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The Concept of Avidyd 2. The Concept of Avidyd This chapter is the starting point of this thesis in the sense that the logic pf avidyd is developed on the basis of the concept of avidyd. The logic of avidyd is to know the contextual or methodological usage of avidyd in Sankara’s Advaita Vedanta. It is, in fact, not the study of the concept of avidyd itself but a reading between the lines with avidyd as the central figure. However, it is impossible to search the hidden logic of avidyd without having a precise examination on the concept itself. Therefore, it is by this chapter that the logic of avidyd is brought out as a seed-form, and that the further investigations can be founded on that very concept. The first section, Mdyd and Avidyd, is an example of the difference between the standpoint of Sankara’s Advaita Vedanta and that of later / Advaita Vedanta, particularly about mdyd and avidyd. Since Sankara’s philosophy is generally called mdydvdda in which mdyd and avidyd are identified, the terminological comparison between them is an unavoidable task at the start of the study of the concept of avidya. The same logic is applicable to the second section, Adhyasa and Avidya, following the first section. It is no exaggeration to say that adhyasa is the most contributed and celebrated concept in Sankara’s philosophy and in Indian Philosophy as well. If Sankara’s Advaita Vedanta is more epistemological than ontological, it is because of adhyasa, which is defined as avidya. The identification and differentiation of these two concepts pave the way to the third and last section of this chapter, Avidya and Methodology. To the limit that adhyasa and avidya are the same in their denotations, the connotation of avidya in the contexts should be looked into to differentiate it from adhyasa. This inquiry is a connecting point of the concept of avidya with Sankara’s methodology of hermeneutics for liberation. Enumerating the usages of avidya in Sankara’s works, a possibility that avidya can be interpreted as having the methodological usage extended from its original epistemological usage is transformed into a proposition for the coming chapters. 1. Maya and Avidya Traditionally the term mdydvdda was used to designate the philosophy of the Advaita Vedanta, no matter if there was sufficient reason or not. In fact it is difficult work to trace back the absolute originator of mdydvdda. In the circle of the Advaita Vedanta it may be said that Gaudapada, who is believed to be the grand-teacher of Sankara is the first presenter of the concept of mdyd, as he made use of the term 23 mdyd in no fewer than sixteen passages in his Karikd} However, so long as mdydvdda is meant to mdyd-anirvacaniya-vdda or avidyd- anirvacaniya-vdda of the Post-Sahkara Advaita Vedanta, according to which mdyd is neither real nor unreal but inexplicable, and with which the metaphysical status of mdyd is mainly discussed, Gaudapada has no place for the systematization of the doctrine of mdyd, or mdydvdda. Gaudapada uses the term mdyd in the general or traditional sense such as “divine power”, “unreal”, “incomprehensible”,^ etc., but does not go further to make it a doctrine. Neither can Sankara be the originator of mdydvdda. In Indian Philosophy the term vdda is used to indicate a philosophical doctrine such as satkdryavdda, asatkdryavdda, etc., or a philosophical system such as siinyavdda, vijndnavdda, etc. A vdda is a doctrine or system which is distinguished from many other doctrines or systems, for it leads ultimately to the acceptance of one theory out of many theories by means of proofs and reasonings.^ In the case of mdydvdda, the term mdyd must be a central point of discussion in the philosophy of the Advaita Vedanta, and be used most frequently against other terms with its terminological weight. However, according to the philological *Cf. W . S. Urquhart, The Vedanta and Modern Thought, p. 47. ^Richard King argues that Gaudapada could be a precursor of mdyavada since in the Gaudapddiya Karikd 4.52 mdyd is finally “ incomprehensible” (acintya). Here, “incomprehensible” means, according to King, that mdyd is “there” in the sense that we experience it but it is not reality, being mere appearance, cf. Richard King, Early Advaita Veddnta and Buddhism, pp. 175-179. Michael Comans insists that this acintya seems to convey the same idea as the word anirvacanlya used by later Advaitins. cf. Michael Comans, The Method of Early Advaita Veddnta, p. 119, fn. 26. ^For the definition of vdda, see NydyasHtra 1.2.1 and Vdtsydyana-bhdsya on Nydyasutra 1.1.1. 24 analysis of Paul Hacker/ such case is not applied to Sankara’s Advaita Vedanta since the comparative frequency of mdyd and avidyd is about 2:10, and more frequent than avidyd are such words as dtman, paramdtman, brahman, Isvara, paramesvara in BSB.^ Hacker goes on to say that: “••• the principle of Brahman-Atman is for him the only important thing. Avidyd, on the other hand, is only of secondary importance, and the word mdyd has for him hardly any terminological weight.”^ The frequency of the term, of course, cannot always be corresponded to the terminological weight, but in the case of Sankara no one will find any evidence that he uses the term mdyd technically. Like Gaudapada’s philosophy, therefore, mdydvdda is not a suitable epithet to call Sankara’s philosophy, even though Sankara certainly develops the doctrine of avidyd, which is regarded as that of mdyd by the traditional Advaitins without any objection. A doubt on the traditional belief that mdyd and avidyd are synonyms in Sankara’s Advaita Vedanta is presented by Colonel G. A. Jacob for the first time in his preface of the Veddntasdra edition. He asks the question: “Is it (mdyd) with him (Sankara) an equivalent of avidyd, or does it denote the illusory universe itself?”^ After analyzing BSB 2.1.9, 2.1.21, 2.2.29, 3.2.3-6 and 2.1.14, Col. Jacob goes on to ^Paul Hacker develops a special method based on internal criteria, such as terminology, to solve the problem of authenticity of Sankara and his personal disciples. His method is philological, historical and critical, and bears many followers like Sengaku Mayeda, Allen W . Thrasher, etc. M any of his important articles were edited and translated by Wilhelm Halbfass under the title of “Philology and Confrontation—Paul Hacker on Traditional and Modern Vedanta”. ^Cf. Paul Hacker, “Distinctive Features of the Doctrine and Terminology of Sankara; Avidyd, Ndmarupa, Mdyd, Isvara”, p. 78. ‘ibid. ’G. a . Jacob, The Veddntasdra, Preface, p. v. 25 answer: “I think, therefore, that it is quite clear from the bhashya itself that mdyd is not used there as a synonym of avidyd, but is regarded as an illusory appearance produced by it; Although Jacob gives two exceptional passages from BSB 1.3.19 and 1.4.3 in the following sentence, he concludes that the word mdyd still retains its old and usual sense of “magic power” and “illusion” respectively.^ Notwithstanding his valuable and important indication about the different usages between mdyd and avidyd in BSB, it has not been seriously taken notice of by other scholars at home and abroad until Paul Hacker points out a similar problem again through the philological method. It is now a well-recognized fact that the research of Paul Hacker has introduced a new era in the advancement of the study of Sankara. He attempts to reveal the problem of authorship of the works ascribed to Sankara at the beginning, and for which he classifies what is unique to Sankara and what is foreign to him from the results of philological analysis. In consequence Hacker goes through the list of traditional attributes of avidyd which are alien to Sankara for the most part. Though Hacker’s argument is within the limits of BSB, it can be applicable to other texts of Sankara, so far as for him Sankara’s genuine works are evaluated on the criterion of BSB. Hacker’s following arguments are some conceptions of avidyd which are well acquainted with other *Ibid., p. vi. ’ibid. T w o passages quoted by Jacob are from B S B 1.3.19, p. 115, lines 9-10: eka eva paramesvarah kutasthanityo vijndnadhdturavidyayd mdyayd mdydvi- vadanekadhd vibhdvyate •••, and from B S B 1.4.3, p. 149, lines 1-3: avidydtmikd hi bljasaktiravyaktasabdanirdesyd paramesvardsrayd mdydmayi mahdsuptih, yasydm svarupapratibodharahitdh serate satnsdrino jivdh. 26 Advaitins but not with Sankara; 1) Jada (insentient), which is used by the Samkhya as a characterization of prakrti, is added to avidyd as an adjective from Padmapada onward. Sankara does not use it, and therefore, does not materialize avidyd in BSB. 2) Bhdva-rupa (something positively existent) is found from Jnanottama onward. Sankara does not put to use this epithet for avidyd in BSB. 3) Viksepa-sakti (power of dispersion or projection) and dvarana-sakti (power of concealment) that avidyd possesses are already current among Sankara’s contemporaries. Sankara does not employ these two terms in BSB. 4) Anddi (beginningless) is used by other Advaitins to characterize avidyd and to make it an eternal, metaphysical entity. Sankara uses anddi only once for adhydsa in the Adhydsabhdsya, BSB, otherwise anddi goes to samsdra (the transmigrating world). Sankara prefers naisargika (natural) instead of anddi to express the characteristic of avidyd in BSB. 5) Anirvacaniya (inexplicable or indeterminable) is an epithet of avidyd in most works of Advaitins except Sankara, Suresvara, and Totaka. Sankara takes it as an adjective of ndmarupa in BSB. 6) Asraya (locus) and visaya (object) of avidyd, which must have already been in existence before Sankara, are employed by other Advaitins.
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