.
All beings are born deluded . . . overcome by the dualities which arise from desire and hate . . . But those men of virtuous deeds in whom sin has come to an end, freed from the delusion of dualities, worship Me steadfast in their vows. Those who take refuge in Me, and strive for deliverance from old age and death—they know the Brahman [the Absolute] entire; they know Atman [the Self] . . .
Those who know Me as the One that governs the material and divine aspects . . . with their minds harmonized, have knowledge of Me even at the time of their departure from here.
In ancient Gnosticism, all Gnostic sects were intent on dispelling ignorance and replacing it with “gnosis,” or “knowledge.” They were not seeking intellectual knowledge; they were trying to dispel spiritual ignorance. In the Gnostic-Christian text Thomas the Contender, Jesus states:
How sad it is for you who hope in the flesh, and are attached to the prison (the physical body) that will perish. How long will you remain in ignorance? Your hope is in this world. Your god is this life. You are corrupting your souls.
Ignorance leads to our grasping for what the flesh desires: good food, sex, wealth, power, family, fun, beauty, and on and on. As long as craving has its fangs sunk into us we cannot see what lies beyond materialism. Overwhelmed by our lust for things and feelings, we do not even realize that it is the craving itself that causes our suffering. Ignorance is the nonrecognition of what the problem really is, and that there is a solution to the problem.
The Buddha pointed out that even happiness itself will lead to suffering because we will eventually lose what makes us happy—the house, the car, the kids, the spouse, our own life. All things that give us pleasure now will eventually cause us pain. Unless one gives up attachment to all things, and ends craving for things of this world, suffering will always continue. The Buddha prescribed the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eight-fold Path as a cure, while Jesus stated, “Seek first the kingdom of God and all things will be added unto you.” Different words, same teaching.
Often people don't see craving for what it is. Craving a drug or a candy bar are obvious examples. But there are subtle cravings as well: the mother who is not happy if she does not have her daughter's love; the father who is disappointed unless his sons are good at sports; the grandmother who is dissatisfied unless her grandchildren succeed in life. We crave good health, world peace, and even Enlightenment itself. But the mystics of all ages tell us that all cravings, all desires—including the desire to “wake up”—must be eliminated if we are to attain true freedom in this life. As the Buddha said, “Want nothing until you need nothing.”