Questions tagged [maya]
Māyā is a spiritual concept connoting "that which exists, but is constantly changing and thus is spiritually unreal", and the "power or the principle that conceals the true character of spiritual reality.
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Is Maya superior to Brahman as per Advaita philosophy?
As per Advaita school of Vedanta; living entity is identical to supreme brahman.
Advaitins generally interpret 'Aham Brahmasmi' as 'I'm supreme Brahman'(please correct me if i'm wrong).
We are ...
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World is real even according to Advait Vedanta?
While reading a Jivanmuka Shri Ramana Maharshi I read the following passage (You can/should read more from here) -
The Vedantins do not say that the world is unreal. That is a misunderstanding. If ...
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What is the Advaita argument for why causes can't have real existence?
The Khandana Khanda Khadya is a work by the 12th century Advaitin philosopher Shri Harsha which seeks to demonstrate that all supposed means of knowledge are invalid. As I discuss in this question, ...
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What is (if any) the significance of Ignorance/Maya?
We all know that samsara is not real but it is maya/ignorance. And once self-realization/Jnana is attained, all duality and ignorance are removed/obsolete. In other words, samsara is only based on ...
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What is Māyā according to Śaṃkara Vedānta? What are its characteristics?
Besides Śaṃkara Vedānta, Kaśmīri Śaivism, which is another monist/advaita school of Hinduism too talks about Māyā. According to it, the basic definition of Māyā is -
मियते अनय इती माया।
Meaning: ...
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Understanding Maya or Prakriti as the Supreme Goddess. Or the difference between the two. Also why is a female goddess personified as Maya?
Gist: Understanding Prakriti or Maya. Is she Jada or chetana or both. Since supreme goddess is Maya, Maya is not necessarily a bad or scary thing as is commonly stated. this answer too speaks very ...
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Under what guna is Maya categorised?
Does Maya (Materialistic illusion) fall into one of the following three categories:
Sattva
Rajas
Tamas
Or is maya categorized as nirguna or that which is beyond the three gunas?
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What scriptures describe Krishna teaching Narada about Maya?
During Krishna's time on earth, one of his greatest devotees was the sage Narada, who was also an incarnation of Vishnu as I discuss here. As I discuss in this answer, Narada was one of the sages who ...
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How to overcome maya?
Refer what is Maya here It has acquired almost everyone in this world. Consider me as one of the worst cases. I am willing to control "Maya" and attain at-least consciousness. I know attaining moksha ...
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What will happen to a youth who wants to enjoy life as well as continuing spiritual efforts?
Maya is very treacherous. No one knows it better than a youth perhaps, who feels a strong attraction towards young life (fun, party, entertainment, sex, food, clothes, ...); Basically all materialism, ...
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If we desire to live without desire will it be a desire?
EXPLANATION :
People live with many desires and karmas of good and bad come according to the kind of desire
A man who perform's his duties without any desire and submits the results to god will not ...
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What are Avidya, Maya and Ignorance according to Advaita?
According to Advaita, I want to get a clear understanding of the following terms:
Avidya
Maya
Ignorance
What are Avidya, Maya, and Ignorance? And what is the difference/relationship between them?
In ...
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What does the Vivarana school of Advaita believe about the nature of Avidya?
It's well known that the Sri Vaishnava sect, which subscribes to the Visishtadvaita philosophy of Ramanujacharya, is divided into two sects, the Thenkalais and Vadakalais as I discuss here. Less well-...
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Is Mayasura a Daitya or Danava? What is the important difference between these two groups?
In Mahabharata, Mayasura is said to be the architect of the Daityas. But, in Bhagavata Purana Mayasura is called the Danava King (Canto 5, Chapter 24, Verse 28).
Surely there must be some significance ...
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What is the meaning of the term ''Mayavadi''? Is the term mentioned in any of the scriptures?
Many ISKCON websites call Adi Shankaracharya, Swami Vivekananda, Buddha and Ramakrishna Paramahamsa ''mayavadis'' and that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu called mayavadis ''greatest of all offenders''. However, ...
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Who is Ishwar according to Advait Vedanta - Lord Shiva or Vishnu?
Ishwar is Saguna Brahman who has created the world out of Maya according to Advait Vedanta. Although Ishwar too is illusion according to it, who is Ishwar actually - Lord Shiva or Vishnu as both can ...
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What's the difference between a Māyāví & Siddha?
Śrī Kṛṣṇā at various instances in the Mahābhārata showed his various divine opulences in myriad ways. But, several people used the word Māyāví for dismissing it as something tāmasī or non-...
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What is the difference between concepts of Maya in Hinduism and Buddhism?
How is the illusion in Buddhism and Hinduism different?An author writes <<The concepts of maya, avidya, vyayaharika-satya and paramarthika-satya, advaya, prajna, the unreality of the universe ...
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Advaita : Does Brahman remain actionless?
The Gita says Brahman/Atman is simply a witness and its the Maya or prakriti that acts. The Advaitins also holds the same belief.
If Maya is not a separate entity, i.e. if Brahman and Maya are ...
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According to Advaita, what is the difference between Ishwara and Brahman?
I would like to know the difference between Ishwara and Brahman. If Ishwara is saguna rupa of Brahman then is it real or maya?
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Are saguna deities part of Maya in Advaita?
There is the notion of Krama Mukti - going towards nirguna Brahman in stages - but once the veil of Maya is pierced, does Advaita say the deities are no longer real?
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Shlokas about "time, pradhana, maya are eternal" from the third person's view
Srila Prabhupada wrote that the Supreme Lord, souls, prakriti and time are eternal in the Bhagavad Gita introduction. So, I need the shlokas which tell that "time is eternal", "pradhana ...
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Do mentally ill people get karmaphala?
Is thinking that the body is the self a form of mental illness/disorder ?
If a Psychopath(alex) killed people but in his mind he thought that he actually helped the victims from some mysterious ...
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What exactly is Moola Avidya? Is it found in Adi Shankaracharya's Prasthana Traya Bhashya?
Shree Satchdanandendra Saraswati Swamiji claims that Moola Avidya is an add on concept which was later inserted into Advaita by Bhamati and Panchapadika Vivarana school.
He says it is not found in the ...
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Do the long term actions of Avataras survive the end of the respective Avataras?
There is a claim that Krishna has stated in the Mahabharata that he has illusioned Siva and others:
http://www.vrindavana.net/academy/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/visnu-sahasra-nama-baladeva-I.pdf
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