Abhāva
From Hindupedia, the Hindu Encyclopedia
By Swami Harshananda
Abhāva is literally translated as ‘non-existence’.
The production of an effect is the sign of the existence of the cause. In the same way, the non-production of it is the sign of its non-existence.
This is the line of argument adopted by the Vaiśeṣika system, one of the schools of philosophy. According to it, the non-perception of a jar in the ground before us is the same as the perception of the non-existence, abhāva, of the jar. This is the only system which considers abhāva as one of the four fundamental categories of reality:
- Prāgabhāva : non-existence before coming into being, as for e.g., the non-existence of the jar before it is produced
- Pradhvaiiisābhāva : non-existence after destruction, as for e.g., the non-existence of the jar after it is destroyed
- Anyonyābhāva : mutual nonexistence of two different objects, e.g., the non-existence of the cow in the horse & vice versa
- Atyantābhāva : absolute non-existence, as for e.g., the non-existence of color in the air.
References[edit]
- The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore