Maya

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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