Maya means that which can be measured. So, saying, “All this is Maya,” means everything here can be measured. Volume, temperature, distance, and time can all be measured. Everything in this creation is time and space, and both can be measured, and so it is all Maya.

What isn’t Maya?

That which is beyond measure. And what is it that cannot be measured? Joy cannot be measured, love cannot be measured. Truth, consciousness, and bliss, that is, Sat, Chitt, and Anand, these cannot be measured. This is what God is. This is what you are, too! The nature of your spirit is bliss, which is immeasurable.

What does it mean to be drowning in Maya?

When someone says, “You are drowning in Maya,” it means you are drowning in that which is small, impermanent, and always changing. If you have drowned in the ever-changing and aren’t connected to the unchanging aspect, life is very unstable. Stability comes when you connect to something in you that isn’t changing, that remains the same throughout time. That is what is ‘getting out of the web of Maya.’

There is another meaning of Maya – that which appears but disappears when you try to catch it. That is how everything in the world is. You see something so beautiful, and you try to possess it. The moment you possess it, you find the beauty is gone. You think happiness is out there, and you chase after that, and when you reach there, you find that it isn’t there to be found.

Maya can be of three kinds: Moh Maya, Yoga Maya, and Maha Maya.

Moha maya is your deep attachment to something that blinds you. You get so attached to some person or object, it veils your intellect, your wisdom, your mind. It can disrupt your entire personality whenever it engulfs you. And then you feel you have lost your centeredness. You know it gives you pain, yet you cannot get out of it. Whether it is your attachment to money, relationships, or power, Moh Maya can never give you long-lasting happiness. The illusion of Moh Maya completely draws you into materialism. It doesn’t even let you get anywhere near anything spiritual.

Yoga Maya is experienced on the path of yoga. In the spiritual journey, you get all kinds of subtle experiences. You may get visions, and you get caught up and carried away by such experiences. It can even give you an illusion, ‘Oh, I am enlightened!’ ‘I can do anything in the world.’ And it can also bestow certain types of power or Siddhis on you. You may attain the power to read minds, etc. This is Yoga Maya. Sometimes you may attain the power of clairvoyance, or it may come to you in visions. Some visions appear so real, but they could be misleading. Sometimes, you may get deviated from the spiritual path and get carried away.

In 2000, a priest in South Korea had a vision of a chariot descending from heaven. He told his followers that on a particular day, at a particular time, the chariot of God would arrive. And that the savior would take them all to heaven. So people sold their homes, their property, and paid that amount to the church, and everybody got ready to go. Can you guess what happened next? Instead of a chariot, the police came and took the priest to prison. But all those visions seemed so real to him, though they weren’t.

When you don’t have a Master or a Guide, you may get carried away by such visions.

Maha Maya is born or derived from Nature. It clouds or veils us in such a way that we aren’t able to see anything clearly. We become stuck and bound in its inertia. We become devoid of feelings and emotions, like a stone. For Maha Maya, again, you need the grace of the Guru to come out of it. The inertia in you goes away.

None of these 3 types of Maya is bad. All three Mayas are parts of divinity. They belong to the big mind, the Self. The Guru always says. ‘I will help you to come out of it, and that is why you have to let go.’

Overcome Maya with surrender. Bearing the pleasure and the pain, or with understanding, you can overcome it. If nothing, with time, the influence naturally diminishes

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