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Karma
and the Sources
of
Actions, Speech, and Thoughts
by
Swami Jnaneshvara Bharati
SwamiJ.com
| Karma
and its Sources - Main Page |
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Avidya/Ignorance:
Avidya means ignorance, or to not see clearly. Ignorance
does not mean stupid or lacking in intelligence, but refers to the
root ability to ignore.
Wave forgets it is ocean:
Imagine an ocean, which is an ocean of
consciousness, and that the wave forgets that its essential
nature is that of the ocean itself.
That forgetting, or ignoring, allows the wave to think that it is an
individual, independent of the ocean. We humans do this too; we forget
we are part of the whole, and declare, "I am so-and-so."
See also Yoga Sutras on Avidya or
Ignorance:
- Sutras 2.3-2.4
on five colorings
- Sutra 2.5
on four kinds of Avidya
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| Kinds of Avidya: The aspect of
Avidya that has to do with our fundamental forgetting that we are part
of the whole is an extremely subtle part of our being. However, this
process also manifests in more surface ways as well. For example, Avidya
(ignorance) sets the stage for us to confuse pain for pleasure, impure
thoughts for pure thoughts, temporary for long lasting, and our
actions as being our identity. You might want to read through Yoga
Sutra 2.5 on types of Avidya.
Opens
to door to Karma: This primal forgetting or ignorance of Avidya
allows for the possibility of the chains of Karma, or cause and
effect. Imagine for a moment that you were a totally enlightened sage,
and that you never, ever, lost touch with your eternal Self. If you
were in that state, you would be free, at all times, even when actions
were playing out! However, those who are not free, who do
have Karma, are influenced by this foundation of Ignorance or Avidya.
In forgetting our True Nature and falsely identifying ourselves with
the objects of the world that are stored in the mind, we are subject
to the playing out of the seemingly endless cycles of desires and
actions, cause and effect. The whole process of Karma begins with, or
rests on the foundation of Avidya or Ignorance.
Avidya is an ability:
This Avidya or Ignorance is actually an ability or skill, in addition
to being the most subtle obstacle; it is not all bad. While it is true that
Avidya masks our True Nature, it also allows us to function in the
world. Imagine that you did not have the ability to ignore
all of the thoughts going on in your unconscious mind at a given
moment. This could be a state of what psychologists calling flooding
of unconscious material, which might be called psychosis. If we were
masters of non-attachment (See Yoga
Sutras 1.15-1.16), then we could be completely open, with no
Avidya or Ignorance, and we would be unaffected by that flood of
thoughts. That would be a state of complete freedom from the bondage
of Karma, the bondage of thought, and the bondage of Avidya. However,
in the meantime, it is good to see how Avidya sets the stage for the
play of Karma, so we can do the practical work in our daily lives as
spiritual aspirants.
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