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{{Short description|Hindu philosophical concept}}
{{about|a Hindu concept|the Hindu god of creation|Brahma}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2019}}{{Hinduism}}
'''Bhrama''' ([[Sanskrit]]: भ्रम), in the context of Hindu thought, means – error, mistake, illusion, confusion, perplexity.<ref>{{cite book|title=Sanskrit-English Dictionary|publisher=Digital Dictionaries of South Asia|url=http://spokensanskrit.de/index.php?script=HK&beginning=0+&tinput=+%E0%A4%AD%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%AE&trans=Translate&direction=AU}}</ref> But, it literally means – that which is not steady; and refers to error etc., caused by defects in the perceptive system. The seeing of snake in a rope in darkness, silver nacre in moonlight, water in a mirage on a hot day and a person in a stump of tree are four classic instances quoted in Vedantic texts.<ref>{{cite web|title=Bhrama|publisher=Hindupedia|url= http://www.hindupedia.com/en/Bhrama }}</ref> ''Bhrama'' is a mistake, it is a confusion about one object which exists for another object which does not exist, it merely refers to the fallibility of human perception.<ref>{{cite book|title=Embracing Illusion|author=Francisca Cho Bantly|date=January 1996|publisher=SUNY Press|page=103|isbn=9780791429693|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fM-sLgPTopsC&q=bhrama&pg=PA103}}</ref>

Human nature is ordinarily afflicted by - भ्रमप्रमादविप्रलिप्साकरणापाटवदोषाः – i.e. ''bhrama'' (false knowledge or mistakes), ''pramāda'' (inattention or misunderstanding reality), ''vipralipsā'' (cheating propensity) and ''karaṇa-a-pāṭava'' (imperfection of the senses) are four major mind-faults which mislead human beings and do not permit right perception and cognition.<ref>{{cite web|title=Sri Caitaya-caritamrta|publisher=Vaniquotes|url= http://www.vaniquotes.org/wiki/CC_Adi-lila_02.086_bhrama,_pramada,_vipralipsa,_karanapatava..._cited }}</ref> Amongst these, the knowledge which is of the nature of ''bhrama'' is the direct thought-wave of ''[[Avidya (Hinduism)|avidya]]''. And, the texts speak about there being five theories of illusion or erroneous perception – ''Ātmakhyāti'' ([[Yogacara]] theory of subjective apprehension), ''Asatkhyāti'' ([[Madhyamaka]] theory of the nonexistent), ''Akhyāti'' ([[Prabhākara]]’s theory of non-apprehension), ''Anyathākhyati'' ([[Nyaya]] theory of misapprehension) and ''Anirvacanīyakhyāti'' ([[Advaita Vedanta]] theory of apprehension of the indeterminate), developed by five schools of thought.<ref>{{cite book|title=Yogasiddhantacandrika|author=Narayanatirtha|year=2004|publisher=Parimal Publications|pages=187, 189|isbn=9788171102495|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=-czWAAAAMAAJ }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Perceiving in Advaita Vedanta|author=Bina Gupta|year=1991|publisher=Bucknell University Press|page=273|isbn=9780838752135|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=EE5Y6FY0f54C&q=akhyati+the+five+theories+of+illusion+hindu+philosophy&pg=PA274 }}</ref>

The Vedantic texts reveal the Self as Pure Consciousness; they reveal the Self as the ever blissful witness who is neither the enjoyer nor the enjoyment or the object of enjoyment. The enjoyer is [[Chidabhasa]] or [[Jiva]], the sheath of the intellect, a product or manifestation of [[Maya (illusion)|Maya]], not transcendentally real and subject to change. [[Vidyaranya]] in his [[Panchadasi]] (VII.9-10) explains:
{{Quote|
<poem>
अधिष्ठानांशसंयुक्तं भ्रमाशमवलम्बते |
यदा तदाऽहं संसारीत्येवं जीवोऽभिमन्यते ||

When Jiva, having the immutable Kutastha as his basis, wrongly identifies himself with the gross and subtle bodies, he comes to think of himself as bound by the pleasures and pains of this world.

भ्रमांश्स्य तिरस्कारदधिष्ठानप्रधानता |
यदा तदा चिदात्माहामसङ्गोऽस्मीति बुद्धयते ||

When Jiva gives up his attachment to his illusory portion, the nature of the substratum becomes predominant and he realizes that he is associationless and of the nature of pure consciousness.
</poem>}}
[[Swami Swahananda]] in his commentary tells us that Kutastha, conventionally identified with ego, is not the object of identification for it is incapable of being associated with ego.<ref>{{cite book|title=Pancadasi commented by Swami Swahananda|publisher=Sri Ramakrisna Math|pages=237, 238|url=http://www.chennaimath.org/istore/product/pancadasi-of-sri-vidyaranya-swami/|access-date=28 March 2015|archive-date=15 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121115184520/http://www.chennaimath.org/istore/product/pancadasi-of-sri-vidyaranya-swami/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

According to [[Adi Shankara|Shankara]], ''atma-anatma adhyasa'', the so-called locus of superimposition, is a mispresentation or ''proksha-aproksha bhrama''. Panchapadika of Padmapada interprets ''purovasthitava'' (the object in front) as contact with the visual sense, whereas Ratnaprabha of Niścalakara relates it with sense-contact; the former explains that a non-object can become an apparent object and the latter explains that Shankara in no way considers the said locus to be complete and conclusive.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Philosophy of Sankar's Advaita Vedanta|author=Shyama Kumar Chattopadhyaya|year=2000|publisher=Sarup & Sons|pages=69–70|isbn=9788176252225|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IPasbJW-1PwC&q=bhrama&pg=PA69 }}</ref>

''Saguna'' (with attributes) worship leads to a typical illusion in as much as the devotee mistakes physical or mental images for the formless God; it is of the nature of the ''Samvadi-bhrama'' that finally leads to the realization of [[Nirguna Brahman]], the endless pursuit after sense-objects is the ''Visamvadi-bhrama''.<ref>{{cite book|title=rambles in Vedanta|author=B.R.Rajam Iyer|date=30 September 1996|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|page=126|isbn=9788120809123|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=89doofWiWJIC&q=bhrama&pg=PA126 }}</ref> But, the cumulative subtle awareness of ''bhrama'' need not necessarily result in the awareness of Maya because owing to the latter either one wakes up from a dream or goes on dreaming forever.<ref>{{cite book|title=Dreams, Illusion, and other realities|author=Wendy Doniger O’Flaherty|date=15 February 1986|publisher=University of Chicago Press|page=178|isbn=9780226618555|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=vhNNrX3bmo4C&q=bhrama&pg=PA178 }}</ref>

''Svarūpa-bhrama'' (illusion about spirituality) is one of the four major ''anarthas'' (useless, meaningless, disastrous, wrongdoings) and is said to be of four kinds – ''sva-tattva'' which is illusion about one’s own spiritual identity, ''[[para-tattva]]'' which is illusion about the spiritual identity of the supreme absolute truth, ''sādhya-sādhana-tattva'' which is illusion about the spiritual means and the object gained, and ''māyā-tattva'' which is illusion about the Lord’s external energy. These ''anarthas'' are required to be uprooted in order to develop ''[[Nishtha|niśṭa]]'' (devotion).<ref>{{cite book|title=Drop of the Nectar Ocean of Devotional mellows|author=Bhaktivedanta Narayana|year=2003|publisher=Bhakti Books|isbn=9788186737163|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=p3lpvVLkyKkC&q=bhrama&pg=PA28 }}</ref> But, ''bhrama'' is not an ''āropa'' (imposing of, imputation, figurative substitution) which is an āhārya (wilfully caused in spite of falsity) cognition.<ref>{{cite book|title=Classical Indian Philosophy of Induction|author=Kisor Kumar Chakraborti|date=6 May 2010|publisher=Lexington Books|page=33|isbn=9780739147054|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=I2xhSHlppPQC&q=bhrama&pg=PA33 }}</ref>

The [[Yoga]] School of thought adopts the ''Anyathākhyati'' theory of misapprehension of the [[Nyaya]]s for dealing with ''bhrama'', which theory is based on the premise that ''bhrama'' is thinking of something as that which it is not, like attributing the characteristics of [[Prakrti]] to [[Purusha]] and vice versa.<ref>{{cite book|title=Yoga as Philosophy and Religion|author=Surendranath Dasgupta|date=6 December 2002|publisher=Courier Corporation|page=173|isbn=9780486425054|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=9pYoAwAAQBAJ&q=bhrama&pg=PA173}}</ref>

In [[Ayurveda]], ''bhrama'' refers to Vertigo, a discreet disease due to Vata prakopa and Pitta prakopa which shows six distinct stages, and is curable.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Ayurvedic Approach to Bhrama|publisher=Ayurveda M.D.|url=http://ayurveda.md/index.php/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=49&Itemid=1|access-date=28 March 2015|archive-date=2 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402091200/http://ayurveda.md/index.php/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=49&Itemid=1|url-status=dead}}</ref>

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

[[Category:Hindu philosophical concepts]]
[[Category:Vedanta]]
[[Category:Sanskrit words and phrases]]
[[Category: Yoga concepts]]
[[Category:Adi Shankara]]

Bhrama (Hinduism) - Revision history

KK JANGIR: Adding Basic Pg Basic Info