As I switched off the television in my study and rendered the popular K-serial back into the electromagnetic ether, I wondered to myself – was this what the Vedic rishis alluded to by the word māyā . Just as I was able to turn off the sound and light interplay with a little pressure on my remote, I thought to myself – is this what’s going to happen to my five senses some day – but then where is the remote and who has the finger on the button, my button? That this world is ephemeral I believe, but that it is all an illusion I do not accept – there must be more to this māyānvī universe, or should I say multiverse in Ken Wilber’s terminology. With such heavy thoughts I first illumined my desk and then turned to various scholars for help. Māyā is derived from the root √mā in Sanskrit that literally means to measure, to form, to limit . According to the Hindu philosophy all that we observe through our senses falls into this realm of measurability and determination, giving rise to the multiplicity of creation. The oldest of the Vedas the Rig Veda gives Lord Indra […]

I introduced a Table 1 – Māyā_Dimensions in Appendix 8 . Here I would like to elaborate on this concept and present more details on how this table has come about. In this ‘form’ it does not exist in any present literature and has been actually enthused from a variety of sources/readings both from the western and eastern sides. In establishing this diagram I have tried to bring some method to a very large body of writings and concepts starting with the idea of dimensions from physics and integrating it with the idea of Māyā from early Hindu writings. We must keep in mind that we are stepping out here into ‘something of the Unknown’ and the only reassurance that I have had is that from time to time my various metaphysical and Vedic readings have fitted almost hand in glove with this picture. So, now, I would like to carry you step by step through this journey….The structure shown above is the first blank table that I put together based on the work of two authors, both from the field of parapsychology , attempting to integrate the diverse disciplines of university education into a new order, a novel synthesis […]

Māyā [1] is derived from the root √ma : means – to measure, to form, to limit . In the Vedāntic tradition it means specifically , “the illusion superimposed upon reality as an effect of ignorance.” Later Śankara describes the entire visible cosmos as māyā, an illusion superimposed upon true being by man’s deceitful senses & unilluminated mind [3]. The Nirukta [4] (2.8) first relates the root √ma to mātā which means “the atmosphere” encircling the earth. This also means the “mother’s womb” in it the ātmā : soul takes shape and form and is born in this world. The womb ensconces the ātmâ : self. Similarly the atmosphere covers the earth. Literally, therefore, mātā means “ a vast region encompassed by air” and the mother’s womb is the soul’s passage into this world of māyā . Here it is nurtured, develops into a fœtus and takes on the human shape and size – ready for its earthy experiences. What is this māyānvi world that the soul now enters ? – the answer is best given by excerpting from Heinrich Zimmer [5] :-  Māyā is the measuring out, or creation, or display of forms; māyā is any illusion, trick, artifice, […]