Thought itself, is ignorance...

201. The veiling effect only disappears
with full experience of Reality,

and the elimination of false knowledge
leads to the end of suffering
caused by that distraction.


202. There is no such thing as ignorance
beyond the thinking mind.

Thought itself is ignorance,
the cause of the bondage of becoming.

When thought is eliminated,
everything else is eliminated.

When thought increases everything else increases.


203. While the scholar does not overcome
his sense of `I am this' in the body and its faculties,

there is no liberation for him,
however much he may be learned in religion and philosophy.


204. Reality can be experienced
only with the eye of understanding,
not just by a scholar.

What the moon is like must be seen with one's own eyes.

How can others do it for you?


205. Speech alone, even a deluge of words,
with scholarship and skill in commenting on the scriptures,
may achieve some personal satisfaction but not liberation.


206. The tangle of words is a great forest
which leads the mind off wandering about,

so wise men should strive to get to know the truth
about their own nature.



The above Sri Sankara quotes are from the book
The Seven Steps to Awakening.