Saturday, March 7, 2015

What is the root-cause of maya?

Devotee:  What is the root-cause of maya?

Ramana Maharishi:  What is maya?

Devotee:  Maya is wrong knowledge, illusion.

Ramana Maharishi:  For whom is the illusion? There must be one to be deluded. Illusion is ignorance. The ignorant Self sees the objects according to you. When the objects are not themselves present how can maya exist? Maya is ya ma (maya is what is not). What remains over is the true Self. If you say that you see the objects, or if you say that you do not know the Real Unity, then are there two selves, one the knower and the other the knowable object. No one will admit of two selves in himself. The awakened man says that he himself was in deep slumber but not aware. He does not say that the sleeper was different from the present one. There is only one Self. That Self is always aware. It is changeless. There is nothing but the Self.

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