[Advaita-l] avidyA and mAyA discussions

[Shrinivas Gadkari]

Namaste,

For someone like me, and indeed many people on this forum,
who are at early stages in their quest of yoga and jnAna,
mAyA and avidyA are vastly different.

For example, I like cake. My fondness for cake is due to
bhAva triggered by mAyA. I try to bake a cake but it
does not turn out as good as I would like it to be. This 
is avidyA in me. I study and try different recipes, and 
consult a few chefs. Eventually I am able to bake cake
that I like. Now I have acquired the vidyA of baking a 
good cake. This acquisition of vidyA involved both removal
of ajnAna and removing errors in some actions (yoga).
The concepts illustrated in the above example are generally
applicable at any level. One may come a long way in overcoming
avidyA. However, there is no end to mAyA and no end to avidyA 
remaining to be overcome. This is my personal conviction.

My suggestion - keep things simple. I do not see the point of 
such deep hair splitting arguments, and what they lead to.
However, if a group of people believe that they are making 
good progress in their quest of jnAna and yoga by these arguments, 
my best wishes to them.

Regards,
Shrinivas Gadkari