Difference between revisions of "Avidyā"
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| − | A Sanskrit word usually translated as “ignorance,” but perhaps more appropriately termed “unwisdom,” since it is the negative of | + | A Sanskrit word usually translated as “ignorance,” but perhaps more appropriately termed “unwisdom,” since it is the negative of ''vidyā'' which is cognate with the German “wissen” and the English word “wisdom.” It is often translated “nescience” (cf. ''SD'' I:7). It is sometimes used synonymously with ''ajñāna'', more literally translated “ignorance.” Both ''avidyā'' and ''ajñāna'' are used, in Indian philosophical systems, in the general sense of ignorance of some specific object or idea, but are also used metaphysically to refer to a more profound, pervasive lack of knowledge of the true nature of ourselves and the universe. In this latter sense, it is identified as the cause of the soul’s bondage to the cycle of rebirth. |
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| + | © Copyright by the Theosophical Publishing House, Manila | ||
Latest revision as of 03:37, 9 August 2011
A Sanskrit word usually translated as “ignorance,” but perhaps more appropriately termed “unwisdom,” since it is the negative of vidyā which is cognate with the German “wissen” and the English word “wisdom.” It is often translated “nescience” (cf. SD I:7). It is sometimes used synonymously with ajñāna, more literally translated “ignorance.” Both avidyā and ajñāna are used, in Indian philosophical systems, in the general sense of ignorance of some specific object or idea, but are also used metaphysically to refer to a more profound, pervasive lack of knowledge of the true nature of ourselves and the universe. In this latter sense, it is identified as the cause of the soul’s bondage to the cycle of rebirth.
© Copyright by the Theosophical Publishing House, Manila
