Wednesday, 12 November 2025

AVG

 A

Excellent question — and a profound one.

In the Aṣṭāvakra Gītā (Aṣṭāvakra Saṁhitā), the term ignorance (ajñāna or avidyā) refers to false identification — mistaking the transient (body, mind, world) for the Self.
Ashtavakra doesn’t list “ignorances” as numbered items, but throughout the text, he identifies specific forms of ignorance that veil Self-knowledge.

Below is a compiled and thematic list — drawn directly from the teachings spread across the chapters:


🕉️ LIST OF IGNORANCES IN ASHTAVAKRA SAMHITA

1. Identification with the Body

  • Thinking “I am the body, I am a man/woman, I am tall, short, etc.”

  • Ashtavakra: “You are neither earth, nor water, nor fire, nor air, nor space. You are the witness of all these.” (1.3)

2. Belief in Doership

  • Thinking “I act, I perform, I choose.”

  • Ashtavakra: “Bondage is imagining the Self to be the doer; freedom is knowing the Self is not the doer.” (8.1)

3. Identification with the Mind and Thoughts

  • Thinking “I think, I feel, I decide.”

  • Ashtavakra: “The mind is the source of bondage. When it ceases, liberation shines.” (4.1)

4. Belief in Duality (Subject–Object Distinction)

  • Seeing the world as separate from oneself.

  • “As space is one though appearing divided by pots, so consciousness is one though appearing divided by beings.” (8.4)

5. Attachment and Aversion

  • Clinging to pleasure, avoiding pain.

  • “He who sees pleasure and pain as the same is free from attachment.” (3.4)

6. Desire and Craving for Sense Objects

  • The illusion that sense-pleasures bring fulfillment.

  • “As the desire for pleasure binds, renunciation of desire brings peace.” (6.1)

7. Mistaking the Unreal for the Real

  • Taking appearances as reality — believing the world is permanent.

  • “This world is a projection of the mind and therefore unreal, like a dream.” (2.9)

8. Seeking Liberation as an Attainment

  • Thinking liberation is something to achieve later.

  • “You are ever free; bondage is only an illusion created by the mind.” (1.12)

9. Dependence on Rituals or External Practices

  • Believing external acts, austerities, or pilgrimages lead to truth.

  • “Neither rituals, nor renunciation, nor wealth lead to freedom; only knowledge of the Self.” (1.18)

10. Belief in Birth, Death, or Change of the Self

  • Thinking the Self is born, lives, or dies.

  • “The Self is changeless, birthless, deathless, eternal.” (7.1)

11. Egoism (the ‘I’-thought)

  • The root ignorance: identification with the egoic “I.”

  • “When the mind stops identifying with ‘I’ and ‘mine,’ liberation is immediate.” (8.4)

12. Dependence on External Conditions for Peace

  • Thinking peace comes from quiet surroundings or solitude.

  • “The wise one is not disturbed in the crowd nor delighted in solitude.” (9.4)

13. Mistaking Knowledge for Experience

  • Thinking intellectual knowledge is realization.

  • “Mere talk of knowledge does not end bondage; realization of the Self does.” (2.10)

14. Fear and Hope (Future Projection)

  • Living by expectations and fears.

  • “He whose mind is free from hope and fear enjoys supreme peace.” (9.2)

15. Valuing Praise or Blame

  • Dependence on others’ opinions.

  • “The wise man is neither pleased nor troubled by praise or blame.” (6.2)


🪶 Summary Essence

Ignorance = Misidentification with anything other than the Self.
Wisdom = Recognition that “I am pure consciousness, untouched, infinite, ever free.”


Would you like me to make a condensed chart or table version — “Ignorance → Corresponding Realization (Wisdom)” — suitable for reflection or study use?
It’s very effective for contemplative reading or teaching notes.

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