According to scriptures, ignorance is without a beginning. Then, is it to be presumed that ignorance is also endless? Is there no chance for the jivatma to get liberated? Such doubts about ignorance and its prevalence are raised and argued in the text ‘Laghu Vasudeva Mananam’ to show that it is possible to overcome ignorance, pointed out Sri R. Rajagopala Sarma in a discourse.

There are many diseases whose real cause is unknown but they can be cured by proper treatment. In the same way, even though the cause of ignorance is not known, it can be dispelled by the jnana gained by the study of Vedanta. Knowledge of Brahman as the One without a second destroys ignorance even as the illusion of the snake in the rope is gone when the nature of the rope is known. It is accepted that Maya is the mother of ignorance and easily deludes the understanding of things in proper perspective. Krishna refers to His Maya as something that is difficult to cross. The power of Maya can confuse even the most rational intellects and can make one believe what is not true as true. This is what is happening when beings identify their self with the body and not the atma. Adi Sankara warns people of this avidya that stands as a hurdle in the way of spiritual pursuit.

In a verse in the ‘Viveka Chudamani,’ the acharya captures the subtle and enigmatic quality of avidya. “If one looks for its form, it cannot be stated; it is neither real nor unreal nor is it a mixture of the two. It is neither separate nor different from the atma. It is not a part of the atma nor is it not a part of it. It is not the body either. On the whole it is something wonderful, ‘Maha Adibhuta’ and inexplicable, ‘anirvachaniyam’.”