Ignorance (Avidyā)

Avidyā is 'ignorance' — but not a mere lack of information. It names a deep, beginningless misperception that makes us take the unreal for real and forget our true nature, and so keeps us bound to the round of rebirth. Because the disease is ignorance, the cure is knowledge: when avidyā is removed, bondage is seen to have been unreal all along. In Yoga it is the first and root of the 'afflictions.'