Crazy maya!!

Originally Posted by Meerkat

That's a useful analysis. I've been reading the Upanishads, and my impression is that you can find support for both positions.

The Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita and Brahma Sutras are the basis of all schools of Hinduism. Non-dualist, qualified monoism, dualist and all the variations therein. Different interpretations of the very same texts.

[Meerkat]

Originally Posted by ameliorate

I have given up trying to make sense/get to grips with Maya. Recently I made a concerted effort since I was exploring non dualism/Advaita Vedanta and this includes (their version of) maya.

I got exasperated on discovering the 7 great inconsistencies/objections to this maya so I gave up although, for those interested and may not know, there is a book that tackles these. John Grimes is said to correct all these arguments.


Maya originally is said to have denoted the magic power with which a god can make us believe in what turns out to be an illusion.

Non dualist's maya is the said to be the cosmic force that presents Brahman/God as the finite phenomenal world. Our real nature of self is said not to be ego but identical with Brahman.

Ultimately I don't find it beneficial to regard our world as an illusion - it's dismissive! Whilst we're here, alive, I prefer to interact in the world in a vital not reluctant or half hearted way, so if that's crazy....so be it!

Maya as "illusion" doesn't work for me either. Actually there seem to be various different versions of Advaita (and Maya), dependent on which teacher you favour. And then there is Neo-Advaita. So I'm sceptical when people make definitive statements, without the caveat of "according to in this teacher or that sub-school".
What I find more relevant are the various methods of practice you find.

[Meerkat]

Originally Posted by Miss Hepburn

Hey, welcome here!!

Thanks! It says the message I entered is too short. So it's long enough now, I guess. oh

[Meerkat]

Originally Posted by Miss Hepburn

Hey, welcome here!!

Thanks! It says the message I entered is too short. So it's long enough now, I guess.

This site logs me out every few minutes, and it's very difficult to navigate with a smart-phone, but apart from that it's all good.

[Meerkat]

Originally Posted by JustASimpleGuy

The Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita and Brahma Sutras are the basis of all schools of Hinduism. Non-dualist, qualified monoism, dualist and all the variations therein. Different interpretations of the very same texts.

Yes, apparently. And to complicate things further, there are different translations of the original texts.

[Miss Hepburn]

Originally Posted by Meerkat

Thanks! It says the message I entered is too short. So it's long enough now, I guess.

This site logs me out every few minutes, and it's very difficult to navigate with a smart-phone, but apart from that it's all good.

If it is too short - you can do this .... count to 10 figures with dots.
It will post.
Wait till you try to read posts where people type to the very end of
the sentence on one line!
You'll be going left to right each darn sentence...it's very hard.
I try to keep my posts more to the left side for Smartphone users.

Originally Posted by Meerkat

Yes, apparently. And to complicate things further, there are different translations of the original texts.

This is why it's beneficial to listen to lectures by ordained Advaita monks thoroughly versed in the texts and fluent in Sanskrit. Here's the Advaita perspective on Maya and it's the only view from an Advaita perspective. Any seeming difference between teachers is because it's ineffable and the only way to relate it is through analogy and metaphor, and there are many of these, but there's no fundamental disagreement.

|| Maya || by Swami Sarvapriyananda https://youtu.be/MxUXl2YXXL4

These are my two favorite Advaita YouTube channels and they are chock full of top-notch content.

https://www.youtube.com/c/VedantaNY/videos

https://www.youtube.com/c/ArshaBodha...mananda/videos

[Meerkat]

Thanks, I'll have a look. I've been meaning to explore Vivekenanda's interpretation in more detail, though I'd question the idea that it's the "only view" from an Advaita perspective. There are others.

JASG I really like your analogy of lucid dreaming. I have never experienced anything like that myself, but it reminded me of Joseph Campbell talking about Schopenhauer's 'On an Apparent Intention in the Fate of the Individual' (which I have not read)
"...Schopenhauer concludes that it is as though our lives were the
features of the one great dream of a single dreamer in which
all the dream characters dream, too; so that everything links to everything
else, moved by the one will to life which is the universal will in nature."

I wonder if this sort of thing is what is being alluded to in the image of Vishnu in yogic sleep on the coils of Shesha, his dreaming infinite worlds.

Originally Posted by JustASimpleGuy

Prior to diving deep into Advaita I spent a good decade meditating and diving deep into consciousness studies. Perhaps that "shaded" my experience and other Awakening experiences are different? I can't say and can only speak to my own experience.

It is so interesting hearing other people's experiences of this sort of awakening. It seems meditation usually plays a significant role in the process, but there are also those stories of people who have sudden revelations. It's hard to imagine what is going on, in those cases.

Your last sentence reminded me of that Zen story that goes something like...
Two monks come across fish in a pond, and one says to the other, "Look at those fish, having fun in the water."
The other says, "You don't know they're having fun, you are not them."
To which the first replies, "You don't know if I know, you are not me."

I hope you are right about all paths leading to the ultimate reality.

Originally Posted by Honza

Real or not the fact is that I have broken my tooth and now I need to go to the dentist and have it extracted. Ouch. However I now know enough to be able to ease the pain and fear.

Be positive is my motto for the day.

How is your tooth doing now?