Mahamaya or the Power of Illusion

Maya means illusion. Mahamaya is devoid of illusion. Illusion pertaining to material objects and Mahamaya is correlated to wisdom. Human prowess is limited and hence he does not have an all round vision of life. His limited vision visualizes a limited world and thus he deludedly thinks it to be the be all and end all of life. It is like a frog in the well who is oblivious of the gigantic world outside the well. If only the frog comes out of the well, will it realize that his previous belief of the world was with intense limitations and that the world indeed is infinite.

A living being/creature of the world is bound by Maya (illusion) and hence is narrow minded. His desires, thinking and actions are ensnared by the net of Maya and hence they all are of a very low nature. He thus loses the wealth of life like a deer running after musk or like a traveler in a desert running after mirages. A spiritual seeker always endevaours to come out of this snare of Maya. Self-realization helps one succeed both materially and spiritually. It is also called Mahamaya. Maya is a source of bondage and pain whereas seeking shelter of Mahamaya means attaining supreme peace. Mahamaya lays down the path of greatness and gives us the necessary soul force to walk on it.

When the individual soul thinks it is the body only, it gets ensnared by illusion or Maya. As a result of this illusionary ego, man drowns in the dark ocean of lowly desires and thus lives the life of a beast. Ultimately he leaves this world empty handed and takes a mind that overflows with sins. Thus birth after birth he enters the womb of 84 lakh species. When after this futile journey he takes birth as a human being, he again errs and creates his downfall. It is Maya that forces us to face pain and hardships. It is only Mahamaya who can ward off Maya and hence a life of hardships.

Gayatri is called Mahamaya. On worshipping Her, grace enters the psyche of the devotee. Thus Maya or illusion is overcome. This indeed is divine vision. It is called the opening of the eyes of divine wisdom. The net of Maya falls off just as autumn leaves from trees. Such a state unfolds all mysteries of life. Self awakening helps one see things and think anew. When we wake up from a dream, the waking state is so different. When Mahamaya blesses us, we wake up from the dream woven by Maya. She changes our thoughts, words and deeds in such a way that we start living a heavenly life on earth. All bondage to the material world and hence pain is cut asunder. Mahamaya is our Divine Mother who brings us closer to Almighty God, our Father. Her grace helps us become divine. Thus when Gayatri is worshipped as Mahamaya, our lives are glorified both materially and spiritually.