Vedic Glossary: Maya

Maya (માયા) is the divine, inanimate power made of the three gunas that causes the soul to forget its true self and become trapped in the cycle of birth and death. According to Akshar-Purushottam Vedanta and the teachings of Pramukh Swami Maharaj, maya is the cause of ego, attachment, and the illusion that we are the body or mind.

In this reflection, Anuj explains how maya causes the soul to pass through countless lifetimes and how only through the grace of the Satpurush can we transcend the misery of maya and become Akshar Mukta—free forever, equal in nature, chaitanya, and full of happiness and devotion for Parabrahman, Bhagwan Swaminarayan.

Transcript

Maya is the divine power that veils truth.

In Sanskrit it means illusion,

That which is not as it seems,

But in Akshar Purushottam Vedanta,

Maya is not just ignorance,

It is the inanimate ever-changing material cause of all creation,

Made of the three gunas,

Sattva-purity,

Rajas-passion,

And tamas-darkness-amazingness.

Maya is the diverse and mysterious power of Paramatma,

And through it arises infinite brahmanas-universes,

Each filled with jivas-souls trapped in the cycle of birth and death.

Maya is the cause of ego and attachment,

Even in the minds of Ishwas,

Higher divine beings like angels and demigods.

Because of it,

The soul forgets who it is and identifies with whatever body and mind it receives.

The soul has passed through countless lives,

Different colors,

Cultures,

Species,

And forms.

We have taken birth as animals,

Birds,

Insects,

And humans.

Each time,

We take on a new body and a new mind,

And with that,

New desires,

New urges.

The soul of a cat experiences the instincts of a cat.

The soul of a human feels the emotions and cravings of a human.

It is Maya that binds the soul to these bodies,

Minds,

And false identities.

But the soul is not the body,

And it is not the mind.

The soul is atma,

Eternal,

Conscious,

Divine.

It is through the grace of Akshara Brahman,

Manifest as the sattva-purity,

That this truth becomes real.

Only then can the soul rise beyond Maya and experience the clarity of self-realization.

To transcend Maya is not simply to reject the world,

But to lose all desire for the pleasures of Maya.

The soul begins to seek something higher than fleeting pleasure.

It seeks Parabrahman,

The Supreme,

And the eternal joy of bhakti and akshara-dharma.

One who transcends Maya completely is called an akshara-mukta,

A being forever free from birth,

Death,

And illusion.

In akshara-dharma,

Everyone is akshara in nature,

Beyond ego,

Beyond desire,

Equal in bliss,

Divine light beings.