Maya - the Great Illusion
Brahman is One without a second, there is only one consciousness in existence, and we are That. However, our senses are constantly informing us that all is not One, that we are actually living in a world of multitudinous variety. Furthermore, each living being appears to act as a separate consciousness, often competing against other beings, thereby showing very little evidence of the harmony that there being only one consciousness would imply. How then can the above statement be maintained?
The superimposition
Brahman is the only Truth, the multitude is an illusion, a projection from our own minds. If someone walks into a dark room with a rope on the floor, he may leap back in fright because he sees a snake. However, when the light is switched on, the snake disappears, and he sees only the rope. The snake was no more than a projection from his own mind. In the same way, when we are ignorant, we see the world, the snake, and when we go into samadhi and become enlightened, we see that Brahman, just like the rope, is the underlying Truth. The rope is the substratum of the snake; take the rope away, and you see neither a rope nor a snake. Take Brahman away, and the superimposition, the phenomenal world, necessarily also disappears.
Maya: neither existence nor non-existence
This superimposition is a most mysterious phenomenon called Maya. When we look closely enough at the rope, we see there is no superimposition of a snake, there never was one and there never will be. It does not exist. However, it is true that we did see a snake. There was an obvious effect, resulting in genuine fright, so something was there. Hence we cannot say that Maya does not exist. It is the same with the world, which we do see now, but which also disappears when we go into samadhi. Hence, Maya is described as neither existence nor non-existence.
Whence comes this Maya?
There is Brahman and there is the power of Brahman, called Shakti. These are not two; rather they are two aspects of the same thing. The coin is one, but we can see it from two sides. Brahman may be likened to a flame, and Shakti to its power to burn. These two are non-different. If you take away one, you automatically also take away the other. There has never been a flame without the power to burn, and the power to burn does not exist without a heating agent. The superimposition, Maya, is the result of the vibration of Shakti. Asking where Brahman and Shakti came from is a meaningless question, because Brahman, being eternal, does not come from anywhere, and wherever one side of the coin is, the other side must be there, too.
The world as a projection
Brahman, pure consciousness, is silence, vibrationless. Shakti is the vibratory force, the originating point of nature. When you go into a cinema, the screen is blank, and there is silence. When the projector is switched on, and the film starts, all kinds of phenomena are superimposed onto and move about on the screen. An ignorant child sees a monster in the film, and not understanding that it is unreal, starts to scream with fright. The knowing adults, however, are unmoved. At the end of the film, the projector is switched off, and once again the screen alone is there. In the same way, when Shakti is in sleep, in potential mode, there is only Brahman, One without a second. When Shakti awakens, begins to vibrate and goes into kinetic mode at the birth of the universe, Brahman is still One without a second, but we see the projection of the phenomenal world. Ignorant people think the world is real, and so run after transient pleasures. One who has experienced Brahman in samadhi, however, knows that this world is nothing more than a passing phenomenon, so why get distracted by its transient, and therefore, ultimately barren distractions?
The world is an apparent projection
The proof that the world, unlike the film in the cinema, is only an apparent and not a real projection is that, when one is in samadhi, it is nowhere to be seen. Our eyes are of a certain vibration, and therefore sense only phenomena of a similar vibration. This is why we see physical matter, but not energy. In the cinema, the screen, the film and our eyes are of the same vibration, so in the context of the screen, the film is, though transient, a real projection. It will not disappear if we observe it very hard. However, in the context of Brahman, the world, including our eyes, is not a real projection, because they are vibrant, whereas Brahman is vibrationless. In the cinema, we are looking at the film and the screen from an outside viewpoint. In reality, we are the screen, Brahman, and our senses are in the film, Maya. As long as we are conscious through the senses, we will see Maya, as the senses are a part of Maya. We dissociate ourselves from the senses, mind, and all of Maya to become aware of our true nature as Brahman, and see that, as the world disappears, it is only an apparent, and not a real, projection.
From whence is the world projected?
Maya is projected from our own minds. When the mind has been shut down in samadhi or deep dreamless sleep, no world is to be perceived.
One day countless millennia ago, a seer on the bank of the Ganges or the Saraswati observed some children playing with clay. They made a clay horse, a clay elephant and a clay person, and called these forms by such names. However, the seer saw that, whatever forms it had been moulded into, there was still only clay, and that these forms were impermanent phenomena that had temporarily come into being and would eventually disintegrate back into the original and permanent formless clay. The names and forms were no more than impositions onto the clay by the fancy of the children’s minds. Brahman, like the clay, is the original, permanent and formless substance.
All is Brahman, featureless and infinite. However, the mind is finite, and so cannot comprehend infinity. Therefore, it must cut up the Infinite and featureless into small, manageable chunks. It seeks to classify the information that the senses bring to it. Some of us are content to call a dog a dog and a cat a cat, but the zoologists always want to subdivide these categories into numerous different subspecies, races and so on. However, even we imposed, ‘dog,’ and ‘cat,’ onto, ‘animal’. If we did not carry out any classification at all, it would be impossible to communicate with each other, or distinguish between food and poison. We are living in a universe of multifarious phenomena, and the mind is a tool which enables us to live effectively in this multitudinous universe. If some unfamiliar input is received, the mind carves it into convenient forms and labels it with a name, but that does not mean the names and forms are eternally correct, clear-cut ideas from an objective point of view. They are not.
The world of names and forms is no more than a human convention
Somebody’s name is Devadatta, but what exactly is his form? A biological being must be a complete, self-maintaining entity, so somebody’s arm on its own can surely not be classified as a complete being, as it would not survive on its own. However, if we put Devadatta into a hole for a very long time, without giving him any food, he, too, would not be able to maintain himself. The implication is that the food is a part of him. There would be no food without soil, and so he would die if the soil the farmer used to grow the food were taken away, so the soil must be a part of him, too, as well as the sun, the rain, the clouds, the farmer and the farmer’s own food. Ultimately, we see that everything is interconnected, and that there are only two reasonable conclusions to come to. Either, Devadatta is the whole universe, or else he does not exist at all, and there is only one single entity in which everything is included.
Most would consider the entity, ‘Devadatta,’ to include his arms and legs, but not the air he breathes. However, he could survive if a surgeon removed all his limbs, but there is no way he would survive if we put him into a vacuum, so which is a more important part of him, his limbs or the Earth’s atmosphere? We must surely come to the conclusion that the mind splits the information it receives from the senses into separate forms according not to logic, but to its own convenience. Indeed, without the mind’s decision as to what constitutes a form, what we call the person, ‘Devadatta,’ would be no more than a mixture of vortices of matter and energy with no obvious beginning or end. Therefore, ‘Devadatta,’ is simply a human convention, a convenient focal-point for our attention in this complex and fluid universe created by our own minds.
It can be observed that our minds divide the universe into names and forms whether we want them to or not, thus forcing us to live in this web of illusion in which we are constantly fooled into running after illusive pleasures invented by the mind’s fancy. What must be done, therefore, is go beyond the mind, not into deep sleep, in which our consciousness is covered in ignorance, but into samadhi, in which we, fully conscious, experience Brahman.
What is the nature of Maya?
Maya is of the triple nature of space, time and causation. Brahman is One without a second, and when vibrated by Shakti, as It too is a substance, that One is vibrated and so formed into many particles. A duality has been created.
Space
Now that two particles have been created, there also mysteriously appears, for it has not been actively created, the space between them. When there is only vibrationless Brahman, there is no space, because there is no second. Space only exists between two points, so if there is no second, there cannot be any space, unless it be infinite space. However, infinity is of the nature of Brahman; it does not exist in Maya.
If the first particle is a person, or any other embodied soul, that being will act as a vehicle of perception for Brahman, the one omnipresent consciousness. In an ignorant person, grasping elements, or ignorance, that also obscure the presence of Brahman, in the vehicle grasp at the consciousness, and cause the vehicle to believe that it is itself conscious. The result of this is that people live their lives, believing they are the sense organs, the body, the mind, the intellect or a mixture of these, when these are in reality dead things which appear alive because of the presence of Brahman, just as a computer appears alive when electricity is present. Hence, instead of being conscious just as consciousness, we are conscious as consciousness plus ignorance, which obscures our knowledge of our identity as Brahman. In a jñani, one who has realised Brahman, the grasping elements, or ignorance, have been cleaned up, so the vehicle is clean and the knowledge sound, resulting in no confusion as to his identity.
When consciousness passes through a vehicle of perception that identifies itself with the body, the consciousness is now conscious through the eye, within Maya, instead of in the omnipresent aspect as pure consciousness beyond Maya. As the consciousness now associates itself with the body, and believes this body to be a complete being, when it sees another body across space, it sees that body to be also a complete conscious being, separated from itself by the space between them, instead of as the same being, Brahman Itself.
Time
Time is the distance between two events. In the duality of the relative world, there are always events. Even if you are sitting, doing nothing, your body is slowly changing. On a lone particle in space, there are still forces working as well as on other bodies, however far away, and so after along a time, it will eventually collide with something else. Events only take place when there are at least two. One event happens at twelve o’ clock and another at one o’ clock. If there is only One, Brahman, and nothing else, there is no second that can affect It. There are no events, and therefore no time between events, and so we are permanently at twelve o’ clock.
Causation
Every cause has an effect. Nothing ever happens for no reason. This material world is a chain of cause and effect, resulting in creation and destruction on every level from the simplest molecule to the entire universe. For there to be a cause and an effect, a subject must act on an object, which means there must be two. However, the substratum, Brahman, is One without a second, so there can be no cause and no effect, no creation and destruction, only eternal stillness.
What is the substratum onto which Maya is projected?
That is Brahman, described as Existence, Knowledge, Bliss Absolute. These are not qualities of Brahman, but Its essence; aspects of Its true being. What is a liquid? Something fluid and a wetting agent. These two are not qualities of a liquid, but its essence. There does not exist anything fluid that is not a liquid, and if it cannot make something wet, again it is not a liquid. Something fluid is necessarily also a wetting agent. These two aspects simply cannot be separated as they are non-different. The finite mind cannot easily comprehend something abstract and infinite, therefore, it perceives an aspect of Brahman; it sees it from an angle of its own invention.
Existence Absolute
Absolute Existence is the original substance, the clay from which everything is made. As all can be traced back to that original substance, it is One without a second, and therefore beyond Maya and infinite. Being a simple substance and not a compound, it cannot be broken down into anything smaller. Impossible to destroy, its existence is eternal, unlike the relative existence of Maya.
Knowledge Absolute
Knowledge Absolute is not of this world. If somebody knows something, there is the subject, that is the knower, the object, that is the known, and the knowledge, which is the relationship between the two. When there is the knowledge of the relative world, the subject and object are always present. Even if I say, “I know myself, I am big,” the subject and object seem the same, but what has happened is that an outside phantasmal subject has been created, so I am now looking at myself from an outside point of view, in this case of smaller people. There is nobody that knows his own face. If you see your face in a good mirror, you can only know your face 99%, for a reflection is not the original. It is impossible to know the object 100%, so if you say you know something, that automatically also means you are ignorant. You do not know your face, you cannot know your face, but you are your face. In the same way, you cannot know Brahman, but you are Brahman. 100% knowledge, Knowledge Absolute, is not knowing, but being, pure consciousness.
Bliss Absolute
Bliss is experienced when there is a subject, the enjoyer, and an object, the enjoyed, and the enjoyment, the relationship between the two, and when there is a movement towards oneness. Brahman may be likened to a magnet and the individual soul to an iron filing. The space separating them is the mind. The iron filing travels towards the magnet slowly when it is far away, and faster when it is closer. When there is a long distance between the two, there is little bliss, and when the distance is short, there is more. When the iron filing reaches the magnet, the two have become one. The attracting power is still present, so a sort of bliss is there, but there is no longer any movement. The greatest amount of bliss is experienced at the last point before oneness, when 99% bliss is experienced. When there is only One, the mind having been completely transcended, there is 100% bliss, but there is no object of enjoyment, and therefore no enjoyment. As our true nature, Brahman, is Absolute Bliss, if our hearts were widely open, bliss would be constantly manifesting in our hearts
Brahman is ultimately indescribable
However, all these descriptions of Brahman are imperfect. Words belong to the relative world of subject and object, knowledge and ignorance, but Brahman is only one, the Eternal Subject, absolute and infinite, way beyond the duality of words. Whenever we describe Brahman, we are treating the Eternal Subject as the object, which is an immediate degradation, seeing It from the point of view of Maya, when it should be seen from the point of view of Brahman, which means not seeing, but being. The philosophers describe It as omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent. It is all these things from the point of view of Maya alone. As It is the substratum of all, It is omnipresent, everywhere, pervading everything. However, from the point of view of the One without a second, it is not, for outside Maya, there is no such thing as space for it to be present in, and there is no second for It to pervade. It is omniscient as it is the only consciousness in existence and It contains everything. However, from Its own point of view, there is no second that It can know and no duality in which It can have ignorance, and therefore knowledge. It is omnipotent as everything depends on it, without It nothing would exist, and working through Maya, It is the projector, director and dissolver of the universe. However, from Its own point of view, there is no Maya and no second over which It may wield power. Ultimately, every description reaches It not and falls away. It is simply indescribable.
The various frequencies of vibration
When Shakti vibrates, It vibrates to many different frequencies. This results in matter vibrating at different speeds, but co-existing in the same place, thus creating various planes of existence. Physical objects vibrate to a similar frequency, so two physical things, such as my body and a wall cannot exist in the same place. If they could, I could walk through a wall. Electricity is of a finer vibration, and likewise, it cannot exist in the same place as something of a similar vibration. Hence, electricity cannot flow through another current of electricity. If two currents collide, there is a short circuit. However, as electricity and my hand are of different vibrations, they can exist in the same place, so the electricity can flow through my body.
Each person, apart from a physical body, also has a subtle energy system and a mind. However, surgeons never see these when they cut someone open, because they are of a different vibration.
In the same way, there are numerous universes co-existing in the same place, vibrating to different frequencies. Our eyes vibrate to the frequency of physical matter, so only see the physical universe. However, if our eyes suddenly changed to a subtle vibration, this universe would seem to disappear, and we would find ourselves seeing a subtler universe. Shakti first vibrates at a very fine frequency, creating very fine matter, or energy, then this is further vibrated into gross, physical matter. This agrees with the theorem E=mc², which basically says that a certain amount of energy is equivalent to a certain amount of matter, and that, therefore, one may be changed into the other.
The dream of the Supreme
Shakti, of the nature of Pure Intelligence, dreams this universe into existence. The world may appear real now, but when one goes into samadhi, it disappears and is revealed to be no more tangible than the dream it is. Last night, I dreamt I was being chased by goblins, and convinced that this was real, I ran about, tiring myself out and feeling very frightened. Then I woke up, and surprised to see the goblins had disappeared, I asked someone where they had gone, and that person said they had never existed in the first place, so the question was rather foolish. Now I find myself chased about by tax-collectors, feeling very upset and believing this nightmare is real. However, if I go into samadhi, this so-called, “reality,” will also disappear, and I will wonder where it has gone, then realise that it does not exist in the first place, that the question is rather foolish, and that this world is no more real than the dream world with the goblins. Just because the, “real world,” usually seems to last longer, and we regularly wake up from the dream state, but most of us do not wake up from the so-called, “waking state,” does not mean that the waking world is more real. There can be no such concept as grades of reality. Something is either real or unreal.
Who is the dreamer, and who the dreamed?
The objection may be made that, as every time we wake up, we find ourselves in the same universe, the waking world seems permanent, therefore real and unlike a dream, whereas, in our dreams, we could be transported to an apparently different universe every time we fall asleep. Furthermore, we all dream different dreams, whereas, in the waking state, we all appear to be dreaming the same dream, which, on the face of it, seems an absurdity when we consider we all have different minds. What must be understood here is our role in the dreams and the identities of the dreamers in both the dream and waking states.
When in the dream state, you are the observer of your personal dream. The whole dream takes place within your own mind. You are the ruler of your dream, and the characters in it are forced to do whatever your mind wills. The universe of the waking state, on the other hand, is the dream of Ishwara. ‘Ishwara,’ means, ‘ruler,’ in this context, of Maya. Ishwara is the macrocosm, which is the whole universe with consciousness, Brahman, as the substratum. Nothing exists outside Ishwara, so all duality, all Maya, which is space, time and causation is contained therein. Therefore, Maya cannot bound Ishwara and is Ishwara’s slave. The jivas, embodied souls, are microcosms, body-mind systems, with Brahman as the substratum, like mini Ishwaras. The difference is that the jives are located within the universe, within Maya, and are therefore not rulers of Maya, but rather slaves of it, just as the characters in our dreams are slaves of our mind. Furthermore, just as the characters in our dreams are not dreaming, but are rather being dreamed, in the waking state, we, too, are, more strictly speaking, not dreaming, but being dreamed.
By whose will do the dreamed act?
From the point of view of Ishwara, we are indeed being dreamed, which implies that we have no free will. Experience, however, does suggest that we do actually have the power to make our own decisions. Although these statements appear contradictory, they are both correct, though on different levels. When we start our journey in the human body, we identify ourselves with the body. Believing it, and therefore the rest of the material universe to be real, we believe that we, the body, decide to do whatever we do, and that we are not dreamers of or dreamed in an unreal existence. When we start the spiritual path, we think all our progress is down to our own effort as individual beings, and Ishwara has nothing to do with it, which is correct from the point of view of the individual ego. However, one who has realised Brahman, with the benefit of realised knowledge, would see all from the higher point of view of the Supreme Ego. There is only one ruler, Mahamaya, and if we enforce our will to do great deeds, it is because She wills us to, and if we decide to do nothing, it is because She wills it to be so. We are nothings but playthings in Her hand, and the only way to escape Her dream hypnotic web of illusion is by transcending it, and de-hypnotising ourselves by realising our true nature as Brahman, beyond Maya, beyond any second, Infinity, silent and eternal.