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The Nature of Avidyā in the Upanishads: A Philosophical Exposition
Aditya Angiras
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DOI:10.17265/2159-5313/2025.05.004
Panjab University (Chandigarh Campus), Sadhu Ashram, Hoshiarpur, India
The Upanishads are a collection of highest ancient Indian wisdom that are part of the wider corpus of Vedic literature. They address significant philosophical and spiritual issues about the nature of universal reality as the ultimate truth, through various aphorisms. Scholars world over have been pondering upon these ancient texts, which has propagated various kinds of Indian philosophies that served as the foundation for Indian traditions. The Upanishads perceive the universe and human correlation as a dynamic interaction between the ultimate and immutable truth or Purusha which is eternal and unchanging in nature and Prakṛti or nature and for these texts, indicate the interaction between these two as transient and mutable as the nature of life is always transient and ever changing and the entire cosmos is expression of the combination of both. As Acharya Shankar suggests that the self is engulfed with Prakṛti or the five elements of nature, termed as Māyā and ignorance is its byproduct which leads the mind to illusionary waywardness. Various INDOLOGICAL scholars have commented that suggested term “Māyā” in the Upanishads is often translated as “illusion”, but this interpretation does not align with the unconventional notion of illusion. Scholars like Vroom and Doniger further elaborate that labeling the universe as an illusion (māyā) does not equate to declaring it as unreal. Māyā, not only misleads individuals through their perceived knowledge but also fundamentally restricts their understanding of concept of true happiness. Māyā represents the ever-changing nature and perceived reality and exists alongside Brahman, which is considered the hidden, true reality. And in order to achieve true content in life it is essential to perceive this core idea. Although, the term Maya is scarcely found in Upanishads, the concept of avidya is significant in the Upanishads as these texts assert that the quest for blissful and liberating self-knowledge leads to realize the higher self. This paper is a humble attempt to unveil the much debated concept of Avidya or Maya or Ignorance.
Upanishads, Avidya, ignorance, Maya, conditioning, mindfulness
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