Spiritual education, spiritual knowledge, learning, that which illumines, that which gives light, supreme teaching. (Glossary for the Vahinis)

For the root word, ‘Vid’, if you add ‘Ya’ then you get Vidya. Here ‘Vid’ stands for illumination, and ‘Ya’ stands for that. Therefore that which gives illumination and light is Vidya. That which gives you light and sheds your ignorance and that which gives you wisdom and superior knowledge can alone be called Vidya. What promotes ignorance and darkness cannot be called Vidya. (SSB 1976, p. 2)

Vidya, the supreme wisdom, attempts to describe for man the ‘characteristics’ of Atma. (V Vahini, p. 4)

Vidya involves humility, tolerance and discipline. It destroys arrogance, envy and all the related vices. Such a Vidya is the real Atmic Vidya. (V Vahini, p. 18/ 19)

Vidya is the effulgence that permeates a full life. In the West, Vidya deals more with concepts and conjectures in the East, Vidya deals more with Truth and Totality. The principle sought by Vidya is beyond the field of the senses. (V Vahini, p. 21)

Vidya impels man to pour into the sacrificial fire his narrow ego and foster in its place universal Love, which is the fundamental base for the superstructure of spiritual victory. (V Vahini, p. 36)

The Mundaka says that Vidya is of two types: Para and Apara, and that Apara Vidya is of two kinds: Karma and Upasana. Of these, the second and third Prashnas in this Upanishad deal with Upasana,. The discipline of Karma is fully covered in the Karma kanda. (UV, p. 41)

Whatever could be taught is of two kinds. One is the knowledge of the lower type, the Apara Vidya and the other is the knowledge of the higher type, the Para Vidya. Whether it is the Rig Veda, Atharvana Veda, Sama Veda or Yajur Veda or the Upanishads, they have all been taught as Apara Vidya. Not only that, Angirasa had taught various things like grammar, prosody, astrology, etc. as part of Apara Vidya. On the other hand, whether it was to listen to, or understand and turn over in one’s mind, all that is abstract and all that relates to the divinity or Brahman the eternal, it was handled as part of Para Vidya. This means that once you turn your mind towards understanding the imperishable Brahman then whatever is performed as a function of the body is no longer Apara Vidya but also turns into Para Vidya. (SSB 1973, p. 127)

Vidya tries to probe behind the forms assumed by things and the appearance they put on and discover the reality that alone can explain them. The Truth has to be known and lived by; the Truth has to be visualised, this is the function of Vidya, Man is a triune composite of body, mind and spirit (Atma). As a consequence, he has three natures in his make up (1) a low animal nature, (2) a human nature, replete with worldly knowledge and skill, and (3) the genuine nature of man, namely, the divine Atmic nature. Being aware of this third nature and establishing oneself in that is this Vidya. (V Vahini, p. 21)

Faith is all-important. Faith in one’s Reality being the Atma-that is the real Vidya. (V V Vahini, p. 41)

‘Vidya tapo bhyam Putatma’. By means of Vidya and Tapas, man is transformed into a purified soul’. (V Vahini, p. 55)

‘Ehamuna sukhiyimpa hemataraka vidya Paramuna sukhiyimpa brahma vidya Kadama vidya lella kalla moodhulakura Visvadabhirama vinura vema, which means, ‘we need physical science for being happy in this world; and spiritual science to be happy in the other world’. Swami Vivekananda has put the same idea differently, by defining education as the manifestation of the perfection already in man, and religion as the manifestation of the divinity already in man. In other words, for the total and integrated development of the three constituents of man, viz. body, mind and spirit, material education is needed for the improvement of his body and mind, while spirituality is needed for discovering the innate spirit or divinity in him. (Uniq, p. 117)