15. Vidhya (विद्या): This word is very close to Knowledge. Knowledge is information, understanding and skill that one has gained through learning and experience. Vidhya is understanding and skill that is attained through going beyond learning and experience. So here one has to go through the process of learning and experience and crossover and go beyond it to the realm of Intuition to attain Vidhya.
16. Avidhya (अविद्या) : This word is very close to ignorance. Avidhya is wrong or not proper understanding or skill that is attained through half or inappropriate learning and inexperience. It is not the opposite of Vidhya but it is actually absence of Vidhya.
17. Viveka (विवेक): This word is very often wrongly translated as discrimination. Pathanjali in his yoga sutras says “Nithya-Anithya Viveka” understanding what permanence is and impermanence is Viveka, whereas discrimination is a state of being able to see a difference between two people or things. The word that comes very close to the meaning of discrimination may be Pragjnyana.
18. Vairagya (वैराग्य): Vairagya is easily and not very appropriately translated as detachment or dispassion. Detachment is a feeling of not being personally involved in something. Dispassion is when someone is unaffected by strong emotions or prejudice. Now let us look at the meaning of Vairagya “दृष्टानुश्रविक विषय वितृष्णस्य वशीकारसंज्ञा वैराग्यम्” which means “When the mind loses all desires for objects seen or described, it acquires a state of utter desirelessness which is called Vairagya.” This is neither detachment nor dispassion.
19. Artha (अर्थ): Artha is usually translated as Economics. Economics is the study or the principles of the Currency (money), business, trade and industry. Bharat did not consider “Currency” (Money) as the main and only mode of economics for most part of the history. So what is Artha Shastra? Artha Shastra consists of Neethi – Statecraft (not Political Science), Arthvyavastha – Socio – Economic policy, Udhayama – Business, Vanijya – Commerce, Vyapara – Trade, Kararopana Neethi – Taxation Policy and Sainya Rachana Vidhya – Military Strategy. The English economy doesn’t consider “Socio” aspect of economy; whereas the Samskrit Artha as well as Artha Shastra both deal with Socio-Economy and many more subjects. This is the briefest I will be able to explain here, more details may come later.
20. Kama (काम): This word is completely wrongly understood and translated as Sexual activity or Procreation. Kama is not just sexual activity or procreation, but the main purpose of Kama is to attain a very high level of aesthetic excellence. Somehow we could say Kama is attaining a very high level of aesthetic excellence and also attending to our natural impulse of sex and procreation for continuation of the linage or the family tradition in accordance with Dharma. Kama standalone in the absence of Dharma is not considered virtuous. We should remember here that Kama along with Dharma, Artha and Moksha is one of the Chathurvidha Phala Purushartha. I shall elaborate more on this topic of Kama later.
21. Moksha (मोक्ष):This word is usually translated as Liberation or Enlightenment. Liberation is getting freedom from something or someone and Enlightenment is the processes of gaining knowledge and understanding something or making somebody understand something. But both of these words don’t match up to the meaning of Moksha. First of all Moksha cannot be explained. The people who seem to have attained Moksha say “Those who have attained Moksha don’t speak about it and those who speak have not reached there.” But if at all we can come close to an explanation for Moksha it will be “Merging and becoming one with the whole creation”.
22. Darshana (दर्शन): Usually the word Darshana and Darshana Shastra are referred to as the scriptures of Indian Philosophy, but they are not just Philosophy they include Philosophy, World Views, Universal Concepts and teachings written by great Rishis as a culmination of their long research, self-study, Tapa, interacting with each other, crystalizing their experience and intuitive insights. They are six in number and they are Sankhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Mimamsa and Vedanta. Each of them has got lot more than Philosophy.
23. Atma (आत्मा): That which has remained in this Shrishti (Creation) from Aadi (beginning) to Anthya (end) is Atma. It is not the individual soul as it is referred to. Atma can be by far referred to as that cause which emanated from the Paramatma (The Divine Existence), when the Paramatma manifested into a form and thus created the Atma and its physical manifestations.
24. Jeevatma (जीवात्मा): Jeevatma is very close to the Individual Soul. Jeevatma is relevant as long as it has a Jeeva or a body. With death afflicting the body, the Jeevatma mingles and dissolves into its source that is the Paramatma.
25. Paramatma (परमात्मा): Paramatma is The Divine Existence or the power, the energy, the cause that is running the whole Shrishti (Universe/s). Paramatma is usually referred to as Supreme Self and most likened to The Primordial Self. Paramatma can be called as the Boundless Life, Boundless Consciousness, Boundless Substance in Boundless Space within which the whole universe/s exists.
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