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| '''Ātma-vidyā''' (devanāgarī: आत्मविद्या) is a [[Sanskrit]] term that means "knowledge of the (spiritual) self".
| | #redirect [[Atma vidya]] |
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| [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H. P. Blavatsky]] said that although this term is translated as "knowledge of the Soul" or "true Wisdom", it means far more. She regarded this as "the only kind of [[Occultism]] that any [[theosophist]] who admires [[Light on the Path (book)|''Light on the Path'']], and who would be wise and unselfish, ought to strive after".<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. IX (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1974), 252.</ref> She added:
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| <blockquote>Of the four Vidyas—out of the seven branches of Knowledge mentioned in the Purânas—namely, “Yajna-Vidya” (the performance of religious rites in order to produce certain results); “Maha-Vidya,” the great (Magic) knowledge, now degenerated into Tantrika worship; “Guhya-Vidya,” the science of Mantras and their true rhythm or chanting, of mystical incantations, etc.—it is only the last one, “Atma-Vidya,” or the true Spiritual and Divine wisdom, which can throw absolute and final light upon the teachings of the three first named. Without the help of Atma-Vidya, the other three remain no better than surface sciences, geometrical magnitudes having length and breadth, but no thickness. They are like the soul, limbs, and mind of a sleeping man: capable of mechanical motions, of chaotic dreams and even sleep-walking, of producing visible effects, but stimulated by instinctual not intellectual causes, least of all by fully conscious spiritual impulses. A good deal can be given out and explained from the three first-named sciences. But unless the key to their teachings is furnished by Atma-Vidya, they will remain for ever like the fragments of a mangled text-book, like the adumbrations of great truths, dimly perceived by the most spiritual, but distorted out of all proportion by those who would nail every shadow to the wall.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 168-169.</ref></blockquote>
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| == Notes ==
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| <references/>
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| [[Category:Sanskrit terms|Atma-vidya]]
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| [[Category:Hindu concepts|Atma-vidya]]
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