Maya Moha (Sanskrit). An illusive form assumed by Vishnu in order to deceive ascetic Daityas who were becoming too holy through austerities and hence too dangerous in power, as says the Vishnu Purana.

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

Gupta-maya (Sanskrit) (from gupta secret + maya illusion)

Secret illusion; the art used by Hindu street "magicians" to make mango trees appear to grow rapidly, to allow a boy to climb a rope fastened in the clouds, etc. Blavatsky holds that such phenomena arise from the psychological power of the "magician" to project a fascination or glamour on the spectators. (BCW 12:321, 326)

(See also: Gupta-maya, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Sthula-maya (Sanskrit) [from sthula gross, bulky + maya built of]

Consisting of grosser elements; material, differentiated and conditioned. A Hindu philosophical term also applicable to one of the four principles of the Taraka-Raja-Yoga system, called sthulopadhi, corresponding to the three lower principles of the theosophical septenary classification: prana, linga-sarira, and sthula-sarira.

(See also: Sthula-maya, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body mind and Soul)

a-vidya-maya:

a-vidya-maya (-vidhyaa-maayaa). Ignorance-based illusion.

(See also: a-vidya-maya, Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

maha-maya:

maha-maya (mahaa-maayaa). Great illusion.

(See also: maha-maya, Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

vidya-maya:

vidya-maya (vidhyaa-maayaa). Knowledge-based illusion.

(See also: vidya-maya, Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Gupta-vidya (Sanskrit) (from gupta from the verbal root gup to conceal, preserve + vidya knowledge, wisdom)

Secret knowledge, secret wisdom; the source of all religions and philosophies known to the world: theosophy, the ancient wisdom-religion, the esoteric philosophy.

See also THEOSOPHY

(See also: Gupta-maya, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

A Theosophical definition of Maya :

Maya

(Sanskrit) The word comes from the root ma, meaning "to measure," and by a figure of speech it also comes to mean "to effect," "to form," and hence "to limit." There is an English word mete, meaning "to measure out," from the same IndoEuropean root. It is found in the Anglo-Saxon as the root met, in the Greek as med, and it is found in the Latin also in the same form.

Ages ago in the wonderful Brahmanical philosophy maya was understood very differently from what it is now usually understood to be. As a technical term, maya has come to mean the fabrication by man's mind of ideas derived from interior and exterior impressions, hence the illusory aspect of man's thoughts as he considers and tries to interpret and understand life and his surroundings; and thence was derived the sense which it technically bears, "illusion." It does not mean that the exterior world is nonexistent; if it were, it obviously could not be illusory. It exists, but is not. It is "measured out" or is "limited," or it stands out to the human spirit as a mirage. In other words, we do not see clearly and plainly and in their reality the vision and the visions which our mind and senses present to the inner life and eye.

The familiar illustrations of maya in the Vedanta, which is the highest form that the Brahmanical teachings have taken and which is so near to our own teaching in many respects, were such as follows: A man at eventide sees a coiled rope on the ground, and springs aside, thinking it a serpent. The rope is there, but no serpent. The second illustration is what is called the "horns of the hare." The animal called the hare has no horns, but when it also is seen at eventide, its long ears seem to project from its head in such fashion that it appears even to the seeing eye as being a creature with horns. The hare has no horns, but there is then in the mind an illusory belief that an animal with horns exists there.

That is what maya means: not that a thing seen does not exist, but that we are blinded and our mind perverted by our own thoughts and our own imperfections, and do not as yet arrive at the real interpretation and meaning of the world or of the universe around us. By ascending inwardly, by rising up, by inner aspiration, by an elevation of soul, we can reach upwards or rather inwards towards that plane where truth abides in fullness.

H. P. Blavatsky says on page 631 of the first volume of The Secret Doctrine:

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 standpoint, and the objective relations in it between various conscious Egos so long as this illusion lasts.

The teaching is that maya is thus called from the action of mulaprakriti or root-nature, the coordinate principle of that other line of coactive consciousness which we call parabrahman. From the moment when manifestation begins, it acts dualistically, that is to say that everything in nature from that point onwards is crossed by pairs of opposites, such as long and short, high and low, night and day, good and evil, consciousness and nonconsciousness, etc., and that all these things are essentially mayic or illusory  - real while they last, but the lasting is not eternal. It is through and by these pairs of opposites that the self-conscious soul learns truth. It might be said, in conclusion, that another and very convenient way of considering maya is to understand it to mean "limitation," "restriction," and therefore imperfect cognition and recognition of reality. The imperfect mind does not see perfect truth. It labors under an illusion corresponding with its own imperfections, under a maya, a limitation. Magical practices are frequently called maya in the ancient Hindu books.

See also: Maya, Mysticism, Body Mind and Soul)

maya-prapancha:

maya-prapancha (maayaa-prapancha). This illusory world, composed of the five elements.

(See also: maya-prapancha, Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

maya-sakthi:

maya-sakthi (maayaa-shakthi). Power of illusion, the veiling and projecting power of God.

(See also: maya-sakthi, Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Maya: Hindu term coined by Advaita Vedanta to refer to the illusory or deceptive nature of the world which prompts us to make distinctions.

 (See also: Maya, Eastern Philosophy, Body Mind and Soul)

Maya: Name attributed to Gautama Siddharta's mother. More importantly, maya is translated as illusion, and is used to describe reality.

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

vi-jnana-maya kosa:

vi-jnana-maya kosa (vi-jnaana-maya kosha). Body sheath of intellect, intuition.

(See also: vi-jnana-maya kosa, Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

anna-maya kosa:

anna-maya kosa (kosha). Sheath of the body composed of food; the physical sheath.

(See also: anna-maya kosa, Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

prana-maya kosa:

prana-maya kosa (praana-maaya kosha). The second, subtle sheath of man, consisting of the vital airs and the nervous system.

(See also: prana-maya kosa, Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Anna-maya kosha:

fleshy food-eating body

(See also: Anna-maya kosha, Kundalini, Kundalini Yoga, Kundalini 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)

Maya

1)    Unreality, illusion, prakriti

2)    The Hindu principle that all is an illusion and that ultimately the physical world, contacted through the conscious mind and the five senses, does not represent reality. This philosophy is also taught by A Course in Miracles.

(See also: Maya, New Age Spirituality, Body Mind and Soul)

Maya

1)    Unreality, illusion, prakriti

2)    The Hindu principle that all is an illusion and that ultimately the physical world, contacted through the conscious mind and the five senses, does not represent reality. This philosophy is also taught by A Course in Miracles.

(See also: Maya, New Age Spirituality, Body Mind and Soul)

 Maya:

illusion

(See also:  Maya, Body Mind and Soul)

Mayic: Having to do with Maya.

(See also: Mayic, Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Mayadevi

see Maya.

(See also: Mayadevi, Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)