avyakta

Avyakta is a term used in Hindu philosophy to denote the unmanifest or unrevealed aspect of reality. From Sanskrit, a- means “not” and vyakta means “manifest” or “visible.” In various traditions, avyakta designates that which lies beyond ordinary perception, cognition, and sensory experience, and which becomes apparent only through deeper spiritual insight or revelation.

In Advaita Vedanta, the ultimate reality is Brahman, described as avyakta—formless, transcendent, and beyond attributes. The world of becoming (vyakta) arises within Maya and ignorance; learning to perceive Brahman as the one true self dissolves the distinction between subject and object. Here, avyakta and vyakta are not two separate beings but two aspects of the same reality.

In devotional traditions, especially certain Vaishnava schools, avyakta refers to the unmanifest aspect of God or to the spiritual realm invisible to ordinary senses. Phrases such as “Avyakta-lila” point to divine energies and pastimes that are eternally real but not ordinarily visible in the material world. The manifest creation (vyakta) is viewed as a secondary expression that unfolds from the avyakta through divine will and potency.

Across schools, the term is used with nuance and sometimes varies in scope. It is generally understood as the ineffable source beyond sensory perception, which may serve as the ground of both impersonal metaphysical reality and the personal divine presence. The concept highlights the distinction between the unmanifest source and the manifested universe in Hindu thought.