What is maya?

[Tirisilex]

I'm not sure if I got this right.. The Body is maya.. this computer is maya?

Is love maya? What about Peacefulness, Joy, Goodness? are these maya as well?

[Beggar]

 

I'm not sure if I got this right.. The Body is maya.. this computer is maya?

Is love maya? What about Peacefulness, Joy, Goodness? are these maya as well?

 

Srila Prabhupada (5/12/69): Material energy that's said by Krsna apara, inferior energy. Bhumir apo, bhumir apo analo, prakrtir me bhinna astadha. Apareyam itas tu viddhi me prakrtim para. So material energy is the covering energy, is also Krsna. Just like police department is also government, but it is not very convenient because putting under police department. (laughter) That is also government department. For government the university department and the police are equally important. They are spending equally, are taking care of both the, but for us, "Oh, police department horrible." This man is under police department, police custody, and that man is in education.

Lady: That's much better.

Srila Prabhupada: But when you go to the government state, they are equally important. They are distributing the finance everywhere. So similarly either you take material energy or spiritual energy or marginal energy, all energy of God's, Krsna's, but they are acting differently. So, so far I am marginal energy, if I am under the control of the material energy, that is my misfortune. But if I am controlled by the spiritual energy, that is my fortune. Therefore in the Bhagavad-gita it is said, mahatmanas tu mam partha daivim prakrtim asritah. They take shelter of the spiritual energy. They are mahatma, and what is their symptom: bhajanty ananya manaso, simply engaged in devotional service. That, that is required.

[gHari]

The self is eternal. But it is now covered wth delusion, or maya - a delusion that I have this body and these other souls' bodies are related to me. Maya begins with ahankara, the false ego, then a body and senses develop. This world of maya is 'asat' or temporary; whereas our true self is 'sat', eternal. When you are engaged in the pastimes of your eternal self you are no longer confused by maya, by the temporary.

 

So the TV or computer can be maya depending on your purpose for employing them. Reading this is not maya, for example.

 

Getting back to engaging the temporary body and senses in the eternal pastimes of the self: anything that is not amongst the nine processes of devotion as delineated by Prahlad Maharaja in the Srimad-Bhagavatam is M A Y A. Prahlad explains non-Maya: http://vedabase.net/sb/7/5/23-24/en

[Beggar]

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

From Lecture on Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila 1.8 Mayapur, April 1, 1975

 

 

...So where is this Vaikunthaloka? It is rather imprudent to inquire because we cannot calculate even this material world, what is the length and breadth of this universe. This is only one universe. This is called mayika brahmananda. Mayika means shadow. Shadow... Shadow is existing on account of the real. So therefore it is called maya. Just like the example is, in your country, in the window, there are many nice model, beautiful women standing or a man standing, nicely dressed, but that is not real man or woman. That is shadow. That is called maya. This is the example of maya. Maya means it is not fact, but it appears like fact. That is called maya. Another example is... Just like the mirage, water in the desert. Actually there is no water, but it appears that there is water. The foolish animals, they run after this water, but there is no water. Simply running after will o' the wisp, phantasmagoria. So every one of us in this material world- hankering after happiness. Everyone is trying to be happy. But it is like the same, that there is no water in the desert, and still, the foolish animal running after it.

So this whole material creation is like that. The creator of this universe, Krsna, He says, duhkhalayam asasvatam: [Bg. 8.15] "This is the place for suffering." And you are seeking after happiness. Just like in the prison house: it is the place for suffering, and if you want to be comfortable, this is called maya. Maya-sukhaya bharam udvahato vimudhan [sB 7.9.43]. The whole world is running after happiness what is not possible. Therefore they have been described as vimudhan, rascal. We sometimes use this word very frequently, "rascals," and they become angry. But actually that is the description, "rascals." All these so-called civilized men, so-called civilized men, they are not men even. They're all animals. But in the sastra, they have been described as dvi-pada-pasu. They are animals, but they have got two legs. That's all. That is the difference. Animals, generally, they have four legs, catus-pada, but these animals are two-legged. That is the difference. They're animals because... The same example: In the desert there is no water, and the animal is running after it. Why he's called animal? Because he does not understand that "In the desert, how there can be water?"

So Vidyapati has sung a song, tatala saikate, vari-bindu-sama, suta-mitra-ramani-samaje. We are trying to be happy here in this material world- how? Suta-mitra-ramani-samaje. Suta means children. Mitra means friends. Society, friendship and love, wife, children... Tata... So one may say, "Unless there is no happiness, how they are struggling for this suta-mitra-ramani-samaja?" So Vidyapati says, "Yes, there is happiness." Certainly there is happiness. Otherwise why these vimudhan, foolish people, running after it? So he says that the value of their happiness is a proportion of a drop of water in the desert. Tatala saikate. Tatala means, very hot, and saikate means sand. Those who have seen desert, they have got experience how it is intolerable during sunshine, vast, I mean to say, tract of land with sand. So naturally they require water. So if somebody says, "Yes, I'll give you water," and a drop of water... What is called? Proportionate, token. It is called token. "Yes, you want water. Take this water, drop.What this water will do? This is desert. I want ocean of water and you are giving me drop of water? What is the value?" So still, we are seeking water there. Therefore it is rightly said, tatala saikate, vari-bindu-sama. Vari-bindu. Suta-mitra-ramani-samaje.

 

 

dehapatya-kalatradisu

atma-sainyesu asatsv api

pramattah tasya nidhanam

pasyann api na pasyati

 

Dehapatya-kalatradisu. This body, deha, apatya, children; kalatra, wife; adisu, with all these things... Then again extend. From children, you get... You get them married. Then again extension- daughter-in-law, son-in-law, grandson. In this way, we are increasing our so-called happiness. Atma-sainyesu. And we are thinking that "These surrounding friends--society, friends and love, nation--will give me protection." In our country, we have seen. Gandhi struggled so, mean, hard for getting independence, thinking that "We'll be happy." But Gandhi himself was killed.

So this is called maya. You try to understand maya. Maya means where there is no happiness, no fact, and still, we are struggling for it. This is called maya. Try to understand what is maya. Maya-sukhaya bharam udvahato vimudhan [sB 7.9.43]. Prahlada Maharaja says. Actually there is no fact, and still, we are struggling for it. The whole universe is like that. Even you are situated as Brahma or you are situated as an ordinary insignificant ant, this struggle for existence is going on. So Prahlada Maharaja says that "These rascals, they are struggling for existence for happiness which is not possible in this material world. And beyond this struggling atmosphere of material world, maya atite..." Atite. Atite means beyond. Mayatite vyapi-vaikuntha-loke. There is another world. That is also informed in the Bhagavad-gita. Parah tasmad tu bhava anyah 'vyaktavyaktat sanatanah. There is another bhava. Bhava means nature. Just like this is nature. We have got experience, the maya. Maya nature means here our main aim is to find out happiness. That is... Because we are spirit soul, part and parcel of Krsna, sac-cid-ananda-vigraha [bs. 5.1] Krsna, so we are also minute sac-cid-ananda. Our existence is like that. But because we are very small, therefore that, I mean to say, quality, sat, becomes sometimes extinguished. The example is just like the spark of the fire. It is fire. A spark from the fire falls on your body. As soon as it falls it will burn that small pointlike place. So it has got the same quality. But as soon as it comes out of the fire, it becomes extinguished--no more fire. It is carbon. Again take it and put it in the fire, then again it is fire. So our position is like that. We are factually of the same quality, sac-cid-ananda. So our falling down in this material world from Krsna means we lose our identity of eternity. It becomes covered. Just like the same small spark. It is fire, but it is now extinguished, cinder, just like coal, cinder. So long it is with the original fire, it is also burning, but if you take it and keep it aside, then it becomes ashes. So this is our position. And we are struggling here. We have lost the fiery quality, and still, we are trying to be fire. This is called maya existence.

[Guest]

Anything that come in between you and God is maya.

[gauragopala dasa]

Maya Devi is the wife of Maha-Vishnu whose duty is to make sure no-one disturbs Krsna and His pure devotees.

 

In other words if we want to regain our original Krsna Consciousness, we must pass the test of Maya Deva and eveything she tempts us with.

 

She does this to see if it is really Krsna we want or if we have some hidden selfish agenda.

 

No one can hide anything from Maya Devi

[Shivaduta]

the self is the only truth...

Anything other than the self which involves the concept of self and any other concept like time and space is maya... for time and distance are the roots of maya...they are the pegs which hold maya in place