The four subtle elements of consciousness – the mind (Manas), intellect (Buddhi), the will (Citta), and the ego (Ahamkara) - are Maya. What is Maya? ‘Ma’ (Not) ‘Ya’ (exist). That which does not exist but appears to exist is Maya. Maya makes the unreal appear as real and the real as unreal. The other name for Maya is Ajnana (Ignorance). Ajnana is that which hides the real from you and makes you regard the non-existent as existing. It makes the false appear as true.
One sees people dying before one’s eyes and other afflicted with disease. But he believes; he himself will not die. This is the mark of Ajnana. When so many are dying, how can anyone regard himself as not subject to death? Maya is the cause of one’s thinking the impermanent as permanent and the permanent as perishable.’
Even subtle experiences such as dreams are the result of Maya. We see and experience all sorts of things in dreams. All of them have a reality only in the dream state. They disappear in the waking state. We disregard them. What appeared to be true in the dream state becomes unreal in the waking state. What is dreaded in the dream state causes no fear when one is awake. This is the nature of Maya, its secret. Both, what is experienced in the physical phenomenal world and in the subtle subliminal state of dreams, are the result of Maya. (SSS Vol.21, p. 70)
Maya can be thought of as the outer vesture of God; God has been described as having illusion as His outer form, which veils and hides Him from view. Once you take away this cloth of illusion, then the inner light is revealed, shining radiantly through the sense organs. (DBG, p. 144)
Ignorance, nature, world, Tamas, Illusion, mind; all these are synonymous. They are all Maya. Maya is directly associated with the three Gunas, which are the three qualities of interia (Tamas), activity (Rajas) and harmony (Sattva) into which all life experiences can be categorised. Thinking that things exist which do not really exist, and coming under their spell is Maya. (DBG, p. 22)
There are two powerful Shaktis or forces, which make up Maya; one is called Avarana, the veiling power and the other,Vikshepa, the projecting power. There is no particular form or shape to these two. (DBG, p. 239)
Avarana refers to that which veils or covers. How does it cover? If it does not have form itself, by what means does it cover? How can it be removed? These questions cannot be easily answered. Maya is mysterious and inexplicable. In what circumstances does this delusion exert its influence on us? It is during twilight or in the dark that we imagine that we see a snake when there is only a rope there. It is through darkness that the delusion comes and envelops us. In truth, no snake has covered the rope, but the delusion beclouds the mind of man and covers his clear perception. This delusion is Maya. When you turn your torch on the area you find no snake there; there is only a rope lying there. Thus, in the light, delusion disappears and the real object is seen. That which exists will always exist; it will never cease to exist. It remains forever unchanged. There cannot be even the slightest variation in its existence. It is only the delusion covering it which comes and goes. The form that this delusion takes in the mind is Vikshepa the second powerful Shakti of Maya. Vikshepa is the projection that is super imposed on the unchanging basis. In this case the projection was the snake. Another time it will be something else.
Moods, pains, pleasures all come and go. They are something like relatives that come to visit us, but they do not stay permanently. In the same way, this Maya comes and goes as a delusion for human beings. The delusion in our mind which covers the rope and hides from view is Avarana, the veiling power. The illusion which has been projected by our mind on to the rope is Vikshepa, the projecting power. With the help of the light we see the rope as a rope, and the snake vanishes. So these two aspects of Maya have come in the darkness and disappeared in the light. Maya has no beginning. But it can permanently come to an end. When the light of wisdom shines on it, Maya will finally disappear; then the One Unchanging Reality will stand revealed. By teaching this great wisdom to Arjuna, Krishna was able to free him from delusion and make him shine with self-effulgence. (SSS Vol.20, pp. 41-42)
‘Veiled as I am by My inscrutable power of illusion, My Maya, the world does not recognize Me. Although they do not know Me, Arjuna, I know them all...past, present and future. Not understanding My transcendental nature, the ignorant regard Me who am ever unmanifest, and imperishable, as being a mere mortal. Knowing nothing of My reality, they ignore Me and become occupied in the world with vain hopes, vain works and vain knowledge. Lost in the maze of Maya, they are spun around like puppets-dolls on a merry-go-round.
This divine illusion of Mine is most difficult to overcome. Among thousands of men, one perchance struggles to know My truth; even amongst these that struggle, only one perchance comes to know Me in reality. He is the Yogi of steady wisdom. Therefore, Arjuna you be a Yogi! With all your being taken refuge in Me alone, and by My grace you will obtain supreme peace. From this moment or, fix your mind steadily on Me dwelling in your heart. Be devoted to Me, bow down to Me, worship Me who is always within you, and soon you will become one with Me. Yes, truly do I promise this to you, Arjuna, for you are very dear to Me. (DBG, pp. ii-iii)
Maya itself has caused multifarious forms. This is a clever stage-play, a kind of fancy dress. The objective world or Nature assumes many forms through the manipulation of Maya, the deluding urge. (Ddd, p. 53)
When you turn your attention towards the world keeping, the Divine in the rear, you will be subjected to Maya (illusion), which precedes you. By going in the opposite direction, you cannot get over the effect of Maya. The only way to get rid of the situation is to turn towards the Divine, so that Maya will go behind, as the shadow goes behind you, when you face the Sun. Today what we have to do is to change the direction of the mind. The world oriented vision should be turned towards the Divine. This is the spiritual Sadhana you have to do. The entire Prakriti (Nature) is Maya. Maya and Prakriti are one and the same. You should change your outlook from the external world to the Divine. That is why the Sankara says in Bhaja Govindam (verse 14) says, pashyannapi cha na pashyati mudhah hyudaranimittam bahukritaveshah. Even though you are seeing, you do not see the Truth. If you see with Divine feelings, you will not have the worldly feelings. (Sens.SS, p. 54)
Just as our shadow will always accompany us and will not separate from us, so also Maya will always accompany God and will not separate from Him. (SSB 1972, p. 80)
For having a dream, the cause is your sleep. If there is no sleep, you won’t dream. Just as for a dream, the sleep is the cause, so also for creation, what is called maya is the cause. For maya there is no beginning and there is no end. Thus this creation, or the world you see around, is something, which is related to maya. Maya always loves the Purusha. It wants to be with Him, wants to reach God. So also, the creation wants to reach God all the time. So, sometimes in some Puranas, it is said that Purusha has attached himself to the world. In the material world, although many shapes come about and although we may make a distinction between men and women with many different names, while this distinction can be made in Prakriti, so far as Purusha is concerned there can be no such distinction. (SSB 1972, p. 91)
As the poison in the fangs of the snake does not affect the snake itself, the maya that is present in Brahman does not affect Brahman. (SSB 1974, p. 68)
Maya is inescapable for anyone however great; it will turn them upside down in a moment; it will not loosen its grasp so long as the victim is engrossed in the belief that he is the ‘body’. It will not be frightened by the name or fame, the skill or intelligence of the person it seeks to possess. Only when the individual discards name and form, releases himself from body-consciousness and establishes himself in the Atma, can he escape from the misconceptions that Maya inflicts. (RKRV Part I, p. 97)
Affection for the body; attachment towards possessions of any kind; egoism that breeds the conflict of ‘you’ and ‘I’, the bonds that grow between the individual and his wife, children and property – all these are consequences of the Primal Illusion, Maya. That Illusion is basic, mysterious, and wondrous. Maya establishes her domain over all beings and things, all species of living creatures. The ten indriyas (five senses of perception and five senses of action) have each its presiding deity and Maya perceives the objective world deriving pleasure there from, through their instrumentality. Every item and particle of such pleasure is Maya - produced and therefore, illusory, evanescent and superficial.
Maya has two forms: One type is called Vidya maya and the other Avidya maya. The Maya named Avidya is very vicious; she causes boundless misery. Those drawn by it will sink into the depths of flux, the eternal tangle of joy and grief.
The Maya known as Vidya has created the Cosmos, under the promptings of the Lord, for, she has no innate force of her own. Only while in the Presence of the Lord can she create the three stranded Cosmos (Prapancha). (The three strands are Sattva, Rajas and Tamas, each of which separately or in some kind of combination is characteristic of beings; Sattva meaning the equable balanced temper, Rajas the sanguinary or the emotional, active temper and Tamas, the dull, inert temper). (RKRV Part II, pp. 25-26)
So long as the Individual Jivi does not understand aright the affinities it has to Maya and to the Supreme Brahman, it can never liberate itself and merge in the Supreme; it has to remain a particularised individual only, bound by the coils of illusion to the limits of name and form. The instant the individual discovers and knows that it is but the image of the Supreme, and that the distinction between the Supreme and itself has no basis in Truth, Maya will disappear like fog before the risen sun. This is the genuine Atmajnana, for, the Supreme is Paramatma and the individual is the same Paramatma seen as an image in the body with name and form, the Upadhi. (RKRV Part II, pp. 26-27)
The redoubtable armies of Maya are roaming all over the world. The soldiers are the passions, lust, greed etc. Pride, disbelief etc. are the commanding officers. But, the same Maya is the bond slave of Raghunatha Rama. She is ‘un-real’, but unless you have the grace of Rama, you cannot escape from capture and bondage. The grace flowing from the corner of his eye alone can liberate you from her grip. Maya ‘possesses’ all movable and immovable things in the universe; no one can be free from her hold. She imitates the earthly glory of the Lord and like a skilled actress; she enacts her role with lust, greed and others as supporting cast. Rama, however, as the embodiment of Sat-cit-ananada, as the personification of the deep blue that characterises the sea and the sky, the phenomenon that has no birth, as the Paramatma itself, has no trace of Maya in Him. (RKRV Part II, p. 301)
There is One, not two. If one sees a second, then Maya is in operation. Maya is harmless to the devotee of God. That same Maya, so dangerous to the person who does not believe in God, protects the devotee from all harm. The cat carries the kitten in the mouth from here to there, and the kitten is unharmed. But a rat is killed by a cat. It is the same mouth in both cases. Maya brings trouble yet it is the same Maya that tenderly protects the devotee of God. The devotee may do work for God and pay no attention to the powers of Maya. God protects his devotees. His devotee is near and dear to God and He carries the devotee safely through life. In Indian kitchens there is an instrument - tongs that is used to pick up and move the cooking utensil. The instrument can seize everything except the user. Maya is the tongs held and used by God. (CWBSSB, p. 61)
Maya by means of its power of (i) hiding the real nature and (ii) imposing the unreal over the real makes the one-and-only Brahman appear as Jiva, Ishvara and Jagat, three entities where there is only one! The Maya faculty is latent but when it becomes patent, it takes the form of the mind. It is then that the seedling of the huge tree (that is the Jagat) starts sprouting, putting forth the leaves of mental impulses or vasanas, and mental conclusions or sankalpas. So, all this objective world is but the proliferation or vilasa of the mind. (JV, p. 43)
Faith in God is the harvest of the seeds planted in previous lives. Maya is not anything separate with its own form. God is discernable only with the sheath of Maya. He is evident, because He has worn the accoutrement of Maya. It is His Upadhi. That is to say, Maya obstructs the Reality. Its nature is to hide the reality and make it appear as the unreal. Only he who removes it, destroys it, can have a vision of God; he alone can attain God. Maya makes you feel that the non-existent exists. It shows water in the mirage; it makes see what is imagined and desired as Truth. Delusion cannot affect a man if he is able to give up desire or imagining and planning. (Bhag Vahini, p. 217)
Krishna said, ‘Between Me and this Universe there moves Maya, called Delusion. Maya too is Mine, it is of the same substance; you cannot deem it separate from Me. It is My creation and under My control. Maya is a name for a non-existent phenomenon: Maya is the cause of all this Jagat but it is not the cause of God. I am the authority that wields Maya. This Jagat, which is the product of Maya moves and behaves according to My Will. So whoever is attached to Me and acts according to My Will cannot be harmed by Maya. Maya dare not approach any one who has taken refuge in Me.’ (GV, p. 115)
Serve the Master of Maya, the designer of all Dreamland rather than the Dream itself. (GV, p. 127)
Maya does not exist until you look for it. Don’t look for it, it won’t affect you. The image of your face is inside the well only when you peep to discover whether it is there. (SSSm Vol.4, p. 118)
The recognition of this curtain, maya is a big stage in spiritual progress. This is the Maya Principle of Vedanta. From immemorial times, though the Truth was self-evident, this curtain has hidden it from man. This has been discovered as the prime obstacle by Indians, since ages. How to remove the curtain and cognise the Truth? Indians knew that the solution does not lie in the objective, external world, and so, it would be futile to seek it there. The search in the external world even for ages cannot ensure success. For experience alone can guarantee conviction. (BS, p. 7)
There are three types of Maya, which prompt men to action – Sveccha, Pareccha and Aniccha. Sveccha is the kind of prompting in which one decides to follow a particular course of action, and is prepared for the consequences, for better or worse. Pareccha is the situation in which one is encouraged or prompted by others to undertake actions whose consequences have to be borne by him. Aniccha is the state in which every action is regarded as the will of the Divine and all consequences, whether gain or loss, pleasure or pain, are regarded as gifts from God. (SSS Vol.20, p. 122)
Neither the study of the Vedas and Vedangas nor the other scriptures can cut asunder the veil of Maya that separates the individual soul from God. The individual is on one side of the veil of Maya and god is on the other side. The action is on one side and the cause on the other. (Telugu Poem) (SSS Vol.36)
Vishwamitra rose from the seat (from the Durbal Hall of Dasharatha). Everyone offered reverential obeisance to the great sage. He walked out of the hall first and the two princes followed him. He was leading the way, Rama close behind him and Lakshmana bringing up the rear. Soon they reached river Sarayu. The sun was preparing to set; so Vishwamitra called Rama and Lakshmana near him and spoke to them soft and sweet words, ‘Darlings! Go to the river without further delay and have ceremonial washing of hands and feet. I shall impart you two mystic formulae, (Mantras), which form the crown jewels of Mantras. They are named Bala and Athi Bala (strength and super strength). They are both charged with tremendous power. They will restore freshness to you, however exhausted you may be. They will prevent exhaustion however heavily you exert yourselves. They will not allow illness to approach you. They will save you from demonic forces. Again, whenever you are journeying, they will, if you recollect them, keep away from hunger and thrust, bestow exhilarating health and shower joy and enthusiasm. They will strength limbs and minds. Rama! These Mantras are supreme over all other Mantras. They are more effulgent and efficacious than the rest.’ ... Rama had no need to be told of them. He listened with apparent surprise and with wonder-filled eyes. Lakshmana meanwhile, was watching both the Sage and Rama. Laughing within himself! (RKRV Part I, p. 96)
Knowing fully well that Rama was the divine incarnation and had the power to protect the Yajna, why did Vishwamitra teach these mantras (Bala and Atibala)? These are only external activities meant for the world. Rama and Lakshmana chanted and consequently had no hunger, thirst or sleep during their stay in the Siddhashram. (SSS Vol.35, pp. 116-117)
This incident is a good lesson for the world, wherein Rama had come to revive Dharma. It is a lesson Rama taught by his behaviour, rather than by words. Maya is inescapable for anyone however great. It will turn them upside down in a moment. It will not loosen its grasp so long as the victim is engrossed in the belief that he is the ‘body’. It will not be frightened by the name or fame, the skill or intelligence of the person it seeks to possess. Only when the individual discards name and form; release himself in the Atma, can he escape from misconception that Maya inflicts. This was that lesson! Vishwamitra had these two powerful Mantras in his control. He had accumulated a great store of spiritual treasure. He had realised, in spite of his own far-famed resources, that Rama alone had the might needed to outwit and destroy the demonic hordes intent on disrupting the Yajna he was set on celebrating. He had counselled Dasharatha against over affection towards the son, blinding him to divine majesty of Rama. He had announced that Rama was the guardian of the entire world He believed that there was no height of heroism that Rama could not reach. Yet he was preparing to initiate those very princes into mystic Mantras, as if they were children of common stock. Surely, Vishwamitra was shackled by Maya! He had yielded to the delusion of judging by apparent attributes; Rama laid bare the strength of the stranglehold of Maya on the Sage. He who had shrouded Vishwamitra’s mind and made him enter proudly upon these initiations rites! Rama and Lakshmana finished their ablutions in the river, as directed by Vishwamitra. Soon the boys appeared as if they had gone to sleep, as a result apparently of the exhaustion of tramping long distance on foot. Vishwamitra stopped his story and was lost in thought about his own destiny and destination. (RKRV Part I, pp. 96-98)
All the rishis knew that Rama was an avatar of God but in order that the story of Ramayana may progress, they did not give this secret out to the others. Vishwamitra knew very well Rama was an avatar. Bharadwaja and Vashistha also knew very well that Rama was an avatar. But if they gave out the truth, then the main purpose for which Rama had become an avatar would not be achieved. In the same manner, it is not possible for any avatar to proclaim to the world that the avatar is come and if so for what purpose. That is that maya of God.
Yashoda, the mother, even after the vision of all creation in the open mouth of Lord Krishna, yet on account of maya, she forgot the divine vision and she began to think that she was the mother and Krishna was her son. In the same manner, Vashistha, Vishwamitra and all other rishis kept the secret of Rama. But when they were alone and when they got together, they were singing the glory of Rama amongst themselves. When the Rishis were sitting alone, amongst they used to describe the qualities of the Lord and they said: ‘Can we understand You, Oh Lord?’ Can we explain what You are, Oh Lord? You are smaller than the smallest thing, and larger than the largest thing, You are present in all 84 lakhs of different living jivas. How can we understand You and explain to others what You are?’
Man is steeped in Maya in this manner and he cannot free himself from maya. He forgets his origin and he does not understand Brahman. However, if this situation does not exist, there is no reason why Paramatma should come as an Avatar at all What exists as a reality is only one, but what we see is manifold. This one thing appears to us if it is many. What is real is the Paramjyoti. This Paramjyoti is the Atmajyoti.
There is a small illustration for this:
We have a candle light here. We cover this candle with a pot which has ten holes in it. On this we also put a thick Turkish towel. In this situation, the light that is inside the pot is not seen at all from outside. But if, slowly, we take off the towel with which we have covered the pot, uncovering each hole one by one, then, we can see one light, another light, as the holes come out one by one. But if we remove the towel completely and throw it away, we look at the ten different holes, and then different candle lights, if at that we break the pot and throw it away, then, we realise that all these ten lights are only from one candle. Earlier we did not see any light but once when the cover on the pot has been removed, we have seen ten lights. If the pot is broken, then we again see one light. This is the basis of life. There is inside, as we all can see, the Jeevan-jyoti or Paramajyoti has been covered by the human body with ten holes in it. We have put a thick cover of worldly desires on it. If the desires of the human body should be broken, then we will have the vision of the on jyoti, i.e., Atmajyoti. That has also been called Advaita-jyoti. The Advaita-jyoti is the jyoti of the Atma. Atma is the embodiment of bliss. You can only experience the embodiment of bliss and it is not possible to exhibit it in any other manner.
Many people have tried their best to find whether this atma exists. If it exists, where it can be found? Since time immemorial, it has been the attempt to find out one’s atma and to know what atma is and where is it? What is the evidence for us to accept the existence of the atma?
To establish the existence of the atma, we cannot take even the Vedas as the pramana. The Vedas have only dealt with people in certain aspects relating to the world, and have explained what they should do in this world through various karmas. This is the subject matter of the Vedas. It has not been possible for the Vedas to establish the nature of the atma.
Here is a small story. In Ramayana, Sita, Rama and Lakshmana went to the ashram of Bharadwaja. In that ashram, following the ancient practice, the women, the rishipatnis were sitting on one side; the men, the rishis were sitting on the other side. Unlike the manner in which people sit together now a days, when Sita, Rama and Lakshmana entered the ashram. Sita went and joined the women and Rama and Lakshmana went and joined the rishis. As Rama and Lakshmana lived in the forest, they were wearing clothes suitable to life in a forest and their shining faces were similar to those of rishis. The situation was such that they were not able to make out who was Rama and who was Lakshmana. On the other hand, Sita could be recognised easily. Sita was alone and the rishipatnis recognised her and began talking to her. They were asking questions about her life in the forest. The men, on the other hand, went on explaining the Vedas and the discussions centred round the Vadas.
On the other hand, the women began asking questions and whispering. They came to Sita and asked her, ‘Has you husband also come with you?’ Sita replied, ‘Yes I cannot come alone. I cannot live without Him. He has come along with me and He is sitting along with the rishis.’ The second question which was asked of Sita was, ‘Who is your husband? Can you find him out among so many of the rishis?’ Sita was a very noble and modest woman, and could not stand up in the midst of all those present and point to her husband and say who her husband was. She simply bowed her head down and kept quiet. Even then the women did not keep quiet. They began asking more questions such as is that man, wearing such and such clothes, he your husband? Is that man, who is having a peculiar hair style, your husband? The women started pointing at several of them and asking Sita if any one of them was her husband. But whenever a wrong person was shown, she would reply in the negative. Locating atma should proceed in this manner. (SSB 1977, pp. 62-65)
Maya which is your creation and your puppet, your slave, lying at your feet, is watching ever, for the slightest raising of your brow, to carry out your commands. Through the skill endowed by you, Maya is creating all beings on earth and in heaven
Your Maya is unconquerable. It is harassing beings endlessly, that is to say, those who fall a pray to its machinations. That is a fact that is known to all. Your Maya is like the ficus, spreading far and wide. The orbs in the Cosmos are as the fruits of that tree. The beings and things that exist in this Cosmos are like the worms and larvae that creep inside the fruit. The fruit might appear lovely outside; but when it is opened, hundreds of worms can be seen wriggling inside. (RKRV Part II, p. 14)
The clouds appear to be stuck to the sky; so, too, maya (the tendency to conclude that what the senses tell us is true or to project our preferences and prejudices on to the world around us) gives us an untrue picture of Brahman. Maya makes us believe that the world is real. Its impact warps our reasoning process, our sensory impressions and our views on God, on creation and on man. It spreads before us a diversity which tantalises and deceives.
The basic Truth upon which maya (divine illusion) projects its kaleidoscope is described by seers as Sat-cit-ananda (Being-Awareness-Bliss Absolute). This does not mean that Brahman has three attributes, namely: It exists beyond time and space; It knows and can be known; It is the source and acme of Bliss. They are not three distinct characteristics; they indicate the One, of which the three can be grasped by experience---not by words, for words can only recoil before that Godhead. We cannot assert that Brahman (Supreme Being) belongs to a class or genes, nor can it be defined by the three basic qualities. It cannot be described as performing any specific activity, for It is ever motionless. Nor can It be explained in terms of relationship with other entities for It is One, without a second.
Maya is only the Divine Will that inaugurated the manifestation of the cosmos (Ekoham, Bahushyam---I am one; I will be many). Maya (apparent deluding reality) inheres in every being and every activity of that being; it has three aspects of achievement through the three modes and moods of that Will---the sattvika, the rajasika and the tamasika (the calm, contented, equanimous mood; the potent, passionate mood; the inert, slothful, sluggish mood).
Maya is the Will that causes the variety. When maya prompts us into the sattvika mood of that Will, we become progressive seekers of jnana (spiritual wisdom) that reveals the Unity. When we are overwhelmed by the rajasika quality of that Will, we are deluded into the pursuit of worldly victories and ephemeral wealth and renown. The tamasika nature of that Will seeks the quickest and easiest ways of happy living. These are the reflections in our minds of the basic modes of the Will that Brahman assumes when It is moved by the primal urge to express Itself. The facets of that Will are called Jnana shakti, Iccha-shakti and Kriya shakti.
The three modes affect beings and things in various proportions and permutations, and so we have all the variety and diversity of the objective world. Atman (whether individualised or universalised), is One only. The jivatman (individual soul) and the Paramatma (Supreme Soul) are one and indivisible.
The philosophers of all lands and all times have sought to discover the truth about God, the objective world and manas well as their mutual relationship. Maya is the Will that causes all three. It is a clear flawless mirror. When the sattvika nature is reflected in that mirror, God results; when the rajasika nature is reflected, the jiva (individualised Self) results. It is everanxious to grow, to grab, to survive and to be secure. When tamasika nature is reflected, matter (the objective world) is the result. All three are Paramatma, but they derive their reality as Its reflections. When undergoing reflections, they attain different forms and combinations of characteristics. The One becomes many; every one of the many is Real only because of the One in it. Maya too is a component of the One; by the emphasis on that component, the One transformed Itself into the many.
The One comprehends all the images. We now know that maya is like a mirror. The mirror reflects within itself all that is before it. The convexity or concavity of the mirror, or the covering of dust that might have settled on it, will certainly blur the reflected image, but it cannot distort the objects themselves. Ishvara, prakriti and jiva (the Almighty God, objective world and individualised self), all three are images of Paramatma (Supreme soul) reflected in the mirror of maya and warped by the gunas (qualities) that tarnish the surface of the mirror. It is the mirror that pictures the One as many. But the One is ever One.
The One is comprehensive of all this. So It has no wants, no desires and no activity to realise
anything. Shri Krishna tells Arjuna,
‘na me parthasti kartavyam
trisu lokesu kincana
nanavaptam avaptavyam
varta eva ca karmani’
(There is nothing I have to do in any of the three worlds), He has willed the world as His Sport. He has laid down that every deed must have its consequence. He is the dispenser of the consequences, but He is not involved in the deeds. None can discover the beginning of maya Therefore it becomes plain that neither the personalised God, nor the individualised self, nor even the objective world can ever succeed in discovering the beginning of the maya which brought them into existence and started the chain of ‘act-consequence-act.’ Nevertheless, one can succeed in knowing when maya will end! When will it end? When the objective world is ignored, set aside, denied or discovered to be immanent in the Divine, the jiva (individualized being) is no more. When the jiva is no more, the Ishvara (Cosmic Being or personalized God) is also superfluous and disappears. And when the Ishvara has faded out, the Brahman (Absolute Reality) alone Is. Where there is no child, how can a mother exist? It is a word with no significance. When a personalised God, a personality separate from the rest, called jiva, and the mental creation of that jiva, called prakriti (the objective world), are non-existent in the developed consciousness of man, maya, the progenitor of all three, cannot persist.
When space is enclosed in a pot, it appears limited and small. But once released from the Upadhi (container), it again merges in the infinite sky. The sky is not reduced or transformed in shape or quality by being held in the Upadhi. So, too, the One Atman that is pervading the bodies and lives of billions of beings does not get affected by the upadhis (living beings) to which it adheres for some time.
Many are affected by the problem of what caused the Cosmos. How did it come into being? They advance various theories and lay down many opposing hypotheses. But there is no need for seekers to beat about the bush so much. Just as a dream results when one is cut off from reality in a state of sleep, the Cosmos is a result of being cut off from reality by maya in a state of ignorance. The Cosmos is as ephemeral and as vagarious as a dream. It is difficult to discover laws that explain or govern its infinite mysteries. More profitable than inquiring into the mysteries is the inquiry into possible ways of benefitting by them and learning from them. It is mostly a waste of time to probe into the origin of the Cosmos or to determine how it will end. You are a part of creation, so try to understand yourself and keep your goal in view. The individual has three qualities in him. The jiva (individual) has the emotional, passionate and active qualities in his composition. The quality that is inferior is the tamasika and that which is superior is the sattvika. Ishvara is the sattvika reflection of Brahman. Therefore man must strive to rise higher into the sattvika realm. He must be ever vigilant not to slide down into the lower realm---the tamasika realm of matter and material pursuits. The Guru has to hold this ideal before the pupil and guide him towards it. He must encourage him to become aware of the God within man.
The word adhyatmic (spiritual) is used often by aspirants and preceptors. What exactly is implied by adhyatmic? Is bhajana (congregational prayer) adhyatmic? Or does it involve japa or dhyana ? Or does it denote religious rituals and ceremonies? Or does it extend to pilgrimages to holy places? No. These are only beneficial acts. Adhyatmic, in its real sense, relates to two progressive achievements or at least sincere attempts towards those two achievements: elimination of the animal traits still clinging to man and unification with the Divine. (SSS Vol. 10, pp. 248-254)
As the shadow that you cast is reduced bit by bit with every step that you take towards the Sun, until the Sun shines right on the top of your head and the shadow crawls under your feet and disappears, so maya too becomes less and less effective as you march towards jnana. Then it is well established in your understanding and maya falls at your feet and is powerless to deceive you further; it disappears, so far as you are concerned. (SSS Vol.10)