Maya in Hinduism: Modernistic Approach

MAYA: DECODED

The word Maya is widely accepted and defined at ease by many philosophers and mystics through their spiritual experience as the power by which the universe becomes manifest; the illusion or appearance of the phenomenal world.

Yet this is so simple to understand it is has been the ultimate hardship for our own selves to experience such kind of Maya; to come to such an exaltation so that we can feel that this world is just an appearance of the higher or the phenomenal world, to see that this world we look at and live in is just a dream or say just a shadow of some higher self. This was been the absolute question of quest that lurked in the minds of all human beings though some people ignored that question and accepted this world [they think they are actually living in] as reality. But some brave souls who found the answers to their mind’s troubling question in some religion simply started taking comfort by practicing that particular religion. And some souls which are not satisfied with the answers of any religion yet those answers were as absolute and true as they can be, they started their own spiritual journey and laid down their own paths which lead them to the realization of the self and understanding of the Maya.

Buddha, Adi Shankara, Jesus, Mahavir, Sri Ramakrishna Paramhamsa, Swami Vivekanada, Sadguru are some of those kinds whose paths of spiritual journey are now-a-days followed by many.

And now “let us” make you clear the concept of Maya. May it may not give you the ultimate answers this will make you come up with the ultimate questions of the life you are seeing as it is and the Maya in which it is dwelling, which is just a Dream experience or say the shadow of your higher being. This can be easily understood by the following small story of “The Two Birds On The Tree: Dwaparsevyuzasakaya.”

The Two Birds On The Tree: Dwaparsevyuzasakaya

There were two birds on the tree, one on the top branch and the other below. The one sitting on the top branch was peaceful, immersed in his own glory, self-centered, all conscious. And the one on the lower branches was busy in eating the fruits some bitter and some sweet, and when it ate sweet fruit it felt happy and when it ate some bitter fruit it became sad and grievous and looked up and saw the other bird which was so beautiful with golden aura around it and saw he was eating neither sweet nor bitter fruit and was neither happy nor sad but radiant and self-centered in its glowing spirit.

And as the bird sitting on the lower branch saw this he too longed to experience this wondrous condition and tries to go near the higher bird sitting up. But soon it forgets and resumes eating. And again it eats some bitter fruit and again it tries to go near the higher bird up. And this happens again and again until one day it gets very near the higher bird sitting up and starts feeling that his own body is melting away and as he completely came closer to the higher bird he saw that he was completely melted away in that magnificent glow. Then he starts to understand and realize that the higher bird sitting up was no other than the Real Himself always Self-centered with Golden plumage. And the bird he thought he was nothing but the shadow of himself cast down on the lower branches. He laughed at himself for the stupid of himself he thought he was eating the fruits and becoming happy and sad occasionally which is nothing but the trap of senses and limited knowledge which was the Maya, his own delusion about the world around him. And once he realized this he became the Higher himself. He got the exaltation.

This is the story of ‘Oneness of our shadow dwelling in delusion of our Own Higher selves.’ This is the story how now and then a heavy blow of fundamental questions of our life hits our souls when we come to a point in our life where we are exhausted with the sensory pleasures and want no more to continue age old tradition of living in delusion or Maya. Every time the blow hits hard on our souls every time we go nearer and nearer to our own Higher consciousness. And at some point as the lower bird completely melted away so as all our delusions fade away and the we start experiencing our own Highest self and smile at ourselves for the Maya we lived in all those years long, thinking happiness, desires, sorrow etc, were real and actually happening to you but which are actually the Maya of your shadow cast down.