Riots had broken out in the city, killing hundreds of innocent people. Several vehicles, homes, and shops were set on fire by angry mobs. The reason? A deepfake video that went viral. Likewise, a friend shared how, impressed with the incredible performance of a cheap vacuum cleaner on social media, he purchased it only to find it of no use and had to throw it away within minutes of receiving it. It was an AI-generated video. Such ballooning incidents are a warning sign of how artificial intelligence, if not guided by wisdom, can plunge societies into chaos, conflict, and polarization.
The information we consume and believe shapes our minds and lives and, consequently, our society. AI-powered fake news and algorithms can fuel division, pitting ‘us’ against ‘them’ socially. How do we find truth amid the growing digital chaos?
India’s ancient seers perhaps anticipated this crisis. In the Upanishads, which teach Viveka (discernment between the real and the unreal), we are introduced to two key concepts: Avidya and Vidya. The 11th verse of Isha Upanishad teaches,
“Vidyām cāvidyām ca yas tad vedobhayaṃ saha
Avidyayā mṛtyuṃ tīrtvā, vidyayāmṛtam aśnute.”
(One who knows both Vidya and Avidya together, transcends death through Avidya and attains immortality through Vidya.)
This verse highlights a vital truth: while both types of knowledge have their place, their roles are distinct, and it is through awareness and discernment that we determine their value. The verse calls for harmony between action and contemplation, science and spirituality, matter and spirit. Without Vidya, Avidya becomes dangerous. However, without Avidya, we cannot effectively engage with or navigate the modern world. The seers of ancient India, therefore, never rejected Avidya; they warned us not to confuse it with the ultimate truth. By valuing both but embracing Vidya over Avidya, we can counter the challenges of misinformation. Choosing Vidya over Avidya is not just a philosophical decision—it is a neurological, emotional, and ethical imperative. And it becomes progressively more challenging to do so the longer we delay it.
Avidya and Vidya describe two internal lenses through which we perceive and process information, shaping our reality.
Avidya isn’t always synonymous with ignorance in a pejorative sense. It refers to the survival-based evolutionary instincts and empirical knowledge that help us navigate the sensory world safely and comfortably, thereby fostering material success. Avidya, in its more profound sense, refers to practical, worldly knowledge—encompassing science, technology, and survival skills—that helps us navigate the material world. It helps us ‘cross death’, that is, overcome physical challenges and limitations. When not tamed by the swan of Vidya, the snake of Avidya may give us the following five tendencies (A to E). Avidya thrives in the darkness of unawareness. So, looking for and identifying these 5 unconscious tendencies in our motives, decisions, actions, and behaviors can help us shine light on our own darkness and escape the cage of untamed Avidya:
5 Unconscious Tendencies of Avidya
Attachment: We tend to trust the deceptive voices in our brains, the fleeting emotions we feel from time to time, the questionable beliefs we inherit from our parents and culture, and what we read or hear as universal, moral, and factual truths. Instead of questioning our trust in them and nudging our beliefs towards what is rational, factual, and morally correct, we tenaciously cling to them with irrational, illusory, and unwavering certainty. And we do this despite the emergence of any new, compelling, and contrary evidence and against all logic. In fact, most people unconsciously program themselves to either not notice such pieces of evidence or not reflect on them—and they remain blissfully unaware of this selective blindness.
There is a disturbing reason behind this blindness: we don’t form our beliefs rationally in the direction of truth, but rather in the direction of our unconscious psychological needs – to feel secure, internally consistent, and good about ourselves. How can what we begin to identify ourselves with, or what becomes ‘ours’, be wrong? Our evolutionary unconscious need to validate such comforting but skewed notions far outweighs our curiosity to uncover the inconvenient truths they obscure – and hence we leave them unquestioned. This inflexibility and resistance to questioning and correcting our notions in the face of new, compelling, and contrary evidence results in a process that progressively makes our brains rigid – akin to the process of rigor mortis. Fanatics, narcissists, and terrorists exist because of this kind of selective blindness and rigidity.
“Not doubt, but certainty is what drives one insane”, wrote Nietzsche
Bias: From attachment to one’s beliefs and inflexibility to reconsider them comes bias. Bias is looking at life only through one’s own preconceived prejudices, generalizations, and conclusions, and takes away our inclination, ability, and patience to examine and distinguish what we want to be true from what is true. The tendency to be biased has evolutionary origins. We aim to conserve energy, rush to judgment and conclusion based on partial information, and offer knee-jerk reactions while sidestepping calm, thorough investigation and discernment. Several other cognitive factors also contribute to our biases, which in turn cloud our judgment and decision-making processes.
Control: It is the urge to use people and manipulate circumstances to our advantage, often by creating situations or exploiting others’ biases, limitations, and needs to compel them to act in our favor. There was a time when our ancestors lived in extreme poverty, and everyone endeavored to exert control over resources and align themselves with those who had power over and access to these resources. This tendency has been passed on to us genetically, generation after generation.
Divisive: This is the tendency to perceive and categorize society into those we consider ‘us’ and align with, and those we perceive as ‘others’ and alienate due to unexamined beliefs and superficial differences. We judge ‘others’ based on their selected unfavorable actions and ‘us’ through a colored lens of comforting intentions, fostering mistrust where none may exist. Politicians have long exploited this human weakness to make society feel threatened by a particular community. For example, Hitler brought his people together and gained their loyalty and support to gain power by making them believe they had a common enemy in Jews who were the sole reason for every problem. Whereas, deep down, we are the ‘others’ we seek to alienate ourselves from,
Ego: We display ego when we cut ourselves off from our reality and adopt an inflated sense of self-importance and strive to demonstrate our relative superiority or that of anything we associate with.
While Avidya stems from worldly intelligence, shows us how to do something, and helps us master the world, Vidya stems from inner wisdom, shows us what to do and why, and helps us master the self. In today’s context, artificial intelligence (a product of Avidya) must be guided by the moral clarity and discernment of Vidya. Only then can we create a world that is not just intelligent, but also wise.
Vidya’s 5 Antidotes to Counter Avidya
Vidya begins with the awareness of unconscious Avidya tendencies, and is the deliberate conscious practice, despite inconvenience, of the following:
Veracity: The curiosity to pursue, discover, and live by the factual and moral truth. It urges us to question what we see and hear, ask for counterevidence of what we want to believe as fervently as we seek evidence for it, and filter falsehoods.
Ingenuousness: The deep conviction that we are not doing it, but it is happening through us. It is also the wisdom to listen deeply to others and our own inner chatter and the humility to admit “I may be wrong”.
Detachment: Realization that we are not our thoughts, opinions, feelings, and beliefs, and not every impulse or voice in our head or emotion deserves our credence or is worth acting on.
Yogic mind: Transcending illusory apparent divisions to appreciate and respond from the underlying shared consciousness.
Acceptance: Empathizing with all without judgment while empowering and uplifting those we can, practicing disinclination to control people, and accepting situations that cannot be changed, and addressing those that can be changed.
These five antidotes counter Avidya’s five corrosive tendencies: detachment to temper attachment, a commitment to truth to overcome bias, acceptance to soften the urge to control, yogic mind to dissolve divisiveness, and ingenuousness to disarm the ego. These qualities of Vidya can be cultivated directly, along with supporting practices like mindfulness, pausing before reacting, self-observation, thoughtful reflection, and ahimsa – refraining from doing to any sentient being, not just humans, what we would not want done to ourselves.
The spirit of Vidya stems from and elevates self-awareness, awakens inner wisdom and higher consciousness, and helps us transcend suffering and illusion. It engages the brain’s higher faculties – the neocortex and frontal lobe – empowering us to question our thoughts, challenge our assumptions, open our minds, keep our brains young and agile, and fill our hearts with compassion, resulting in peace within and harmony without.
While Avidya stems from intelligence, shows us how to do something, and helps us master the world, Vidya stems from inner wisdom, shows us what to do and why, and helps us master the self.
In today’s context, artificial intelligence (a product of Avidya) must be guided by the moral clarity and discernment of Vidya. Only then can we create a world that is not just intelligent, but also wise. We practice Vidya’s discernment when we pause to verify a viral post or question a divisive headline. A mindfulness practice – taking three deep breaths, observing our thoughts, and asking, “Is this true?” – grounds us in wisdom. Inspired by sages like Adi Shankaracharya, who taught the practice of disciplined inquiry, this approach helps us respond thoughtfully. This mindful approach counters the chaos of misinformation. Each conscious choice reshapes our thoughts, bringing peace to ourselves and our society. Vidya can help us navigate potential AI-driven misinformation with mindfulness and compassion, thereby contributing to the healing of a rapidly polarizing world. The shift from Avidya to Vidya is urgent, as ignorance fuels division, while wisdom heals.
The shift begins with simple steps: pause before reacting, seek the truth with an open mind, and practice empathy daily. Reflect on the Upanishadic teaching: “Truth alone triumphs.” As we choose Vidya, we honor India’s ancient teachings and spread harmony in this AI-driven world. Neuroscience confirms this: Avidya shrinks the hippocampus, disturbs the amygdala, and weakens the brain’s capacity for empathy and reason. It acts like a slow poison, growing from the seed of a false sense of superiority that fuels contempt, anger, hatred, and violence. Misled by Avidya, even intelligent minds fall prey to emotional distortion and moral blindness.
But as more of us choose Vidya consciously, we rewire our brains, transform our communities, and co-create a world of greater clarity and compassion.
In an age dominated by AI, we must awaken the wisdom of Ancient India (the other AI) by developing awareness of Avidya and practicing Vidya. We owe this to our own well-being, our families, our society, and future generations.
Vidya liberates. Avidya binds. The path we choose will determine whether AI deepens our confusion—or elevates our consciousness.
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