Viparyaya

2021-04-22T02:20:34Z

2402:3A80:1B3F:24A7:0:57:CB7A:9801: Wrong interpretation of the terms used in yoga sutras- wrong reference to context was removed

{{Hinduism}}
'''Viparyaya''' ([[Sanskrit]]: विपर्यय) means – reversed, inverted or perverse; change (of purpose, dress and the like); absence or non-existence; loss (of consciousness); complete destruction or annihilation; exchange or barter; error, trespass, mistake or misapprehension; calamity, misfortune or adverse fate; hostility, perverseness, opposition or the destruction of the world.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary|author=V.S.Apte|publisher=Digital Dictionaries of South Asia|page=145|url= http://dsalsrv02.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/contextualize.pl?p.5.apte.1310165 }}</ref>

Wrong knowledge is ''viparyaya''; it is not supported by anything e.g. a mirage. ''Viparyaya'' is a thought pattern or modification of the mind; it is not a fantasy which is the creation of a crazy mind.<ref>{{cite book|title=Samadhi:The Highest State of Wisdom|author=Swami Rama|publisher=Lotus Press|pages=141–143|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zk9VsSY_WK0C&pg=PA143&dq=viparyaya&hl=en&sa=X&ei=VHf2VL3VOee0mAXxyoD4DQ&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=viparyaya&f=false}}</ref> Human thinking is largely based on ''viparyaya-vritti'' responsible for much of the misery in human life.<ref>{{cite book|title=Yoga in Daily Life|author=K.S.Joshi|publisher=Orient Paperbacks|page=181|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PsGxfYRYdFMC&pg=PA181&dq=viparyaya&hl=en&sa=X&ei=VHf2VL3VOee0mAXxyoD4DQ&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=viparyaya&f=false }}</ref>

[[Patanjali]] states:-

: विपर्ययो मिथ्याज्ञानमतद्रूपप्रतिष्ठम् |
: "Viparyaya or Illusion is false knowledge formed of a thing as other than what it is." - [[Yoga Sutras]] (I.8)

Simply said this means – "Viparyaya is knowing a thing different from what it really is" or ''viparyaya'' is incorrect cognition or wrong knowledge. Wrong knowledge causes five ''kleśas'' – nescience, egoism, attachment, hate and fear of death, which '' [[Kleshas knowledge, is ''viparyaya''<ref>{{cite book|title=Yoga Philosophy of Patanjali|publisher=SUNY Press|pages=27, 16|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=58ndiC9MpMYC&pg=PA27&dq=viparyaya&hl=en&sa=X&ei=VHf2VL3VOee0mAXxyoD4DQ&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=viparyaya&f=false}}</ref> which is rooted in '' [[Avidya (Hinduism)|avidya]] '' as are '' [[pramana]] '' (valid knowledge) and ''vikalpa'' (verbal construction). Patanjali defines ''avidya'' as the misidentification of the impermanent as permanent, impure as the pure.<ref>{{cite book|title=Exploring the Yogasutra|publisher=Bloomsbury|pages=46, 47|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n0pfP95c8YwC&pg=PA46&dq=viparyaya&hl=en&sa=X&ei=VHf2VL3VOee0mAXxyoD4DQ&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=viparyaya&f=false }}</ref> Vyasa states that erroneous cognition (''viparyaya'') is the cause of rebirth, when it has vanished no one is ever seen to be born anywhere; which means that our wrong identity with the body, sense-organs and the mind "rooted in spiritual ignorance functions through ''viparyaya''".<ref>{{cite book|title=The Integrity of the Yoga Darsana|author=Ian Whicher|publisher=SUNY Press|page=170|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_Qo9K9hPvQgC&pg=PA170&dq=viparyaya&hl=en&sa=X&ei=VHf2VL3VOee0mAXxyoD4DQ&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=viparyaya&f=false}}</ref> [[Yoga]], the technique of controlling the body and the mind or ''[[Samadhi]]'' concentration, aims at controlling ''Viparyaya'' which is one of the five active and changeable ''citta-vrittis'' (modifications of the mind). ''Viparyaya'' can be replaced or corrected by valid cognition.<ref>{{cite book|title=Changing Minds|author=M.M.Desmarais|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|pages=51, 52|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EXHF0lkL7MAC&pg=PA109&dq=viparyaya&hl=en&sa=X&ei=VHf2VL3VOee0mAXxyoD4DQ&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=viparyaya&f=false }}</ref>

Śobhākaramitra includes ''viparyaya'' as a type of figure in poetry which in combination with ''upameyopamā'' can occur when there is ''vākyabheda'' but he does not agree with Ruyyaka and rejects the idea that ''viparyaya'' can combine with ''upamāna'' when ''vyatireka'' occurs. He explains that in ''viparyaya'' there is the mutual exchange of the qualified (''dharmin'') and the qualification (''dharma'') which holds true even when these roles are reversed, thus giving two varieties.<ref>{{cite book|title=Alankararatnakara of Sobhakaramitra|publisher=Mittal Publications|pages=3, 29, 53, 180|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EhKBKjS56loC&pg=PA182&dq=viparyaya&hl=en&sa=X&ei=VHf2VL3VOee0mAXxyoD4DQ&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=viparyaya&f=false}}</ref>

[[Adi Shankara|Shankara]] states:-

: सदा त्त भूतेषु समोऽहमीश्वरः क्षराक्षराभ्यां परमो ह्यथोत्तमः |
: परात्मतत्वश्च तथाद्वयोऽपि सन्विपर्ययेणाभिमत्स्त्वविद्यया ||

: "And I am always the same to all beings, the Lord, for I am superior to, and higher than, the perishable and the imperishable. Though I have the highest Atman as my true nature and am non-dual, I am nevertheless covered with wrong knowledge which is nescience. " - [[Upadesasahasri|Upadeśasāhasri]] (I.x.8)

Here, ''Viparyaya'' is not synonymous with ''avidya'' but an aspect of ''avidya''.<ref>{{cite book|title=A Thousand Teachings|author=Sankaracarya|publisher=SUNY Press|pages=124–5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8fkLggRFFBwC&pg=PA125&dq=viparyaya&hl=en&sa=X&ei=VHf2VL3VOee0mAXxyoD4DQ&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=viparyaya&f=false }}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Indian philosophy|state=collapsed}}

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[[Category:Hindu philosophical concepts]]

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Viparyaya