What I Find to be 'Maya'

[yajvan]

Hari Om
~~~~~~~

Namaste,

When I think of this maya, I have settled in to the definiton given by a muni I have great respect for S.Shankaranarayanan, who follows Sri Vidya, and Devi tradition. He has a distinction between maya and avidya that just resenates with me.

This maya is this notion that the Infinite , ananta ( a= not + anta= end) without end, can be metered out as the many , as diversity. This I see every day on how it is incongruent with Brahman, that Bhuma , fullness.

This avidya is not the total absence of knowledge, but it is the incompleteness, the partial knowledge, incomplete awareness, that is the crux of this avidya.

So , from this, what I found to be maya, from my seat, is the following
[ please add to the list if you wish ] :

• That the earth is rotating at over 1,000 mph and I do not feel the wind in my face. That I cannot, though my senses, feel this movement.
• That I see the sun go from east to west, yet one tells me it is me that is moving.
• That I have grown over time but cannot point to any one moment to measure the difference.
• That my nature is Infinite, yet I would have never discovered this notion on my own, without the help of the Tradition as a guide.
• That people are genuinely good and satvic, yet will kill their own kind when provoked.
• That we love dogs and cats and invite them in our homes, but will eat a cow for supper.
• That we are compelled to pursue happiness, yet it is within us, and look elsewhere for this miracle.
• That many on this earth will kill in the name of the Lord
• That some on this good earth think that the 'truth' (satyam) can be measured with numbers and by science
• That we are Whole and Full yet we feel incomplete.
• That we acquire finite things to bring us joy and it only burdens us with more things to take care of.
• That one group believes their God is better then another's and that He/She is qualitatively and quantitively different.
• That we are told we have been here before, yet we cannot remember the occasion or the time spent
• That some think the veda's are book and should be read as such , as if it was written by man
• And - that the world is as we are... if one is having a good day , then all is well. If one is having a bad day, then the world is dark, yet the only thing that changed was the persons view of life.

Nalpe sukham asti - 'finite things do not contain happiness' - rishi Sanatkumara


pranams,

[Kaos]

When God enters the world of His creation as jiva, under the influence of His own energy, maya (she who veils), he becomes bewildered.

That too is maya.

[yajvan]

Hari Om
~~~~~

Originally Posted by Kaos

When God enters the world of His creation as jiva, under the influence of His own energy, maya (she who veils), he becomes bewildered. That too is maya.

Namaste Kaos,
yes , this maya you state does apply.

I was thinking of others today .... without making a list, another that stands out for me that is a combination of maya+avidya is the notion of actions.

• That many may think actions we perform on our own perhaps even in our own home, behind closed doors only impact and travel no further then the doer of that action. As if a bell was rung, and the vibrations stay secluded to ones property (ether of the body or the home).

I am in hopes others will add in their ideas and observations on this matter. All are welcomed.

pranams,

[mirabai]

Originally Posted by yajvan

Hari Om
~~~~~

• That many may think actions we perform on our own perhaps even in our own home, behind closed doors only impact and travel no further then the doer of that action. As if a bell was rung, and the vibrations stay secluded to ones property (ether of the body or the home).

I am in hopes others will add in their ideas and observations on this matter. All are welcomed.

pranams,

I think Goswami said that if you eat food prepared by a wicked person you will become wicked.
It could be the vibrations from the agitated mind of the cook go into the food and then into the person eating the food?

[suresh]

Originally Posted by Kaos

When God enters the world of His creation as jiva, under the influence of His own energy, maya (she who veils), he becomes bewildered.

But if God becomes bewildered, wouldn't that amount to a stain on God's status as an omniscient entity?

[Kaos]

Originally Posted by suresh

But if God becomes bewildered, wouldn't that amount to a stain on God's status as an omniscient entity?

Yes and no.


Siva creates, sustains the form absorbs back into Himself His creations.

Shiva is creator, sustainer and destroyer.

[Kaos]

Originally Posted by suresh

But if God becomes bewildered, wouldn't that amount to a stain on God's status as an omniscient entity?

In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna explains:

I enter into each planet, and by My energy these stay in orbit. I become the moon and thereby supply the juice of life to all vegetables. (15.13)

I am the fire of digestion in every living body, and I am the air of life, outgoing and incoming, by which I digest the four kinds of foods. (15.14)

I am seated in everyone's heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness. By all the Vedas, I am to be known. I am the compiler of Vedanta, and I know the Vedas as they are. (15.15)

Clearly these are references to Krishna pervading His entire creation, entering the realm of maya (illusion), form and yet unaffected by it. Yet, the jiva is bewildered by this creation, this form, due to maya which is inherent in Ultimate Reality.

[yajvan]

Hari Om
~~~~~

Originally Posted by mirabai

I think Goswami said that if you eat food prepared by a wicked person you will become wicked.
It could be the vibrations from the agitated mind of the cook go into the food and then into the person eating the food?

Namate mirabai,
This also happened in the Mahabharata. Draupadi's cloths are seized by force.
We know the story. As much as Duhsasana pulled the garments off of Draupadi, more fresh garments appeared. This came about from her request for Divine intervention that was fulfilled.

This could have been stopped by Bishma, yet was not. Bishma references 'bad food' that influenced to his rational thinking later in the Mahabharata.


pranams,

[yajvan]

Hari Om
~~~~~


Namaste,

A few more ideas on this maya .

In the Mahabharata, a Yaksha asks Yudhishthira (also known as Dharmaraj) , What is the most unbelievable thing in this world?

Yudhishthira answers, That people perpetually die in this world, but man acts and lives as though he will never die.

When we are young this death is the furthest from our minds. Death happens to others not to me, one thinks.

What of this death is it too maya? And who rules death Yama. And if we take Yama's name, and reverse it we get Maya.

Could this death be maya also? For many this brings fear...the fear of dying. Could it be we have done it before and we have an iniate feeling of what happens? Or could it be we know that death also means rebirth and we start again?

pranams,

[Kaos]

Originally Posted by yajvan

What of this death is it too maya? And who rules death Yama. And if we take Yama's name, and reverse it we get Maya.

Could this death be maya also?

Namaste Yajvan,

Yes, another wonderful insight and observation.

Death is indeed maya also...

Why?

Because whatever is unborn cannot die. And whatever has no beginning has no ending.

Whatever is here is Purusha.


"Brahman alone, the Greatest, is this whole universe." - Mundaka Upanishad II. 2. 11.