AVIDYĀ

AVIDYĀ - A-vidyā is non-knowing, ignorance, but not in the sense commonly given to this word; rather, in the philosophical-religious sense of ignorance of the Supreme Truths, knowledge (vidyā) of which confers liberation from rebirth, the cause of suffering. One may be versed in every art and discipline, yet remain in the state of ignorance or a., with respect to liberating gnosis. This is not always the same, since it depends upon the principles underlying the various religions and philosophies of ancient India. In the Sāṃkhya system (v. BRAHMANESIMO), a. consists in attributing to the spirit the activity of matter, in confusing the soul with the body. Yoga (v.), a. has four forms: supposing to be eternal that which is not, such as residence in heaven; considering pure that which is impure, such as the body; mistaking for joy that which is suffering, such as the objects of the senses; believing oneself (ātman) to be that which one is not. In systematic Vedānta, a. is the innate disposition to confuse the soul with its upādhi (conditions): the body, the psychic apparatus, and harman, of which only the body dissolves at death, while the other upādhi accompany the soul into another existence. The negative concept of a. as non-knowing acquires, in Vedānta, a positive value when it refers to empirical science, regarded as false knowledge because it speaks of a multiple universe whereas only the Brahman-ātman exists and all else is illusion (māyā). In original Buddhism, avijjā = a. is ignorance of the four fundamental truths, revealed by the Buddha in the sermon at Benares. Ferdinando Belloni Filippi