Word

Vidya Avidhya

Sanskrit

विद्या अविद्या

IAST

vidyā avidyā

In General

Vidhya is right knowledge, and avidhya is the ignorance together with non-existence

Veda

Vidya is Knowledge, the conscious Unity. Unity is the eternal truth of all things. Diversity is only a play of that Unity, and this is called Avidhya. Therefore, the sense of Unity is called Knowledge or Vidya, and the sense of diversity is called Ignorance or Avidya. However, diversity is not false by itself; it becomes false only when it is separated from its true and eternal Unity.

All manifestation takes place through these two terms, Vidya and Avidya - the consciousness of Unity and the consciousness of Multiplicity. They are the two aspects of Maya, the self-forming conception of the Eternal. Unity is the fundamental and eternal fact; without it, all multiplicity would be unreal and a mere illusion. Therefore, the consciousness of Unity is called Vidya, Knowledge. In human beings, the consciousness of multiplicity takes the form of Avidya, Ignorance.

Brahman, the Supreme state, is one and full of bliss, yet He is not limited by His unity. Being all-powerful, He can conceive Himself in many forms and from many centres. He is the Lord of both Vidya and Avidya. These are two sides of His Maya, the twin powers of His Energy, cit sakti. In the Upanishads, Vidya and Avidya are said to exist eternally in the supreme Brahman. This means that the consciousness of Oneness and the consciousness of Multiplicity exist together in the supreme self-awareness and become the basis of Manifestation. They are thus two aspects of an eternal self-knowledge.

The Upanishads say that a person who lives entirely in Ignorance wanders blindly, like a blind man led by the blind, and again and again falls into the net of Death. But they also say that one who follows only Knowledge enters into an even deeper darkness than one who follows Ignorance alone. The person who knows Brahman as both Ignorance and Knowledge, as both the One and the Many, as both Becoming and Non-becoming, goes beyond death through Ignorance, through the experience of Multiplicity, and gains Immortality through Knowledge.

Through Vidya one may reach the state of the silent Brahman or the Akshara Purusha, looking upon the universe without active involvement, or reach the self-absorbed state of Chit in Sat from which the universe arises and into which it returns. These states bring peace, fullness, and freedom from the suffering and confusion of the world. But the highest goal of human life is not fulfilment in action as a separate individual, nor peace in silence apart from action. The highest goal is the Uttama Purusha, the Lord who contains both the kṣara and the Akṣara within Himself as forms of His being. The Jivatman exists to realise this highest Self both in the individual and in the universe.

The ego created by Avidya is a necessary instrument for establishing individuality within the universal existence and serves as a starting point for this supreme realisation. Through Avidya, one may gain power, joy, knowledge of the world, and greatness of being, such as that of the Gods like Indra or Prajapati. This is achieved by fully accepting Multiplicity and by constantly enriching oneself with all that the universe offers.

Yet this too is not the final goal of humanity. Though it goes beyond ordinary human limits, it does not bring the divine transcendence of the universe in the Lord of the universe. One may rise above the confusion of Ignorance, but not the limitations of Knowledge; rise above bodily death, but not the limits of being; rise above sorrow, but not the limits of joy; rise above the lower Prakriti, but not the higher. To attain true freedom and perfect Immortality, one must return to what was rejected and make the right use of death, sorrow, and ignorance.

True knowledge is that which sees Brahman in His fullness and does not cling to one state of consciousness over another. It is not attached to Vidya alone, nor to Avidya alone.