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Maya (religion)

This article is about a concept in Indian religions. For the figure in Buddhism, see Maya (mother of the Buddha). For the traditional religion of the Maya peoples, see Maya religion. For other uses, see Maya (disambiguation).

Maya (/ˈmɑːjə/; Devanagari: माया, IAST: māyā), literally "illusion" or "magic",[1][2][3] has multiple meanings in Indian philosophies depending on the context. In later Vedic texts, māyā connotes a "magic show, an illusion where things appear to be present but are not what they seem";[2][4] the principle which shows "attributeless Absolute" as having "attributes".[3] Māyā also connotes that which "is constantly changing and thus is spiritually unreal" (in opposition to an unchanging Absolute, or Brahman), and therefore "conceals the true character of spiritual reality".[5][6]

In the Advaita Vedanta school of Hindu philosophy, māyā, "appearance",[7] is "the powerful force that creates the cosmic illusion that the phenomenal world is real".[8] In this nondualist school, māyā at the individual level appears as the lack of knowledge (avidyā) of the real Self, Atman-Brahman, mistakenly identifying with the body-mind complex and its entanglements.[8]

In Buddhist philosophy, māyā is one of twenty subsidiary unwholesome mental factors, responsible for deceit or concealment about the illusionary nature of things.[9][10]

In Vaishnavism, Māyā is an epithet, or a manifestation of the Hindu goddess Lakshmi,[11] who with Vishnu are together revered as the personification of the Absolute. Māyā was also the name of Gautama Buddha's mother.[12]

  1. ^ Buswell & Lopez 2013, p. 535.
  2. ^ a b Lochtefeld, James G. (2002). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism: A-M. The Rosen Publishing Group. p. 433. ISBN 9780823931798.
  3. ^ a b Grimes 1996, p. 189.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference sb was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ M Hiriyanna (2000), The Essentials of Indian Philosophy, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120813304, pp. 25, 160-161
  6. ^ Lynn Foulston and Stuart Abbott (2009), Hindu Goddesses: Beliefs and Practices, Sussex Academic Press, ISBN 978-1902210438, pp. 14-16.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Shastri was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ a b "Maya". Encyclopedia Britannica.
  9. ^ Guenther (1975), Kindle Locations 900–901.
  10. ^ Kunsang (2004), p. 25.
  11. ^ Lochtefeld, James G. (2002). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism: A-M. The Rosen Publishing Group. p. 405. ISBN 9780823931798.
  12. ^ "mAyA". Sanskrit and Tamil Dictionaries. Retrieved 24 August 2016.

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