Maya Hinduism: Encyclopedia - Maya Hinduism

Maya (Hinduism)

Maya, (Sanskrit: ma: not, ya: this) in Hinduism, is many things. It encompasses the ideas of a state of 'skewed perspective' (not quite illusion), a creatrix energy (prakriti) and a personified goddess.

Maya is also the name of an Asura, who was the father-in-law of the Lord of Lanka, Ravana and the father of Mandodari. He is the archnemesis of Vishwakarma, the celestial architect of the Gods. His knowledge and skills are compatible with Vishwakarma. When Lanka was destroyed by Hanuman, it was the King of Demons, Maya who had re-installed the beauty of that Island Kingdom.

Maya Hinduism - Maya in Hindu philosophy

In Advaita Vedanta philosophy, maya is the illusion of a limited, purely physical and mental reality in which our everyday consciousness has become entangled, a veiling of the true, unitary Self—the Cosmic Spirit also known as Brahman. Maya originated in the Hindu scriptures known as the Upanishads. Many philosphies or religions seek to "pierce the veil" in order to glimpse the transcendent truth, from which the illusion of a physical reality springs, drawing from the idea that first came to life in the Hindu stream of Vedanta. Maya is neither true nor untrue. Since Brahman is the only truth, Maya cannot be true. Since Maya causes the material world to be seen, it cannot be untrue. Hence Maya is called as indescribable. She (sic) has two principle fuctions—one is to cover up Brahman and hide it from our mind. The other is to present the material world instead of Brahman. She is destructible. Consider an illusion of a rope being confused as a snake in the darkness. Just as this illusion gets destroyed when true knowledge of the rope is percieved, similarly, Maya gets destroyed for a person when he percieves Brahman with the transendental knowledge. A metaphor is also given—when the reflection of Brahman falls on Maya, Brahman appears as God (the Supreme Lord). In the pragmatic level, where the world is regarded as true, Maya becomes the divine magical power of the Supreme Lord, to create and rule the world. But Maya is God's servant—he can leave her any time he wishes. He is not affected by the impiety of Maya, just as a magician is not cheated by his own magic. Hence God is Bliss. However, the individuals are the servants of Maya, hence they are in misery.

In Hinduism, Maya must be seen through in order to achieve moksha (liberation of the soul from the cycle of death and rebirth) - ahamkar (ego-consciousness) and karma are seen as part of the binding forces of Maya. Maya is seen as the phenomenal universe, a lesser reality-lens superimposed on the one Brahman that leads us to think of the phenomenal cosmos as real.

Maya Hinduism - Maya as the Goddess

In Hinduism, Maya is seen as the illusory form of Devi, the Divine Goddess. Her most famous explication is seen in the Devi Mahamaya, also known as Candi or Abhaya, which is said to spring from the Devi Sukta passage of the Vedas.

Essentially, Mahamaya (great Maya) both blinds us in delusion (moha) and has the power to free us from it. Maya, superimposed on Brahman, the one divine ground and essence of monist Hinduism, is envisioned as one with Kali, Durga, etc. A great modern (19th century) Hindu sage who often spoke of Maya as being the same as the Shakti principle of Hinduism was Shri Ramakrishna.

In the Hindu scripture 'Devi Mahatmyam,' Mahamaya (Great Maya) is said to cover Vishnu's eyes in Yoganidra (Divine Sleep) during cycles of existence when all is resolved into one. By exhorting Mahamaya to release Her illusory hold on Vishnu, Brahma is able to bring Vishnu to aid him in killing two demons, Madhu and Kaitabh, who have manifested from Vishnu's sleeping form. Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa often spoke of Mother Maya and combined deep Hindu allegory with the idea that Maya is a lesser reality that must be overcome so that one is able to realize his or her true Self.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Maya Hinduism", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki