T Ram Sewak

AVIDYA MAYA

In Shri Ramcharitmanas (3.15), Shri Ram expounds on the dual nature of Maya:

"tehi soaou, bidya apar abidya doaou.

ek roopa, ja koopa."

"And hear of its two forms viz; knowledge/creation and ignorance/illusion. The one (illusion) is vile and extremely painful and has cast Jeev into metempsychosis.."

The whole existence is structured as two layers of Maya. The Vidya form as HIS creation is the core, and the Avidya Maya, i.e. our illusion, is wrapped around it, entrapping the Jeev completely. It is the Unreal reality -the ultimate paradox. What we perceive as true or real is inherently deceptive and transient.

What Shri Ram has referred to earlier as Maya is its Avidya (illusion) form. This is the manifestation of Maya's delusional and enrapturing potency. It is termed a vicious and agonising force because it leads Jeev into the continuous cycle of transmigratory existence. It leads us to pain and sorrow because, under its illusionary spell, we create 'I', 'Me', 'Mine' and 'You' and 'Yours'. This leads to attachment and desire. As Shri Krishna explains in Gita (2.62-63), non-fulfilment of these desires leads to anger, delusion and memory loss. This leads to ruin, namely, entrapment in the painful and sorrowful cycle of birth and death.

But what is this ignorance or illusion? It is the failure to decipher reality. In this transient and material world, we babble, 'my' and 'mine'. This is the illusion. For instance, the house we occupy and claim as 'mine' is also the dwelling of creatures like lizards, spiders, etc. Is this house yours or theirs? Someone else owned it earlier, and someone else will own it afterwards. This thoughtlessness, this ignorance, of 'me' and 'mine', 'you and 'yours' is indeed the well, the trap. We create for ourselves a world of make-believe in this illusory existence. What we perceive as real, whether tangible or intangible, are assumptions. This mirage is

Avidya Maya. / DAILY WORLD /

Namami Ramam Musings-37

The author is a former electrical Engineer and resides in the Himalayas. He can be occasionally reached at ramam.namami@gmail.com