Home
Ignorance ,Maya & God
Maya is not ignorance, though it is used in that sense, if you analyze its root meaning. It is the unimaginability, which means that the ignorance here can never be removed. God can never be understood and so the ignorance about God is Maya. Avidya means the ignorance that can be removed. Ignorance of physics can be removed by special effort. Avidya relates to the self. By effort the self-ignorance can be removed.
But the ignorance of God is Maya, which can never be removed by any effort as God is unimaginable. The Gita says that He can never be understood (Man…). The Veda says that the soul can be understood by sharp analysis (Drusyate tu…). Liberation comes by self-realization, which gives peace but not bliss.
(Samah karanam…the Gita) (Eshahyeva Anandayati… the Veda). Peace is zero and bliss is plus. Any one of these two can remove the misery, which is minus. But there is easy tendency for the zero to become minus. Therefore, the self-analysis achieved by your logical ladder can drop to misery (Savikalpa Samadhi). But if the same self-realization is granted by the Lord, it is eternal (Nirvikalpa). Shankara told that the grace of the Lord can alone bring the real self-realization (Esvaraanugrahaadeva…).
Such grace of Lord comes by devotion, which is generated and strengthened by knowledge and which can be proved only in terms of practical service as seen in the case of your family. Shankara gives the top importance to devotion (Bhaktireva…). The Gita also says that God is achieved only by devotion (Bhaktyaatvananyayaa…).
The Gita also says that the devotion is proved by selfless service to God, which is called as Nishkama karma yoga.
Maya is not ignorance, though it is used in that sense, if you analyze its root meaning. It is the unimaginability, which means that the ignorance here can never be removed. God can never be understood and so the ignorance about God is Maya. Avidya means the ignorance that can be removed. Ignorance of physics can be removed by special effort. Avidya relates to the self. By effort the self-ignorance can be removed.
But the ignorance of God is Maya, which can never be removed by any effort as God is unimaginable. The Gita says that He can never be understood (Man…). The Veda says that the soul can be understood by sharp analysis (Drusyate tu…). Liberation comes by self-realization, which gives peace but not bliss.
(Samah karanam…the Gita) (Eshahyeva Anandayati… the Veda). Peace is zero and bliss is plus. Any one of these two can remove the misery, which is minus. But there is easy tendency for the zero to become minus. Therefore, the self-analysis achieved by your logical ladder can drop to misery (Savikalpa Samadhi). But if the same self-realization is granted by the Lord, it is eternal (Nirvikalpa). Shankara told that the grace of the Lord can alone bring the real self-realization (Esvaraanugrahaadeva…).
Such grace of Lord comes by devotion, which is generated and strengthened by knowledge and which can be proved only in terms of practical service as seen in the case of your family. Shankara gives the top importance to devotion (Bhaktireva…). The Gita also says that God is achieved only by devotion (Bhaktyaatvananyayaa…).
The Gita also says that the devotion is proved by selfless service to God, which is called as Nishkama karma yoga.