>Marcocapelle at 08:30, 17 April 2021

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{{Hinduism}}

'''Abhava''' means [[non-existence]], [[negation]], [[nothing]] or absence.<ref>{{cite book|title=A Concise Dictionary of Indian Philosophy|author=John A.Grimes|date=17 October 1996|publisher=SUNY Press|page=3|isbn=9780791430682|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=eP5p0ev3nJEC&q=abhava&pg=PA4}}</ref> It is the negative of Bhava which means being, becoming, existing or appearance.

==Overview==
Uddayana divides ''[[Padārtha]]'' (Categories) into ''[[Bhava]]'' ([[existence]]) which is real, and ''Abhava'' ([[non-existence]]) which is not real. ''[[Dravya]]'' ([[Matter|substance]]), ''[[Guṇa]]'' (quality), ''[[Karma]]'' ([[Social actions|action]]), ''Samanya'' (community or generality), ''Visesa'' (particularity or partimerity) and ''Samavaya'' ([[inherence]]) are the marks of existence. ''Abhava'' has not been categorically defined by the [[Vaisheshika]] School of [[Hindu philosophy]] but is of four kinds viz – 1) ''Pragabhava'' i.e. Prior non-existence, 2) ''Pradhvamsabhava'' i.e. Posterior non-existence, 3) ''Atyantabhava'' i.e. Absolute non-existence, and 4) ''[[Anyonyābhāva|Anyonyabhava]]'' i.e. Mutual non-existence.

# ''Pragabhava'' i.e. Prior non-existence, is the non-existence of an effect in its material cause before production; it has a beginning it has an end because it is destroyed by the production of the effect. Without prior non-existence there cannot be an effect.
# ''Pradhvamsabhava'' i.e.Posterior non-existence, is the non-existence of an effect by its destruction; as such it has a beginning but no end i.e. it cannot be destroyed.
# ''Atyantabhava'' i.e. Absolute non-existence, or absolute negation is non-existence in all times i.e. denial of an absolutely non-existent entity in all times and in all places. It is the state of absolute abstraction.
# ''[[Anyonyābhāva|Anyonyabhava]]'' i.e. Mutual non-existence, is denial of identity between two things, which have specific nature. [[Negation]] other than mutual negation is negation of relation.

The process with which the sound value collapses into the point value of the gap existing between the first and the next syllable of the first letter of the [[Rigveda]], ''Agnim'', is ''Pradhvamsabhava'', the silent point of all possibilities within the gap is ''Atyantabhava'', the structuring dynamics of what happens within the gap ''[[Anyonyābhāva|Anyonyabhava]]'', and the mechanics by which the sound emerges from the point value of the gap i.e. emergence of the following syllable, is ''Pragabhava''; this mechanism is inherent in both syllables.<ref>{{cite book|title=Biographical Plays about Famous Artists|author=Daniel Meyer Dinkgrafe|year=2005|publisher=Cambridge Scholars Press|page=89|isbn=9781904303473|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=wR50GEyHk-QC&q=abhava&pg=PA89}}</ref>

The [[Vaisheshika]], the [[Nyaya]], the Bhatta [[Mimamsa]] and [[Dvaita]] schools hold ''Abhava'' as a distinct category. Recognised as a reality by the Nyaya school, ''Abhava'' is often stated to be the reality of the greatest moment in the pluralistic universe and is connected with [[Moksha|Mukti]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Encyclopaedia of the Hindu World Vol.1|author=Ganga Ram Garg|year=1992|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|page=96|isbn=9788170223740|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=w9pmo51lRnYC&q=abhava&pg=PA96}}</ref> It is a relative word, for there can be ''abhava'' only when previously there is ''bhava''; moreover it is an event occurring in time.<ref>{{cite book|title=PrasannapadaE|author=Theodor Stcherbatsky|year=1989|page=28|isbn=9788120805293|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=itTFXt6ZmVQC&q=abhava&pg=PA28}}</ref> <ref>{{cite book|title=Nagarjunian Disputations|author=Thomas E. Wood|date=January 1994|publisher=University of Hawai Press|page=180|isbn=9780824816094|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jHlvuNFxUlYC&q=abhava&pg=PA180}}</ref> The Nyaya and the Siddhantin maintain that the cognition of ''abhava'' is due to perception involving special kind of contact or sense contact.<ref>{{cite book|title=Encyclopaedia of Saivism|author=Swami Parmeshwaranand|year=2004|publisher=Sarup &Sons|page=40|isbn=9788176254274|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8ro-8reHVgoC&q=abhava&pg=PA40}}</ref>

''Abhava'' is that unmanifest level from where the concrete ''Bhava'' arises or emerges. <ref>{{cite book|title=Mirror of Consciousness|author=Anna J. Bonshek|year=2001|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|page=194|isbn=9788120817746|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sT13ws7RKgYC&q=abhava&pg=PA194}}</ref> [[Vasubandhu]] has referred to ''[[Sunyata]]'' having the characteristic of the own-being of ''abhava'', rather than a characteristic consisting of ''bhava'' which [[Sthiramati]] observes is in fact not redundant, which means ''abhava'' does not negate ''bhava''.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Buddhist Philosophy of the Middle|author=David S. Ruegg|date=10 April 2010|publisher=Wisdom Publications|page=74|isbn=9780861719365|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LFSPAtt7OesC&q=abhava&pg=PA75}}</ref> ''Abhava'' refers to particular entities and not to [[Being]] ; it is a theoretical or logical denial of the existence of some particular impossibility.<ref>{{cite book|title=Global History of Philosophy:The Axial Age Vol.1|author=John C. Plott|year=1993|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|page=163|isbn=9788120801585|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ODPthacrp_cC&q=abhava&pg=PA163}}</ref>
The acceptance of abhava as an independent padartha having ontological reality of its own is a peculiar feature of Indian philosophical tradition. [[Dharmakirti]] considered ''abhava'' as an ''[[anumana]]''. He had brought in the idea of imaginary presence of that whose absence was apprehended in order to explain the specificity of the absence.<ref>{{cite book|title=Contrary Thinking|author=Daya Krishna|date=20 September 2011|page=125|isbn=9780199795550|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a44AHKGef64C&q=abhava&pg=PA125}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Indian philosophy|state=collapsed}}
[[Category:Hindu philosophical concepts]]
[[Category:Buddhist philosophical concepts]]

Abhava - Revision history

>Marcocapelle at 08:30, 17 April 2021