Indian Philosophy v2.c27.s2.11

v2.c27.s2.11

The web of bonds (pāśajāla) is distinguished into avidyā, karma and māyā.⁴ The first is called āṇavamala, or the taint due to the false notion of finiteness (aṇutva) which the soul has. The self, which is pure consciousness, imagines itself to be finite and confined to the body and of limited knowledge and power. It is ignorant of its nature as consciousness and also mistakes the body for its reality. This is the bondage (paśutva) of the soul (paśu). This avidyā is one in all beings, beginningless, dense, great and multiform. Creation, destruction, etc., take place with reference to the finite world, and so they are regarded as the modifications (pariṇāma) of avidyā.⁵ Karma is the cause of the conjunction of the conscious soul with the unconscious body. It is an auxiliary of avidyā. It is called karma because it is produced by the activities of beings. It is as unseen (adṛṣṭa) as it is subtle. It prevails during creation and merges back into māyā during pralaya. It cannot be destroyed, but must work out its results.¹ Māyā is the material cause of the world, unconscious in nature,² the seed of the universe, possessing many powers, omnipresent and imperishable. "As the trunk, the leaf and the fruit latent in the seed grow therefrom, so the universe from kala to earth (kṣiti) develops from māyā."³