--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If knowledge does not liberate the self…" description: "\"“If knowledge does not liberate the self from the self, then ignorance is better than such knowledge.”\" — Hakim Sanai" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/933/hakim-sanai-51328_ignorance_if-knowledge-does-not-liberate-the-self_3762.jpg" --- # If knowledge does not liberate the self from the self… ![“If knowledge does not liberate the self from the self, then ignorance is better than such knowledge.” quote by Hakim Sanai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/933/hakim-sanai-51328_ignorance_if-knowledge-does-not-liberate-the-self_3762.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/933/hakim-sanai-51328_ignorance_if-knowledge-does-not-liberate-the-self_3762.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/933/hakim-sanai-51328_ignorance_if-knowledge-does-not-liberate-the-self_3762.jpg) > ““If knowledge does not liberate the self from the self, then ignorance is better than such knowledge.”” [Hakim Sanai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hakim-sanai/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Knowledge that reinforces egoic patterns traps rather than frees; true liberation requires insight that dissolves self‑attachment. **In simple terms:** Self‑transcending insight Key Takeaway Freedom lies in self‑detachment Themes self‑knowledge ego liberation ignorance spiritual paradox Mood contemplative critical inquisitive Type philosophical spiritual maxim When to use this quote - meditative practice - psychotherapy - philosophical study - spiritual counseling Key Concepts attachment identity enlightenment Practical Applications - mindfulness training - existential therapy Questions to Reflect On - How does self‑identification limit growth? - When can knowledge become a hindrance? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ignorance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) ## Related quotes > [Ignorance is better than knowledge misapplied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norm-macdonald/ignorance-is-better-than-knowledge-misapplied/) [Norm MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norm-macdonald/) > [Ignorance is never better than knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enrico-fermi/ignorance-is-never-better-than-knowledge/) [Enrico Fermi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enrico-fermi/) > [I know of no time in human history where ignorance was better than knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/i-know-of-no-time-in-human-history-where-ignorance-was-better-than/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [Suppose that we are wise enough to learn and know-and yet not wise enough to control our learning and knowledge, so that we use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/suppose-that-we-are-wise-enough-to-learn-and-know-and-yet-not-wise/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [Whatever Nature has in store for mankind, unpleasant as it may be, men must accept, for ignorance is never better than knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enrico-fermi/whatever-nature-has-in-store-for-mankind-unpleasant-as-it-may-be-men/) [Enrico Fermi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enrico-fermi/) > [“NO ONE CAN DEFEAT YOU EXCEPT YOUR SELF-IGNORANCE.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seema-brain-openers/no-one-can-defeat-you-except-your-self-ignorance/) Seema Brain Openers > [It is no good to try to stop knowledge from going forward. Ignorance is never better than knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enrico-fermi/it-is-no-good-to-try-to-stop-knowledge-from-going-forward-ignorance/) [Enrico Fermi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enrico-fermi/) > [More students have a better knowledge of pop culture than of the Constitution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bowen/more-students-have-a-better-knowledge-of-pop-culture-than-of-the/) Charles Bowen > [“It is considered ignorance of the Self (ignorance of I am the soul) where intoxication (that “I Know”, “I am something”) increases.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/it-is-considered-ignorance-of-the-self-ignorance-of-i-am-the-soul/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [These are the only two situations possible, and you are in the sad situation. Everybody may know about you - who you are -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/these-are-the-only-two-situations-possible-and-you-are-in-the-sad/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Knowing ourselves, we are beautiful; in self-ignorance, we are ugly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plotinus/knowing-ourselves-we-are-beautiful-in-self-ignorance-we-are-ugly/) [Plotinus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plotinus/) > [“Knowledge does not stand still; it flows into the company, and it flows out of it; it erodes, and it gets created again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-zhu/knowledge-does-not-stand-still-it-flows-into-the-company-and-it-flows/) [Pearl Zhu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-zhu/) > [“I have no reason to go, except that I have never been, and knowledge is better than ignorance. What better reason could there be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/i-have-no-reason-to-go-except-that-i-have-never-been-and-knowledge-is/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [Book CoverTo have people who are well informed but not constrained by conscience is conceivably, the most dangerous outcome of education possible. Indeed it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-l-boyer/book-coverto-have-people-who-are-well-informed-but-not-constrained-by/) [Ernest L. Boyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-l-boyer/) > [The man who comes back through the Door in the Wall will never be quite the same as the man who went out. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/the-man-who-comes-back-through-the-door-in-the-wall-will-never-be/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) ## More by Hakim Sanai > [“Once one is one, no more, no less: error begins with duality; unity knows no error. There's no duality in the world of love.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hakim-sanai/once-one-is-one-no-more-no-less-error-begins-with-duality-unity-knows/) [Hakim Sanai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hakim-sanai/) > [“No tongue can tell Your secret for the measure of the word obscures Your nature. But the gift of the ear is that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hakim-sanai/no-tongue-can-tell-your-secret-for-the-measure-of-the-word-obscures/) [Hakim Sanai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hakim-sanai/) > [“He introduced himself to us out of kindness: how else could we have known him? Reason took us as far as the door; but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hakim-sanai/he-introduced-himself-to-us-out-of-kindness-how-else-could-we-have/) [Hakim Sanai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hakim-sanai/) > [“There is great joy in darkness. Deepen it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hakim-sanai/there-is-great-joy-in-darkness-deepen-it/) [Hakim Sanai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hakim-sanai/) > [“Unable to perceive the shape of You, I find You all around me. Your presence fills my eyes with Your love, It humbles my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hakim-sanai/unable-to-perceive-the-shape-of-you-i-find-you-all-around-me-your/) [Hakim Sanai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hakim-sanai/) > [“This too shall pass.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hakim-sanai/this-too-shall-pass/) [Hakim Sanai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hakim-sanai/) [Explore all 7 Hakim Sanai quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hakim-sanai/) ## More Ignorance quotes > [My folks tried to make a preacher of me and missed by a narrow margin… I would have made a good one if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/my-folks-tried-to-make-a-preacher-of-me-and-missed-by-a-narrow-margin/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [If you had made the acquiring of ignorance the study of your life, you could not have graduated with higher honor than you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-had-made-the-acquiring-of-ignorance-the-study-of-your-life-you/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [One of the deepest and strangest of all human moods is the mood which will suddenly strike us perhaps in a garden at night,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-deepest-and-strangest-of-all-human-moods-is-the-mood-which/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Ignorance is not bliss — it is oblivion. Determined ignorance is the hastiest kind of oblivion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-wylie/ignorance-is-not-bliss-it-is-oblivion-determined-ignorance-is-the/) [Philip Wylie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-wylie/) > [... informed ignorance provides the natural state of mind for research scientists at the ever-shifting frontiers of knowledge. People who believe themselves ignorant of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/informed-ignorance-provides-the-natural-state-of-mind-for-research/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [You are senile old fool, and because of your impudence, I cannot fathom how you still live!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-are-senile-old-fool-and-because-of-your-impudence-i-cannot-fathom/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Surely, God could have caused birds to fly with their bones made of solid gold, with their veins full of quicksilver, with their flesh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/surely-god-could-have-caused-birds-to-fly-with-their-bones-made-of/) [Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/) > [“Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own governors, must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/knowledge-will-forever-govern-ignorance-and-a-people-who-mean-to-be/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [“Don’t turn your face away. Once you’ve seen, you can no longer act like you don’t know. Open your eyes to the truth. It’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vashti-quiroz-vega/don-t-turn-your-face-away-once-you-ve-seen-you-can-no-longer-act-like/) Vashti Quiroz-Vega > [Nothing is worse than active ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/nothing-is-worse-than-active-ignorance/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [The only victories which leave no regret are those which are gained over ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/the-only-victories-which-leave-no-regret-are-those-which-are-gained/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [“Those who embrace prejudice doom themselves to live in ignorance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-p-lintz-sr/those-who-embrace-prejudice-doom-themselves-to-live-in-ignorance/) John P Lintz Sr > [“You are a lawmaker in your own right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/you-are-a-lawmaker-in-your-own-right/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [Sanity can take one of only two forms: that of ignorance, or denial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-r-audette/sanity-can-take-one-of-only-two-forms-that-of-ignorance-or-denial/) [Derek R. Audette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-r-audette/) > [“Ignorance is the source of all problems you encounting on your life time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/ignorance-is-the-source-of-all-problems-you-encounting-on-your-life/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 5,657 Ignorance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“If knowledge does not liberate the self from the self, then ignorance is better than such knowledge.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Hakim Sanai" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hakim-sanai/if-knowledge-does-not-liberate-the-self-from-the-self-then-ignorance/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ignorance" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hakim-sanai/if-knowledge-does-not-liberate-the-self-from-the-self-then-ignorance/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/933/hakim-sanai-51328_ignorance_if-knowledge-does-not-liberate-the-self_3762.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/933/hakim-sanai-51328_ignorance_if-knowledge-does-not-liberate-the-self_3762.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/933/hakim-sanai-51328_ignorance_if-knowledge-does-not-liberate-the-self_3762.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If knowledge does not liberate the self from the self, then ignorance is better than such knowledge.” — Hakim Sanai", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Hakim Sanai", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hakim-sanai/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“If knowledge does not liberate the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hakim-sanai/if-knowledge-does-not-liberate-the-self-from-the-self-then-ignorance/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hakim-sanai/if-knowledge-does-not-liberate-the-self-from-the-self-then-ignorance/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```