Appearance / Illusion / Magic / Dream

Unreality, deception, fraud, trick, sorcery, witchcraft, mystify, mirage, intoxicate, be lost

That which obscures, confuses, and distracts an individual from God-Realization

Adi Shankara - Indian Philosophy

Definition 1:

Magic show, an illusion where things appear to be present but are not what they seem.

Definition 2:

That which exists, but is constantly changing and thus is spiritually unreal.

Definition 3:

Power or the principle that conceals the true character of spiritual reality.

Definition 4 (Advaita Vedanta):

The powerful force that creates the cosmic illusion that the phenomenal world is real.

Definition 5:

Maya is also an epithet for the goddess Lakshmi of "wealth, fortune, power, luxury, beauty, fertility."

She holds the promise of material fulfillment and contentment. Warning: Parable of the Prodigal Son!

Definition 6:

The wondrous and mysterious power to turn an idea into a physical reality.

Bonus:

Maya is the name of Gautama Buddha's mother.

Lila: The Divine Play

Creative activity of God

World is the stage

The Seed of the Ineffable Absolute

Impregnates the Womb of God

Giving Birth to Infinite Maya

God is the Magician

We are bonded to illusions/delusions

⭐ Freedom & Liberation is understanding the principles behind the magic

This is Lila: The Divine Play

Purusha = Infinite Consciousness (Parmenides) [Vidya]

Prakrti = Maya (Heraclitus) [Avidya]

Seeing a snake at night when it's just a rope.

Enlightenment (daylight) clears up the illusion.

Enlightenment is like dawn, when the darkness of the night [Maya] is dispelled and you can clearly see.

The snake is money. The 'grand illusion' of materialism.

"The Realization of the Soul of Things."

Turning inward is spirituality which makes outward flow naturally.

"You are squandering this life uselessly in the love of Maya."

In attachment to Maya, they have forgotten God, the diamond necklace around their neck, the well of honey under the rock.

Adi Shankara: "Who is it that is trying to know, and how does he attain Brahman?"

AKA "What is the I, and how does one attain the Absolute/Ultimate?"

Go inward until you realize you are everything, nothing, and even beyond that.

Only when you know God will you be fearless & eternal.

Swami Vivekananda:

No Path can show you the Absolute. You Are That Already. Paths only help to remove the veil that hides Truth from our eyes.

⭐ Cessation of ignorance comes when one knows that God and I are one.

AKA Identify yourself with God, not with human limitations.

The idea that we are bound is only an illusion [Maya].

Freedom is inseparable from the nature of God.

This is ever pure, ever perfect, ever unchangeable.

⭐ Yoga [through Maya] perfects the creativity of God.

⭐ Yoga is creative Maya + GPS call-back. Like when your drone/dog flies/runs too far away. (Parable of the Prodigal Son)