51. MAYA or Mithya.

How do we know, if what we know is real or illusory. All the masters have been telling us that the world is an illusion. What does that mean. Is the Illusion real? Does such a question have any answer? Its like asking, can form be formless? In fact, all forms are energy according to Einstein and Energy is form. E=MC2. E being formless and M being matter or form.  

We are aware of ‘all what is’. But all this is an illusion, when seen as separate from the see-er. Since we identify ourselves with the body, and feel all aspects of 'ourselves' as real,  the universe 'all', also feels real. The main problem is to see through the illusion of this reality that could be a 'me'. 

Let us go with an example. Imagine a pond where in a small ripple is made. if you put a piece of paper on the ripple, it is quite evident that the water is only moving up and down and not sideways. So sideways movement seems to be or we can say, actually is, an illusion. We are willing to accept that,  this movement is an illusion, since the paper doesn’t seem to move outwards as a solid proof. Now this gives rise to the next question, if side ward movement of water is an illusion, why should not be the up/down movement of water, as seen with the paper, also be an illusion, and why not the whole of water also be an illusion too. Why is that, we ‘feel’, the sideways movement of water an illusion and rest others real, within the whole illusion or whole reality. If one aspect of the water is an illusion, the whole of water and all aspects of it should be an illusion and that is what we are trying to accept or reject here. All we have are experiences. All experiences are real experiences, including an experience of an illusion in logic. There is no other reality, other than the experiencing of it. If at all there could be, then reality itself is simply an understanding. That which is real, must claim its reality as such, unchanging at all times. The water cant say that it is ice or steam, in which case, what it is, is not what it is, when circumstances change. So maintaining a changeless objectivity to form is an illusion. I keep changing from birth to death, and I am 'I' all the time. Its like saying that all that changes is a changeless constant, from a particular point of view. In that case, the changeless that consciousness is, as an intelligence in its potential, is the changing form that creation appears as the looks of 'now'. So every change has a changeless aspect, as if evolving in 'time', that is 'now'.

When we take change as 'movement', the movement becomes the change or expression of that which moves, being the constant. Like a dancer, being a constant, the dance is a continuous change, being its expression, which the dancer is the same. So the basis of creation is the same, only the looks of creation, being the expression of itself, is what appears as the change. Its like light, being the same and its brightness from maximum to nil, being its expression as the change. So the day and night belong to the same source.

Take another case of movement or change. Any movement has to have a previous position, the present position and the future position, to have a movement. Any change also, must have a previous look, present look and a future look to know of a change. Now, the previous reference to any movement or change,  has to be from memory. Memory is the same as ‘mind’ or mental or psyche. The mind is one plain and the existence or ‘Now’ or present seeing is another plain. Now we use the old reference from memory which is on one plain and then we try to connect it to reality, which is another plain and to the future imagination, back to the mental plain, to experience or see such a movement happening. However, these plains are not compatible, unless the whole of it, is mental. Since in our life time, the whole process of living is only for ‘this’ fraction seemingly real or physical, and all past and future is mental, and we think that the real can be linked to mental,  which need not be true. The truth is that, a mental plain, connects, in the mental plain only and so, it is acceptable that all movements and the whole of living is ’mental’ or what we call illusory, like in a dream.

Take another solid case of 'sound'. Let us say air vibrates at 250 hzs. This means that air particles are moving up and down or sideways at this rate per second. There is nothing more to it. Now the generation of sound or perception of sound is like a side effect of vibration. In other words, sound is an 'effect' and such an effect is non measurable and only felt. What is measurable ( if at all)  is air and its movement. Sound is a mental format and has no individual existence. its existence depends on and is a 'side effect' of air and its vibrations. The sound is not made of air at all. Its only an effect. Like light is not made of electricity. Its only an effect. In fact brightness is an effect of light, even when light cannot be said to existing objectively. So all objectivity is an experience. There is nothing tangible as light and sound etc. Its all a 'side effect' or 'mental' or illusory. So is all creation an effect. Each aspect sensed is sensed by mind as an effect and the mind has to join all effects and make a story called reality or creation. So the whole creation is an effect of something that cannot be known. What we are featured is as an 'effect' or even like a 'side effect' or a reflection etc. How can an effect find the cause?. The effects are felt on the level of MIND or cognisor. This MIND is everywhere that things are cognised as effect and 'calibrated' as things or objects by Mind itself. So all that is happening is 'mental'.  

Mental is another term for Illusory. So Life as it seems to us, movement as it seems to us, has to be completely illusory. What is seen, is in frames  and what is felt is continuous. Continuity can only be mental or  illusory. So life, seemingly continuous is mental or illusory .This is Maya or the magic of creation. All there is –is a dream and no-one is seeing it, but seeing is happening, all the same, because the intelligence that creates it, also has the capacity to see it, making a feel as if a ‘me’ is experiencing it. However, this ‘me’ is as illusory as the seeing and so it goes well within the scheme of things.

Reality as such is a matter of discussion or elaboration. There is independent reality or consciousness, there is dependent reality or 'Maya' and there could be imaginary 'unreality' or something that doesn't need to be discussed. Unreality is that which doesn't exist at all. Like son of a barren women or horn of a hare. So no sense is imagining whether it is real or unreal. Dependent reality is experiences that depend on sense organs. Meaning visual experience is dependent on seeing or audible experiences are dependent on hearing etc. To say that an object exists, there has to be the perceiving subject also in existence. But both the subject and object are dependent on reality or existence itself, which exists as a potential even without any notion of subject-object. Such experiences or so called 'real' world which is actually 'dependent reality' is just 'experiencing' or an expression of existence or Maya or Leela or the dance or movement of consciousness or the potential of independent 'Reality'. A smile is an expression of the face. Without the face the smile cannot happen. the smile comes and goes. So too existence is always. The world or expression of existence is what is assumed reality and keeps changing. Unreal doesn't exist. Real cannot be known directly. what is left is only experiencing of an expression that can be said to be real, unreal and neither all at the same time and is 'all there is'.