Friday, July 17, 2015

MAYA OR ILLUSION



                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      “ Mama maya duratyaya” says Lord Krishna to Arjuna  in the Bhagavadgita! ‘My maya is insurmountable. Very often we use the word Maya in our daily routine and philosophy. The word maya means illusion. It has the quality of deceiving people totally. The Vedas proclaim that the Brahman is real and the universe is unreal! ‘ Brahma satyam jagan mithya” or illusion or maya! The chief characteristic of maya is to show the real as unreal and the unreal as the real! All of us are under the impression that the world or universe is real. We know that nature changes regularly, people are born and also die in due course.                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                                    They are all ephemeral. Nothing is eternal  in this life of ours. Still we believe that the world is real and under the influence of maya enjoy and suffer. Anything that changes cannot be real. Illusion or maya is so strong that we cannot come out of it except through self realization
      Vedanta gives a brilliant illustration to establish maya. In Vedantic parlance it is called ‘ rajju sarpa bhranthi” It is dark night and a person goes out in that pitch darkness. He is unable to see  anything  and gropes in that darkness. Accidentally he stumbles on an object near a well. He is terribly frightened and cries, ‘snake, snake’. A light is brought immediately and the object is found to be an ordinary rope! An illusion is created that the real rope is a snake because of darkness and feeling! There is no snake there but pitch darkness and absence of light. This darkness or ignorance is called maya or avidya in Vedanta! Light or illumination is called Jnana or Knowledge. When Jnana or Knowledge dawns avidya or ignorance vanishes! Maya  is itself the creation of Brahman. He has enveloped the entire creation with this unique, invincible power from which humanity can never escape easily!
        If we consider Brahman as potential  energy maya is kinetic energy in motion! Anything tranquil is Brahman while the turbulent is maya. Maya is feminine and the energizing force of the Brahman. Creation requires the participation of both the Brahman and maya. Dry clay cannot be molded into different patterns of pots without water. While walking in the forest, Rama went first; Sita followed him and Laksmana went behind her. Rama is the Brahman, Sita maya and Lakshmana the Jiva or the individual soul! Sita or maya prevents the Jiva from having the full view of the Brahman! Unless she moves aside it is impossible to have the vision of the Absolute Brahman! It is because of the dense dirt  that one cannot see his own image in the mirror. Remove the dirt and your face reflects  clearly in the mirror. Likewise engulfed thick maya and various infirmities, impurities, and silly desires we lose sight of the eternal Brahman or God! The intimacy between God and maya is inseparable. Ordinary mortals can never hope to overcome its delusion
         If maya is insurmountable, how can one realize God? Is there is no chance for man to aspire for God realization? There are two aspects of maya namely Vidya maya and avidya maya. The former is a positive force and leads man to self realization and vision of God. The other, avidya  maya is negative and leads man astray.The qualities of Vidya maya are knowledge, devotion, dispassion and compassion for all creatures. Vairagya, extreme love or bhakthi  and a repulsion for worldly pleasures shall be the right royal road for salvation! Only with the help of Vidya maya one can attain God! Maya never destroys the devote like the cat that protects its kitten while it kills the mouse
          Once Sage Narada wanted to know Vishnu maya and approached him! The Lord asked him to get some water to drink. Narada went in search of water but in vain. He saw a beautiful woman, fell in love with her and settled down there! He had a number of children and led the life of an ordinary mortal. Meanwhile there were floods and he lost his wife and children. He was steeped in misery. He totally forgot the purpose for which he came. Lord Vishnu reminded him of water and why there was so much delay. Narada woke up to the realities and realized his foolishness and begged the pardon of the Lord. He understood what exactly Maya is!!
        

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