“ 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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