Brahman, Maya, Ignorance and Praying Your Way Out

"Brahman is the pure limitless Self without any Maya.  It is pure non-dual Awareness.  For creation to occur there needs to be duality.  This is where Maya comes in.  Maya is a power in the Self...which incidentally doesn't have any powers!.  So Maya is defined as 'that which isn't.'  How can there be a creation in non-dual reality?  It can only be an apparent creation.  This 'is' that isn't is responsible for Ignorance.  So Maya is called Ignorance, the non-apprehension of the Self.  Ignorance with reference to the individual is called avidya, nescience.  Maya is also called Iswara.  But Iswara also carries the sense of a Conscious Being because it is Consciousness in this role.  One doesn't worship Maya because it doesn't really exist.  True, one worships the effects of Maya in the form of one's unthinking pursuit of happiness in objects but this leads to suffering.  The point of calling Maya Iswara is for the purpose of worship.  It is a personification.  Krishna in the Gita is the Self personified.  So if you want out of Maya you worship Iswara.  Meaning you invoke the Self, Brahman, with your prayers, devotional activities, etc. and It leads you out."

Ram

James Swartz
www.shiningworld.com