ajnana

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ajnana

Indian philosophy

Also known as: avidya, avijja

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June 18, 2026

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In Indian philosophy, ajnana (also known as avidya) refers to a false apprehension of reality that prevents spiritual release. It is a form of mistaken knowledge that, while having some validity regarding the present world, conceals a deeper truth outside of it. This concept is the opposite of jnana, which is a cognitive event that proves not to be mistaken and, in a religious context, signifies a total experience of the supreme being or reality that liberates the soul.1

The Advaita school of Vedanta, a prominent system in Indian philosophy, also discusses ajnana or avidya as ignorance that conceals the truth of the non-dualistic reality of Brahman. This ignorance leads to the misperception of the phenomenal world as real, obscuring the ultimate identity of the self with Brahman.2

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jnana
Its opposite, ajnana (also called avidya), is the false apprehension of reality that keeps the soul from attaining release; it is a form of mistaken knowledge, which has a large measure of validity as far as the realities of the present world are concerned but conceals the…
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Its opposite, ajnana (also called avidya), is the false apprehension of reality that keeps the soul from attaining release; it is a form of mistaken knowledge, which has a large measure of validity as far as the realities of the present world are concerned but conceals the…
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Indian philosophy
The Four Noble Truths and the nature of suffering
…leading back to ignorance (avijja; avidya)—a series in which the rise of each succeeding member depends upon and originates from the preceding one (paticca-samuppada; pratityasamutpada; literally “dependent origination”).
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…leading back to ignorance (avijja; avidya)—a series in which the rise of each succeeding member depends upon and originates from the preceding one (paticca-samuppada; pratityasamutpada; literally “dependent origination”).
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Buddhism
The law of dependent origination
…the chain are: ignorance (avijja), karmic predispositions (sankharas), consciousness (vinnana), form and body (nama-rupa), the five sense organs and the mind (salayatana), contact (phassa), feeling-response (vedana), craving (tanha), grasping for an object (upadana), action toward
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…the chain are: ignorance (avijja), karmic predispositions (sankharas), consciousness (vinnana), form and body (nama-rupa), the five sense organs and the mind (salayatana), contact (phassa), feeling-response (vedana), craving (tanha), grasping for an object (upadana), action toward
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paticca-samuppada
…consists of: (1) ignorance (avijja; avidya), specifically ignorance of the Four Noble Truths, of the nature of humanity, of transmigration, and of nirvana; which leads to (2) faulty thought-constructions about reality (sankhara; samskara). These in turn provide the structure of (3) knowledge (vinnana; vijnana), the object of which is…
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…consists of: (1) ignorance (avijja; avidya), specifically ignorance of the Four Noble Truths, of the nature of humanity, of transmigration, and of nirvana; which leads to (2) faulty thought-constructions about reality (sankhara; samskara). These in turn provide the structure of (3) knowledge (vinnana; vijnana), the object of which is…
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Dvaita
…philosophers means mistaken knowledge (ajnana), can be removed or corrected by means of devotion (bhakti), the deep mutual emotional attachment between a devotee and a personal god. Devotion can be attained in various ways: by solitary study of the scriptures, by performing one’s duty without self-interest, or by practical…
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…philosophers means mistaken knowledge (ajnana), can be removed or corrected by means of devotion (bhakti), the deep mutual emotional attachment between a devotee and a personal god. Devotion can be attained in various ways: by solitary study of the scriptures, by performing one’s duty without self-interest, or by practical…
Read More