What is Avidya?

[Jitendra Hy-do-u-no-us?]

Ignorance (Avidya) is misconception, or is the  erroneous conception of the existence of that which does not exist. Through Avidya man believes that this material creation is the only thing that substantially exists, there being nothing beyond, forgetting that this material creation is substantially nothing and is a mere play of ideas on the Eternal Spirit the only Real Substance, beyond the comprehension of the material creation. The ignorance is not only a trouble in itself but is also  the source of all the other troubles of man.

The Holy Science~Sri Yukteswar

[Jitendra Hy-do-u-no-us?]

So long, however as man identifies himself with his material body and fails to find repose in his true self, he feels his wants according as his heart's desires remain unsatisfied. To satisfy them he has to appear in flesh and blood on the stage of life, subject to suffer all the troubles of life and death not only in the present but in the future as well.

Sri Yukteswar~The Holy Science