Maya by S. Sankaran

Every entity has two aspects – a hidden inner core i.e. its true nature and a false appearance. This co-existence of true nature and appearance in entities is called Maya. Appearance alone is accepted as true at first. But the reality dawns on man far late due to the prevalence of ignorance and the absence of knowledge.

False appearance in the entity is purely due to ignorance, which can vanish with the occurrence of knowledge. 

The co-existence of ignorance and knowledge also can be classified as Maya.  

Maya is due to three gunas and the gunas are hurdles to know and realize God. God is therefore deluded to the world due to this Maya.

The nature of Maya can well be explained by the following examples:

1.   A man treads on a rope in the street while walking in the darkness and he is frightened mistaking the rope to a snake. Due to darkness, which is akin to ignorance, the true nature of the rope has been identified with a false appearance of snake. The light, which is akin to knowledge, clears the false appearance of snake and makes the man to realize the true nature of the object i.e. a rope.

2. Cloud is created due to sun rays. After its creation, it hides the sun light for a while. Similarly Yoga Maya hides the greatness of Supreme God for a while. The beings should not be deluded by such Yoga Maya, which never affect Supreme Being.

3. Straight stick seems to be bending, when it is immersed in the water. It is illusion or Maya and when the stick is taken out of the water, it regains its original shape.

Maya can be overcome by practice of meditation. Sun rays, when passing through the lenses, burn the item on which they are focused. In the same way, when the mind is focused by the meditation, the power or energy is tremendous. The veil of Yoga Maya can thus be won.

Maya is taken by some as non-existence or illusion. But Maya is not illusion; it is misconception of the real. The real always exists. It is always misread by our senses.

So Maya has no reality, it has only an appearance, but of something contrary to reality. It also hides reality.

Maya is terribly effective in our ignorance. 

So it is there. Yet in the end it is not. It exists; it exists not. Yes, Maya is a mystery. Such is the characteristics of Maya.

Maya is also eluding the man to understand the real Self i.e. Atma.

The three states of man which he daily passes through viz. the waking, dream and deep sleep can explain and prove the existence of the Atma which is the real witness of all our actions – with the body, mind and ego.

When awake, the man identifies himself with the body, mind and ego.

While asleep with dreams around, the man dissociates himself with the body, but he now identifies with the mind and ego – as he thinks that he does many things and enjoys.

When he is in deep sleep without any dreams, the body, mind and ego also ceases functioning. The man says, “I knew nothing, but I slept comfortably.”

Hence there is “something” which enjoys comfort even without the help from the body with sense organs, mind and ego, which was the source of joy till now.

So sleep proves that “something” which cognizes the functioning of ego, mind and body and their absence as well, can exist without any of these. This “something” is the Atma.  This real position is veiled due to Maya.

When the man says that he is tall or he is fat, he is fair or dark, the man actually identifies himself with the body and not with the Atma.

Similarly, when he says that he is blind or deaf, he identifies himself with the sense organs.

Again, he identifies himself with the mind, when he says that he is confused, he is clear.

Thus man, initially and for life suffers from obstinate, false identifications which is termed as Maya.

Then, what is the solution to overcome this Maya?

There are three instruments of knowledge.

They are:

1.Cognition by the senses. 

2. Knowledge by reason. 

3. Scriptures. 

In Sanskrit, these are termed as Pratyaksha, Anumana and Sastra respectively. But the man in spite of these tools for acquiring knowledge still lacks real knowledge about the Atma, which alone is capable of conquering the Maya.

Adi Sankara had declared that all our scientific knowledge relating to the visible and invisible material universe is in the field of ignorance. His assertion is that no positive science gives a place to the Soul or God as its field of investigation and so sciences are lopsided and so ignorant.

Hence the perception of the senses, the reasoning and even the tenets of the scriptures cannot come to the rescue to overcome the mysterious Maya. 

When the realization of the Atma – the famous utterances in Chandogya Upanishad – “Thou Art That” is achieved, then the man is amidst Bliss which will completely overpower the Maya.

But Lord Krishna’s prescriptions to conquer this Maya are very straight and simple. Lord Krishna says: “The divine Maya of Mine is hard to surmount. I am not revealed to all, as I am veiled by yoga Maya. I dwell in the hearts of all beings, but due to my Maya, all beings revolve as though mounted on a machine. But, those who take refuge in Me alone, they cross over this Maya.”

If we surrender completely to Lord Krishna with our body, mind and ego, then we have won the battle against the Maya – the most eluding factor in the realization of the Real from the Unreal.