If one goes through ancient Vedic text or our stories of Krishna , Rama and even the Mahabharata we hear this word constantly MAYA . In Mahabharata we have Krishna the ultimate Mayavi a man who brings mystic and mesmerises people with his bag of tricks . He beheads Shishupal with one stroke of his Sudarshan chakra and becomes taller then the castle dome when Duryodhana ask he be arrested and made captive .He flies in the air and throws Draupadi an unlimited peace of cloth that she wraps around her as she is being disrobed by Dusshasana . In old Vedic scriptures this world is also called Maya or an illusion . The yogi’s say the world is not what you see through the five senses , that is an illusion , their is an unhidden world of nothingness that is the ultimate reality .Here we see the world becoming an illusion , this has been stated by Krishna in the Geeta as well , that we are here for a limited time and most die not even being able to connect with the ultimate reality and the final truth .
Maya is the great illusion a magic trick of sorts a wool that is used to cover our eyes , as we walk though life oblivious to the real reality .In the Ramayana we also see Maya , people say that the oldest text of the Ramayana state that Seeta lived with ram at the forest in the form of a Chaya . Here again illusion and Maya is at play . Mahrich turns into a golden deer to draw Ram into the forest . Ravana and his army have many general’s with occult powers and use of Maya was prevalent amongst the Rakhshasa in that time .To break the Maya you have to be like a seer who sees things as it is or as they are .
A much used name amongst the women it smells of mystic , hidden charm with all the illusion of an alternate reality .Maya is also another name for Goddess Parvati .Here she is the consort of Shankara the Adi yogi the man who has perceived the ultimate reality , a meditator who has seen the world as an illusion and escaped it’s Maya to sit at mount Kalash so that he can meditate till eternity . She is his wife in the Purna stories MAYA with the ultimate knower , the man who has pierced the illusion.
That is why most Indian’s get impress with fake saints and sadhu’s show their magic tricks to them , people seek these Godmen because the believe they have some greater powers . The Sad Baba was famous for his Vibhuti act , ash would come out of thin air and drop from his hands onto the devotees forehead . That people though was MAYA , and he is hailed as a great mystic by many followers .A deep yet esoteric word steeped into our ancient texts and mythical tales Maya is the great illusion , it will be spoken of for ever and enjoy a scared place in our hearts.
Maya is also the name of the indigenous people of Mexico and south America . They are the natives of this region and were a very advanced civilisation for their time . They had mad some incredible art , temples , buildings and also developed their own script . But today even that is an illusion as you can visit Mexico to see the remains and ashes of this great culture that once thrived .
