Guest guest Posted June 8, 2001 Report Share Posted June 8, 2001 Dear Raji Thank you very much on the news about maya..how true we also experience the same,when we are in ,no outside thought come into us once you leave and move out of Baba's vicinity we are also caught in maya,again it is Baba's blessing we are not submerged into it. sk --- Raji <raji_maniyam wrote: > > Once, the renowned sage, Narada went to Lord Vishnu > and asked > him, " Lord, can you tell me what maya is? I hear a > lot about this. " > Lord Vishnu said, " Come along let us take a walk. " > Narada and Vishnu > set out into a desert and after some time, the Lord > feeling tired, > turned around and said, " Narada, I am thirsty. My > throat is parched. > Can you please bring me some water? " > > " Please wait here until I quickly walk to a nearby > village and fetch > you water. " > > Narada set out to the nearest village. After walking > for quite a > while, he reached a village. Knocking on the door of > a house he > encountered a beautiful, nubile young girl at the > door. Mesmerized by > her beauty, Narada forgot why he came there and > started talking to > her. Days passed and soon he fell in love with her. > He asked the > girl's father to give his daughter's hand in > marriage. Eventually he > married her and they started living together. Days > turned into weeks, > weeks into months and years passed by. Narada ate, > slept, drank and > made merry. She bore two children for Narada and > life continued > happily in that beautiful village with cattle and > meadows. > > After twelve years, the river adjoining the village > flooded due to a > storm, drowning the crops and cattle. The calamity > was so huge that > several houses were destroyed and trees were > uprooted. Narada, in an > effort to avoid the storm, set out to swim, > clutching his wife and > his two sons close to his chest. He started swimming > when a powerful > current swept his son away. In an effort to save > him, he lost his > grip on his other son also. Plunged in grief at the > loss of his young > sons, he swam while a powerful draught of wind and > rain lashed down. > His beloved wife drowned in front of his eyes. The > water washed away > his tears. His heart started feeling the pain of > bereavement. At > last, with a lot of effort, he managed to swim to > the safety of the > shore, not knowing what to do. > > As he was lying exhausted on the shore, numbed by > the loss of his > family, Narada heard a gentle voice from behind, > " Dear friend, you > went to fetch water for me. You have been gone for > quite some time > now. " It was Lord Krishna standing there. With a > start, Narada > realized he was back in the desert. Only half an > hour had passed in > the desert, though seemingly 12.5 years passed in > his life. This is > Maya. > > -From surekha.com > > > > Get personalized email addresses from Mail - only $35 a year! http://personal.mail./ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 23, 2009 Report Share Posted June 23, 2009 MAYA AND FREEDOM by Swami Vivekananda Almost all of you have heard of the word Maya. Generally it is used, though incorrectly, to denote illusion, or delusion, or some such thing. But the theory of Maya forms one of the pillars upon which the Vedanta rests; it is, therefore, necessary that it should be properly understood. I ask a little patience of you, for there is a great danger of its being misunderstood. The oldest idea of Maya that we find in Vedic literature is the sense of delusion; but then the real theory had not been reached.We find such passages as, "Indra through his Maya assumed various forms." Here it is true the word Maya means something like magic, and we find various other passages, always taking the same meaning. The word Maya then dropped out of sight altogether. But in the meantime the idea was developing. Later, the question was raised: "Why can't we know this secret of the universe?" And the answer given was very significant: "Because we talk in vain, and because we are satisfied with the things of the senses, and because we are running after desires; therefore, we, as it were, cover the Reality with a mist." Here the word Maya is not used at all, but we get the idea that the cause of our ignorance is a kind of mist that has come between us and the Truth. Much later on, in one of the latest Upanishads, we find the word Maya reappearing, but this time, a transformation has taken place in it, and a mass of new meaning has attached itself to the word. Theories had been propounded and repeated, others had been taken up, until at last the idea of Maya became fixed. We read in the Shvetashvatara Upanishad, "Know nature to be Maya and the Ruler of this Maya is the Lord Himself." Coming to our philosophers, we find that this word Maya has been manipulated in various fashions, until we come to the great Shankaracharya. The theory of Maya was manipulated a little by the Buddhists too, but in the hands of the Buddhists it became very much like what is called Idealism, and that is the meaning that is now generally given to the word Maya.When the Hindu says the world is Maya, at once people get the idea that the world is an illusion. This interpretation has some basis, as coming through the Buddhistic philosophers, because there was one section of philosophers who did not believe in the external world at all. But the Maya of the Vedanta, in its last developed form, is neither Idealism nor Realism, nor is it a theory. It is a simple statement of facts � what we are and what we see around us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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