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Editorial

Maya (Part 1)

Maya is a spiritual concept commonly discussed in Vedanta and other schools of Indian philosophy, including Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism. It is interpreted in various ways by different spiritual traditions. Even within Vedanta of Sanathana Dharma, Advaita (non-dual philosophy) explains it differently from the devotional schools of Vishishtadvaita (qualified non-duality) and Dvaita (duality). It is a complex concept to grasp, although it is a fact. We can gain an insight into the concept of Maya through the life and teachings of various masters, philosophers, saints, sages, and Avatars. Like God, Maya has no beginning, no end. It is an enigma. It is commonly translated as ‘illusion’ or ‘delusion,’ but this is fallacious. Let us begin to understand the concept of Maya based on what the Avatars have proclaimed.

The Avatars on Maya

Lord Krishna, the Paripoorna Avatar of the Dwapara Age, has gifted the world with the Bhagavad Gita (BG), which is the essence of all the Upanishads and contains the nectar of eternal wisdom. The verse often quoted by scholars when discussing Maya is (BG 7.14): 

Maya is part of the divine nature. It is part of God, as Lord Krishna declares. It comprises the gunas - Sattva, Rajas, and Thamas. But God is beyond these three gunas. So, once we surrender to God, we go beyond the gunas and Maya. All phenomena at the individual and universal level are manifestations of the Maya of God. At the universal level, Maya is responsible for creation, sustenance, and dissolution. At the individual level, Maya is responsible for our various experiences in the waking, dream, and deep sleep stages. 

God and Maya are explained by the analogy of a poisonous snake. While the poison can hurt everyone, it does not harm the snake. Similarly, Maya is part of God and can affect all phenomena in the universe and creation but cannot affect God. God transcends Maya.  

Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, the Paripoorna Avatar of this Kali Age, says in a discourse on September 8, 1966,

“The veil of Maya (illusion), however, hides from man the face of God, which is shining from every being and thing around him. Maya is of the nature of thamas (darkness and ignorance). In deep dreamless sleep, the Self alone exists, but it is there supervened by Maya or ajnana (ignorance) only. You are not aware then that you are Brahman; that is the difference between the jnana (spiritual wisdom) and the sushupti (deep sleep) stage. The jnani knows he is one with Brahman; the person in deep dreamless sleep does not know this. Everyone experiences it, so it is universal.”

The Advaita philosophy proclaims, “Brahma sathyam jagan-mithya jivo-brahmaiva naparah (Brahman alone is real, the world is unreal. Jiva is none other than Brahman).” This mithya is Maya. But mithya is wrongly understood to mean ‘non-existent’. The closest translations of mithya are ‘real unreal’ and  ‘apparently real.’

In His discourse on September 8, 1966, Swami says,

“We cannot pronounce it as a-sath (non-existent), for its effects are everywhere; we cannot pronounce it as sath (existent), for when the reality is experienced, there is no duality at all. From the standpoint of wisdom (jnana), Maya is unreal; in the vision of the enlightened saint, Maya is absent. It is a peculiar, anirvachaniya (indescribable) phenomenon.”

Maya According to Advaita, Vishishtadvaita and Dvaita

A beautiful example in Advaita Vedanta, propagated by Sri Adi Shankaracharya (a renowned Vedic scholar, philosopher, and teacher) is the perception of a rope in darkness. The rope cannot be seen because of the darkness. Similarly, in the darkness of ignorance (Avarana), the rope that is the Truth is not seen. And then, because of the tendencies of a wavering mind (Vikshepa), one projects one’s own ideas on the rope. Somebody might perceive the rope as a snake and be scared to death. Someone else might see it as a beautiful garland. Avarana and Vikshepa are different aspects of Maya. The instant light shines upon it, we see the rope in its true form–only a rope. When wisdom dawns, Maya disappears. 

However, we cannot claim that the perceived snake, or the garland that people ‘saw,’ is unreal. During the experience in the darkness, they were real! But the rope was non-existent then! Similarly, we identify with the world and body-mind complex, forgetting our real nature, the Atman. When the Advaitin (practitioners of non-dual philosophy) says, “This world has no existence!” what does it mean? It means that the world has no absolute existence. It exists only in the mind. The Advaitic school of thought postulates that the minute we acquire Jnana, Maya disappears.  

There are the two devotional schools of thought–Vishishtadvaita (qualified non-dualism), established by Sri Ramanujacharya, and Dvaita (dualism), propagated by Sri Madhvacharya – both of which believe that Maya exists. A good example is a display screen. On that screen, various pictures and movies are projected. Once the projection stops, only the screen remains. The screen is Brahman, and only it exists. But we have to accept that the pictures are also Brahman because they are on the screen! 

In summary, for the Advaitins, Maya is mithya. It is neither Sath (truth) nor Asath (untruth). It is that which is real when one is in ignorance and unreal when wisdom dawns. The rope looks like a snake, and the mirage in a desert looks like a body of water. Once knowledge is gained, these are no longer perceived. On the other hand, for the Bhaktas (devotees), Maya is the divine power, the divine mother who is also called the great Maya, or Maha Maya! They pray to the Mother, “Please do not delude me by your world-bewitching Maya, but lead me to the light and the Truth.”

Saints and Masters on Maya

A great sage and Hindu philosopher, Sri Ramana Maharshi, aligned with Advaitic philosophy, emphasized direct experience over philosophical debate. He described Maya as the false identification of the Self with the body rather than the Atman (true Self). The way to overcome it is by Atmavichara (Self-enquiry). Once the ego is gone, Maya disappears, revealing the ever-present reality of the Self. 

Sri Adi Shankaracharya defined Maya as ignorance that veils the true nature of the Self (Atman or Brahman). According to him, Maya is anirvachaniya (indefinable) and causes duality, making people believe in the reality of the material world. The only way to overcome Maya is through knowledge, which reveals that Brahman alone is real and the world is mithya.

Sri Ramanujacharya considered Maya to be the divine power of God through which the world manifests. Instead of rejecting Maya, he accepted it as a part of God. He termed the world as a dependent reality and not an illusion. He said that liberation is achieved through devotion and surrender to God. 

Adi Shankara’s guru is Sri Govindapada, who is a disciple of Sri Gaudapada. The theory of Ajatavada, a profound philosophical doctrine, was introduced by Sri Gaudapada. Ajata means unborn, and vada means doctrine. Ajatavada asserts that creation never truly happened–the world, the individual self (jiva), and even the idea of birth and death are Maya.

Unlike traditional Vedantic views that the universe emerges from Brahman, Ajatavada holds that the universe was never created at all. It only appears due to illusion, like a dream or a mirage. Brahman is the only reality, and everything else is a mere appearance. There is no real bondage and no real liberation—only an imagined experience of both. Just as dreams appear real while we are dreaming but vanish upon waking, this world appears real due to ignorance but dissolves upon Self-realization. Since the world is unreal, any explanation of it is also ultimately illusory. 

There is an incident that shows the Ajatavada principle in practice. Once, a Vedic scholar prayed to Swami to release him from the cycle of birth and death. Swami replied, “When were you born? When do you die? You were never born and will never die. You are verily the Atman. When you realize that, you get released!”

Maya is the power of Brahman. At the universal level, Mahamaya (divine power) is responsible for creation, sustenance, and dissolution. At an individual level, it is responsible for various experiences and states. At the individual level (Yoga Maya), we have two types of Maya as described by Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, a divine incarnation, who says that Yoga Maya is both a binding force (Avidya Maya) and a liberating force (Vidya Maya). 

1. Avidya Maya–This aspect of Maya keeps us distracted and ignorant. 
2. Vidya Maya–This aspect of Maya shows us the path of light and who we really are. 

Here is an analogy of the mother that describes Avidya Maya and Vidya Maya aspects of Brahman. When the mother is busy with her chores, she engages the child by making him busy playing with toys. The child is caught up in these toys and games. People who are caught up in sense pleasures are akin to the child. After playing for a while, the child gets tired and restless, and then nothing else but the mother’s company makes him happy. With longing, the child runs to the mother, and the mother gives herself to the child. This situation is comparable to people tired of sense pleasures and longing for the divine. This is the journey from Avidya Maya to Vidya Maya, seeking God. It takes man away from bondage and grief to freedom and joy.

Mahamaya (Maya at the cosmic level) has no beginning and no end since it is part of Brahman, which has no beginning and no end. As long as God is present, Mahamaya, too, exists. But Yoga Maya (Maya at the individual level) has an end. The minute we are enlightened, Yoga Maya disappears. 

Using Death to Understand Maya

In the Mahabharata, there is a profound episode known as the Yaksha Prashna, where Yudhishthira, the eldest Pandava, answers the riddles posed by a mystical Yaksha (a celestial being). One of the most famous questions the Yaksha asks is, “What is the greatest wonder in this world?” Yudhishthira responds, “Day after day, countless beings die. Yet, those who remain continue to live as if they are immortal. This is the greatest wonder.” It is Maya that makes people believe so! 

Swami Vivekananda also explains Maya using the phenomenon of death,

“Then, there is the tremendous fact of death. The whole world is going toward death; everything dies. All our progress, our vanities, our reforms, our luxuries, our wealth, our knowledge, have that one end – death. That is all that is certain. Cities come and go, empires rise and fall, and planets break into pieces and crumble into dust to be blown about by the atmospheres of other planets. Thus, it has been going on from time to time without beginning. Death is the end of everything. Death is the end of life, of beauty, of wealth, of power, of virtue, too. Saints die, and sinners die; kings die, and beggars die. They are all going to death, and yet this tremendous clinging on to life exists. Somehow, we do not know why we cling to life; we cannot give it up. And this is Maya.”

Is This Real or That Real?

Swami says, “Life is a dream; realize it.” We all go through the four stages of Jagruth (wakefulness), Swapna (dream state), Sushupti (deep sleep), and Turiya (beyond the three states). We have both wonderful dreams and terrible nightmares. The minute we wake up, we think they are unreal. But while they are being experienced, they are real! So, we cannot say that they are unreal or real. They are the ‘real-unreal’ or ‘apparent reality’. Swami narrates the story of King Janaka to illustrate this concept. 

King Janaka used to gather many rishis in his palace and take delight in discussing spiritual problems with them. He was adept in sadhana (spiritual practice) and attained the highest stage of samadhi (state of equanimity) through Raja Yoga. One day, while in the royal court with the queen and the maids, he fell asleep while conversing with them. He had a dream during that sleep. He dreamt of being deprived of his kingdom and roaming half-mad, hungry, and deserted in the jungle, begging for food from whoever he met. Then, he came upon some men washing dishes and vessels after a feast. He ran toward them, seeking some crumbs, and they gave him a little rice scraped from the vessels. He was about to put it into his mouth when a big bird swooped down and snatched it from his grasp. He cried out in pain and grief. The queen heard his cry and woke him up.

Of course, when he woke, he knew he was the King. He also remembered that a second before, he was a beggar in the dream. He questioned within himself, “Which is real—is this real or is that real?” To every inquirer, he asked the same question, “Am I a king or a beggar?” He wanted everyone to tell him which was real. The queen and others were frightened at his behavior and sent for the ministers. With them came Sage Ashtavakra, the wise preceptor. He realized the situation as soon as he saw the King. When the King asked the same question, he answered, “Oh King! This is unreal; that too is unreal. You, who experienced this as well as that, alone are real.”

Avatarhood Proclaimed After Declaring “Maya Has Gone”

On October 20, 1940, the 14-year-old Sathya cast aside the school books He was carrying and announced, “I am no longer your Sathya. I am Sai.” His sister-in-law came out of the kitchen and looked outside; she was almost blinded by the splendor of the halo which she saw around His head! Baba refused to enter the home and addressed her, “I am leaving. I do not belong to you; Maya has gone; My devotees are calling Me; I have My work. I cannot stay any longer.” Thus, the Avatar, at His will, can don the mask of Maya and also remove it.

He moved out into the garden of the bungalow of Sri Anjaneyulu, the Excise Inspector of the area, who was very attached to the young Baba. He sat on a rock amid the trees. People came into the garden from all directions, bringing flowers and fruits. By now, the anxious parents rushed to Uravakonda and visited Him. Little Sathya simply said, “They are Maya.” Mother Easwaramma pleaded, “Sathya, speak to your mother!” A few minutes of silence ensued, after which Swami asked, “Who belongs to whom?” It was not a question but a pronouncement. Baba continued, “It is all Maya; it is all Maya.” 

Swami Himself provided the solution to Maya through His very first bhajan, which He taught mankind. The grove resounded with the voices of hundreds, singing in chorus the lines Sathya Sai taught them - Manasa Bhajare Guru Charanam, which means “O Mind! Adhere to the feet of the Guru by singing His glory and take refuge at His feet, which enables one to cross the unconquerable ocean of samsara.” 

Maya as a Tool of God

Though Maya has to be overcome to realize one’s true nature, it is wrong to consider Maya as something negative. We have already seen that Vidya Maya shows us the light and leads us to God. 

In His divine discourse in June 1978, Swami says, 

“God’s actions can be described as leelas (divine plays). No one can determine the nature of such leelas. It is also not possible to understand them. Only after the event has taken place, can one realize its significance. Because such leelas are generally covered by Maya, man is not able to recognize the divinity that is responsible for them. Because of this Maya alone, man is not able to recognize the divine connection between man and man. All attachments arise because of Maya. If there is no Maya, the progress of mankind itself will come to a standstill. In any respect, Maya is not bad. In fact, Maya is very helpful for individuals who understand the different aspects of Maya. For one who does not understand the same, it can bring about great harm. In fact, Maya is very necessary for man and can be the royal path in the search for God. For an individual who does not understand the aspect of Maya, it will be a very difficult path. 

Take the example of a cat. When it catches hold of its kitten, it does so to take it to a place of safety. On the other hand, when the same cat catches hold of a rat, it is to kill the rat. For those who do not understand this aspect of divinity, Maya is like a cat catching a rat. For those who understand God, Maya will be a great help, like the cat that takes hold of the kitten. This Maya is a tool of God, and therefore, God is sometimes described as one who wears Maya as His cloak. This Maya is responsible for creation, maintenance, and dissolution.”

In this editorial, we have explored what Maya is, based on what Avatars, saints, masters, and philosophers have said. 

Let us explore the different ways in which Maya manifests and what we should do to overcome it and reach our ultimate goal in the second and concluding part 2 of this editorial in the next issue. 

Jai Sai Ram.