Why is the Maya more powerful than jeev that it can dominate jeev?
Question:
Scriptures tell us that Maya and jeev are the powers of God (Brahm). Since both of these powers belong to God, then why is one of those powers (Maya) more powerful than the other power (jeev). And so powerful that since eternity Maya has dominated jeev. Why and how is it so?
Answer:
Before we answer this question let us understand the three terms used in this question. There are only three eternal entities -
As Shri Krishna says in Gita-
Scriptures tell us that Maya and jeev are the powers of God (Brahm). Since both of these powers belong to God, then why is one of those powers (Maya) more powerful than the other power (jeev). And so powerful that since eternity Maya has dominated jeev. Why and how is it so?
Answer:
Before we answer this question let us understand the three terms used in this question. There are only three eternal entities -
- Brahma - Supreme God (ब्रह्म) is sacchidananda. It means He is the reservoir of unlimited sat (consciousness), chit (knowledge) and anand (bliss).
- Jeev (जीव): All living beings are a fraction of sat - God’s power of consciousness. Being part of the power of consciousness, jeev (soul) eternal and divine, is conscious and endowed with knowledge and happiness. Being an infinitesimally small part of God’s power of consciousness, jeev possesses infinitesimally small consciousness, knowledge and happiness as compared to God.
- Maya (माया): The third entity Maya is also a power of God and, unlike us, it is inert. The entire Sansaar-The World is the manifestation of Maya. Anywhere, anything which is lifeless is a manifestation of Maya. All the work of Maya is carried out by God Himself. That’s why none can overcome Maya on their own.
As Shri Krishna says in Gita-
दैवी ह्येषा गुणमयी मम माया दुरत्यया । मामेव ये प्रपद्यन्ते मायामेतां तरन्तिते।। गीता 7.14
Daivī hyēṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā. Māmēva yē prapadyantē māyāmētāṁ tarantitē.. Gītā 7.14
Daivī hyēṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā. Māmēva yē prapadyantē māyāmētāṁ tarantitē.. Gītā 7.14
Since eternity, jeev has chosen Maya over God
“This Maya is My power. It consists of the three gunas and no-one can overcome it on their own. Only those who are fully surrendered to Me are able to cross this ocean of Maya by My grace.”
Even though Maya and jeev are eternal they are not independent. The Supreme Brahma (ब्रह्म) is the master of these two entities. All these three entities are eternal which means they do not have a beginning nor end. Also, nobody created them and nobody can destroy any of them.
The jeev is in a very unique position, situated in-between Maya and God. It is endowed with intellect and has been granted the option of choosing between them. Since eternity, jeev has chosen Maya over God, yet the ever-merciful God has not abandoned the jeev. On the contrary, God continues to provide the jeev an opportunity to change sides at any time. Those who ultimately choose the path of God attain unlimited divine bliss while those who don't continue to be sad, mad, glad etc.
God resides in the heart of all living beings and notes down their thoughts and ideas. He awaits for the moment when the jeev would give-up the allurement of Maya and turn towards Him. Once the soul turns towards Him, God does not spare even a fraction of a second in bestowing His divine grace on the soul.
Since eternity jeev has desired for material pleasures and has been reinforcing it in the countless past lives. Though, the experience of each jeev is that attainment of these desires leads to greed and non-attainment leads to anger. All individual souls (jeev) experience the pain resulting from desires, numerous times within each lifetime, yet they do not give-up running behind Maya.
Ignorantly, we continue to expect happiness from the inert objects of the world. Reflect, how can an inert object become the cause of happiness or misery to any one! It is our expectation from the world which causes us pain and suffering. You can compare this to the phenomenon of churning limestone water and getting upset for not getting butter from it.
God has revealed this same truth in the Vedas. God descends on this earth numerous times and sends His saints to propagate the same well-known secret. Yet, jeev insists on sticking to his preconceived notions. So can God or Maya be held responsible for the choices that the jeev makes?
To make it easy to explain, it is generally said that “jeev has been overpowered by Maya”. This statement is however not entirely true. The truth is that “jeev has eternally held on to Maya as his own and is suffering from the consequences of the choices he has made”. The attributes of Maya are vices like anger, greed, jealousy, hatred and many more. Just like when you stand in a room with a green light then your white clothes also seem to be green in color. Similarly, since we are standing in the realm of Maya, so we forget our true self and get engulfed with the vices of Maya.
Maya is inert (जड़), it has no capability to dominate anyone. The jeev holds on to it so tight that even the divine words of God cannot convince jeev to give up the hope of finding happiness in the world. We are so deluded that we don’t realize the worldly matters temporarily please the senses only; not the soul. Jeev is divine. A divine entity cannot be satisfied by the material matters. This is the reason why any amount of material possessions have yet to quench anyone's desires. A billionaire's reason for unhappiness might be different from that of a beggar, yet the fact of the matter is that both beggar and billionaire (and everyone in the middle) are unhappy.
In a nutshell, out of ignorance jeev has been embracing Maya. To break free, the jeev will have to just let go off Maya. As soon as we truly assimilate the fact that:
Shri Krishna illustrated the only way to attain this knowledge in Gita –
Even though Maya and jeev are eternal they are not independent. The Supreme Brahma (ब्रह्म) is the master of these two entities. All these three entities are eternal which means they do not have a beginning nor end. Also, nobody created them and nobody can destroy any of them.
The jeev is in a very unique position, situated in-between Maya and God. It is endowed with intellect and has been granted the option of choosing between them. Since eternity, jeev has chosen Maya over God, yet the ever-merciful God has not abandoned the jeev. On the contrary, God continues to provide the jeev an opportunity to change sides at any time. Those who ultimately choose the path of God attain unlimited divine bliss while those who don't continue to be sad, mad, glad etc.
God resides in the heart of all living beings and notes down their thoughts and ideas. He awaits for the moment when the jeev would give-up the allurement of Maya and turn towards Him. Once the soul turns towards Him, God does not spare even a fraction of a second in bestowing His divine grace on the soul.
Since eternity jeev has desired for material pleasures and has been reinforcing it in the countless past lives. Though, the experience of each jeev is that attainment of these desires leads to greed and non-attainment leads to anger. All individual souls (jeev) experience the pain resulting from desires, numerous times within each lifetime, yet they do not give-up running behind Maya.
Ignorantly, we continue to expect happiness from the inert objects of the world. Reflect, how can an inert object become the cause of happiness or misery to any one! It is our expectation from the world which causes us pain and suffering. You can compare this to the phenomenon of churning limestone water and getting upset for not getting butter from it.
God has revealed this same truth in the Vedas. God descends on this earth numerous times and sends His saints to propagate the same well-known secret. Yet, jeev insists on sticking to his preconceived notions. So can God or Maya be held responsible for the choices that the jeev makes?
To make it easy to explain, it is generally said that “jeev has been overpowered by Maya”. This statement is however not entirely true. The truth is that “jeev has eternally held on to Maya as his own and is suffering from the consequences of the choices he has made”. The attributes of Maya are vices like anger, greed, jealousy, hatred and many more. Just like when you stand in a room with a green light then your white clothes also seem to be green in color. Similarly, since we are standing in the realm of Maya, so we forget our true self and get engulfed with the vices of Maya.
Maya is inert (जड़), it has no capability to dominate anyone. The jeev holds on to it so tight that even the divine words of God cannot convince jeev to give up the hope of finding happiness in the world. We are so deluded that we don’t realize the worldly matters temporarily please the senses only; not the soul. Jeev is divine. A divine entity cannot be satisfied by the material matters. This is the reason why any amount of material possessions have yet to quench anyone's desires. A billionaire's reason for unhappiness might be different from that of a beggar, yet the fact of the matter is that both beggar and billionaire (and everyone in the middle) are unhappy.
In a nutshell, out of ignorance jeev has been embracing Maya. To break free, the jeev will have to just let go off Maya. As soon as we truly assimilate the fact that:
- I (soul) am eternal and divine; the body (along with senses, mind and intellect) is mine and is ever changing and perishable.
- I am the master of the senses and it is I who seeks happiness.
- Senses (along with mind and intellect) are working hard to provide happiness to me but fail miserably because they do not have a clue of what will please me.
- So, I need an authentic guide to educate me on where and how to find happiness.
Shri Krishna illustrated the only way to attain this knowledge in Gita –
तद्विद्धि प्रणिपातेन परिप्रश्नेन सेवया ।
उपदेक्ष्यन्ति ते ज्ञानं ज्ञानिनस्तत्तवदर्शिनः।।
उपदेक्ष्यन्ति ते ज्ञानं ज्ञानिनस्तत्तवदर्शिनः।।
गी. 4.34
Tadvid'dhi praṇipātēna paripraśnēna sēvayā.
Upadēkṣyanti tē jñānaṁ jñāninastattavadarśinaḥ.
Upadēkṣyanti tē jñānaṁ jñāninastattavadarśinaḥ.
Gita 4.34
Jeev has to turn around to face God
“Seek a saint (see Saint or Imposter) who possesses the knowledge of the scriptures and is also a God-realized soul. Approach such a saint with a completely surrendered mind. Humbly ask him questions to satisfy your inquisitive mind and serve him selflessly. Then by his grace you would attain the precise direction to reach Me”.
This deep rooted knowledge (stated above) when understood well and practiced is capable of reducing and eventually eliminating the afflictions caused by material attachments and grant eternal bliss. If one does not do this, then it does not matter which rituals or expedients one performs. If one has resolved not to renounce the attachments of Maya and continues to pursue worldly wealth, parents, spouse, siblings and friends etc then one cannot get divine happiness.
This deep rooted knowledge (stated above) when understood well and practiced is capable of reducing and eventually eliminating the afflictions caused by material attachments and grant eternal bliss. If one does not do this, then it does not matter which rituals or expedients one performs. If one has resolved not to renounce the attachments of Maya and continues to pursue worldly wealth, parents, spouse, siblings and friends etc then one cannot get divine happiness.
तपस्विनो दानपरा यशस्विनो मनस्विनो मंत्रविदः सुमङ्लाः ।
क्षेमं न विन्दन्ति बिना यदर्पणं तस्मै सुभद्रश्रवसे नमो नमः ॥
क्षेमं न विन्दन्ति बिना यदर्पणं तस्मै सुभद्रश्रवसे नमो नमः ॥
भाग २.४.१७
tapasvino dānaparā yaśasvino manasvino maṃtravidaḥ sumaṅlāḥ ।
kṣemaṃ na vindanti binā yadarpaṇaṃ tasmai subhadraśravase namo namaḥ ॥
kṣemaṃ na vindanti binā yadarpaṇaṃ tasmai subhadraśravase namo namaḥ ॥
bhāga 2.4.17
“Any amount of austerity, alms, fame, yoga or power of mantra cannot deliver one from the bondage of Maya. Submitting yourself to God is the only way”.
Finally, it is incorrect to accuse Maya (or God) for our miseries. Just turn away from Maya and seek pleasure in God. The unlimited personified Bliss(God) awaits to receive you with open arms.
Finally, it is incorrect to accuse Maya (or God) for our miseries. Just turn away from Maya and seek pleasure in God. The unlimited personified Bliss(God) awaits to receive you with open arms.
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माया ने जीव को नहीं पकड़ा, जीव ने माया को पकड़ा है । जैसे कोई कहे कंबल ने हमें पकड़ा । अरे गधे कंबल तो जड़ है । कंबल किसी को कैसे पकड़ेगा ? तूने कंबल को पकड़ा है, तू कंबल को छोड़ दे बस हो गया ।
Maya is not holding on to jeev. Jeev is holding on to Maya. Just like a blanket cannot hold a person, the person holds on to the blanket. Let go of the blanket and you can be free of it. - Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj
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