When we know the use of some activity we pursue, the motivation to pursue that is even more. In the Vivekachoodamani, Sri Adi Sankaracharya understands this and lists out the benefits of gaining right knowledge of the Self.Asato Nivritti: This in two words is the effect of self-knowledge—freedom from attachment to everything that just gives a temporary experience of joy. What is the result of ignorance of the Self that has been observed? It is pursuit of joy in the world of matter. The difference between the one who knows and one who doesn’t is compared to the experience of a thirsty person and his pursuit of water knowing that he is seeing a mirage in a desert versus not knowing that what he is seeing is a mirage.
Nivritti is to be free from action. In the dream we may be chasing a lion or the lion may be chasing us and we will be struggling to run. When we wake up from the dream, the lion is gone and neither do we need to run as we place our feet on the floor from the bed and fully wake up. From the perspective of the dream, all action stops on waking. From the perspective of complete knowledge of the Self, all desire-prompted actions done by the body in ignorance also stops. The stark difference between the one who knows and the one who doesn’t is in one word—Action. The one who knows withdraws from and the one who doesn’t continues to engage in it.
Ignorance is Avidya or not complete knowledge. Born of it is Kama or desire. An offshoot of Kama is Karma or action. The three together form a tight knot in the region of the heart which is the feeling—centre for the I. When knowledge of the true Self is gained, the knots of the three ropes are loosened. Once loose, the ropes too disappear and what remains is the Self alone. When the individual experiences the Self alone, where is the question of activity seeking some beneficial experience for the individual?