"Maya", a term those of us in dharmic religions know well. This is the term we use to describe this world, the world of material things and sensations, the realm of this life. Often the word Maya is used to somehow infer that this world is not real, when in fact, all it means is illusionary.
We've all seen those Hollywood movies where the hero becomes trapped in some sort of illusion cast over him by the villain, in which though the illusion isn't real, what he experiences in it is. He still feels pain, pleasure, thrill, sadness, and the like inside the illusion. In some way, the illusion cast by the villain, though not real, is based on what is real.
I would put forth that this world is just like that. When I say "Maya", I don't mean to infer that this world is entirely unreal, or that nothing experienced in it is real. On the contrary, we experience real things inside this realm, because this realm to some degree shares elements of the true reality.
However, just like the villain casting the illusion over the hero in a Hollywood film, so that he still experiences sensations, but doesn't see the truth behind them, so is this world. We experience sensations, but we don't see the truth behind the sensation.
One of the more unreal, or shall I say not lasting things about life in this realm is materialism. People see material goods, but they don't see the true reality behind the material. They spend a lifetime wanting and going after things because they only see the outward. If they knew the true reality that all is connected they would see that they are in fact grasping at "nothing".
Going after material goods is like going after nothing, quite literally. There is something within all things that connects all things, and if you see that what is within you, is also within the material object, and that just as the material object can perish, so you too will one day perish, then you will stop wanting to grasp constantly for material goods. What is within you and within the material object, the unchanging, unconditioned, all-prevading, is the true reality.
What you experience when you feel pleasure from obtaining material goods is only a temporary pleasure. Yet, if you understood the true reality, you could be content. Hence, contentment is the real emotion, grounded in the true reality, and pleasure is only a carnal sense emotion, grounded in Maya. Carnal sense emotion is not unreal, rather it is a cheapened version of what is real, contentment.
What one sees in the true reality is always more real and lasting just as when the hero in a movie sees the illusion the villain has tricked him with overcomes it. Maya is not what is not real, for it has it's grounding in what is real. Denying Maya is a sure way for one to never move beyond it, for one must acknowledge there is a higher state then sense emotions before they can attain to that higher thing.
Namaste friends
We've all seen those Hollywood movies where the hero becomes trapped in some sort of illusion cast over him by the villain, in which though the illusion isn't real, what he experiences in it is. He still feels pain, pleasure, thrill, sadness, and the like inside the illusion. In some way, the illusion cast by the villain, though not real, is based on what is real.
I would put forth that this world is just like that. When I say "Maya", I don't mean to infer that this world is entirely unreal, or that nothing experienced in it is real. On the contrary, we experience real things inside this realm, because this realm to some degree shares elements of the true reality.
However, just like the villain casting the illusion over the hero in a Hollywood film, so that he still experiences sensations, but doesn't see the truth behind them, so is this world. We experience sensations, but we don't see the truth behind the sensation.
One of the more unreal, or shall I say not lasting things about life in this realm is materialism. People see material goods, but they don't see the true reality behind the material. They spend a lifetime wanting and going after things because they only see the outward. If they knew the true reality that all is connected they would see that they are in fact grasping at "nothing".
Going after material goods is like going after nothing, quite literally. There is something within all things that connects all things, and if you see that what is within you, is also within the material object, and that just as the material object can perish, so you too will one day perish, then you will stop wanting to grasp constantly for material goods. What is within you and within the material object, the unchanging, unconditioned, all-prevading, is the true reality.
What you experience when you feel pleasure from obtaining material goods is only a temporary pleasure. Yet, if you understood the true reality, you could be content. Hence, contentment is the real emotion, grounded in the true reality, and pleasure is only a carnal sense emotion, grounded in Maya. Carnal sense emotion is not unreal, rather it is a cheapened version of what is real, contentment.
What one sees in the true reality is always more real and lasting just as when the hero in a movie sees the illusion the villain has tricked him with overcomes it. Maya is not what is not real, for it has it's grounding in what is real. Denying Maya is a sure way for one to never move beyond it, for one must acknowledge there is a higher state then sense emotions before they can attain to that higher thing.
Namaste friends
I fully agree with you, Phoenix: māyā is a lesser reality, a form of illusion that we attach ourself into thinking is the sole reality. That does not mean it is inherently nonexistent or false, only that we should be accepting that it is fleeting and impermanent, subject to change, and all that is conditioned is void of any inherent existence: there is only Brahman.
ReplyDeleteContrary to some views, that does not innately mean that our experiences and objects of this world are false or unreal, only that they are limited by māyā--that which is existing that is a lesser reality, and they are bound by certain constraints: we all know, for example, that despite our brains, humans are barely even four dimensional beings when there believed to be between 11 and 13 dimensions of existence.
My two cents. :)