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Concealment In Kashmir Shaivism And Advaita Vedanta – Avarana

Avarana means a cover or concealment and is opposed to vikshepa (projection). In the philosophy of Advaita Vedanta and Kashmir Shaivism, this concept plays a very vital role in explaining the creation of duality from the non-dual, appearance of ignorance from knowledge, and the worldly from the divine (spirit).

In Advaitic metaphysics, maya is conceived with two powers, namely – avarana and vikshepa. These two powers are not contradictory or opposite to each other but complementary in the creation of the cosmos. The former veils the true nature of Brahman and the latter gives the appearance of plurality. In shastriya prakriya (philosophization), these are treated as shaktis (powers) of Brahman and as these powers are related with the mind, they are unitedly conceived under on head as maya or avidya.

Maya in Advaita is not only a non-being, but by virtue of the function of covering the real and projecting it otherwise, it is conceived by analytic minds as real. Its negative function is specified as covering of the real nature (avarana) and accordingly, it is called power of covering (avarana shakti). Its positive aspect is designated as vikshepa shakti by virtue of the functions it  performs and the two are inseparable aspects of maya (the cosmic power of Brahman) on the basis of which alone Brahman is taken as the cause of cosmos (Adi Shankaracharya’s commentary on the Bhagavad Gita XIII/2).

Vivarankara Prakasatman has differentiated the use of avarana and vikshepa in the metaphysics of Advaita. There is primacy of vikshepa in maya which creates diversity (appearance); there is primacy of avarana in avidya as it covers the true nature of the reality. Nor creation is possible without such a covering because in that case there will be no occasion for the appearance of diversity if the non-dual illumines as such without any covering. Mandana Mishra analyzes avidya as divisible into two powers – acchadika (covering) and vikshepika (projecting), and elucidates that the former is agrahana jnana (non-apprehension) whereas the latter is viparyaya jnana (false apprehension).

Explaining the verse 1/2/1 of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, Adi Shankaracharya clearly accepts two types of veils in case of effect, jar for instance. The first is the darkness or a curtain which blocks out our perception of the jar. The second veil consists in the fact that the jar had another form before it was expressed in its present form; for instance it was present as a lump of clay. Adi Shankaracharya propounds that the cause and the effect are both existent before production. He is of the view that the effects were covered before their production by intelligence, just like the pot which had another form before assuming its present shape and appearance. Similarly, the whole cosmos was covered with mrityu, the cosmic power of intelligence (Shankara Bhashya on Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1/2/1). Matter of fact is observed by the seer of Isha Upanishad (hiranyamayena patrena satyasyapihitam mukham – Isha 15). The reality is covered with golden pot. Shankara and the other Advaitins are of the view that avidya is produced out of tamas which imparts it its veiling capacity.

Bhartrhari in Vakyapadiya has elucidated prevention and permission as the two aspects of the time-power. The time-concept of Bhartrhari is comparable to the maya concept of Advaita. Creation for Bhartrhari is a constant operation of prevention and permission by kalashakti. In Kashmir Shaivism, maya is the tenth among the 36 elements created by Shiva. Why Kashmiri philosophers have not accepted maya as primordial shakti and why they accept it as the tenth in the succession of evolution is a question that is often raised. The non-dual Shiva tattva cannot be involved in the process of creation if maya is not accepted as prior to any process of creation.

Avarana also means enclosure and the worship in Sri Vidya of attendant deities is called avarana puja.