What is Maya?

[Guest guest]

In response to GW's question, the story of Narada comes to mind. This story is

variously told of the Buddha, Krishna, and probably others. Here is one version

of the story told by Eknath Easwaran that I found on the Web:

 

 

Narada and the Mystery of Maya

 

Narada is an ancient sage who is said to have lived for thousands of years,

wandering freely through all the levels of consciousness from heaven to earth.

 

Narada was on very intimate terms with the Lord, here in the form of

Krishna, so he could ask him all kinds of questions. And while they were

walking, he asked the Lord, " Sir, can you please explain to me the secret of

this magic called maya? " Sri Krishna hesitated, because to understand maya is to

understand the whole of life. But Narada was utterly devoted to him, so the Lord

replied, " Of course. Let's sit down here in the shade and I shall tell you

everything. But first, Narada, it's terribly hot; would you get me a glass of

cool water? " " Right away, " Narada promised, and he set out across the fields. he

sun beat down, and though he was a good walker, the little line of thatched

cottages on the horizon that marked the nearest village seemed no closer as he

strode along. The heat grew unbearable. Narada's throat became parched, too; he

began to think he would ask for two glasses of water, and drink the second

himself. Finally he reached the village and ran to the nearest house. The door

opened - and there stood the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. She smiled up

at Narada through long, dark lashes, and something happened to him that had

never happened before. All he could do was hem and haw. Finally he blurted out,

" Will you marry me? " That is the Indian way, you know; you cannot just say " What

are you doing on Saturday night? "

 

The couple settled down to a life of connubial bliss. After a while,

children began to arrive. Narada's became a very animated household. Somebody

was always being bathed or dressed; there were meals to get and people to be

provided for. Narada and his wife became engrossed in their private little

world, quietly building their dreams. Years passed. The children grew up, went

to school, got married; in time, grandchildren arrived. Narada became the

patriarch of a great family, respected by the whole village; his lands stretched

to the horizon. He and his wife would look at each other fondly and say, " Don't

you think being grandparents is the greatest thing on earth? "

 

Then a great flood came. The village fields became a raging river, and

before Narada's helpless eyes, everything that he loved and lived for - his

lands, his cattle, his house, but especially his beloved wife and all their

children and grandchildren - were swept away. Of all the village, only he

remained. Unable to watch the destruction, Narada fell to his knees and cried

for help from the very depths of his heart. " Krishna, Krishna! " At once the

raging floods disappeared, and there was Sri Krishna, standing casually on the

fields where they had walked what seemed so many years before. " Narada, " the

Lord asked gently, " where is my glass of water? "

 

-taken from a translation by Sri Eknath Easwaran in his book entitled " Dialogue

with Death " , Nilgiri Press, ©1981, 1992 Blue Mountain Center of Meditation

 

 

 

 

_______

 

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[Guest guest]

An interesting example and a lesson from the story. One of my

favourites is that Maya compares ones existance like in a movie. It

is all there on the screen, life, emotions, pain and happiness but

actually it is an illusion created just by the ray of light. The self

has a choice to get involved in it by identification or observe it in

an unattached manner. Maya thus is God's creation of delusion.

My two cents with humble request for correction.

 

Sam

 

 

 

 

Ramakrishna, " Kendra Crossen Burroughs "

<kcburroughs> wrote:

> In response to GW's question, the story of Narada comes to mind.

This story is

> variously told of the Buddha, Krishna, and probably others. Here is

one version

> of the story told by Eknath Easwaran that I found on the Web:

>

>

> Narada and the Mystery of Maya

>

> Narada is an ancient sage who is said to have lived for

thousands of years,

> wandering freely through all the levels of consciousness from

heaven to earth.

>

> Narada was on very intimate terms with the Lord, here in the

form of

> Krishna, so he could ask him all kinds of questions. And while they

were

> walking, he asked the Lord, " Sir, can you please explain to me the

secret of

> this magic called maya? " Sri Krishna hesitated, because to

understand maya is to

> understand the whole of life. But Narada was utterly devoted to

him, so the Lord

> replied, " Of course. Let's sit down here in the shade and I shall

tell you

> everything. But first, Narada, it's terribly hot; would you get me

a glass of

> cool water? " " Right away, " Narada promised, and he set out across

the fields. he

> sun beat down, and though he was a good walker, the little line of

thatched

> cottages on the horizon that marked the nearest village seemed no

closer as he

> strode along. The heat grew unbearable. Narada's throat became

parched, too; he

> began to think he would ask for two glasses of water, and drink the

second

> himself. Finally he reached the village and ran to the nearest

house. The door

> opened - and there stood the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.

She smiled up

> at Narada through long, dark lashes, and something happened to him

that had

> never happened before. All he could do was hem and haw. Finally he

blurted out,

> " Will you marry me? " That is the Indian way, you know; you cannot

just say " What

> are you doing on Saturday night? "

>

> The couple settled down to a life of connubial bliss. After a

while,

> children began to arrive. Narada's became a very animated

household. Somebody

> was always being bathed or dressed; there were meals to get and

people to be

> provided for. Narada and his wife became engrossed in their private

little

> world, quietly building their dreams. Years passed. The children

grew up, went

> to school, got married; in time, grandchildren arrived. Narada

became the

> patriarch of a great family, respected by the whole village; his

lands stretched

> to the horizon. He and his wife would look at each other fondly and

say, " Don't

> you think being grandparents is the greatest thing on earth? "

>

> Then a great flood came. The village fields became a raging

river, and

> before Narada's helpless eyes, everything that he loved and lived

for - his

> lands, his cattle, his house, but especially his beloved wife and

all their

> children and grandchildren - were swept away. Of all the village,

only he

> remained. Unable to watch the destruction, Narada fell to his knees

and cried

> for help from the very depths of his heart. " Krishna, Krishna! " At

once the

> raging floods disappeared, and there was Sri Krishna, standing

casually on the

> fields where they had walked what seemed so many years

before. " Narada, " the

> Lord asked gently, " where is my glass of water? "

>

> -taken from a translation by Sri Eknath Easwaran in his book

entitled " Dialogue

> with Death " , Nilgiri Press, ©1981, 1992 Blue Mountain Center of

Meditation

>

>

>

>

> _______

>

> Get your free @ address at

[Guest guest]

Ramanujam,

 

You can see many references to Maya in all the Hindu

scriptures, including the Bhagavad Gita. There are

different ways to define it.

 

It's most popular definition is " illusion " - that is

the false temptations and promises of the world.

Anything that leads you to be deceived. If you thought

" woman and gold " was true happiness, and then your

wife left you and your money disappeared, then you

would say you were deceived into believing something

external was the cause of your happiness. As Yogis, we

know that all external things (and internal states of

mind) are transient and therefore no lasting happiness

can be based on something that changes or even the

mind that perceives the changes, since the mind is of

course always changing itself (what you enjoyed today

you might not enjoy tomorrow).

 

In the Gita, Sri Krishna refers to two terms: Prakriti

and Purusha. The term Prakriti is synonymous with Maya

but here it refers to the Creation. The term Purusha

refers to the eternal " witness " of the Creation- the

Pure Self that is unaffected and changeless. If you

think of the ocean, think of the waves at the surface

as a manifestation of Prakriti, whereas the depths,

which are still and quiet, is the changeless aspect,

or the Purusha. Of course they are not separate or

different.

 

There is another Sanskrit term, Lila, which like Maya,

refers to the Divine Play or sport. While Maya

generally has a negative connotation, Lila has a

positive connotation: the creation is the fun and

sport of the Lord. As you begin to en-lighten, lighten

up, you can start to perceive how the Lord moves

through all things. If you ask " why are we here? "

there is no answer really, except the Lord, who is

only One, decided He wanted to play. He got bored

hanging out with Himself. He wanted a little drama, a

little fun. So He created a Play. He would play all

the characters Himself and write the stories and

direct too. There were comedies and tragedies and war

stories and love stories. There were stories about

greed and hate and salvation. But it was all pretend,

it was all a dream. Then God woke up in the dream as a

man and told the actors they were also just dreaming;

they had better stop taking everything so seriously

and if they woke up they would realize they were just

dreaming. This dreaming is Maya.....

 

RD

 

 

 

 

 

 

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