Illusion Dictionary

Illusion. In Occultism everything finite (like the universe and all in it) is called illusion or maya.

(See also: Illusion , Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary,)

Illusion Positive unreality, or that which is wholly and completely deceptive without basis in reality; as such some philosophers consider it to be rooted in the human mind itself, subjective or interior rather than external or objective. As thus understood, illusion falls far short of the significance of the Sanskrit maya, for which it is used as a translation. For the sense of maya is that of appearance rising out of reality, not something opposed to reality.

It is evident that, if the universe can be said to exist at all, we must allow that illusion in the sense of maya has existence, a relative or temporary reality, for it obviously originates from and shadows forth the reality within and behind it.

It is not that reality itself, but its multiform appearances. To say that the world in which we live, and all the people and beings and things in it, are an illusion, does not mean that all this is an empty dream; it means that what is so real to us, as long as we are conscious on this plane, will be seen as a maya or deceptive appearance from our viewpoint when we become conscious on a higher and more inclusive plane.

See also MAYA

(See also: Illusion , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

ILLUSION

We know that the Hindus and Buddhists teach that the entire world is Maya, or "illusion". Gurdjieff understood that there is only one thing repeated endlessly to give the illusion of variation (see REALITY). We know, from modern physics, that the atom is composed of infinitely smaller and smaller impermanent points of potential energy. We are aware that all things are in flux and that the distinction between world and self is imaginary. Given these and an endless array of further facts, and seeing that the alteration of reality is, in fine, the magician's job, it is obvious that the magician must be a "master of illusion". The conjuror, buffoon or practitioner of legerdemain merely carries the "Great Work" of the magus to an absurd degree and in demotic burlesque or genuine mockery, he attempts to "expose" everything as a fraud and to reveal that nothing is sacred, after all.

Thus the stage magician serves a useful purpose by reminding the serious magician to avoid pomposity. The purpose of the conjuror and the sorceror are equally to deceive -- the one innocently, as a pastime, the other not so innocently, as an effort to wield power. But the goal of High Magick is exactly the reverse -- its aim is to undeceive us about ourselves and the world we inhabit.

(See also: ILLUSION , Magick, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul,)

Fundamental darkness

(Jpn.: gampon-no-mumyo)

Also, fundamental ignorance or primal ignorance. The most deeply rooted illusion inherent in life, said to give rise to all other illusions. Darkness in this sense means inability to see or recognize the truth, particularly, the true nature of one's life.

The term fundamental darkness is contrasted with the fundamental nature of enlightenment, which is the Buddha nature inherent in life.

According to the Shrimala Sutra, fundamental darkness is the most difficult illusion to surmount and can be eradicated only by the wisdom of the Buddha. T'ien-t'ai (538-597) interprets darkness as illusion that prevents one from realizing the truth of the Middle Way, and divides such illusion into forty-two types, the last of which is fundamental darkness. This illusion is only extirpated when one attains the stage of perfect enlightenment, the last of the fifty-two stages of bodhisattva practice.

Nichiren (1222-1282) interprets fundamental darkness as ignorance of the ultimate Law, or ignorance of the fact that one's life is essentially a manifestation of that Law, which he identifies as Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. In The Treatment of Illness, Nichiren states: "The heart of the Lotus school is the doctrine of three thousand realms in a single moment of life, which reveals that both good and evil are inherent even in those at the highest stage of perfect enlightenment.

The fundamental nature of enlightenment manifests itself as Brahma and Shakra, whereas the fundamental darkness manifests itself as the devil king of the sixth heaven". Nichiren thus regards fundamental darkness as latent even in the enlightened life of the Buddha, and the devil king of the sixth heaven as a manifestation or personification of life's fundamental darkness. The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings reads, "Belief is a sharp sword that cuts off fundamental darkness or ignorance."

(See also: Fundamental darkness , Enlightenment, Buddhism Enlightenment, Buddhism Enlightenment Dictionary)

Ahammana (Sanskrit) (from aham ego + mana from the verbal root man to think, reflect upon)

Egoism, self-illusion; hence spiritual ignorance, the maya produced by reflecting upon or imagining one's "I" as of primary importance. "When soul is associated with prakriti, it is vitiated by egotism (ahammana)

and the rest, and assumes the qualities of grosser nature, although essentially distinct from them, and incorruptible (avyaya)

" (VP 6:7).

(See also: Ahammana , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Liberation In theosophy, freedom from conditioned existence; in its strictest sense the state of a monad which has become the Brahman of its hierarchy, and therefore is free, released, perfected -- a jivanmukta -- for what seems to us an eternity. Synonymous with moksha, nirvana, emancipation.

Liberation of the self from the causes of illusion is sometimes spoken of in relation to the seven sensitive and sensory veils, especially with reference to the human manas principle. Emancipation consists in recognizing that these veils, of which the lower four are by far the most illusory, are the perceivers, and that the function of the true self is those higher faculties which collate and discriminate among perceptions of all kinds and which reach final and true judgment. The self sees or ascertains truth; the veils perceive and are caught by the webs of illusion.

The one who has achieved this is said to have attained the fire of knowledge, which destroys not only illusion but even destroys the causes leading to the planes of illusion. Vishnu, among the Vaishnavas in India, and Siva among the Saivas, or indeed of any other divinity, can be considered the cause of final emancipation when used for the true self, exactly as Christians may claim with perfect truth that the Christ (in man) is the shower of final emancipation. The successive emancipation from the seven veils marks seven stages of initiation. Buddhi, from this standpoint the highest, most diaphanous, and therefore the closest to reality of the veils, is said to be transformed into the tree whose fruit is emancipation.

(See also: Liberation , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

REALITY

"Reality" is illusion only in the sense that there is more than one version. You can alter this aeon's reality, but there are several million separate Kalpic realities that are also primed for re-adjustment.

Reality does not exist apart from you and me. Although it seems to retain a changeless nature, that is merely the illusory consensus which our society clings to. And of course, our perceptions define reality, as do history and tradition, but we can also alter reality by physical, mental & arcane means. There are the perceptionless reality systems, after all (see below). The psychedelics have also played a tremendous role in changing collective reality, that despite the built-in limitation that all psychedelics can do is restructure ephemeral, subjective consciousness on society's lowest, least influential levels.

Ordinary, right-eyed, aeonic reality depends on our senses, but there are realities interwoven through this consensus that do not derive from the bodily senses, in which (as far as our waking minds are concerned) we act unconsciously -- but deliberately. Sense reality, for all its unreliability, is not very flexible, hence it serves as the final testing field (as well as rubbish heap) of substance. Usually our work in the separate realities is more important than our work in "this" one. As for using one's mental expectations as a reality-set, that would apply strictly to the superzeroeth R-Levels.

Reality is "Non-being," and according to Grant: "...withdraws as the Principle of Consciousness recedes and returns to the point of original absence."

Gurdjieff describes the following while under the influence of an anomalous substance: "I perceived directly now that everything in the universe was directly connected, and that moreover these forms were all connected just because they were all one and the same, repeated to provide the illusion of complexity. When presented with such a multiplicity of images, one can infuse them with differences sufficient to completely deceive oneself even though behind it all, one knows and understands the truth." And then, as the ground began to give way under him, he thought, "Everything, as soon as it is formed, flows into infinity in which it is transformed into the void and reformed as a new formation, which in turn is instantly swallowed."

(See also: REALITY , Magick, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul,)

Maya (Sanskrit). Illusion ; the cosmic power which renders phenomenal existence and the perceptions thereof possible. In Hindu philosophy that alone which is changeless and eternal is called reality ; all that which is subject to change through decay and differentiation and which has therefore a begining and an end is regarded as maya - illusion.

(See also: Maya , Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary,)

Mayin:

One who controls the worlds of illusion, a magician or mystic.

(See also: Mayin , Pagan, Paganism, Pagan Dictionary)

Mahamaya (Sanskrit) [from maha great + maya illusion]

The great illusion; the manifested universe in its totality. "Esoteric philosophy, teaching an objective Idealism -- though it regards the objective Universe and all in it as Maya, temporary illusion -- draws a practical distinction between collective illusion, Mahamaya, from the purely metaphysical stand-point, and the objective relations in it between various conscious Egos so long as this illusion lasts" (SD 1:631). The belief in the separateness of the universe, and everything in it, from the absolute divine All is one of the greatest delusions of mahamaya.

(See also: Mahamaya , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary)

Kapilavastu (Sanskrit) (from kapila yellow, golden + vastu substance)

Golden substance; the birthplace of Gautama Buddha, the capital of his father, King Suddhodana. Mystically the birthplace of the inner buddha within each person, the home of our individual Father in heaven, and cosmically applying to our spiritual alliance in and with the sun -- here called Kapilavastu.

The whole legend of the Buddha's life may be mystically interpreted through studying the symbolic meaning of the various names used there, because whatever actual historical fact may have been imbodied in these various names of his birth and later career, the names themselves were chosen likewise to portray his mystical birth. Thus his mother is called Mayadevi (goddess of illusion) or Mahamaya (great illusion), as every initiate, buddhas included, in a mystical sense is born from and out of cosmic illusion into the supernal truth of buddhahood.

(See also: Kapilavastu , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Aja (Sanskrit) (from a not + the verbal root jan to be born, produced)

Unborn; title given to many of the primordial gods. In the Rig-Veda, the equivalent of the First Logos, which is a radiation or first manifestation on the plane of illusion of the cosmic One -- the Absolute or cosmic paramatman. The Purusha-Sukta or Hymn of Man (RV 10:90) states that the thousand-headed Purusha is dismembered at the foundation of the world so that from his remains the universe might arise. This is the foundation of the later Christian symbol of the sacrificial lamb, for there is here a play on words: Aja the "unborn" -- Purusha or manvantaric spirit -- may also be derived from the verbal root aj (to drive, propel), whose meanings include a he-goat, a ram, and the sign Aries. Spirit disappears -- dies, metaphorically -- the more it becomes involved in cosmic matter, and hence the sacrifice of the unborn, the lamb, or the ram (cf TBL 56).

Aja when derived from the verbal root aj, is also a title given to various Vedic divinities such as Rudra, Indra, Angi, the sun, the maruts, and in post-Vedic works to Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva, as well as to cosmic Kama, counterpart of the Greek cosmic Eros -- all these gods being considered leaders of their respective hierarchies in the sense of urging, driving, or propelling life and intelligence therein.

In its feminine form, aja signifies maya (illusion) and hence prakriti (evolving nature).

(See also: Aja , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

DIFFERENCE

All things are one and separation is an illusion, but we are "separated" from reality for the purpose of maximizing experience. The nature of the universe is mind. the purpose of mind is to know itself, and knowing can be done only through particularization.

We must, therefore, respect the differences between one another and honor the wisdom of the individual. Sameness is not an imitation of divinity; it is dross. That which in society is undifferentiated is ugly, evil and dangerous.

The only number of value is One, the number of divinity. No common thread connects things unless it is their complementarity or synergy. Things partake of divinity in proportion to their uniqueness. All power comes from the One, the number of the Magician. All great things, all beautiful or important things reach perfection once and once only. Thus there is no separate "Creator God" apart from his "Creation". That would mean diversity is a lie. Still, diversity is the nature of the One and there is only One. Separation is the illusion, not differentiation. The One mirrors itself, differentiating according to our attention. In Crowley's words, "Every man and every woman is a star."

(See also: DIFFERENCE , Magick, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul,)

Ego: The individual or self; in Buddhism the ego is an illusion, which helps to perpetuate all illusion.

 (See also: Ego , Buddhism, Body Mind and Soul)

Sanskrit dictionary. From Advaita to Yoga.

Please note that all words in grey, like "enlightenment" or "kundalini" are hyperlinked to archives further explaining the term. At the corresponding archive you will also find articles related to the term.

Avidya: In Hinduism this is one of the conditions involved in samsara and reincarnation, meaning ignorance. This is ignorance of spiritual perception, not book knowledge. The origin of tanha (craving) is avidya (ignorance), where tanha is what keeps the living in the cycle of samsara. We can see this reflected in the third noble truth, where the source of greed is illusion, and in order to overcome illusion we must overcome avidya, ignorance.

 (See also: Avidya , Buddhism, Body Mind and Soul)

Holoenergetic healing (Holoenergetics): Psychotherapeutic form of energy healing (see vibrational medicine) christened and advanced by Leonard Laskow, M.D., author of Healing with Love (Harper, 1992). The expression Holoenergetic healing means healing with the energy of the whole.

The method's principles include the following.

(a)           Separation is illusory.

(b)           Maintenance of this illusion requires energy.

(c)           Often, physical or mental illness or stress is symptomatic of such consumption of energy.

(d)           Releasing oneself from the illusion of separation liberates tremendous energy.

(e)           Healing is the gradual elimination of the illusion of separation.

Holoenergetics comprises four stages:

(a)           the recognition phase, wherein the patient identifies the source of his or her illness;

(b)          the resonance phase, wherein the patient comes to terms with the aforementioned source;

(c)           release, wherein the patient releases the disharmonious energetic pattern associated with the source; and

(d)           the reformation phase, wherein, according to Laskow, the patient replaces the dysfunctional pattern with an image symbolizing the positive life-force intent...the energy that's aligned with the natural order and harmony of the inherent healing process of the body.

(See also: Holoenergetic healing , Body Mind and Soul, Alternative Health, Alternative Health Dictionary)

maya: (Sanskrit) "Consisting of; made of," as in manomaya, "made of mind."

From the verb root ma, "to measure, to limit, give form." The principle of appearance or manifestation of God's power or "mirific energy," "that which measures." The substance emanated from Siva through which the world of form is manifested. Hence all creation is also termed maya. It is the cosmic creative force, the principle of manifestation, ever in the process of creation, preservation and dissolution.

See: loka, mind (universal), mirific.

The Upanishads underscore maya's captivating nature, which blinds souls to the transcendent Truth. In Shankara's Vedantic interpretation, maya is taken as pure illusion or unreality. In Saivism it is one of the three bonds (pasha) that limit the soul and thereby facilitate its evolution. For Saivites and most other nondualists, it is understood not as illusion but as relative reality, in contrast to the unchanging Absolute Reality.

In the Saiva Siddhanta system, there are three main divisions of maya, the pure, the pure-impure and the impure realms. Pure or shuddha maya consists of the first five tattvas - Siva tattva, Shakti tattva, Sadasiva tattva, Ishvara tattva and Shuddhavidya tattva. The pure-impure realm consists of the next seven tattvas. The impure realm consists of the maya tattva and all of its evolutes - from the kala tattva to prithivi, the element earth. Thus, in relation to the physical universe, maya is the principle of ever-changing matter. In Vaishnavism, maya is one of the nine Shaktis of Vishnu.

See: loka, mind (universal), mirific, tattva, world.

(See also: Maya , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

Mary The Christian ecclesiastical teachings as to Mary's perpetual virginity, her absolute sinlessness, and the role of intercessor were unknown during the ministry of Jesus and the immediately succeeding beliefs of the primitive Christians; although these three ideas in connection with the cosmic Virgin-Mother were familiar to exoteric and mythologic thought worldwide for ages preceding their adoption by Christian theologians some time after primitive Christianity. As to the idea of the perpetual virgin, as early as the latter part of the 2nd century Clement of Alexandria mentions it, but without accepting it, and not until the 4th century did it become a doctrine of the Church. Absolute sinlessness as a dogma seems to have been accepted as reluctantly as the former idea. Both Augustine and Anselm state their view that Mary the mother "was conceived in iniquity," and born "in original sin." The dogma of the intercession was not recognized by the Church until the 3rd century, when a wave of popular emotion initiated feast and holy days that are still observed.

The month of May was made sacred to Mary by the Christians, copying an ancient Greco-Latin view and practice, for the same month had been sacred to the Greek Maia or the Latin Vesta.

Blavatsky associates Mary with the Egyptian Isis and the Hindu Devaki (mother of Krishna) -- both of whom are represented as suckling an infant; with Maya, the mother of Gautama Buddha, there is an interesting association of both similarity in name and idea. By Southern European mariners after the Christian era Mary has been associated with Mare, the Latin word for the sea -- there being here again an early pagan teaching of the sea of space, or the representation of the cosmic Virgin-Mother. In another distinctly mystical sense the sea, like the Sanskrit Maya (illusion), symbolizes the illusory nature of all phenomenal life -- illusory because noneternal and yet the womb or matrix in and from which universes are born; and in the case of individual human beings, the birth of wisdom from experience in the illusions of life.

Thus the Christian Mary became clothed with various religio-mystical ideas and teachings associated from immemorial time with both cosmic events and with human experiences in life and initiation. The Christ in man is born as a child of the virgin-mother spirit, man's own higher consciousness -- a mother which remains perpetually virginal, by its nature intrinsically sinless, and which functions between the personal man of flesh and the god within us as the intercessor, as indeed the inner Christ itself is.

See also ANA; ANAITIA

(See also: Mary , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary)

Mayasabha (Sanskrit) [from maya illusion + sabha assembly]

An assemblage of illusions; one of the wonderful gifts given to the Pandavas in the Mahabharata by Mayasura.

(See also: Mayasabha , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary)