Abstract

This dissertation examines a contemporary debate in Advaita Vedanta regarding the nature of ignorance . Though avidya is at the heart of the centuries-old debate between the Visis&dotbelow;tadvatins and the Advaitins, it has recently become the focus of controversy within the Advaita tradition. The dispute was initiated by Swami Satchidanandendra Saraswati , who proposed that the view of avidya advanced by San˙kara, and consistent with Gaud&dotbelow;apada, was misunderstood by all post-S´an˙kara commentators, except Suresvara. Consequently, Satchidanandendra maintains that traditional Advaitins who follow the commentary tradition are misinterpreting San˙kara. These Advaitins hold that avidya is existent , though not real , and has both a causal unmanifest form that is present in sleep, and an effect, the manifest projection of the waking and dream worlds, which are a superimposition on Brahman, the reality. Satchidanandendra maintains that avidya in San˙kara. is only superimposition . It has no causal form that accounts for the superimposition of the world, and is not present in sleep. In his view, all these concepts were introduced by post-commentators and have the consequence of the impossibility of non-duality or liberation. Traditional Advaitins reject Satchidanandendra's views, finding that they have the same consequences---duality and the impossibility of liberation. The conflict began with Satchidanandendra's first publication, the Mulavidyanirasa, written to refute the view that a causal avidya exists in sleep. This work and the responses to it are examined in some detail in this dissertation. The issues of the debate are explored and the positions of the participants examined in terms of their tenability and ramifications. ;The role of both ancient and modern influences on shaping the debate is explored, particularly the influences on Satchidanandendra's thought. The results of some Western research methods applied to the topic of avidya are also examined, as are the concepts of validity and authenticity in both the Advaita and Western thought traditions. Satchidanandendra's position in relation to both traditions is assessed