Maya (religion)

Maya (/ˈmɑːjə/; Devanagari: माया, IAST: māyā), literally "illusion" or "magic",[1][2][3] has multiple meanings in Indian philosophies depending on the context. In later Vedic texts, māyā connotes a "magic show, an illusion where things appear to be present but are not what they seem";[2][4] the principle which shows "attributeless Absolute" as having "attributes".[3] Māyā also connotes that which "is constantly changing and thus is spiritually unreal" (in opposition to an unchanging Absolute, or Brahman), and therefore "conceals the true character of spiritual reality".[5][6]

In the Advaita Vedanta school of Hindu philosophy, māyā, "appearance",[7] is "the powerful force that creates the cosmic illusion that the phenomenal world is real".[8] In this nondualist school, māyā at the individual level appears as the lack of knowledge (avidyā) of the real Self, Atman-Brahman, mistakenly identifying with the body-mind complex and its entanglements.[8]

In Buddhist philosophy, māyā is one of twenty subsidiary unwholesome mental factors, responsible for deceit or concealment about the illusionary nature of things.[9][10]

In Hindu pantheon, the goddess Durga is seen as the embodiment of maya.[11] Māyā was also the name of Gautama Buddha's mother.[12]

  1. ^ Buswell & Lopez 2013, p. 535.
  2. ^ a b Lochtefeld, James G. (2002). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism: A-M. The Rosen Publishing Group. p. 433. ISBN 9780823931798.
  3. ^ a b Grimes 1996, p. 189.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference sb was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ M Hiriyanna (2000), The Essentials of Indian Philosophy, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120813304, pp. 25, 160-161
  6. ^ Lynn Foulston and Stuart Abbott (2009), Hindu Goddesses: Beliefs and Practices, Sussex Academic Press, ISBN 978-1902210438, pp. 14-16.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Shastri was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ a b "Maya". Encyclopedia Britannica.
  9. ^ Guenther (1975), Kindle Locations 900–901.
  10. ^ Kunsang (2004), p. 25.
  11. ^ Kinsley, David R., ed. (1989). The goddesses' mirror: visions of the divine from East and West. Albany: State University of New York Press. p. 104. ISBN 978-0-88706-835-5.
  12. ^ "mAyA". Sanskrit and Tamil Dictionaries. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.