ज्ञानमेकं हि निरुपाधिकं सोपाधिकं च तत् ।
अहंकारादिहीनं यज्ज्ञानं तन्निरुपाधिकम् ॥ १ ॥
Certainly wisdom is one, and this is without conditioning and with conditioning;
Wisdom without this conditioning is what is without egotism, etc.
Commentary
In this opening verse Narayana Guru rather emphatically tells us that wisdom is one and yet there is an unconditioned aspect and a conditioned aspect. Conditioned wisdom is when the mind is deluded by illusive relativity as the Advaita Upanishad declares, and "Wisdom-awareness is when the delusion of illusive relativity is abandoned."
Unconditioned wisdom takes us to the Self-Absolute. The consciousness of the individual is no longer tied to the relative world of name and form, but is pure like an unstained crystal which symbolizes unconditioned wisdom. The Kurma Purana agrees with this when it says, "My unconditioned state can only be attained by wisdom and is naked absolute consciousness."
When consciousness allegedly expands or contracts moving up or down, vertically or horizontally, conditioned wisdom is produced. Unconditioned wisdom, mind-free and ego-free is the reverse of this.