maayaaPanchadas’i.6.130--
From the standpoint of the ordinary worldly man, maayaa is real. From the standpoint of the man of realization, maayaa
has no existence at all. For those who try to understand it through
reasoning, maayaa cannot be determined as either real or unreal; it is anirvachaniiya
. S’rii
S’ankara
says in maayaapanchakam
that maayaa has the
capacity to make the impossible happen. It imposes on Brahman, which is
eternal and devoid of parts and which is pure Consciousness, the false
distinctions as the world, individual souls and God. It makes even those
who have mastered all the scriptures no different from animals by
tempting them with wealth and the like. It makes Brahman which is
infinite bliss, pure Consciousness and non-dual, struggle in the ocean
of samsaara by associating it
with the body made up of the five elements. It imposes on Brahman which
is devoid of qualities the distinctions of colour, caste, etc, and
attachment to wife, son, possessions and the like. It creates even in
non-dual Brahman distinctions such as Brahmaa, Vishnu and S’iva and
deludes even the learned into thinking that they are different from one
another. S’v.up.4.10—prakr.ti
is maayaa and the supreme Lord is the wielder of maayaa. V.C.
verse 110--- maayaa is called
‘Unmanifest’. It is the power of Parames’vara, the supreme Lord.
It is beginningless Nescience. It is constituted of the three guNas,
sattva, rajas and tamas. Its existence cannot be directly known, but can
only be inferred from its effects. It is the cause of this universe. V.C.verse
111—it is neither real, nor unreal, nor both. It is neither different
from Brahman, nor non-different, nor both. It is neither possessed of
parts, nor without parts, nor both. It is most wonderful and is of
indescribable nature. V.C.verse
112- This maayaa can be
destroyed by the realization of the pure non-dual Brahman just as the
illusory snake is negated by the knowledge of the rope which is its
sub-stratum. B.G.7.14—The
Lord says—“ This divine maayaa
of Mine is difficult to overcome. Those who take refuge in Me alone
can cross over this maayaa”. B.G.13.1.S.B—prakr.tis’cha
triguNaatmikaa ----- It
is prakr.ti or maayaa made up of the three guNas that has become transformed as all
the bodies, organs and objects for subserving the ends of the individual
souls, namely, enjoyment and liberation.
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