Is this world a real place? According to what you were saying, it's illusion

Expressions researched:
"Is this world a real place? Is this world a real place"

General Lectures

Yes. Illusion, illusion in this way, that what you take it as a fact, but it is something else. It is not fact. Māyā. Māyā means mā-yā: "It is not this." Just like you are thinking that you'll be happy in this material world by adjustment, but you'll never be. That is called māyā. So whatever you are struggling for, that is illusion.

Conway Hall Lecture -- London, September 15, 1969:

Guest (4): Is this world a real place? Is this world a real place?

Prabhupāda: What do you mean by real?

Guest (4): What?

Prabhupāda: What do you mean by real?

Guest (4): According to what you were saying, it's illusion.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Illusion, illusion in this way, that what you take it as a fact, but it is something else. It is not fact. Māyā. Māyā means mā-yā: "It is not this." Just like you are thinking that you'll be happy in this material world by adjustment, but you'll never be. That is called māyā. So whatever you are struggling for, that is illusion.

Guest (4): If this is an illusion, then why is it here? What's it doing here?

Prabhupāda: Illusion is a temporary existence. This is also explained in the Bhagavad-gītā, bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19). It comes into existence, just like cloud. Of course, we Vaiṣṇava philosopher, we do not say actually illusion. We say temporary. Actually we say temporary. Anitya. Anitya. The exact word is anitya. Anitya means... Nitya means eternal, and anitya means temporary. So we say this material world... (end)