What is Maya?
The word “measure” in English comes from the Sanskrit root word “Maya.” Maya means that which can be measured. So, saying, “All this is Maya”, means everything here can be measured.
Water can be measured, volume can be measured, temperature can be measured, distance can be measured, time can be measured, and so on. Everything in this creation is time and space, and both can be measured, and so it is all Maya.
What is not Maya?
What cannot be measured? Joy cannot be measured, love cannot be measured, life cannot be measured, so that is why these are not considered Maya.
Truth cannot be measured. Truth, consciousness, and bliss – this is what God is. What is God? “Sat” means truth, “Chit” means consciousness, and “Ananda” means bliss. God is truth, consciousness, and bliss – these cannot be measured. And this is what you are too! The nature of your spirit is bliss. Bliss cannot be measured, love cannot be measured, and that is what is not Maya.
What does it mean to be drowned in Maya?
When someone says, “You are drowned in Maya,” it means you are drowned in small little things that are not permanent, because Maya means that which is always changing. Ever-changing events and things around you are what Maya is. And if you are drowned in the ever-changing, and you are not logged on to the non-changing, life is very unstable. Stability comes when you log on to something in you that is not changing – that remains the same throughout time. That is termed as “getting out of the web of Maya.”
There is another meaning of Maya – that which has an appearance, but when you try to catch it, it doesn’t get into your hand. That is how everything in the world is. You see something so beautiful, and you try to possess it. The moment you possess it, you find the beauty is gone. It is no longer where you thought it was. You think happiness is out there and you chase after that; when you get there, it is not there.
If you are stable, still, and content within yourself, then everything runs towards you. That is why I have said from the very beginning – If you follow joy, misery follows you; and if you follow knowledge, fun follows you.
