Maya means illusion. It also means the unreality of ephemeral things; the
unreality is personified as a female, who is also called Maya. The words
Dharma and Maya are the constant and spontaneous expression of the Indian
soul. According to Shankara, the Vedantin of the Himalayan peak, there is
only one Absolute Reality, the Brahman, without a second. Advaita or Monism,
deriving from Vedanta, is his momentous philosophy. There is only the Brahman.
Nothing outside the Brahman exists. The world as it stands before our mental
eye is a cosmic illusion, a deceptive prison. It is only when true knowledge
dawns on us that we will be in a position to free ourselves from the meshes
of ignorance and from the snares of birth and death.<br>
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A thing that is, is real. A thing that appears is unreal. An eternal Life
is real. Ignorance and death are unreal. Maya is a kind of power filled with
mystery. We know that electricity is a power, but we do not actually know
what electricity is. The same truth is applicable to Maya. God uses His Maya
Power in order to enter into the field of manifestation. It is the process
of the Becoming of the One into many and again the Return of the many into
the original One.<br>
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Sri Chinmoy&nbsp;