Maya expounded

Welcome to the second issue of Treasures of the past

The sense of independent identity with respect to the creation is called Maya! This concept serves a great purpose with respect to the ever changing, self-sustaining and infinitely perpetuating, numerous forms and names of creation!

What purpose?

Let us examine this little carefully. A story in Srimad Bhagavata Maha Purana compiled by the great sage Veda Vyasa provides us the clue.

When Lord Brahma or Brhaspati the first and foremost godhead to emerge after the Virat Purusha contemplated on the God and as ordained created a number of excellent off-springs, beholders of virtue and told them to go to the earth and procreate their lineage. But these sons of Brahma who were born through his thought process were so enlightened that when they went into the world did nothing but started meditating upon their source and attained samadhi or jeevan mukthi! A state of self-realisation So the very purpose of Brahma’s great effort was defeated.

In other words, if they had been ignorant of their real source they would have in all probability served the purpose. So Brahma realised that, and thought yet another set of people have to be created and sent. This time he took care to take advantage of the tool of illusion that had earlier acted on him, to conceal the knowledge of their source from them and made them believe that they all have a separate identity. But this time too, he had to meet with failure because another son of Brahma called Naradha was there at hand to dispel their ignorance and make them realise their original source and this resulted in these sons renouncing the world and attained mukthi or salvation! This act of Naradha annoyed Brahma and he cursed him to keep wandering around the universal creation without break! Finally Brahma succeeds in creating the offspring , through them he could sustain this creative process of universal activity.

From this story two things become clear to us. That is 1.Progeny created by thought process was employed to sustain the process of further creation. 2. Assumption of Separate identity was a prerequisite for this activity.

We also learn that by proper orientation and guidance we can identify the real source and be free from the cycle of creation and destruction! This leads us to the next logical step. Where another question confronts us, that is, Can I possibly exist without this separate identity? If yes what happens to the concept “I”?

The answer to the first question is ‘Yes’ and the second question is that the “I” becomes an all encompassing “I” and not a narrow one. To be more specific, upon contemplation one reaches a state of consciousness where the narrow divisions of form and name at pure physical state begin to blur and sense of identification with other components of creation emerges. The person realises and feels the common identity that effectively fuses him with all others irrespective of their form and name! Even this realisation is not an end in itself but only a means to further progress he can make in this process!

Now let us go back to the concept of separate identity. The moment a separate identity is assumed the rules of the game change accordingly. All actions of an individual entity will have to be effectively fastened to the same identity and not to be expanded or allowed to overlap! This rule of creation comes into play and all actions or karma of the entity through the organs of perception whether well developed or not, results in certain reaction. A complex concept called Dharma comes into play to make the whole process more equitable among all separate identities!

Since we had already seen the possibility of existing with an enlarged sense of identity, a method was developed by those enlightened seers or those who had surpassed the barrier of forms and names to regulate the actions. This was called as Varnasrama Dharma. This is purely an intellectual product and in no way to be confused with its new Definition of today that is simply an emotional outcome.

The primary division was based on the traits that the identities imbibed from their birth that is 1.Those who could contemplate upon the truth with unwavering concentration and discover the Self or the real source and also propagate this to others. 2. Those who identified themselves with the physical form through their consciousness at various levels, at the same time felt the need to offer their skill to protect the components of this creation. This is of course is a very weak force of consciousness that tries to strike a common chord with other components of creation.

3. Those who are just like the previous category, but only little different in their approach, they feel the need to create more components that are right for sustenance and believe in perpetuating wealth, the conditions necessary for existence. 4. Those who are habitually inclined to strengthen, maintain and oversee the components of creation. A subtle line that divides the last two categories is that one is self-driven and the other is dependent with respect to its action.

These four divisions were well defined and their duties earmarked. Naturally actions that are not in tune with the purpose or goal of that particular category when pursued results in aberrations that are some times detrimental to the smooth functioning, that is called suffering. This is what we call as results of karma or action. Then the questions arise as to what happens when the actions are supportive and supplementary? The answer is, the results are always rewarding! This is called enjoyment that is a gift given by the Maya to the separate identity I. We get the clear indication of this analogy through the Lalitha Sahasra Nama the thousand names coined in prayer to the Goddess Sakthi the embodiment of Maya!

The names are

1.Varnasrama vidhayini

2.Dharma, Adharma vivardhini.

They imply that Sakthi is the force that puts these divisions into action and makes her subjects follow, and she is the one who distributes the fruits of all actions either good or bad. Yet another name gives us another clue. The name Vishnu Maya Vilasini tells us that she is the right force of God to meditate upon, to over come the effects of Maya by which the real nature of Maya will be known!

Can all our actions be modified to yield only gifts of enjoyment? Can life be without suffering?

To seek answers to these questions let us wait for the next issue