Maya (Illusion)

This world is an illusion of colors and sounds, a false display created by the tricks of Maya, the mind, and the senses.

Two birds, bonded companions, cling to the same tree. One of them eats the sweet fruits; the other, not eating, simply watches.

The Lord, O Arjuna, dwells in the heart-region of all beings, causing all beings to revolve as if mounted on a machine through the power of illusion.

Know that Prakriti is maya, and the great Lord is the wielder of maya. The entire universe is pervaded by His parts.

The Blessed Lord said: They speak of an eternal Ashvattha tree whose roots are above and branches below, whose leaves are the Vedic hymns. One who knows this tree knows the Vedas.

This divine illusion of Mine, woven of the three qualities, is exceedingly hard to cross over. Yet those who take refuge in Me alone — they transcend this Maya.

Deluded by these three qualities born of nature, the whole world fails to know Me — who stand beyond them, imperishable.

Its true form is not perceived here; it has no end, no beginning, no foundation. Cut down this deeply rooted Ashvattha with the firm sword of non-attachment —

Its branches spread below and above, nourished by the qualities, with sense objects as their shoots. Below, its roots stretch down into the human world, bound to action.

All beings at birth enter into the delusion born of the pairs of opposites — arising from desire and aversion, O scorcher of foes.

Veiled by My power of yogamaya, I do not reveal Myself to all. This deluded world does not recognise Me — the unborn, the imperishable.

Your true nature is pure existence, consciousness, and bliss. The physical body is just an illusion.

Dwelling in the midst of ignorance, yet fancying themselves wise and learned, the deluded wander about stumbling — like the blind led by the blind.

The wise, with the help of the Vedas and knowledge, having ascertained that the visible universe is an illusion, instantly realizes the Supreme Spirit as the sole existing independent essence.

It is the self-luminous Atman that, through the power of its own maya, imagines all the objects that the subject experiences, both within and outside, by itself and within itself.

If something does not exist at the beginning or the end, it must not exist in the present. The things we see are like illusions, yet they are considered real.

When the mind is gone, everything disappears. The mind's activity creates all appearances. Due to ignorance or illusion in the mind, you perceive objects and trees as separate and real.

What will a person gain by knowing many scriptures? The most important thing is to know how to navigate the world. God alone is real, and everything else is an illusion.

If the devotee practices spiritual discipline to some extent, the guru clarifies everything for them. The disciple then understands the reality and unreality of things. Only God is real; the world is an illusion.

Saint Kabir says: Brother, why fear Maya? One who has realized the Truth can overcome it.