अध्यात्मज्ञाननित्यत्वं तत्त्वज्ञानार्थदर्शनम् | एतज्ज्ञानमिति प्रोक्तमज्ञानं यदतोऽन्यथा || १२ ||
adhyātma-jñāna-nityatvaṁ tattva-jñānārtha-darśanam etaj jñānam iti proktam ajñānaṁ yad ato 'nyathā
adhyātma-jñāna—of spiritual knowledge; nityatvam—constancy; tattva-jñāna—of knowledge of the truth; artha—for the purpose; darśanam—the goal; etat—all this; jñānam—knowledge; iti—thus; proktam—declared; ajñānam—ignorance; yat—that which; ataḥ—from this; anyathā—otherwise.
“Constant engagement with the knowledge of the Self; seeing the goal as the knowledge of the ultimate truth — all this is declared as knowledge. Whatever is contrary to this is ignorance.”
The list of twenty qualities concludes with 'adhyatma-jnana-nityatvam' — the constant absorption in the knowledge of the Self — as the twentieth and culminating quality. All the previous nineteen are conditions that prepare the inner instrument for this final absorption. And the purpose is clearly stated: 'tattva-jnanartha-darshanam' — seeing the knowledge of Reality as the supreme goal. Anything that does not serve this goal is, in the deepest sense, ignorance — avidya.
Make self-inquiry (adhyatma-jnana) a daily practice rather than an occasional intellectual exercise. Even five minutes of asking 'who is aware of all this?' — and sitting in the silence that follows — is 'adhyatma-jnana-nityatvam.' The daily return to this question, regardless of what the mind produces, is the practice.