Maya

Mahalakshmi-InHinduism,māyā is also seen as a form ofLaksmi,aDivineGoddess.Her most famous explication is seen in theDevi Mahatmyam,where she is known asMahamāyā.Because of its association with the goddess, Mayā is now a commongirl's name inIndiaand amongst theIndiandiasporaaround theworld.

MayaorMāyā(Sanskritमाया māyāa[›]) is a term found inPaliandSanskrit literaturewhich has multiple meanings and is often translated as "illusion"or"delusion".

Quotes

Helena Petrovna Blavatsky:Thusannihilationmeans, in theBuddhistphilosophy,only a dispersion ofmatter,in whatever form or semblance of form it may be; for everything that bears a shape was created, and thus must sooner or later perish i.e. change that shape. Therefore, as something temporary, though seeming to bepermanent,it is but an illusion, Maya; foreternityhas neither beginning nor end, the more or less prolonged duration of some particular form passes, as it were, like an instantaneous flash of lighting.

• About many things inHinduismI had been once inclined to believe that it was allimaginationthat there was much ofdreamin it, much that wasdelusionand maya. But now day after day I realised in themind,I realized in theheart,I realised in thebodythetruthsof theHindu religion.
  • Sri Aurobindo,inPenguin Sri Aurobindo Reader,p. 24.

• Our tragic age demandspoetryofcourageand not whimpers about the inevitable end of all maya. People still extract pain of each other even afterBuddha,NanakandGandhihave been preachingpeace.
  • Mulk Raj Anand,inMulk Raj Anand: A Reader: Selections from His Fictional and Non-fictional...(1 January 2005),p. xxi.

• Thusannihilationmeans, in theBuddhistphilosophy,only a dispersion ofmatter,in whatever form or semblance of form it may be; for everything that bears a shape was created, and thus must sooner or later perish i.e. change that shape. Therefore, as something temporary, though seeming to bepermanent,it is but an illusion, Maya; foreternityhas neither beginning nor end, the more or less prolonged duration of some particular form passes, as it were, like an instantaneous flash of lighting.
  • Helena Petrovna Blavatsky,inIsis Unveiled: Secrets of the Ancient Wisdom Tradition, Madame Blavatsky's...,p. 62.

• Whoever is unacquainted with my law and dies in that state, must return to theearthtill he becomes a perfect Samanean. To achieve this object, he must destroy within himself the trinity of Maya. He must extinguish hispassions,unite and identify himself with the law (the teaching of the secret doctrine) and comprehend thereligionof annihilation. Here annihilation refers but to matter.
  • Buddha,in “Isis Unveiled: Secrets of the Ancient Wisdom Tradition, Madame Blavatsky's...”, p. 61.

• Believe in all things; none believe;
  judgenot nor warp by "Facts" the thought;
  See clear, hear clear, tho' life may seem
  Mâyâ andMirage,DreamandNaught.
  • Richard Francis Burton,inThe Kasidah Of Haji Abdul El-Yezdi (20 March 2014),p. 38.

• I shall chide you no more. You and I shall smile together, so long as our two forms appear different in the maya-dreamofGod.Finally we shall merge as one in theCosmicBeloved; oursmilesshall be His smile, our unifiedsongofjoyvibrating throughouteternityto be broadcast toGod-tunedsouls.
  • Yukteswar Giri,inAutobiography of a Yogi (1 January 2008),p. 416.

• Maya, a Sanskrit word, is a magic power, through which God makes human beings believe what turns out to be an illusion... If our own five senses are not controlled, then we become part of Maya. Everything that we see in the world is part of Maya. According toAdvaita... everything and everyone is part of Maya... because of which we enjoy and suffer in life... Maya makes one happy and sad in life. When one loses something valuable then one feels sad and creates sad emotions. Most of the time, most people will keep that sad emotion within and can't let it go. What is inside is what creates more outside for one to feel it over and over. Releasing all those feelings and emotions that make one sad is a stepping stone to infinite happiness.
  • The Himalayan Times,What is Maya? November 2, 2022

• Your accepted conceptions ofcosmogony— whether from the theological or scientific standpoints —do not enable you to solve a singleanthropologicalor even ethnical problem and they stand in your way whenever you attempt to solve the problem of the races on this planet... Go on saying,Our planet and man were created— and you will be fighting against hard facts for ever, analyzing and losing time over trifling details—unable to even grasp the whole. But once admit that... both planets and man are —states for a given time; that their present appearance — geological and anthropological — is transitory and but a condition concomitant of that stage of evolution at which they have arrived in the descending cycle — and all will become plain. You will easily understand what is meant by the one and only element or principle in the universe and that androgynous; the seven-headed serpent Ananda ofVishnu,the Nag aroundBuddha,the great dragon eternity biting with its active head, its passive tail, from the emanations of which spring worlds, beings and things. You will comprehend the reason why the firstphilosopherproclaimed all —maya...
  • Koot Hoomi,inThe Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett,p. 75-76 (1923)

• The ancientHindu philosophersstated as a fundamentaltruththat theworldof our sense - experience is allillusion(maya), that change, plurality, and causation are not real, but there is one reality,God.This ismetaphysicalMonismof the idelalistic-spiritual type, tending towardsmysticism.
  • Monism,inEncyclopaedia of Sects and Religious Doctrines (2005),p. 869.

• Every livingcreaturehas its own individualsoul,known asatman.However, the materialworldis an illusion (maya). It causes suffering and prevents the individual soul from perceiving or being connected with theWorld Soul.The goal of existence is to rejoin one’s atman with theBrahman,allowing oneself to be absorbed intoperfection.
  • John McCannon, inBarron's AP World History, (1 February 2010),p. 82.

• He Himself spread out the expanse of His Maya, and He Himself beholds it. He assumes so many forms, and plays so many games, and yet he remains distinct and detached from its all.
  • Guru NanakinGuru Granth Sahib,inThe Truth of Nanak and the Sikhs Part Two 30-Aug-2004,p. 112.

• TheSanskritword ‘maya’ refers to all things that can be measured. Human understanding of theworldis limited, hencemeasurable,hence maya. To believe this maya istruthis delusion. Beyond maya, beyond human values and human judgements, beyond the current understanding of the world, is a limitless reality which makes room for everyone and everything. That reality isGod.
  • Devdutt Pattanaik,inMyth = Mithya (2008),p. 5-6

Devdutt Pattanaik:TheGoddessis Maya, embodiment of alldelusions.She isShakti,personification ofenergy.She is Adi, primal, as ancient and boundless as thesoul...The embodiment of Adi- Maya-Shakti –Durgais the invincible one. She is at once bride and warrior. The one establishes home, providespleasure,produceschildrenand offersfood.

• TheGoddessis Maya, embodiment of alldelusions.She isShakti,personification ofenergy.She is Adi, primal, as ancient and boundless as thesoul...The embodiment of Adi- Maya-Shakti – Durga is the invincible one. She is at oncebrideandwarrior.The one establishes home, providespleasure,produceschildrenand offers food.
  • Devdutt Pattanaik,in "Myth = Mithya (2008)", p. 146-147.

• TheTantrikapproach toself-realizationis different from theVedicapproach. The former looks upon theGoddessasShakti,energy,to be experienced while the latter looks upon the Goddess as Maya, delusion, to be transcended. The former is moresensory,the latter less so.
  • Devdutt Pattanaik,in "Myth = Mithya (2008)", p. 200.

• Without the help of the indescribable Maya, theneo-Vedantic doctrinecannot be sustained, Maya in the sense ofavidyaor the cause of illusion has never been used in theVedas.
  • Raj Pruthi, in “Vedic Civilization (1 January 2004)”, p. 222.

• Wherever the word Maya occurs [In Rigveda] it is used only to signify the might or thepower.
  • Raj Pruthi, in “Vedic Civilization (1 January 2004)”, p. 222.

• If we look more deeply into humanity’s ancient religions and spiritual traditions, we will find that underneath the many surface differences there are two core insights that most of them agree on. The words they use to describe those insights differ, yet they all point to a twofold fundamental truth. The first part of this truth is the realization that the “normal” state of mind of most human beings contains a strong element of what we might calldysfunctionor evenmadness.Certain teachings at the heart of Hinduism perhaps come closest to seeing this dysfunction as a form ofcollectivemental illness.They call it maya, the veil of delusion.Ramana Maharshi,one of the greatest Indian sages, bluntly states:“The mind is maya.”Buddhismuses different terms. According tothe Buddha,the humanmindin its normal state generates dukkha, which can be translated assuffering,unsatisfactoriness, or just plainmisery.He sees it as a characteristic of the human condition. Wherever you go, whatever you do, says the Buddha, you will encounter dukkha, and it will manifest in every situation sooner or later.
  According to Christian teachings, the normal collective state of humanity is one of “original sin.” Sin is a word that has been greatly misunderstood and misinterpreted... It means to live unskillfully, blindly, and thus to suffer and cause suffering. Again, the term, stripped of its cultural baggage and misinterpretations, points to the dysfunction inherent in the human condition.
  • Eckhart Tolle,A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose(2005)

• The word Maya in theRigveda(RV) generally denotes “occult power”applicable in good sense togodsand in bad sense todemons,and may be be rendered by the English word “craft”having a similar double application. But is used in the sense of “illusion”or “show”, thus forestalling laterVedanta philosophy.
  • Rigveda,inVedic Civilization (1 January 2004),p. 167

Bamian Buddhabefore it was desecrated--Ramakrishna:How canBrahmanbe differentiated ordesecrated?Theguruhad one more lesson, the greatest of hislife,tolearn.He would never condescend to admit of Maya orShakti.Brahman only exists—this was hisrefrain.

• How canBrahmanbe differentiated ordesecrated?Theguruhad one more lesson, the greatest of hislife,tolearn.He would never condescend to admit of Maya orShakti.Brahman only exists—this was hisrefrain.
  • Ramakrishna,inSri Ramakrishna Paramahansa 2008,p. 62.

• To love only members of theBramho Samaj
  or of one's own family is maya;
  toloveone's own countrymen is may.
  But tolovethe people of all countries,
  to love the members of allreligions,isdaya.
  Such love comes from love of God, fromdaya(compassion).
  
  • Ramakrishna,inThe Story of Ramakrishna Mission: Swami Vivekananda's Vision and Fulfilment,p. 706.

• Maya is nothing but 'woman and gold'.
  A man living in its midst gradually loses hisspiritual
  alertness. He thinks all is well with him.
  Thescavengercarries a tub of night-soil on his head,
  and in course of time loses hisrepulsionto it.
  One gradually acquiresloveofGodthrough
  the practice of chanting God's holy name.
  • Ramakrishna,inRam Krishna Paramhansa (1 April 2005),p. 120.

• Remember thatdaya,compassion,and maya,attachment,
  are two different things. Attachment means the feeling of
  'my-ness' towards one's relatives.
  Compassion is the love one feels
  for all beings of theworld.
  It is anattitudeofequality.Maya also comes fromGod.
  Through maya, God makes one serve one's relatives.
  But one thing should be remembered
  mAyA keeps us inignoranceand entangles
  us in the world, whereasdaya
  makes ourheartspure and gradually unties our bonds.
  • Ramakrishna,inThe Vedanta Kesari, Volume 91 (2004),p. 17.

• How is it ever possible for one man toliberateanother
  from thebondageof the world? God alone,
  the Creator of this world-bewitching maya,
  can save men from maya.
  There is no other refuge but that great teacher,
  Satchidananda[existence-knowledge-bliss].
  How is it ever possible for men who have not
  realizedGodor received His command,
  and who are not strengthened withdivinestrength,
  to save others from the prison-house of theworld?
  • Ramakrishna,inExcerpted from the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna p. 168

• He who depends on chances and situations to behappy,is aSansari.Mindalone is maya at play. Remember, `Even This Will Pass Away'. It is sure to bedarkif you close youreyes.Not to do what you feel like doing isFreedom.
  • Chinmayananda Saraswati,inQuotations From Gurudev's Writings

• Almost all of you have heard of the word Maya. Generally it is used, though incorrectly, to denoteillusion,or delusion, or some such thing. But thetheoryof Maya forms one of the pillars upon which theVedantarests; it is, therefore, necessary that it should be properly understood.
  • Vivekananda,inVivekananda: the yogas and other works, including the Chicago addresses, Jnāna-yoga, Bhakti-yoga, Karma-yoga, Rāja-yoga, Inspired talks, and lectures, poems and letters. Chosen and with a biography by Swami Nikhilānanda,p. 219.

• The oldest idea of Maya that we find in theVedic literatureis the sense ofdelusion;but then the real theory had not been reached. We find such passages as, "Indrathrough his Maya assumed various forms. "Here it is true the word Maya means something likemagic,and we find various other passages, always taking the same meaning.
  • Vivekananda,inComplete Works, Volume 2,p. 88.

• And the answer given was very significant: "Because we talk in vain, and because we are satisfied with the things of thesenses,and because we are running afterdesires;therefore, we, as it were, cover theRealitywith a mist. "Here the word Maya is not used at all, but we get the idea that the cause of our ignorance is a kind of mist that has come between us and theTruth.
  • Vivekananda,in Complete Works, Volume 2, p. 88.

• When theHindusays the world is Maya, at once people get the idea that theworldis anillusion.This interpretation has some basis, as coming through theBuddhisticphilosophers,because there was one section of philosophers who did not believe in the external world at all. But the Maya of theVedanta,in its last developed form, is neitherIdealismnorRealism,nor is it atheory.It is a simple statement of facts--what we are and what we see around us.
  • Vivekananda,inChapter III, Maya And Illusion.

• O everyone of us there must come a time when the wholeuniversewill be found to have been a meredream,…The sameworldwhich was the ghastly battle-field of Maya is now changed into something good and beautiful. The moment we come to know the inner voice and understand what it is, the whole scene changes. The same world which was a ghastly battlefield of Maya is now changed into something good andbeautiful.
  • Swami Vivekananda,inThe idea of One Religion,p. 60.

• We see that beyond this Maya theVedanticphilosophersfind something which is not bound by Maya; and if we can get there, we shall not be bound by Maya. This idea is in some form or other the common property of allreligions.But, with the Vedanta, it is only the beginning of religion and not the end. The idea of a Personal God, the Ruler andCreatorof thisuniverse,as He has been styled, the Ruler of Maya, or nature, is not the end of these Vedantic ideas; it is only the beginning. The idea grows and grows until the Vedantist finds that He who, he thought, was standing outside, is he himself and is in reality within. He is the one who is free, but who through limitation thought he was bound.
  • Vivekananda,inThe Idealistic Philosophy of Swami Vivekananda,p. 140.

• This Maya is everywhere. It is terrible. Yet we have to work through it. The man who says that he will work when theworldhas become all good and then he willenjoyblissis as likely to succeed as the man who sits beside theGangaand says, "I will ford the river when all the water has run into the ocean." The way is not with Maya, but against it. This is another fact to learn. We are not born as helpers ofnature,but competitors with nature. We are its bond-masters, but we bind ourselves down. Why is this house here? Nature did not build it. Nature says, go and live in theforest.Man says, I will build a house and fight with nature, and he does so. The wholehistoryofhumanityis a continuous fight against the so-calledlaws of nature,and man gains in the end. Coming to the internal world, there too the same fight is going on, this fight between the animal man and thespiritualman,betweenlightanddarkness;and here too man becomes victorious. He, as it were, cuts his way out of nature tofreedom.
  • Vivekananda,inComplete Works, Volume 2 (1963),p. 104.

• Theories had been propounded and repeated, others had been taken up, until at last the idea of Maya became fixed. We read in theShvetashvatara Upanishad,"Knownatureto be Maya and the Ruler of this Maya is the Lord Himself. "Coming to our philosophers, we find that this word Maya has been manipulated in various fashions, until we come to the greatShankaracharya.
  • Vivekananda,inVedanta: voice of freedom,p. 134.

• Thetheoryof Maya was manipulated a little by theBuddhiststoo, but in the hands of the Buddhists it became very much like what is calledIdealism,and that is the meaning that is now generally given to the word Maya.
  • Vivekananda,inThe Vedanta Kesari, Volume 49,p. 370.

The Hindu Mind: Fundamentals of Hindu Religion and Philosophy for All Ages

An lluminated parchment depicting the Fall of Man, cause of Original Sin - Bansi Pandit: InHinduview, the cause ofhuman birthis notOriginal Sin(fromChristian doctrine), but the originalignorancecalled maya. The difference between these twoconceptsis that the Original Sin is amoralerrorwhereas the original ignorance (maya) is the lack of the rightknowledgeof theUltimate Reality,ametaphysicalerror.

Bansi PanditThe Hindu Mind: Fundamentals of Hindu Religion and Philosophy for All Ages (1 January 2001)

• Maya, one of the key terms inHindu religious tradition,is used in various connotations, implying a principle, power or process. Since in Hindu view non-existence can never be the source of creation (just as a plant can never sprout without a seed), maya is themetaphysicalprinciple that is used in Hindu religion to explain the projection of the phenomenalworldbyBrahman.
  • Bansi Pandit, in p. 61.

• InHinduview, the cause ofhuman birthis notOriginal Sin(fromChristian doctrine), but the originalignorancecalled maya. The difference between these twoconceptsis that the Original Sin is amoralerrorwhereas the original ignorance (maya) is the lack of the rightknowledgeof theUltimate Reality,ametaphysicalerror.
  • Bansi Pandit, in p. 120.

• There are two predominant views among Hindu scholars relating to the concept of maya. In some philosophical systems, maya refers to the mysterious power (or the cosmic energy) of the Supreme Being with which he projects the universe from Himself. Because of maya things and beings are brought into existence, incarnations are born, humans play their roles on the stage of life, and the divine play of life (leela) continues age after age.
  • Bansi Pandit, in p. 61.

In otherphilosophical systemsincludingAdvaita Vedanta,maya is thought of ascosmicillusionorignorance(avidya) that deludes theatmaninto forgetting its owndivinenature. This forgetfulness of its true nature further causes the atman to mistakenly identify itself with thebodyandmind,assumeindividuality,and thus subject itself to the physical limitations in the phenomenalworld(samsara).

• In otherphilosophical systemsincludingAdvaita Vedanta,maya is thought of ascosmicillusionorignorance(avidya) that deludes theatmaninto forgetting its owndivinenature. This forgetfulness of its true nature further causes the atman to mistakenly identify itself with thebodyandmind,assumeindividuality,and thus subject itself to the physical limitations in the phenomenalworld(samsara).
  • Bansi Pandit, in p. 61.

• Maya is nothing but theegotismof the embodiedAtman.This egotism has covered everything like a veil. All troubles come to an end when the ego dies. This maya, that is to say, the ego, is like acloud.The sun cannot be seen on account of a thin patch of cloud; when that disappears one sees the sun. If by grace of the guru one’s ego vanishes, then one seesGod.
  • Ramakrishna, p. 62.

• Prakritiand maya are similar concepts. Prakriti is the primal matter with thequalitiesofsattva,rajas,andtamas,whereas maya iscosmicignorance with the triple powers of satva rajas and tamas.
  • Ramakrishna,in p. 62.

• TheHindutheory ofreincarnationis based upon four basic principles: permanence of theatman,existence of maya (the originalignorance),liberation(moksha) of the atman fromsamsaraand thelawofKarma.
  • Bansi Pandit, in p. 117.

• According to the mostHindurepresentative view, theatman,when associated with a physical body, identifies itself with thebodyunder the influence of maya. Maya is the cosmic illusion or the original ignorance.
  • Bansi Pandit, p. 119.

• I am not manifest to all, being veiled by yoga-maya and itsdelusionthe world knows Me not, the unborn andimmutable(BG 7.25).
  • Sri Krishnaspeaks of its power in theBhagavat Gita:quoted by Bansi Pandit, in p. 119

The lake seen as a mirage indeserts- Bansi Pandit:...These dual powers of maya create amirage-like effect, similar to falsely identifying aropeas asnakein dull light or mistaking sand for water in adesert.Under the influence of maya, the atman does not change, but forgets its divine nature and becomes apart of the phenomenal world, which is also projected by maya.

• Under the influence of maya, theatmanforgets itsdivinenature,identifies itself with thebodyandmind,assumesindividualityand thus enjoys pleasures and suffers pain in theworld.Maya has two powers: the power of veiling theUltimate Reality,and the power of falsely projecting the Ultimate Reality as something else. These dual powers of maya create amirage-like effect, similar to falsely identifying aropeas asnakein dull light or mistaking sand for water in adesert.Under the influence of maya, the atman does not change, but forgets its divine nature and becomes apart of the phenomenal world, which is also projected by maya.
  • Bansi Pandit, in p. 119.

Krishna: A Sourcebook

Yogmayaenshrined in a temple inDelhi-Bhagavata:Maya has another face in theBhagavata,however. This role of maya is especially discernible under the nameYogmaya,which occurs in the context ofKrishna’slila.Yogmaya covers the pure liberatedsoulsin the lila and herpowerof illusion, such that they are unaware of Krishna’s real nature and thus relate to him not asGodbut rather as their friend, lover or child, and so on.

Edwin Francis Bryant, inKrishna: A Sourcebook 2007

• Maya has another face in theBhagavata,however. This role of maya is especially discernible under the nameYogmaya,which occurs in the context ofKrishna’slila.Yogmaya covers the pure liberatedsoulsin the lila and herpowerof illusion, such that they are unaware of Krishna’s real nature and thus relate to him not asGodbut rather as their friend, lover or child, and so on.
  • InBhagavata,quoted in “Krishna: A Sourcebook”, p. 116.

• Everything other thanVasudeva,since it is a product of maya, is not real. Vasudeva alone is real, is the dearest because He is the Self.
  • Bhaktirasyana, in p. 324.

• The external potency of maya has two divisions.Jiva-maya,thepotencythatobscuresthe pureconsciousnessof thejiva;andguna-mayathe potency that manifests the materialworld.
  • Jiva Goswami,in p. 380.

• I am asinnerwho was blinded by maya that I did battle with theSupreme Lord.Miserable me....Save me! Save me!
  • Indra,the demi god’s confession and prayer before Lord Krishna, in p. 184.

• Madeblindby your maya, I did a greatwrongin fighting you
  Forgivethiscrimeof mine, I fall at your feet.
  Purge me of my evil-mindedness,
  I will follow the path ofdevotionto you.
  • Indra's prayers to Lord Krishna in p. 184.

• He is the mastermagician(mayavin),Krishnais in the final analysis...Himself… a product of this maya.
  • Julian F.Woods, p. 7.