In this quotation from the nine sages who were instructing Mahārāja Nimi, māyā is defined as "forgetfulness of one's relationship with Kṛṣṇa." Actually, māyā means "that which is not." It has no existence. Thus it is false to think that the living entity has no connection with the Supreme Lord. He may not believe in the existence of God, or he may think that he has no relationship with God, but these are all "illusions," or māyā. Due to absorption in this false conception of life, man is always fearful and full of anxieties. In other words, a godless concept of life is māyā. One who is actually learned in the Vedic literatures surrenders unto the Supreme Lord with great devotion and accepts Him as the supreme goal. When a living entity forgets the constitutional nature of his relationship with God, he is at once overwhelmed by the external energy. This is the cause of his false ego, his false identification of the body with the self. Indeed, his whole conception of the material universe arises from this false identification with the body, for he becomes attached to the body and its by-products. To escape this entanglement, he has only to perform his duty and to surrender unto the Supreme Lord with intelligence and devotion and with sincere Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Maya means
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Srimad-Bhagavatam
SB Canto 3
When the great sages and thinkers who are residents of Janaloka, Tapoloka and Satyaloka heard the tumultuous voice of Lord Boar, which was the all-auspicious sound of the all-merciful Lord, they chanted auspicious chants from the three Vedas.
The word māyāmaya is very significant in this verse. Māyā means "mercy," "specific knowledge" and also "illusion." Therefore Lord Boar is everything; He is merciful, He is all knowledge, and He is illusion also. The sound which He vibrated as the boar incarnation was answered by the Vedic hymns of the great sages in the planets Janaloka, Tapoloka and Satyaloka. The highest intellectual and pious living entities live in those planets, and when they heard the extraordinary voice of the boar, they could understand that the specific sound was vibrated by the Lord and no one else. Therefore they replied by praying to the Lord with Vedic hymns. The earth planet was submerged in the mire, but on hearing the sound of the Lord, the inhabitants of the higher planets were all jubilant because they knew that the Lord was there to deliver the earth. Therefore Brahmā and all the sages, such as Bhṛgu, Brahmā's other sons, and learned brāhmaṇas, were enlivened, and they concertedly joined in praising the Lord with the transcendental vibrations of the Vedic hymns. The most important is the Bṛhan-nāradīya Purāṇa verse Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.
There is no cause for the politics of divide and rule in the Vaikuṇṭha planets; there is no fear, because of the united interests of the Lord and the residents. Māyā means disharmony between the living entities and the Supreme Lord, and Vaikuṇṭha means harmony between them.
Therefore, my Lord, although I am living in a terrible condition, I do not wish to depart from my mother's abdomen to fall again into the blind well of materialistic life. Your external energy, called deva-māyā, at once captures the newly born child, and immediately false identification, which is the beginning of the cycle of continual birth and death, begins.
As long as the child is within the womb of his mother, he is in a very precarious and horrible condition of life, but the benefit is that he revives pure consciousness of his relationship with the Supreme Lord and prays for deliverance. But once he is outside the abdomen, when a child is born, māyā, or the illusory energy, is so strong that he is immediately overpowered into considering his body to be his self. Māyā means "illusion," or that which is actually not. In the material world, everyone is identifying with his body. This false egoistic consciousness of "I am this body" at once develops after the child comes out of the womb. The mother and other relatives are awaiting the child, and as soon as he is born, the mother feeds him, and everyone takes care of him. The living entity soon forgets his position and becomes entangled in bodily relationships. The entire material existence is entanglement in this bodily conception of life. Real knowledge means to develop the consciousness of "I am not this body. I am spirit soul, an eternal part and parcel of the Supreme Lord." Real knowledge entails renunciation, or nonacceptance of this body as the self.
By the influence of māyā, the external energy, one forgets everything just after birth. Therefore the child is praying that he prefers to remain within the womb rather than come out. It is said that Śukadeva Gosvāmī, on this consideration, remained for sixteen years within the womb of his mother; he did not want to be entangled in false bodily identification. After cultivating such knowledge within the womb of his mother, he came out at the end of sixteen years and immediately left home so that he might not be captured by the influence of māyā. The influence of māyā is also explained in Bhagavad-gītā as insurmountable. But insurmountable māyā can be overcome simply by Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is also confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (7.14): mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te. Whoever surrenders unto the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa can get out of this false conception of life. By the influence of māyā only, one forgets his eternal relationship with Kṛṣṇa and identifies himself with his body and the by-products of the body—namely wife, children, society, friendship and love. Thus he becomes a victim of the influence of māyā, and his materialistic life of continued birth and death becomes still more stringent.
SB Canto 4
As soon as Dhruva Mahārāja joined the nārāyaṇāstra arrow to his bow, the illusion created by the Yakṣas was immediately vanquished, just as all material pains and pleasures are vanquished when one becomes fully cognizant of the self.
Kṛṣṇa is like the sun, and māyā, or the illusory energy of Kṛṣṇa, is like darkness. Darkness means absence of light; similarly, māyā means absence of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Kṛṣṇa consciousness and māyā are always there, side by side. As soon as there is awakening of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, all the illusory pains and pleasures of material existence are vanquished. Māyām etāṁ taranti te: (BG 7.14) constant chanting of the mahā-mantra will keep us always aloof from the illusory energy of māyā.
In this verse the word māyayā means "by your causeless mercy." The Māyāvādī philosophers explain the word māyā as meaning "illusion" or "falseness." However, there is another meaning of māyā—that is, "causeless mercy." There are two kinds of māyā-yogamāyā and mahāmāyā. Mahāmāyā is an expansion of yogamāyā, and both these māyās are different expressions of the Lord's internal potencies. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā, the Lord appears through His internal potencies (ātma-māyayā). We should therefore reject the Māyāvāda explanation that the Lord appears in a body given by the external potency, the material energy. The Lord and His incarnation are fully independent and can appear anywhere and everywhere by virtue of the internal potency. Although born out of the so-called dead body of King Vena, King Pṛthu was still an incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead by the Lord's internal potency. The Lord can appear in any family. Sometimes He appears as a fish incarnation (matsya-avatāra) or a boar incarnation (varāha-avatāra). Thus the Lord is completely free and independent to appear anywhere and everywhere by His internal potency.
In this verse the word māyayā is significant. Māyā means "energy." Lord Brahmā is not the energetic but is one of the manifestations of the Lord's marginal energy. In other words, Lord Brahmā is only an instrument. Although sometimes plans appear contradictory, there is a definite plan behind all action. One who is experienced and is favored by the Lord can understand that everything is being done according to the Lord's supreme plan.
SB Canto 5
The word māyāmayam used in this verse should not be understood according to the interpretations of the Māyāvādīs. Māyā means affection as well as illusion. When a mother deals with her child affectionately, she is called māyāmaya. In whatever form the Supreme Lord Viṣṇu appears, He is always affectionate toward His devotees.
SB Canto 6
The Lord has multifarious potencies (parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate (Cc. Madhya 13.65, purport)). Since mother Lakṣmī, the goddess of fortune, is the Lord's very precious potency, she is addressed here as mahā-māye. The word māyā means śakti. Lord Viṣṇu, the Supreme, cannot exhibit His power everywhere without His principal energy. It is said, śakti śaktimān abheda: the power and the powerful are identical. Therefore mother Lakṣmī, the goddess of fortune, is the constant companion of Lord Viṣṇu; they remain together constantly. One cannot keep Lakṣmī in one's home without Lord Viṣṇu. To think that one can do so is very dangerous. To keep Lakṣmī, or the riches of the Lord, without the service of the Lord is always dangerous, for then Lakṣmī becomes the illusory energy. With Lord Viṣṇu, however, Lakṣmī is the spiritual energy.
SB Canto 9
"After many births and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is. Such a great soul is very rare." The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vāsudeva, is one with the Supreme Brahman, the Supreme Absolute Truth. Everything is in Him in the beginning, and at the end all manifestations enter into Him. He is situated in everyone's heart (sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭaḥ (BG 15.15)). And from Him everything has emanated (janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1)). All material manifestations, however, are temporary. The word svapna means "dreams," māyā means "illusion," and manoratha means "mental creations." Dreams, illusions and mental creations are temporary. Similarly, all material creation is temporary, but Vāsudeva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the eternal Absolute Truth.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
CC Adi-lila
The real nature of māyā, the illusory existence of the material manifestation, is clearly explained in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. The Absolute Truth is substance, and the relative truth depends upon its relationship with the Absolute for its existence. Māyā means energy; therefore the relative truth is explained to be the energy of the Absolute Truth. Since it is difficult to understand the distinction between the absolute and relative truths, an analogy can be given for clarification. The Absolute Truth can be compared to the sun, which is appreciated in terms of two relative truths: reflection and darkness. Darkness is the absence of sunshine, and a reflection is a projection of sunlight into darkness. Neither darkness nor reflection has an independent existence. Darkness comes when the sunshine is blocked. For example, if one stands facing the sun, his back will be in darkness. Since darkness stands in the absence of the sun, it is therefore relative to the sun. The spiritual world is compared to the real sunshine, and the material world is compared to the dark regions where the sun is not visible.
Other Books by Srila Prabhupada
Teachings of Lord Caitanya
Nectar of Instruction
Although māyā may be present, it cannot disturb a devotee once he attains the bhāva stage. This is because the devotee can see the real position of māyā. Māyā means forgetfulness of Kṛṣṇa, and forgetfulness of Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa consciousness stand side by side like light and shadow. If one remains in shadow, he cannot enjoy the facilities offered by light, and if one remains in light, he cannot be disturbed by the darkness of shadow. By taking to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, one gradually becomes liberated and remains in light. Indeed, he does not even touch the darkness.
Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead
In other words, hankering remains in spiritual life, but it becomes purified. Similarly, when our senses are purified, they are freed from all material stages, namely anna-maya, prāṇa-maya, mano-maya and vijñāna-maya, and they become situated in the highest stage—ānanda-maya, or blissful life in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The Māyāvādī philosophers consider ānanda-maya to be the state of being merged in the Supreme. To them, ānanda-maya means that the Supersoul and the individual soul become one. But the real fact is that oneness does not mean merging into the Supreme and losing one's own individual existence. Merging into the spiritual existence is the living entity's realization of qualitative oneness with the Supreme Lord in His aspects of eternity and knowledge. But the actual ānanda-maya (blissful) stage is attained when one is engaged in devotional service.
Sri Isopanisad
Another defect: to be illusioned. Illusion means to accept something which is not: māyā. Māyā means "what is not." Everyone is accepting the body as the self. If I ask you what you are, you will say, "I am Mr. John; I am a rich man; I am this; I am that." All these are bodily identifications. But you are not this body. This is illusion.
Lectures
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
So when we agree to serve, not to be served, that is liberated person. When we agree to serve only, not to be served. Not to accept service from others, but to serve others—that is real liberation. But here the material disease is that everyone is making plan "How others will serve me." This is called māyā. This is called māyā. Māyā means that artificially we want to be served. That is not possible. When we agree to serve... As Caitanya Mahāprabhu has given us the path of liberation, jīvera svarūpa hoy nitya-kṛṣṇa-dāsa, this is our position. We are eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa.
Madhusūdana. Kṛṣṇa is described here as Madhusūdana, the killer of the demon Madhu. Madhu-kaiṭabha-ari. So Arjuna was attacked by a demon of forgetting his duty, being too much afflicted by bodily relationship. This is our position. In this material world, we are so much attached to this bodily relationship that it is to be considered just like we are ghostly haunted. In a poetry, Prema-vivarta, it is said that piśācī pāile yena mati-cchanna haya, māyā-grasta jīvera haya se bhāva udaya. Māyā-grasta jīva. Māyā-grasta. Māyā means illusion, hallucination. So we are, in this material world, we are all illusioned. Illusioned means accepting something as fact which is not. Something... Just like in dream we see sometimes I am attacked with a tiger; my head is being cut off. So many things.
Woman devotee: What is māyā? I know that it's attractive...
Prabhupāda: Māyā means which drags you from Kṛṣṇa. That is māyā.
Woman devotee: Is it a spiritual form?
Prabhupāda: Whatever form may be, (it is) force. We shall see form later on. You just... Just like a police sends a warrant, arrest. You do not ask what is the form of the police, but here is warrant, you have to go. Force, that's all. Similarly, don't try to understand what is māyā's form, but you just feel her force, how she is acting. How she is putting you in difficulty. You see? There are so many things. Māyā puts into this difficulty and you are encumbered. That we have to understand, how I have become encumbered. In my childhood I was free. There was no encumbrances. Now I am encumbered. I am harassed. This is māyā's action. So if you want to get out of this māyā's influence, then you have to become Kṛṣṇa consciousness. There is no other alternative. Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa.
Ātma-māyā, ātma-māyā. Ātma-māyā means He comes down as He is. He does not change His body. But we are conditioned soul. We change our body. That is the difference. And because we change our body, we forget everything. That is the difference. Tāny ahaṁ veda sarvāṇi. Kṛṣṇa says that "I remember whatever has been done in My previous incarnations, and millions and millions of years before, I can remember them. I know past, future, present. Not only past, future, present of My activities, but past, future, present of everyone's activities." You'll find. Vedāhaṁ sama, sarvam etam. In the Tenth Chapter, you'll find that He knows past, present... And in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam you'll find that the definition of the Supreme Lord is given as sarva-jña. Sarva-jña.
Māyā means energy also. māyā means energy. And māyā means illusion also. And māyā means affection. There are different meanings of māyā. So here it is said prakṛtim... Prakṛtim and māyā. Prakṛtiṁ svām adhiṣṭhāya. He has got multi-energies. That energies have been divided into three: external energy, internal energy, and marginal energy. That you will, also, you will find in the Seventh Chapter.
Apareyam itas tu viddhi me prakṛtiṁ parām. Parā-prakṛti and aparā-prakṛti. The aparā-prakṛti is this material energy. And the parā-prakṛti is spiritual energy. There are two kinds of prakṛti. So that spiritual... Because Kṛṣṇa is spiritual whole, so His spiritual energy, prakṛtiṁ svām, that internal potency, or the spiritual energy,... so His body is spiritual. His body is not material. Therefore avyayātmā, it is imperishable. These things are to be understood. Prakṛtiṁ svām adhiṣṭhāya sambhavāmy ātma-māyayā (BG 4.6). Again He says ātma-māyayā. He's not forced to take birth by the external energy. He appears by His own energy, internal energy, or spiritual energy. Therefore He's avyayātmā. Ajo 'pi sann avyayātmā bhūtānām īśvaro 'pi san.
You cannot go beyond your nature. If you go beyond your nature, that is called māyā. Māyā means what is not. Therefore we are all servants, but here, in the material designation, we are trying to be master. Everyone is trying to be master. Therefore so much trouble of existence. If everyone becomes servant, there is no struggle. There is no struggle. Everyone becomes happy because he comes to his natural position. But here, artificially, we are trying to be the master, which I am not. That is my artificial life. Everyone is trying to predominate, to be the... He's trying to dominate over the material resources to his best. But he cannot have any domination of the material nature. Material nature is so strong that you cannot dominate it. That is impossible. So he's being crushed by the laws of material nature. Instead of becoming master, he's being crushed. So this is struggle for existence.
This is called māyā. Māyā means what is not. Māyā. Mā means not. Not. Yā means this. This is māyā. He is thinking... The modern human society, they are thinking that advancing. But māyā. It is not. You are not advancing. What advancement you have made? Your problem is, the primary problem is, eating, sleeping, mating and defending. Oh, that is not solved. Our problem is birth, death, old age and disease. And that is not solved. Then what nuisance you are doing in the name of progress? There is no progress. The real progress is to understand the laws of nature, how it is being conducted under the direction of the Supreme Lord. That is real progress.
Mām upetya tu kaunteya duḥkhālayam... And this material existence is duḥkhālayam, it is a place of misery. This is māyā. We are living in this condition, conditional life of material existence, which is full of miseries, but by the spell of māyā, illusion, we are thinking, we are planning that we are happy. This is called māyā. Māyā means... I have several times explained what is meant by māyā. Māyā means "what is not." I am thinking I am making progress, I am thinking that I am happy, I am thinking I am civilized, I am advanced. But the māyā means this thinking, in the positive way, is no. No, you are not advanced. You are not civilized. You are not actually wise because you do not know what you are. You are thinking that you are this body. Therefore everything, whatever you are thinking, that is all null and void. Māyā. This is called māyā. So this māyā is very strong.
So how it is possible? How to become detached? Man-mayā. "Always be absorbed in My thought." Or man-mayā means... Mat means "mine," mayā, "of Me." "Thinking of Me." That is recommended. Man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru (BG 18.65). This is the process. Always think of Kṛṣṇa, man-manāḥ. This is easy. Just like you love somebody. So if you chant his name, if you think of him, then you'll always remember. Similarly, if you simply think of Kṛṣṇa, if you simply chant Hare Kṛṣṇa name, then you remain man-mayā.
And one who is, who has surrendered unto Kṛṣṇa, one who has taken Kṛṣṇa consciousness, māyā has nothing to do. Māyā cannot touch. Just like when... If you come in front of the sunlight, there is no question of darkness. There is no question of darkness if you place yourself in light, sunlight, not this artificial light. This artificial light may be extinguished at any time, but sunlight is not like that. So Kṛṣṇa is just like sunlight. As soon as you come in front of sun, oh, there is no darkness. So there is no ignorance. So there is no māyā. Māyā means illusion.
If you are respectful to Kṛṣṇa, you are respectful to everyone. That is the qualification of a devotee. You are respectful even to an ant and what to speak of māyā? Māyā is one of the important energy of Kṛṣṇa. Why should you not respect māyā? Māyā, Durgā, we pray, "Durgā"—sṛṣṭi-sthiti-pralaya-sādhana-śaktir ekā chāyeva yasya (Bs. 5.44)—when we pray Durgā, we pray Kṛṣṇa immediately. Because we have to see Kṛṣṇa everywhere. We see the activities of māyā. So we have to see Kṛṣṇa immediately—"Oh, this māyā is acting so nicely under the direction of Kṛṣṇa." So offering to the police officer means offering respect to the government. So long the man is in the office, we offer respect. And without office. A gentleman offers respect either in office or not office. That doesn't matter. But actually if you offer to a policeman, māyā means acting as police force. That means you offer to the government, respect to the government. This is the offering of respect. Govindam ādi-puruṣam.
This Durgā, this material energy, so powerful, it can create, it can annihilate, it can maintain. But she's acting under the direction of Kṛṣṇa. So I am offering my respectful obeisances to Govinda under whose direction she is acting. So when you offer respect to māyā means we offer respect to Kṛṣṇa immediately. Yes.
Now, Kṛṣṇa says that "This word, what you see, this is also My energy." Mayā. Mayā means "by Me." Just like if I say, "This work has been done by me," so that does not mean that there is no existence of me, and because I have done this work, so I am finished. Here it is called "by Me," mayā. Mayā means "by Me." Anything you do, it is done by you. Anything done by me, it is done by me. But that, when I finish the work... Suppose I start a business, very nice business, very profitable business, big factory. And if I say that "This factory is started and is conducted by me," does it mean that I am lost? Does it mean I am lost? No. I am there. But it is done by my energy. This big factory... Just like the Ford factory I have seen in your country, a very big factory. There are so many big factories. If the proprietor says, "It is done by me," that "done by me," that person is exist, although the factory is also exist.
So we are accepting similar bodies, 8,400,000 forms of bodies are there, and one after another we are entering and leaving and entering and leaving. This is called mṛtyu-saṁsāra-vartmani. But we have no such brain that how to get out this mṛtyu-saṁsāra-vartmani. We can get out. That is, that will be, that is explained, mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti. This is māyā. Māyā means actually I am not under this mṛtyu-saṁsāra-vartmani. Ātma māyām ṛte rājan. It is māyā. Just like in dream, I enter some kind of body. At night, every night we can experience, that when you sleep we dream that "I have taken another body. I have gone to another place. I am working in a different way, forgetting this body." This is daily experience. And when that dream is over, then again I come to this body.
So here it is explained, mayā tatam idaṁ sarvam. This is God's impersonal expansion. When we cannot understand God, then we come first to the impersonal feature, everywhere, pantheism, which is known as, in philosophical terms, pantheism. There are different, I mean to say, ideas, and philosophical proposition. So this mayā tatam idam. But the pantheists, because the materialist think of limited... (coughs) They think that "God is everywhere. Therefore there is no personal God." No, that is foolish, foolishness. He is everywhere, it is explained here. Mayā tatam idaṁ sarvam: "By Me..." Mayā means, "by me." "By Me, or by My energy, I am expanded everywhere." Mayā, this word, it is causative. Causative means I have caused. The example is... If you want to understand, the example is very simple. Just like as soon as the sun is risen, immediately the sunshine is expanded.
Self-realization does not mean something humbug. Self-realization means to understand his real constitutional position, what I am. Just like Sanātana Gosvāmī approached Śrīla Gaurasundara, Caitanya Mahāprabhu. He asked, ke āmi: "Who I am?" Ke āmi... Ke āmi, kene āmāya jāre tāpa-traya: "What is my constitutional position? Why I am suffering the three-fold miseries of this material existence?" This is the enquiry. Everyone is suffering. Somebody is in ignorance. Although he is suffering, he is thinking that he is very well. This is called māyā. Māyā means you are accepting something which is not. This is called māyā. Mā yā: "What you are accepting, that is false." This is called māyā. So we are accepting, "I am this body," "I am American," "I am Indian," "I am Christian," "I am Hindu," "I am black," "I am white," "I am thin," "I am fat." So this is māyā. So when we give up this māyā conception of life, that is mukti. You may remain in the same body, but if you are not under māyā, bodily concept of life, that is called mukti, liberation.
Tyaṁ jagan mithyā. So Māyāvādī, at least they say that "There is Brahman. He is truth, but this phenomenal world is not truth. Manifestation of material energy, that is not true." So, according to our philosophy, Vaiṣṇava philosophy, we don't say that this māyā, or the... Māyā means this temporary manifestation. This material world is fact, but it is temporary, not false. We cannot say it is false. Just like I am sitting on the seat or you are sitting on the floor. We are sitting on something. It is not false; it is fact. I am not sitting on the air. You are not sitting on the air. So how we can say it is false? No. Therefore our philosophy is... That is fact. One may consider. One who is philosophically inclined, he can judge the statement, of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī.
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
So he is coming to that point. First of all he's explaining what is dharma, what is occupational duty. Actually dharma means occupational duty. Religion, I have already said, it is a kind of faith. Faith can be changed, but our constitutional position, occupational duty, that cannot be changed. We are eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa, but without serving Kṛṣṇa we are serving māyā. We have accepted a false occupational duty, therefore it is called māyā. Māyā means false. Just like if I have got a body of America, American body, then my occupational duty is different from the body of an Indian, or from the body of a dog or a cat. So according to the body, our occupational duties change. But real occupational duty is of the soul. When you come to that platform—the occupational duty of the soul—that is the highest class of religion.
So original proprietor is Kṛṣṇa. He says, bhūmir āpo 'nalo vāyuḥ khaṁ mano buddhir eva ca. Bhinnaṁ me prakṛtir aṣṭa... (BG 7.4). Me, "My." The earth, water, fire, air, sky, mind, intelligence... Even your intelligence is Kṛṣṇa's. With your intelligence, with ingredients of Kṛṣṇa, if you manufacture something, the proprietor is Kṛṣṇa. Because the... Just like a carpenter. You give the wood, the instrument, these labor charges. So when he manufactures a nice closet, who, to whom it will belong? It will belong to the man who has supplied you all these things. Similarly, you may be changing the form of the material elements, but you are not proprietor. The proprietor is Kṛṣṇa. That is Kṛṣṇa conscious. If we understand this philosophy, that "Everything belongs to Kṛṣṇa..." That is the fact. And if you do not understand that, that is māyā. Māyā means not fact, mā-yā.
Because they are, māyā is attacking you with these... Daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā (BG 7.14). Guṇamayī. Guṇa means these qualities, the three modes of nature. The material nature is guṇamayī. Guṇamayī means involved or full of these three modes of material nature, guṇamayī. Maya means... Just like golden. It is smeared with gold or it is gold, you can..., you can say golden. Golden means it is made of gold or it is covered with gold glittering. Similarly, this māyā, this material nature, is made of these three modes of nature, sattva, rajas, tamas. Therefore it is called guṇamayī.
So when one is actually in the liberated stage... Liberated stage means to remain fixed up in devotional service, bhagavad-bhakti-yogataḥ... Otherwise it is not possible. Evaṁ prasanna-manaso bhagavad-bhakti-yogataḥ (SB 1.2.20). You can stand liberated on the platform of devotional service. As soon as you deviate from devotional service, immediately the māyā is standing. She'll capture you. You can see practically. There is sunshine, and just next to the sunshine, there is darkness or shadow. So little deviation from the sunshine there is shadow. And little deviation from the shadow, you go to the sunshine. Both things are side by side, māyā and Kṛṣṇa. Māyā means absence of Kṛṣṇa. Shadow means absence of light, sunshine. So if you always keep in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, there is no shadow of māyā.
Kṛṣṇa is just like sunshine and māyā is just like darkness. So wherever there is sunshine, there cannot be any possibility of darkness. So you keep always yourself in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Then there is no possibility of māyā. And māyā means to engaged in fruitive activities.
Tṛtīya-karma, karma-saṅgaḥ anya tṛtīya-śaktir iṣyate. Māyā... So long we are in māyā, we have to engage ourself in fruitive activities, karma. Therefore here it is said, kṣīyante ca asya karmāṇi. One who is liberated, being engaged in devotional service, his karma, fruitive activities, stop immediately.
But here it is said that bhagavān ātma-māyayā: He created this cosmic manifestation by His energy. Pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya pūrṇam eva avaśiṣyate (Īśo Invocation). His full energy, even it is taken away from Him, still, He is full, He's complete. He's not exhausted. So sa evedaṁ sasarjāgre bhagavān ātma-māyayā, sad-asad-rūpayā. The māyā is displayed... Māyā means energy. That is displayed in two ways: material and spiritual. Material is asat, and spiritual is sat. Asat means which does not exist permanent, permanently. Bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19). It is created, again it is annihilated. Therefore it is called sometimes asat. Asat means not false, but not permanent.
This is the Vaiṣṇava philosophy. We are trying to be servant. We don't identify with anything material. As soon as we identify with anything material, we become under the clutches of māyā. Kṛṣṇa-bhuliyā. Because, as soon as I forget my relationship with Kṛṣṇa... I am eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa. Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, jīvera svarūpa haya nitya-kṛṣṇa-dāsa (Cc. Madhya 20.108-109). That is the eternal identification of the living entity, to remain servant of Kṛṣṇa. As soon as we forget this, that is māyā. As soon as I think that "I am Kṛṣṇa," that is māyā. That māyā means this māyā, illusion, can be rejected by advancement of knowledge. That is jñānī. Jñānī means this is real knowledge, to understand his real position. This is not knowledge, that "I am equal to God. I am God." This is not knowledge.
Vyāsadeva saw three things: the jīvātmā, and the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and māyā. Māyā means what is not. Mā-yā. So that māyā begins from what is not. I am not this body, but I am thinking I am this body. This is māyā. I am not this body. That's a fact. But I am thinking, "I am this body." This is māyā. This is the beginning of māyā. This is the conception of the animals, less than human beings. Nowadays even a human being, he's also thinking like that. This is anartha. That is the beginning of Bhagavad-gītā lesson, to impress, "Arjuna, you are not this body." Tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13). So many ways. So this is anartha. To accept this body and in bodily relationship everything, ahaṁ mameti (SB 5.5.8), this is māyā. So this is anartha. Anartha means meaningless. No artha. Artha means meaning.
So there are māyās of different kind. Kṛṣṇa's māyā... Parāsya śaktir vividhaiva... Māyā means potency. So from the Vedic knowledge we can understand that Kṛṣṇa has many types of potencies, parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate svābhāv... (Cc. Madhya 13.65, purport). because He has to execute so many affairs, this material world, spiritual world, and just imagine so big universe. There are innumerable universes, and each and every universe there are so many planets, so many different kinds of living entities, and He has to manage everything. Therefore He is called Parameśvara. Parameśvara means the supreme controller.
Kṛṣṇa has to act in such a way that whatever we are doing, that is under the direction of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa says mattaḥ smṛtiḥ. Just like in the morning you get up and immediately you understand that you were sleeping, "Now I have got to do so many things." So wherefrom this memory comes? Kṛṣṇa says mattaḥ, "from Me." So just imagine how Kṛṣṇa is busy. So this māyā as described here, apaśyat puruṣaṁ pūrṇaṁ māyāṁ tad-apāśrayam. Māyā means his meaning, that will be explained in the next verse—which is controlling this material world, that māyā. Māyāṁ ca tad-apāśrayam.
So that is our bondage. We are mamaivāṁśo jīva-bhūtaḥ (BG 15.7). We are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. Why you are conditioned? The condition is because māyā-mohita-cetasaḥ. Māyā-mohita. They are bewildered by māyā. Māyā means "what is not." Mā-yā. So because we are under the clutches of māyā, this material world, therefore we have been conditioned. And what is that māyā? That māyā is forgetfulness of our relationship with God. That is māyā. Kṛṣṇa-bahirmukha hañā bhoga vāñchā kare. This jīva, when we forget Kṛṣṇa, our relationship with Kṛṣṇa... What is that relationship? Caitanya Mahāprabhu says jīvera svarūpa haya nitya-kṛṣṇa-dāsa (Cc. Madhya 20.108-109). That is our relationship. We are eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa. When we forget this, and we want to be master of all I survey... "I am the monarch of all I survey." I think, "I shall become independent and I shall enjoy. I shall improve my economic condition, and I shall be very happy."
Māyā means absence of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. This is māyā, absence of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. When you forget Kṛṣṇa, this is māyā. When we remember Kṛṣṇa, know Kṛṣṇa, there is no māyā. Just like you have experience that you go through the cloud and then come to the sunshine, there is no more cloud. So below the cloud there is darkness, there is... We cannot see the sun. So the sunshine is profuse sunshine. Not that cloud can cover the sunshine. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa is all-pervading. Aṇḍāntara-stha-paramāṇu-cayāntara-stham (Bs. 5.35). Kṛṣṇa is within the universe, within the atoms, everywhere. Īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe 'rjuna tiṣṭhati (BG 18.61). Every heart, there is Kṛṣṇa. But we cannot see Kṛṣṇa. Simply, somehow or other, we have been covered by the illusion of māyā. That's it. So as soon as we come to the Kṛṣṇa consciousness atmosphere, shining atmosphere, then there is no māyā. Māyā is illusion.
So asad-vastu, in any way you want to enjoy, it will give you always anxiety. And if you go to the sad-vastu... Asato mā sad gama. If you go to sat, then that is Vaikuṇṭha. That is called Vaikuṇṭha, no more anxiety. This is... Therefore this very word is used, Vaikuṇṭha. Mandaṁ jahāsa vaikuṇṭho mohayann iva māyayā. This māyā is not illusion; this māyā is affection. When a mother laughs, smiles, the child feels very pleasure, very much. The mother... The child on the lap of the mother... Mother is seeing the face of the child, and child is seeing the face of the mother. Both of them are very pleased. They smile. So māyā, that māyā, means affection. When Kṛṣṇa smiles, He smiles with affection, and the devotee becomes enamored, becomes captivated simply by seeing Kṛṣṇa smiling. This is the process, the express, exchange of devotional service.
So these are actually knowledge. People are after something false. That is called māyā. Māyā means which is not actually fact, but we are after that. Similarly, this so-called advancement of civilization is māyā. It will be finished at any second, but they do not know. They do not know. It will be finished at any second. Even though we accept it, all right, Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā, mṛtyuḥ sarva-haraś cāham: (BG 10.34) "I am the death, and I take away everything at the time of death." Either you take as a philosopher, scientist or rich man, capitalist, as soon as there is death... Just like you see, Hiraṇyakaśipu, he was very powerful, and as soon as Nṛsiṁhadeva appeared, everything finished. Now he is dying. You see? So people do not understand it, that without Kṛṣṇa, without God, without Kṛṣṇa consciousness, simply we are wasting our time, that's all, after false things.
Here is one word, jahau. Jahau sva-tanvā śravaṇīya-sat-kathaḥ. So when Kṛṣṇa left, He left with His, the self-same body. In the Bhagavad-gītā Kṛṣṇa says, yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata, tadātmānaṁ sṛjāmy aham (BG 4.7). In another place Kṛṣṇa says, ātma-māyayā. Ātma-māyayā. Māyā means potency, energy. So there are three potencies... There are many potencies. Parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate (Cc. Madhya 13.65, purport). God has unlimited potencies, but learned scholars, saintly persons, they have not rejected potencies, because they cannot be. There are certain philosophers, they are of opinion that God has no potency. But that is not fact. From Vedic information we see potency. What is that? How to understand the potency? The potency, you can understand. Just like from the fire you have got two potencies: heat and light. Nobody can deny it.
Similarly, to become illusioned. Illusioned means to accept something which you are not or which is not fact. That is called illusion. Just like sometimes we see that the sun is on the western side, but reflection is on the glass, and the glass is reflecting some light. So we are thinking that sun has come to the other side. We have got this experience. Sun is this side, reflecting the sun shining, and on the glass or on mirror, and the same reflection is this side. So we are thinking that "Sun is this side. The sunlight is coming..." That is called illusion. This is example of illusion, which is not fact. But it is appearing. False thing appearing as truth, that is called māyā. This is the explanation of māyā. Māyā. Mā means "not," yā means "this." Māyā, what you are experiencing, that is not. That is called māyā. So a conditioned soul... A child will think that... Although the fact is sun is this side, by seeing the reflection a child may say, "The sun is this side." So that is called illusion.
But when you cannot eat nicely, when you cannot sleep nicely, you cannot have sex life nicely, you take the help of a physician. The physician helps you, not that artificially he is creating some machine in you so that you can eat. The eating process is already there. You (are) competent to eat. But it has been disrupted by another influence. That is called māyā. Similarly kṛṣṇa-bhakti, or our love for Kṛṣṇa, is eternally fact. Some way or other, it has been interrupted by the influence of māyā, and we have to cleanse this. Or, as the physician cures the disease, so this māyā, māyā, means an illusion, means it is not a fact. Just like you cannot eat—this is not a fact. You can eat, but something has come between you and your healthy life. That is disease. So not to become Kṛṣṇa conscious is disease. To become Kṛṣṇa conscious is healthy. That is real health. Not to become Kṛṣṇa conscious, to become a demon, that is disease.
Therefore we say, "No illicit sex, no intoxication." You are already intoxicated. Why you are increasing intoxication? This māyā means intoxication. Piśācī pāile yena mati-cchanna... Just like a person, when he's ghostly haunted, he calls his father by ill names, but he cannot recognize even his father. So all of us, we are already under the clutches of māyā. That is the position of intoxication. And again intoxication? So what will be our condition? Therefore it is prohibited. First of all, whatever intoxication you have already got, just try to cure it. Don't increase it. So everything... The physical necessities means we have already got it, but it is meant for decreasing, not increasing. Pravṛttir eṣā bhūtānāṁ nivṛttis tu mahā-phalā.
So sometimes He comes personally; sometimes He sends His incarnation. The Kapiladeva is an incarnation of the Supreme Person, Kṛṣṇa. Therefore it is stated here, kapilas tattva-saṅkhyātā bhagavān. Incarnation of Bhagavān is also Bhagavān. Bhagavān ātma-māyayā. Ātma-māyayā means... Māyā means illusion, māyā means affection, and māyā means energy. When Kṛṣṇa comes, or Kṛṣṇa's energy, or Kṛṣṇa's incarnation comes, that is not by force. Just like we. We are forced to come. Karmaṇā daiva-netreṇa (SB 3.31.1). We have to accept a certain type of body by force, not ātma-māyayā. Suppose I have got this human form of body. I cannot demand that "Next life I will have like this." No. That is not possible.
Māyā means when we forget Kṛṣṇa and we want to enjoy this material world to the best capacity, means as far as we can do with our senses, Kṛṣṇa gives us opportunity. Kṛṣṇa gives us opportunity, and therefore so many varieties of life. If somebody wants to eat without any discrimination anything... There are many persons, even in the so-called civilized world, they eat anything and everything. But that is misuse of life. Human life is meant for eating Kṛṣṇa's prasādam, not anything and everything. That is not human life. Human life is meant for eating... Yajña-śiṣṭāśinaḥ santo mucyante sarva-kilbiṣaiḥ.
Therefore here it is said asevayāyaṁ prakṛter guṇānām. That you have to learn. That you can learn very easily if you turn your attention to the service... Therefore this bhakti-yoga service. We are simply insisting get up early in the morning, do this service. In this way, if we engage ourselves in the service of Kṛṣṇa, gradually we shall forget the service of māyā. The service of māyā means sinful activities. That's all. So, so long we are in the service of māyā, duṣkṛtinām, engaged in sinful activities, it is not possible. But if you engage the positive and the negative... The Māyāvādī, they are simply trying to be negative. There is no positive engagement. But here in the bhakti-yoga the negative is there and positive is there. Therefore there is electric light bulb, negative and positive. Therefore there is enlightenment. Simply negative will not help you. And if you don't care of the negative sides, simply positive also will not. But bhakti-yoga is so strong, if you take to the positive side of service of Kṛṣṇa, the material service or māyā's service will automatically become negative. Bhaktiḥ pareśānubhavo viraktir anyatra syāt (SB 11.2.42). That is called vairāgya. The bhakti-yoga means vairāgya-yoga. Vairāgya-vidyā-nija-bhakti-yogam.
Māyā..., whose māyā? It is Kṛṣṇa's māyā. Māyā means something wonderful, mystic. Or māyā means illusion. So many, there are meaning. Māyā means affection also. So some way or other, this Durgā-devī, Māyā, is Kṛṣṇa's māyā. Just like prison house. Prison house is also government house, but it is not as good as the government house. It is government... The proprietor is the government. It is looked after by the government. You can call it government house, but government house is different, rāja-bhavan. Similarly, everything belongs to Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Īśāvāsyam idaṁ sarvam (ISO 1). Everything belongs to Him. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says, mama māyā. Mama māyā. Daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā (BG 7.14). That is creation of Kṛṣṇa. It is necessary.
So Kṛṣṇa orders only māyā that "Give this living entity a body like a demigod, or a dog, or a pig, or a tree." So there are 8,400,000 varieties of body. He has to manage all these. How He is managing? Is He managing personally? No. He is managing through His potency, ātma-māyayā. Here it is said, ātma-māyayā. Samanvety eṣa sattvānāṁ bhagavān ātma-māyayā. Māyā means energy, energy, tricks. This is called māyā. So everything is being done by His potency. So the Māyāvādī philosopher, they says, "When Bhagavān is everywhere—His action is visible in every step, every atom, everywhere—then the original..., where is the original form of Bhagavān? Everything is Bhagavān." That is called nirviśeṣavādi, nirākāravādi, "Bhagavān has no ākāra. He is finished. Because He is everywhere, therefore there cannot be any particular form of God." This is nirviśeṣavādi. That is material conception. Just like if we take something and make into pieces and throw it everywhere, the original form of that particular thing is finished. This is material conception.
The mahā-bhāgavata knows that, that although this material world is a world of forgetfulness of Kṛṣṇa... Material world means when you forget Kṛṣṇa. Here you will find cent percent people, they have forgotten Kṛṣṇa. They do not care to know Kṛṣṇa, neither they have got any relationship with Kṛṣṇa. Therefore it is material world. Here the nature is how to forget Kṛṣṇa. There is a verse in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam: īśād apetasya viparyayo 'smṛtiḥ. That is called māyā. Māyā means viparyayo 'smṛtiḥ. Everything is in relationship with God, but he, the rascal atheist, he'll say, jagad āhur anīśvaram (BG 16.8), there is no īśvaram. This is materially This is material world, forgetfulness. Viparyayo 'smṛtiḥ. So the devotee's business is how to enlighten him to come to the point of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, real smṛti. So this is Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Although He is Vaikuṇṭha-puruṣa... How comfortably He lives in Vaikuṇṭha-loka. Lakṣmī-sahasra-śata-sambhrama-sevyamānaṁ (Bs. 5.29). We are expecting, "One woman or wife will look after my comforts," but there Kṛṣṇa is taken care of by hundreds and thousands of women. And who are they? Lakṣmī. They're all goddess of fortune, not ordinary women. Lakṣmī has two features: māyā and the goddess of fortune, the same Lakṣmī according to position. Just like a government has got two departments: criminal department and civil department. So the government is the same, but there are two departments. This māyā is criminal department, and Vaikuṇṭha is civil department. Vaikuṇṭha means there is no anxiety, and māyā means always anxiety. Sadā samudvigna-dhiyām asad grahāt (SB 7.5.5). Because we accepted the jurisdiction of māyā, they are asad-grahāt. Asato mā sad gamaḥ. Therefore the Vedic instruction is, "Don't remain in this asat." Oṁ tat sat. "Go to the real life."
Māyā means the condition in which I enjoy material sense gratification. That is called māyā. Māyā jāpaṭiyā dhāre. Jāpaṭiyā dhāre means catches, catches: "All right, come on." There are two things: light and darkness. If you remain in light, there is no darkness, and if you prefer to remain in darkness, there is no light. Two things are there. So māyā is darkness, and Kṛṣṇa is light. That is our motto in the Back to Godhead. "Godhead is light and darkness is nescience. Where there is God, there is no darkness." This is our position.
But that is not possible. Here there is another opposing element, which is called māyā, or Satan, who is acting against this principle. So we cannot expect that cent percent people will be God conscious or Kṛṣṇa conscious. That is not possible because here in this material world... This material world means it is a place where māyā is predominant. Māyā is predominant means the forgetfulness of God is predominant. Māyā means nothing. Māyā is not a ghost. Māyā is a condition of consciousness. That's all. When you forget God, or Kṛṣṇa, that is called māyā. And in the Bhagavad-gītā it is very nicely explained in the Seventh Chapter that daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā: (BG 7.14) "The influence of māyā is so strong that it is very difficult to surmount." Yes. Māyā is energy of God also. So as your energy can produce so much wonderful thing, why not Kṛṣṇa's energy, or God's energy, is very strong? Yes. It is very strong.
Actually there is no happiness. This is called māyā. Just like I am in distressed condition, puzzled, I take some intoxication. This is called happiness. I remain in the same condition. After my intoxication is over, I come back again into the same condition, but I am thinking (I am) happy. This is called māyā. Māyā means... Ma means "not," yā means "this." "You are thinking like this, but it is not this." This is called māyā. You are thinking that you are happy, but you are not happy. So we are seeing that a criminal is arrested by the police and he is put into the prisonhouse. We know that he is put into trouble, but still, in spite of seeing that "This kind of criminality will put me also into such kind of distress," but still, I commit that thing.
I am giving this particular example of motorcar because in your country you have got the greatest number of cars. But that does not solve the problem. You have manufactured cars. I have practical experience. When Dayānanda wanted to take me to a doctor from Los Angeles, it is thirty miles off. Thirty miles off. So I had to take trouble to go thirty miles and come thirty miles before I could consult the doctor. You see? And if you have created cars, then you must have meet your friends and necessities thirty miles off, forty miles off. You can go from New York to Boston in one hour, but go to the airport you will take three hours. (laughter) Therefore it is called māyā-sukhāya. (laughter) Māyā means false, illusory. We are trying to create some very comfortable situation, but creating another uncomfortable situation. This is called māyā-su... This is the way of... If you do not be satisfied by the natural comforts offered by God, or nature, if you want to create artificial comfort, then you have to create another discomfort for counteracting.
Therefore, in the Bhāgavata it is said, dehāpatya-kalatrādiṣu asatsv api. He knows that "They will be finished. They cannot give protection to themselves. What protection they'll give to me?" This is knowledge. This is knowledge. Dehāpatya-kalatrādiṣu ātma-sainyeṣv asatsv api pramatta teṣāṁ nidhanam (SB 2.1.4). He knows that they will be finished, paśyann api na paśyati. He has practical experience, yet still he does not see. This is called māyā. Māyā means thing is one and he's thinking otherwise. His soldier, the so-called soldier, the protector, will be finished, but still he's depending on him. Suppose a bird is flying with his family in the sky. But if there is some danger, then no other bird can help him. You have to help yourself.
So we have not manufactured this; this is the standard. Just like Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇam (BG 18.66). "Why you are unnecessarily running just like dog?" That street dog, we have seen just now on the beach, he has no master. So sometimes he is running this way, sometimes this running way, and he saw us. He knows—after all, he is a living being—that "There are some Vaiṣṇavas. So let me go with them if they will give us shelter." That is the purpose. He was coming. You were making, "Hut!" (laughter) But he wanted some master, because a dog without master, his position is very precarious. Without master... So we are all servant. Every one of us, we are all servants of māyā. Māyā means we are servant of our desires. We are servant of our different desires. Somebody is thinking, "I shall be happy in this way"; somebody is thinking, "I shall be happy in this way." In this way we have got different desires, and we are servant of the desires. So servant of desire means just like the street dog.
His real business is he should know, one should know, that "I am eternal. I have taken this temporary body and subjected to the laws of nature, birth, death and old age. So my real problem is how to become again eternal, not accepting any more birth, death, old age. That is my real business." But because I am infected with the material modes of nature, we are making different plans. Everyone is busy. Everyone is busy in different plans, forgetting his real business. This is called māyā. Māyā means..., ma means not; ya means this. Therefore māyā means when you understand, "This is not my business," then you are out of māyā. "This is not," mā-yā.
So we have got this body according to our past work. Karmaṇā daivā-netreṇa jantra jantor deha upapatti (SB 3.31.1). How one gets a particular type of body? Because according to his past karma. Nature will automatically act. Just like if you contact some contaminous disease, nature will act. You will have to undergo the process of disease or develop that disease. So nature's law is working so nicely. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ (BG 3.27). Everything is being done by the laws of nature. So, human body, when we are civilized, we should know that "Why I am suffering?" Although under the spell of māyā we take suffering as enjoyment. That is called māyā. Māyā means what is not. We are thinking we are enjoying, but actually we are suffering. In this material body we have to suffer. Mātrā-sparśās tu kaunteya śītoṣṇa-sukha-duḥkha-dāḥ (BG 2.14). This example is given by Kṛṣṇa in the Bhagavad-gītā, that suffering means on account of this body. There is pinching cold, scorching heat. We feel these things on account of this body. At a certain circumstances, we feel pain; at a certain circumstance we feel happy. But actually, this so-called happiness and distress is due to the body.
So the basic principle... We are under these laws of material nature only for our desire. That is the basic principle. So the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement means we have to change the desire. Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam (Brs. 1.1.11). Śūnyam means zero. As soon as we make all other desires... Other means there are two things: Kṛṣṇa and māyā. So this material world means māyā. Māyā means which is not fact. It is an illusion. Just like we dream at night. It is no fact, but it works. Similarly, this material world is called māyā, means it is not factually in existence, but it is working, hallucination. So if we want to be really... Because we are within this entanglement, twenty-four elements, as we have analyzed, within this, the result is that, being influenced by this māyā or mahat-tattva, who is working with the three modes of material nature, and I am desiring, my basic principle of my material existence is my desire, and as soon as I desire, by the order of Kṛṣṇa, immediately the instruments and facilities are given to me.
And to understand this philosophy is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. It is not very difficult. It is not very difficult. If we understand our position, that māyā's spell is so nice that everyone is thinking, "I am master," "I am president," "I am minister," "I am teacher," "I am philosopher," "I am scientist," "I am this," "I am that," at last, "I am God." (laughter) When everything fails, when everything fails, he thinks, "Oh, I am God," although he is still a dog. You see? This is called māyā. And to get out of māyā means to understand one's position, that "I am eternal servant." That's all. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. And the further advancement of this understanding of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is that "If I am constitutionally a servant, then what sort of service I am rendering?" Oh, kāmādināṁ kati na katidhā palita durnideśāḥ: "I have become servant of my lust, of my greediness, of my avarice, of my anger, of my senses." That's all.
It is not Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is for the lazy fellow. No. It is meant for the strong man: strong in body, strong in mind, strong in determination—everything strong-strong in brain. It is meant for them. Because we have to execute the highest goal of life. Unfortunately, they do not know what is the highest goal of life. The modern... Not modern, always. Now it is very conspicuous: people do not know what is the aim of life. Anyone who is in this material world, he is in māyā, means he does not know what is the goal of life. Na te viduḥ, they do not know, svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇu. Svārtha-gati.
So people are increasing more and more and becoming under the clutches of māyā. That is janma-mṛtyu-jāra-vyādhi (BG 13.9). Clutches of māyā means birth, death, old age, and disease. This is māyā's shackles, or ropes. But they do not care for it. They do not take into account that "I am eternal, na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). I do not die even after the destruction of this body, so why shall I suffer in this way repeatedly birth and death?" And that is also not only inconvenient, but very much painful. Today you are American or something, or Indian, but tomorrow if you become a tree in the American land, then what is your position? But they do not care for it, do not understand it, therefore it is māyāra vaibhava. This advancement of material civilization is māyāra vaibhava.
What we call māyā... Māyā means Mā means "not," and yā means "this." What you are accepting as fact, it is not a fact. This is called māyā. Ma-ya. Māyā means "Don't accept it as truth." It is simply flickering flash only. Just like in the dream we see so many things, and in the morning we forget everything. This is subtle dream. And this existence, this bodily existence and relationship to this body, society, friendship, and love and so many things, they are also gross dream. It will finish. It will stay Just like dream stays for a few minutes or few hours when you are asleep, similarly, this gross dream also will remain, say, for few years. That's all. It is also dream. But actually we are concerned with the person who is dreaming or who is acting. So we have to take him out from this dream, gross and subtle.
And as soon as you become Kṛṣṇa conscious, you become nonseparated. You become nonseparated from Him. Just like qualitatively the sunshine and the sun is hot, warm, similarly, you are also the same spiritual energy, or this whole world is spiritual energy, nothing but... There is nothing but spiritual... Sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma. Everything is Brahman. But how to realize it? If everything is Brahman, then why we are separating, "This is material, this is spiritual"? This is māyā. This is called māyā. Māyā means illusion or forgetfulness. How it happens? It happens just like the sunshine is covered by cloud. Sunshine is covered by cloud—not all the sunshine. An insignificant part of the sunshine is sometimes covered by the cloud.
So when we imitate Kṛṣṇa—we want to be complete in ourself without the help of Kṛṣṇa—this is called māyā. Māyā means that we want to imitate Kṛṣṇa. That is going on, material world. Therefore you'll find these Māyāvādīs... (aside:) Who is that? Take him out. The Māyāvādīs, they persist on this point, that "I am God." The māyā is working there. Māyā is working there still, although he is thinking that "I am now liberated. I have become Nārāyaṇa." Ye 'nye 'ravindākṣa vimukta-māninaḥ. He is thinking that "I am God." That means he is in the darkest region of māyā, and still, he is thinking that he's liberated.
So the Māyāvādī theory that by salvation means he becomes one with the Supreme. One with the Supreme, how it is possible? The Supreme is puruṣa and I am prakṛti. There must be difference between puruṣa and prakṛti. The prakṛti cannot..., a female cannot artificially become a male. That is not possible. And because we are trying artificially to become the supreme male, therefore, that is māyā. That is māyā. Māyā means which is not fact. Mā-yā, it is false. So falsely we are trying to be puruṣa, enjoyer. This whole world is struggling to become puruṣa, enjoyer, everyone. Nation-wide, society-wide, they are trying to be puruṣa.
So dāmpatye... It is not only in your country. In every country. Because the age is like that. Dāmpatye abhirucir hetur māyaiva vyāvahārike. Māyā means false dealing. Vyāvahāre. Even in ordinary dealing there will be cheating and faultiness, even in ordinary. Even you go to purchase something from a store, oh, there is false dealing. Dāmpatye. Strītve puṁstve ca hi ratiḥ. And strītve, a husband and wife will agree so long they are sexually strong. That's all. Strītve puṁstve ca hi ratiḥ. Ratiḥ means sex. Formerly it was not the system. The husband and wife combined together as life companion. Even the husband becomes diseased and paralyzed, the wife cannot give, give him up. "Oh, he is my husband." Similarly, wife. Either she becomes diseased or so many things, the husband and wife combined together for life.
Nectar of Devotion Lectures
Serving the Lord favorably. Not whimsically. Favorably. Ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānu-śīlanaṁ bhaktir uttamā (CC Madhya 19.167). This is the exact word, ānukūla. Ānukūla means favorably, "What I want, you shall do." That is favorable. I want something and you do something else, that is not favorable. Favorable means what Kṛṣṇa wants, you do that. So to come to this understanding, preliminarily... Because we have forgotten Kṛṣṇa, or God, at the present stage, in our material condition of life. Material condition means forgetting our relationship with God. That is material condition. The, this is... Therefore it is called māyā. Māyā means illusion, which has no existence, hallucination.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures
Just like the example is, in your country, in the window, there are many nice model, beautiful women standing or a man standing, nicely dressed, but that is not real man or woman. That is shadow. That is called māyā. This is the example of māyā. Māyā means it is not fact, but it appears like fact. That is called māyā. Another example is... Just like the mirage, water in the desert. Actually there is no water, but it appears that there is water. The foolish animals, they run after this water, but there is no water. Simply running after will o' the wisp, phantasmagoria. So every one of us in this material world—hankering after happiness. Everyone is trying to be happy. But it is like the same, that there is no water in the desert, and still, the foolish animal running after it.
So this is called māyā. You try to understand māyā. Māyā means where there is no happiness, no fact, and still, we are struggling for it. This is called māyā. Try to understand what is māyā. Māyā-sukhāya bharam udvahato vimūḍhān (SB 7.9.43). Prahlāda Mahārāja says. Actually there is no fact, and still, we are struggling for it. The whole universe is like that. Even you are situated as Brahmā or you are situated as an ordinary insignificant ant, this struggle for existence is going on.
Māyā means to give sufficient punishment to the living entities who have forgotten Kṛṣṇa and wants to enjoy material life independently. They are called conditioned soul. Bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19). This conditioned life means we accept one type of body, we suffer sufficiently. It is simply suffering. There is no enjoyment. Where is enjoyment? To remain in the womb of the mother for ten months, is that enjoyment? Packed up in airtight bag? Just imagine, if you were put in airtight bag at the present moment, within three seconds you will die. You cannot live without air, even for three seconds. This is our position. And by māyā's arrangement, we have to remain at least for ten months within the airtight bag, embryo, within the abdomen of our mother. So if we cannot live for even three seconds without air, how it was possible to remain in that airtight bag for ten months? That is also Kṛṣṇa's mercy, to allow us to develop the body, so that coming out of the mother's womb we can live independently. To make us strong in the body. But the māyā is so strong that even within that position, the mother is also killing the child. This is Kali-yuga.
O Kṛṣṇa is so kind that He's preaching about Himself, because without knowing, without understanding the tattva, vetti māṁ tattvataḥ, without understanding the Absolute Truth as He is, there is no question of getting out of the clutches of māyā. Mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te (BG 7.14). "One who surrenders unto Me," Kṛṣṇa says, "he can get out of the clutches of māyā." Māyā means this material life. We have forgotten ourself, that we are intimately related with Kṛṣṇa, we have got a special function on His behalf. Just like part and parcel of my body: the finger has got a special function the leg has got a special function, the head has got a special function; similarly, we all part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, we have got a special function in relationship with the Lord. When we are forgetful of this special relationship with Kṛṣṇa, that is called conditional life or material life. Material life means we do not serve Kṛṣṇa but we serve our senses—kāma, krodha, lobha, moha, mātsarya, like that. That is material life.
So, sabe eḍāila mātra kāśīra māyāvādī. Māyāvādī means materialist. Māyā means this matter, and vādī means those who stick to this principle of material... There are different kinds of materialists. Because we should always know that up to the point of intelligence, it is matter. First point is the senses, the gross. The grossest type of materialist is that they are addicted to sense gratification. So this is materialist. And above this, there are mental speculators. They are also materialists because mind is matter.
Similarly, this material world is sometimes being manifested and sometimes there is no manifestation, simply spiritual. Spiritual is always eternal. The sky, sunshine, is always eternal. Take this crude example. But the cloud is not eternal. It comes and goes, although cloud is a product of the same sunshine. Cloud is not independent. By interaction of sunshine, there is cloud, and that cloud is... There is no cloud. Similarly, this material world is just like cloud. It appears. It acts. When there is cloud, there is torrents of rain. Oh, there are so many productions on account of rain. Everything becomes green. So we give so much importance to the cloud, and it is important also, but it is temporary. As soon as the cloud is over, the greenness is gone. There is no rain. Nothing, nothing. And when the sky is clear, you'll see, "Oh, where is cloud? Where is cloud?" Similarly, this māyā means it appears like the cloud, and it disappears like the cloud, but the eternal brahmajyoti remains.
So therefore, because the Supreme Brahman, or Bhagavān, is the creator of this material nature, He cannot be under the control of māyā. He is... And that is also stated in Bhagavad-gītā, many places. Sambhavāmy ātma-māyayā (BG 4.6). Ātma-māyayā. Not this māyā. Māyā means potency. So we have got the experience of this potency, material potency, but there is another potency which is called spiritual potency. So spiritual potency is the internal energy of Kṛṣṇa, and material potency is the external energy. So Kṛṣṇa says that "Whenever I come," yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata (BG 4.7), "whenever there is discrepancies in the discharging of religious principles," adharmasya abhyutthānam abhyutthānam adharmasya, "and there is great predominance of irreligiosity," tadātmānaṁ sṛjāmy aham, "I, at that time, I come." Paritra... Why? Paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām: (BG 4.8) "Just to save the pious and the righteous and to vanquish the impious."
So how the cloud, hundred miles' spreading cloud, can cover the sun? It is foolishness that "God is covered by māyā." No. God is never covered by māyā. But God's particles, they are covered by māyā. Jīva is covered by māyā, not God. Māyāṁ ca tad-apāśrayam. Just like you face the sun, there is no darkness. If you keep the sun back side, there is a big dark, shadow. The shadow is māyā. It has no existence. It is simply impeding the sunshine. Therefore it is shadow. Māyā means which has no existence of its own accord. It is also created by the sun, the darkness. Similarly, this avidyā, when you forget Kṛṣṇa, there is avidyā. That is also Kṛṣṇa's creation.
So actually nobody can be master; everyone is servant. Either we are servant of God or we are servant of dog. That's all. Nobody can be master. If anyone has no master, then he keeps a pet dog to become his servant. That is nature, we can see. One is servant of his wife, one is servant of his pet or government service or this service. Nobody can claim that "I am the master." That is not possible. That is also temporary. So actually this is the position of all living entities. Everyone is servant. But in the material sense, he is servant of māyā, servant of senses. Servant of māyā means servant of senses. And spiritual life means instead of becoming servant of māyā or servant of senses, we become the servant of Kṛṣṇa or God.
So this is intelligence, how to become a servant of Kṛṣṇa. That is the perfection of life. That means mukti. Mukti does not mean you'll get four hands and eight heads. No. Mukti means, as it is defined in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, muktir hitvānyathā rūpaṁ sva-rūpeṇa vyavasthitiḥ. That is mukti. Sva-rūpeṇa, legally, constitutionally, I am servant of God, or Kṛṣṇa. Now I have become servant of dog and māyā. So if I give up this service and again become servant of God, that is mukti. That is mukti. Muktir hitvānyathā rūpam. We are trying to become... Here māyā means "which is not." Ma-ya. We are every one of us, we are thinking, "I am master." "I am the monarch of all I survey." Here is a poetry. Everyone is thinking. I made my plan, I make my survey, and I become king. But that is māyā. You cannot become. You are already servant of māyā.
Now, in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam some advanced devotee is indicating Kṛṣṇa, kṛṣṇam enam avehi: "This Kṛṣṇa..." When Kṛṣṇa was present in person, many persons studied Him in a different way, but one of them, who is pure devotee, he is describing about Kṛṣṇa that enam, "This Kṛṣṇa, this Kṛṣṇa," kṛṣṇam enam avehi, "you should try to understand." What is that? Tvam ātmānam akhilātmanām. Ātmānam akhilātmanām. Ātmā means the self, or soul. So we individual souls, we are part and parcel, fragmental part and parcel of the Supreme. Therefore Kṛṣṇa is to be understood as the source of all individual selves. Akhilātmā. Akhila means all. Then jagad-dhitāya: "Now, He has come, He has descended out of His causeless mercy," jagad-dhitāya, "for the benefit of this world, this planet." Dehīva ābhāti. Just like He appears ordinary person. Ābhāti māyayā. Māyā. This māyā is not illusion. This māyā means by His internal potency. By His internal potency, He can appear just like us, but He's not like us. He's the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Festival Lectures
So sura-gurum. māyā-manusyam. And when He appears as human being, that is māyā. māyā means actually He is not an ordinary man. He is the Supreme Personality of God, but the rascals they think that "Because Rāma and Kṛṣṇa has appeared like one of us, He is a man, He's an ordinary man." This is the version of the rascals. That Rāma, especially there is a class who are known as Ārya-samājīs. They do not agree that the Supreme Person can, Supreme God can appear as Rāma and Kṛṣṇa. They do not know that although He appeared as one of us in the form of human body, He is not a human being. He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore it is called rāmākhya, māyā mānuṣya hari. He is the Hari... Hari means the Supreme Personality of Godhead who can give you all pleasure, taking all your miserable condition. He is Hari.
Māyā means darkness, ignorance. So this example is very nice. The sparks of the fire dancing very nicely with fire, it is also illuminating. But as soon as it fall down on the ground, it becomes cinder, black cinder, no more fiery quality. Similarly, we are meant for dancing and playing and walking and living with Kṛṣṇa. That is our real position. That is the Vṛndāvana. Everyone... Everyone is connected with Kṛṣṇa. There the trees, there the flowers, water, the cows, the calves, the cowherd boys, or elderly cowherd men, Nanda Mahārāja, other persons of his age, then Yaśodāmayī, mother, then gopīs—in this way Vṛndāvana life, Vṛndāvana picture. Kṛṣṇa comes with full Vṛndāvana picture, and He demonstrates His Vṛndāvana life, cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu, just to attract us, that "You are trying to enjoy in this material world, but here you cannot enjoy because you are eternal.
Arrival Addresses and Talks
Out of many thousands, millions people, one is anxious to make his life successful. Nobody is interested. Practically they do not know what is actually success of life. The modern civilization, everyone is thinking, "If I get a good wife and nice motorcar and a nice apartment, that is success." That is not success. That is temporary. Real success is to get out of the clutches of māyā, means this material conditional life which comprehends birth, death, old age and disease. We are passing through many varieties of life, and this human form of life is a good chance to get out of this chain of changing body one after another.
Initiation Lectures
And artha-vādaḥ. Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare, Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare—this should not be interpreted because this is chanting. Hare means addressing the energy of Kṛṣṇa, and Kṛṣṇa is Lord Himself. So we are addressing, "O energy of Kṛṣṇa, O Kṛṣṇa, Rāma, O the supreme enjoyer, and Hare, the same energy, spiritual energy." Our prayer is "Please engage me in Your service." We are all engaged in some sort of service. There is no doubt about it. But we are suffering. By rendering service to māyā, we are suffering. The māyā means the service which we offer to somebody, that somebody is not satisfied; and you are also offering service—we are not satisfied. He is not satisfied with you; you are not satisfied with him.
What is that māyā? Māyā means to plan how to become materially happy. This is māyā. All the people of the world, they are simply making plan how they will be happy within this material world. That's all. This is māyā. The history of the whole world studied, it is experience that the Roman Empire planned, the British Empire planned, the... So many empires, they flourish sometimes. All fail. The Britishers, they were, two hundred years ago, they were planning to rule over this vast land of America. George Washington declared independence; their plan failed. Similarly, in India they were planning to exploit.
General Lectures
We are thinking that we are happy, we have no problem, although there are so many problems and we are not happy. This is called māyā. Māyā means what is not. Mā means not. Yā means this. This is called māyā. We are thinking that we are happy, but actually we are not happy. And even if we are happy, how long we are happy? Suppose, taking for example you Americans, you are the richest nation of the world. Your material comforts and everything is greater than other countries, standard of living. But just try to think how long you can remain as American. Say, for fifty years or hundred years, at most.
If there is some pain, you are feeling not to work the finger. Similarly, our position, being part and parcel of the Supreme, our function is to serve the Supreme. If we do not serve the Supreme, then it is our diseased condition, which is called māyā. Māyā means which is not actual fact. Mā-yā. Mā means "not"; yā means "this."
So, so we are thinking at the present moment that "I am God. I am independent." That is māyā. Māyā means which is not actual fact. Plain philosophy. If you are God, then you must know what is God. God is never dependent. That is the definition given in Vedānta-sūtra: svarāṭ. Svarāṭ means fully independent. That is one of the quality of God.
But Kṛṣṇa is not formless. Kṛṣṇa has form. That is transcendental form, sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ (Bs. 5.1). His body is eternal and full of bliss, transcendental bliss, and full of knowledge. That is Kṛṣṇa's feature. So we have also got minute quantity of Kṛṣṇa's qualities because we are minute particles of Kṛṣṇa, but that is now covered by māyā. This māyā means... When we forget our actual relationship with Kṛṣṇa, that is called māyā, false egotism. Falsely I am thinking that "I am American," "I am Indian," "I am brāhmaṇa," "I am this," "I am that." These are all false designations. Real identification is "I am Kṛṣṇa's." I have repeatedly said. When this realization is achieved, that mahātmā is su-durlabhaḥ, very rare. Sa mahātmā su-durlabhaḥ. Who? One who understands that vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti: (BG 7.19) "Vāsudeva is the origin of everything." Kṛṣṇa is the origin.
Anyone can become related with Kṛṣṇa. We have got our eternal relationship with Kṛṣṇa because we are all parts and parcels of Kṛṣṇa. Just like the father and the son is eternally related. A son may become rebellion to the father, but the relationship of father and son cannot be broken. Similarly, we are also related with Kṛṣṇa. Somehow or other, that we have forgotten. That is our present position. That is called māyā. Māyā means when we forget our relationship with Kṛṣṇa and we establish so many false relationships.
So if the wives quarrel between themselves that one wife will enjoy the another or predominate over the other wives, that is not possible. Similarly, prakṛti, we are prakṛti, we cannot control over the other prakṛti. It may be I am superior prakṛti but the other is inferior prakṛti. But that does not mean one prakṛti can enjoy the other prakṛti. Therefore, this enjoying spirit should be given up. This enjoying spirit is māyā. Māyā means illusion. The same example, one woman cannot enjoy other woman. The all women is enjoyable by the man, that is the nature.
The real disease is, as it is stated by a Vaiṣṇava poet,
kṛṣṇa bhuliya jīva bhoga vañcha kare
pāśate māyā tāre jāpaṭiyā dhare
When we forget Kṛṣṇa and want to lord it over the material nature, this is called māyā. Māyā means which has no factual existence. So this idea that I shall lord it over the material nature, this is māyā.
So Vaiṣṇava is the patitānāṁ pāvana... Fallen. Fallen means when one falls down from his actual position. That is called fallen. So every conditioned soul is fallen because he has fallen down from his actual position. What is his actual position? The position is that he is eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa. That is the constitutional position of living entity. But he has fallen means he has given up the service of Kṛṣṇa and he has taken the service of māyā, means so many things. Somebody is serving country, society, friendship, love, and so many things. They have created service. At last dog service, cat service. But because they have forgotten Kṛṣṇa's service, therefore they are called fallen. These fallen conditioned soul are claimed by the Vaiṣṇavas. Patitānāṁ pāvanebhyo vaiṣṇavebhyo namo namaḥ. That is Vaiṣṇava's duty.
Māyā means the illusory energy, where we want to enjoy, but it is not actual enjoyment. It is illusion. So the sex life in this material world is the center of this attraction.
So our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is how to get the living out..., living entity out of this material entanglement. Because real happiness is not sensual happiness. Real happiness is above the senses. It is supramental sense, or spiritual sense. With the gross senses, what we enjoy, that is temporary. It is not permanent. Permanent enjoyment is transcendental sense enjoyment.
Ultimately, all our miserable conditions have been summarized into four, birth, death, old age and disease. Janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam (BG 13.9). We are trying to have, become happy by our scientific knowledge, by advancement of knowledge, but Kṛṣṇa says that you cannot make any solution of these four problems. What is that? Birth, death, old age and disease. That is not possible. So we are happy by false happiness. This is called māyā. This is culture, this Indian culture. They agree, there is a māyā. This is Eastern culture. Māyā. Māyā means we are falsely happy. We are thinking that "Now I am well situated." But I am not thinking any moment, next moment, I may be kicked out of the situation and everything finished. Why I am being kicked out? I want to stay here permanently. Nobody wants to die. Why he dies? Where is the solution? This is lack of knowledge. But there is solution. There is solution. That is Eastern culture. The Eastern culture knows how to make the solution. Therefore, you'll find so many parties, the karmīs, the jñānīs, the yogis, the bhaktas, they are all trying to make solution of these four problems, birth, death, old age and disease. That is Eastern gift. So now it is very happy moment that Indo-American Society.
That is spiritual world. So as soon as you think that "Why shall I give service to Kṛṣṇa? Why not become independent?" you fall down immediately. So there is potency of thinking like that.
kṛṣṇa bhuliya jīva bhoga vāñchā kare
pāśate māyā tāre jāpaṭiyā dhare
As soon as one forgets the service of the Lord and he wants to become himself Lord, immediately māyā will capture. This māyā means this material world.
To serve māyā means to continue this material existence one after another. Now I've got this body, you've got this body, and if we do not change our attitude to serve Kṛṣṇa, then we get again next body. There are 8,400,000 different forms of body. We can see. There are so many trees, plants, insects, animals. They're all living entities. Also there are nice body—Americans, Europeans, beautiful body, or demigod's body. There are different bodies, eight million... So long we shall remain māyā-dāsa, we have to change this body one after another. It may be of higher standard or it may be of lower standard. That will depend on my work. Karmaṇā daiva netreṇa jantor deha upapattaye (SB 3.31.1). This is the philosophy, Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Philosophy Discussions
Devotee: In the dream, they are also suffering. So in the same way it is actually happening in a subtle form in your dreams. It is actually happening.
Prabhupāda: Yes, and it has no actual value, but when it is happening and I am under dream, I am thinking it is all actual. Actually it has no value. Therefore it is called māyā. Māyā means which has no real existence, but it appears.
Śyāmasundara: Last night you said that what is the meaning of the word "nothing." That māyā means "nothing"?
Prabhupāda: You can say like that. Nothing is appearing like something. But we don't say nothing. The Māyāvādī philosophers, they say nothing. We say temporary, just like cloud, you cannot say it is nothing.
Prabhupāda: This is not striving. By nature's way the lower animals, they come to the platform of man. Jīva-jātiṣu paryayaḥ, it is called. Paryayaḥ means one after another. There is nature's help. Up to the human being, that law works. And human being, being developed conscious, so he has got the power of discrimination. Because originally the soul is given independence. Just like Kṛṣṇa is asking Arjuna, yathecchasi tathā kuru (BG 18.63). "Whatever you like, you do." That is the original connection. God is the Supersoul; we are soul, under Him, subordinate. So we are called taṭastha, means marginal. Marginal means we can remain either way. Either on God's side or māyā's side. That is my choice. So when we don't want to serve God, then we are sent to the māyā, to serve māyā. Māyā means his position as servant remains the same, but he thinks "I am master." That is māyā. He is Just like a child trying to do something father does not like.
Prabhupāda: Everyone is dependent under the laws of material nature. When death comes, nobody is independent. Either American, Indian, or There is no question of independence. But when we think that "I am independent," although I am dependent in so many respects, that is māyā. That is māyā. Māyā means what he is thinking, that is not fact. That is called māyā. Mā-yā. What you are thinking, that is not a fact. So daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā (BG 7.14). So he is continually serving the māyā, life after life, but still he is thinking, "I am independent." So the right intelligence is, actual independence is, mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti. When you surrender to Kṛṣṇa, that is your real independence.
Prabhupāda: So if one hasn't got a family to serve, he keeps a dozen of dog to serve. That is going on, and especially in the Western countries we see that at the old age, when he has no children, so he keeps a dog or two or three pets to serve. So the serving position is already there, and when the servant wants to become master, that is māyā. Because this word māyā means actually he is serving and he is thinking that he is master. That is māyā. Māyā means what is not fact. So by meditation, when he actually becomes a realized soul, he will understand that "Oh, I am servant. So why I am serving māyā? Let me serve Kṛṣṇa." That is perfection. So if his guide, spiritual master, engages him from the very beginning to serve God, then he becomes quickly perfect, because he is servant and he has to serve Kṛṣṇa. That is his perfection. He is falsely thinking that he is master. That is māyā.
Purports to Songs
Why they are doing so, these animals, human animals? Ahaṅkāre matta hoiyā, nitāi-pada pāsariyā: "They have become maddened by a false concept of the bodily life." Ahaṅkāre matta hoiyā, nitāi-pada pāsariyā: "And for this reason they have completely forgotten their eternal relationship with Nityānanda." Ahaṅkāre matta hoiyā, nitāi-pada pāsariyā, asatyere satya kari māni: "Such forgetful persons accept the illusory energy as fact." Asatyere. Asatya means which is not fact. In other words, it is called māyā. Māyā means which has no existence, a temporary illusion only. So such persons who have no contact with Nityānanda, they accept this illusion as fact, this illusory body as fact. Asatyere satya kori māni.
Conversations and Morning Walks
1969 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: That is māyā, and that is material consciousness. Denying God in different way, "There is no God," that is also denial. "I don't believe in God"—that is also denial. "God is impersonal, void," anyway, whatever you say in that way, that is all insanity, māyā. Maya means insanity. Another meaning of māyā means insanity. Just like when a man becomes insane, that is false. It is expected that he should not be insane. By treatment he is brought again to his original consciousness. Similarly, māyā means insanity, forgetfulness of God. And by Kṛṣṇa consciousness treatment he comes to the original consciousness. He becomes a cured man. Actually māyā means which has no existence. Māyā has no existence.
1972 Conversations and Morning Walks
Bob: So what on earth is God? Is there anything on earth that is God?
Prabhupāda: Yes. Because it is made out of the energy of God. (pause) But (that) does not mean that anything you worship, you worship God.
Bob: So what is on earth, though, is not māyā. It is...
Prabhupāda: māyā means energy.
Bob: It means energy.
Prabhupāda: Yes. māyā, another meaning: illusion. So foolish persons, the energy is accepted as the energetic. That is māyā. Just like sunshine. Sunshine enters your room. Sunshine is the energy of the sun. But because the sunshine has entered in your room you cannot say the sun has entered. If sun enters, then your room and yourself, everything will be finished immediately. (laughter) You'll not have the leisure to understand that sun has entered. Is it not?
John Nordheimer: Why does all this exist? Why the challenge in the first place? Why māyā?
Prabhupāda: Māyā means that you are unfortunate. Here it is light, and there it is darkness. If I tell you to come from the darkness into the light and if you don't come, that is your misfortune. māyā is there, and God is there. If you want to remain in māyā, then how can you be saved? I can help you by saying, "Don't remain in darkness. Please come out into the light." But if you say, "No, I shall remain here," then how can I save you? You have your choice. God is there, and māyā is there. If you take to māyā you remain in māyā. What can I do, and what can God do? That is your choice.
1973 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: Just see. And how many, how much drops of semen he is discharging... That means he's spoiling his blood. But he is thinking, "I am enjoying." Would you like to, by giving your blood to enjoy? Would you like?
Umāpati: No, I don't think I'd like.
Prabhupāda: But you are doing that, every night. And that is called māyā.
Umāpati: I'm a brahmacārī, Prabhupāda.
Prabhupāda: No, you are...(laughter) I am giving an example. This is going on. He is going to die. He has adopted a process by which he will die, and he thinks that he is enjoying. This is called māyā. Māyā means things which is not, māyā. Mā means not, yā means this. "What you are thinking, it is not that." That is called māyā. So they are in māyā means, they are thinking, these rascals, they are thinking, improving, becoming happy, advancing this māyā word will finish everything, mā, yā: "Not this." Bhāgavata says that "You are thinking you are becoming victorious, but you are being defeated." Parābhavas tāvad abodha-jātaḥ. These rascal, abodha-jātaḥ, born fools and rascal, they are becoming defeated in every step. Parābhavas tāvad abodha-jāto yāvan na jijñāsata ātma-tattvam. So long he does not inquire about his self, "What I am," he is simply being defeated. That's all. This is the verdict.
Revatīnandana: Actually what we discussed is that every, even the elements, the atoms, everything is made of nothing but spirit souls in fallen conditions. Because everything comes from brahmajyoti, which is nothing but spirit souls, and brahmajyoti... Therefore soul never changes. So this manifestation is from brahmajyoti. Therefore, it is made of souls. It is nothing else but spirit souls. Yesterday, a few days ago we discussed that.
Prabhupāda: It is simply covered by another energy which is called material energy. And that is māyā. Māyā means that is not actual, not factual. The example is given, just like the sun is covered by the cloud. The cloud is nothing but another creation of sun. But when the cloud comes, sun is invisible. Similarly this condition, forgetfulness, is my creation and when I am covered by this forgetfulness I become stones and atoms, like that.
1974 Conversations and Morning Walks
Dr. Patel: Whenever it is (?) a question of matter is evolved from māyā. So we are Māyāvādīs, all of you and me.
Prabhupāda: Huh?
Dr. Patel: Yes, because we are talking of māyā.
Prabhupāda: No, no. Māyā means śakti. Māyā means śakti.
Dr. Patel: That's it. Then śakti's of God.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Dr. Patel: Nothing can happen without the śakti. Nothing can happen without the energy.
Prabhupāda: That's all right, but the...
Dr. Patel: You cannot move your finger...
Prabhupāda: But you cannot avoid the varieties.
Puṣṭa-kṛṣṇa: Things which we place value on that have no relation to Kṛṣṇa.
Prabhupāda: The māyā is explained very nicely in the Bhāgavata, yathābhāso yathā tamaḥ. Just like sun is reflected in the water, and the light is reflected again on the wall. This is the exact explanation of māyā. Reality, this material world, the man who manufactured all these things, nobody knows where he has gone, but these things are taken as reality. This will be also finished. It will remain as relics, as Rome, relics, but when it was..., the houses were prepared with great enthusiasm as reality. And now it is as relics. So the energy expended for manufacturing those house, that is also māyā, and now they are being visited as relics. That is also māyā. So all these things are māyāra vaibhava, expansion of māyā. So if somebody says that you don't appreciate these things? No, we appreciate, very much appreciate intelligence. But if you, for this appreciation, if you forget, then it is māyā. Forget Kṛṣṇa.
Prabhupāda: Let them do whatever they do, but still, Kṛṣṇa is there. Aṇḍāntara-stha-paramāṇu-cayāntara-sthaṁ govindam ādi-puruṣam tam ahaṁ bhajāmi (Bs. 5.35)**. (break) ...your undeveloped conscious, more you are servant of nature. The mo... As you have got less developed consciousness,... Just like the dog and the girl, she is developed consciousness. Therefore the dog, less conscious, it is serving. Similarly, if you are not Kṛṣṇa conscious fully, then you have to serve māyā.
Bahulāśva: Kali-dāsa. (japa)
Prabhupāda: To serve māyā means to accept this material body. māyā will give you a dress according to your karma, and you'll have to work. This will continue.
Bali Mardana: Oh. So those who do not develop their Kṛṣṇa consciousness fully must again take a birth.
Prabhupāda: Oh yes.
1975 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: Yes, this is transcendental, this microphone, because it is being used for Kṛṣṇa's purpose. The same flower, when you use it for sense gratification, it is material. The same flower when you offer to Kṛṣṇa, it is spiritual. The flower is not different, but by the different use it becomes material and spiritual. I think I have said many times that there is actually no material existence. Therefore it is called māyā. Māyā means it has no actual existence. We create an atmosphere. That is māyā. Atmosphere of forgetfulness of Kṛṣṇa, that is māyā. Anartha. Anartha, unnecessary. Anarthopaśamaṁ sākṣād bhakti-yogam (SB 1.7.6). If this park is given to us, we can immediately make it Vaikuṇṭha. We know how to do it. But it is not given to us. The same electric energy is creating heater and cooler. For the cooler there is no different electric energy. And for the heater there is no different—the same electric. Similarly, the material and spiritual is coming from Kṛṣṇa's energy.
Prabhupāda: That is called māyā. This is māyā. The philosophy of māyā, māyā means what is not. Mā-yā. Mā means not, yā means this. So māyā means the conclusion, as you have made, that is not. That is not the fact. So we are claiming, "America is our", "Australia is our", "India is our". Nothing our. Everything God's. The best conclusion is, "It is God's property. God has given us to live. Let us thank God, feel obliged to Him, and glorify Him." That is our vision. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. You accept the real position, that nothing belongs to you, everything belongs to God. You also belong to God. Your body, yourself, everything belongs to God. This body is material body. That material energy, earth, water, air, fire—everything belongs to God. This sea belongs to God, water, vast water. You have not created, neither your forefather has created. So this body is made of earth, water, air, fire, five elements. So your, the body is also God's.
So far I am soul, I am also part and parcel of God. So everything belongs to God. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. We are falsely claiming that "It is our." This is māyā. Māyā means what is not fact. That is the meaning of māyā.
Prabhupāda: That is māyā. He is serving a dog, and still, he is thinking he is master. That is māyā. Instead of serving a nice person or the nice Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, he is serving a dog. But he is thinking that "I am master." This is māyā. māyā means which is not fact. He is serving, but he is thinking that he is not serving, he is controlling, or something like that. That is māyā.
Prabhupāda: That is life. This artificial life is no life. Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has described this modern civilization of artificial life. So he says, jaḍā vidyā sab, māyāra vaibhava. He declares all these artificial way of life, advancement of material civilization, means advancement of influence of māyā. Jaḍā vidyā sab, māyāra vaibhava. Expansion of the influence of māyā. Then? What is the result? The result is anitya saṁsāre, moho janmeiya. Jaḍā vidyā sab, māyār vaibhava, tomāra bhajane badha. māyā means forgetfulness of God. This is māyā. māyā means the more you forget Kṛṣṇa, the more you are involved in māyā. Daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā (BG 7.14). So māyā's business is to cover you more and more as you forget Kṛṣṇa. This is māyā's business.
Prabhupāda: No. No. māyā means something false. Nobody makes anything. Everything is made by... Ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavaḥ (BG 10.8). Kṛṣṇa is the creator of everything. māyā is also created by Kṛṣṇa. So just like government creates police department. But police department is made for that person who violates the laws of God. The police department is creation of government. Similarly, māyā's business is to capture, arrest the criminal who has gone against God, capture him. Mūḍha janmani janmani (BG 16.20). Mam aprapyaiva. This is the arrangement. Nobody is independent. Everything. Therefore it is called sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma. So māyā is also Brahman. māyā is also Brahman. Sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma. Why māyā is different from God? It is creation of God. Mama māyā, Kṛṣṇa says. Mama māyā. So how māyā can be... The difference is police cannot arrest the president. Now it has been proved in the law. The president, the prime minister, they cannot be interfered by the police or law. That is good judgment. If the head of the estate is also interfered by police, that does not look well. So this judgment is very nice. Therefore in English constitution the first word is "The king can do no wrong." You cannot accuse king of doing wrong. Whatever he does, it is all right.
1976 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: You can see in the Fifth Canto. There is.
Hṛdayānanda: That means that māyā is just like a magician.
Prabhupāda: Yes, certainly. Therefore it is called māyā. Māyā means magician. Māyā means... māyā means affection, māyā means illusion, magician, so many things—strength, potency.
Jagadīśa: Śrīla Prabhupāda, what is your explanation why the sun changes colors?
Prabhupāda: Hm?
Jagadīśa: What is your explanation as to why the sun changes colors?
Prabhupāda: Sun is moving. You are seeing through some color. Then it is color.
Prabhupāda: "They can also go back to home, back to Godhead." Māṁ hi pārtha... If he takes Kṛṣṇa very seriously, then everything is possible. No impediment. Ahaituky apratihatā. Kṛṣṇa devotional service is so strong that it cannot be checked by any material impediments. The smārtas, they are thinking like that, "How these mlecchas and yavanas can become a brāhmaṇa?" But they do not know that by Kṛṣṇa consciousness one can jump over. Māyām etāṁ taranti te. Daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā (BG 7.14). Māyā is very strong. Therefore there are gradual process. Varṇāśrama-dharma, karma-tyāga, this, that, so many things, pious activities, rituals. But this is the process, step by step, to cross over māyā. But Kṛṣṇa said, mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te. Anyone who surrenders to Kṛṣṇa sincerely, immediately he crosses over. As Kṛṣṇa says in another place, ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi: (BG 18.66) "I'll do immediately." So māyā means pāpa. Unless one is sinful, he cannot be in māyā. So if one surrenders, then he, means, immediately crosses over māyā. So these smārta brāhmaṇas, they consider this thing. They are thinking, "How a person born in other families, they can become brāhmaṇa?"
Prabhupāda: Not yes. First of all understand your rascaldom. You have created such a situation that to go to a place two miles away from my place, I have to wait for three days. And we are taking it as progress. This is rascaldom. But what is inconvenient, we are taking it as progress. To go to a place two miles away, it takes ten minutes or, say, twenty minutes. Now we have to wait two days. And we are taking it as progress. This is called māyā. Māyā means what is not. It is not progress, but we are taking as progress. Degrees we are taking as progress. This is called māyā. Hm? What do you say, Nandarāṇī?
Prabhupāda: So when Kṛṣṇa said, mayā tatam idam, mayā means, "I am there." But "I" is existing. That "I", person, is existing. Just like if I say that "It is I who has expanded, I am expanded all over the world by this Hare Kṛṣṇa movement," that's a fact. But that does not mean I am not a person. If I say that "I am, this Hare Kṛṣṇa movement means I am, I am spread by spreading this movement," that's a fact. But does it mean that I am imperson? That is, Kṛṣṇa says, mayā tatam idaṁ sarvaṁ jagad avyakta-mūrtinā. Avyakta. So the same example we can give you that in all my branches, 110 branches, they worship me as their guru. Mat-sthāni sarva-bhūtāni (BG 9.4). "Everything is existing on My management." Nāhaṁ teṣu avasthitaḥ. "But I am not there." It is a fact. All these 110 branches, they are going on under my direction, but not that I am present everywhere. But that does not mean I am not a person. So the supreme, the supreme manager, the supreme controller, how he can be nirākāra? That is my first question.
1977 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: Whatever you require, you desire, everything is there. Cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vṛkṣa (Bs. 5.29). You get everything as soon as you desire it. You haven't got to work. That is spiritual world. In material world, to get your necessities you have to work. You get this flower, little working. You grow the seeds, put little water, and it will be... And in spiritual world, as soon as you desire, "I want this flower," it is ready. There also māyā is working. Māyā means energy, Kṛṣṇa's energy. Here also energy is working. Bījo 'haṁ sarva-bhūtānām (Bg 7.10). Kṛṣṇa is preparing the seed. You have to work little. You cannot prepare the seed. That is in Kṛṣṇa's hand. You cannot prepare the seed in your so-called rascals' laboratory. That is not. Is it possible.? Hm? Why now they are so much proud with their scientific knowledge? Our Svarūpa Dāmodara is convinced this so-called scientific knowledge is bogus.
Jayapatākā: I can have him do (indistinct), and other system.
Prabhupāda: So māyā means simply you are desiring one after another, one after another, one after another, one after another. Hm? Who will find out this verse? Hañā māyāra dāsa kari' nānā abhilāṣa. Where it is?
Correspondence
1969 Correspondence
Accepting that Krishna is everything, what is aimed by the Ram Krishna Mission or by the Maharishi group is also Krishna; but Krishna says that although everything is expansion of Himself, He is not in everything. Exactly like in our material experience we can understand that everything is ultimately produced of sunshine, but that does not mean everything is sunshine. Rather, other things cover the sunshine and creates a shadow. The Ram Krishna Mission or the Maharishi's activities are nothing but expanded energy of Krishna, but by such work Krishna is covered. Therefore it is called Maya. Maya has no separate existence beyond Krishna, but when there is Maya, Krishna is covered. Exactly like cloud is nothing but creation of the sunshine—the cloud has no independent existence—but whenever there is a cloud in the sky the sunshine becomes covered. Therefore it is Maya. Maya means things which have no existence independent of Godhead, but its business is to cover Godhead. Similarly, either the Ram Krishna Mission or Maharishi's group, they have no existence independent of Krishna, but their activities are just like the cloud covering Krishna. Actually, they never directly preach Krishna Consciousness. On the other hand, they do something to cover Krishna Consciousness.
1970 Correspondence
Yes Krsna fulfills everyone's desires fully. He can full our desires either materially or spiritually. Material desires to be the supreme enjoyer or god are not natural desires, however. Such desire is maya. Maya means what is not. Our constitutional position is not that of the supreme enjoyer so such desire is unnatural and false. Krsna fulfills the ultimate spiritual desire of everyone also. According to one's constitutional position he enjoys a fully perfect relationship of love with Krsna.
1972 Correspondence
The idea is that nobody should serve Krishna with motive, even up to liberation, he should serve for service sake. Liberation from Maya means engaging himself in the service of the Lord. So one should strive to become a servant of the Supreme, and in that position he is automatically liberated and free from the clutches of Maya, so when it is said that one should strive to be free from the clutches of Maya, it is simply another way of saying one should strive to be a servant of the Lord, not that being free from Maya is the goal of striving, but that the serving is the goal of striving. Liberation is the constitutional position of the living entity, and that constitutional position is that the Lord is great and that the living entity is subordinate & servant of the Lord. So one should try to extricate himself from the clutches of Maya in order to regain his healthy, normal condition as the servant of Krishna, not just to get himself liberated. But once in this service, he is liberated already. Try to understand.
Regarding your question of dancing-show, whatever it may be, it may not deviate from the real Krishna Consciousness program. We are Hari Kirtana men, that's all. We can attract people by some gorgeous show, but inside there must be strict purity and seriousness, otherwise, we shall be attracted by the gorgeous show only. There are two energies always working simultaneously, and Maya means when we diminish the spiritual energy, then automatically we become attracted to the external dress of Maya. So I do not care very much for these plays and dramas unless they are coming directly from the Vedas. If we can recite from Bhagavad gita the first chapter without any need for elaborate scenery or stage-props and gorgeous dresses, that is best. Just like your Shakespeare.
1973 Correspondence
There is no doubt about it, to distribute books is our most important activity. The temple is a place not for eating and sleeping, but as a base from which we send out our soldiers to fight with maya. Fight with maya means to drop thousand and millions of books into the lap of the conditioned souls. Just like during war time the Bombs are raining from the sky like anything. So you are the expert in this field. I like also your programme of sending out your best men to teach the others. That is the actual process of Krishna Consciousness. To train others continue this programme so that in the future every devotee in our movement will know the art of distributing books. This is approved by me.
| Page Title: | Maya means |
| Compiler: | Sahadeva, Partha-sarathi, Visnu Murti, Laksmipriya |
| Created: | 14 of Oct, 2009 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=9, CC=1, OB=4, Lec=92, Con=19, Let=5 |
| No. of Quotes: | 130 |