Maya, the world as we perceive it to be real

 

According to Vedic philosophy, Maya (that which veils Reality) is a simple statement of facts. Yet what we are and what we see around us, time, space, and causation, constrain the intellect from what is real and thus leave many questions unanswered.

 

For example we cannot explain the relationship of the world to the Ultimate Reality and the reason for this is Maya.

 

In a state of ordinary awareness, we think the world to be real. But even a mirage, as we know, can appear to be real until we discover its actual nature.

Radhakrishnan, (One of India's most influential scholars of comparative religion and philosophy 1930) said that the world is unreal but it is not illusory.

Others, like Shankara say the world is not real, it is illusory; as it is not what it appears to be.

Shankara stated: “Maya is most strange. Her nature is inexplicable, only Brahman is real; the world is an illusory appearance. When we awaken to out true Self, we are led beyond the level where we need to question. We are then led into the realm where we can experience the answer. Only when realizing what and who we are, will the whole world of appearance will be lost.”

 

In ordinary consciousness we cannot explain the relation of the world to the Ultimate Reality because of Maya.

 

Radhakrishnan gives the example of a rope and a snake to illustrate his point. In the dark we can mistake the rope for snake the same way as we can mistake Ultimate Reality for this world.

 

This world does not exist just as the snake does not exist.

Once the illusion of the snake is over, the rope reappears. Similarly, once the illusion of plurality of these innumerable forms and names is over, formless Reality reappears. Maya can thus be understood, again, in the infinite expressing itself as the finite.

 

Doctrine of Karma Cause and Effect Chain

 

According to the doctrine of Karma, for every morally determinate thought, word or action, there will be a corresponding Karmic compensation, if not in this life, probably in some future life.

The cause-effect chain is the counterpart of the physical law of uniformity in the moral and physical world.

 The ideal in the conservation of moral energy is present, when energy is focused on doing the work and doing it well and not wasting it by bothering about the outcomes (Radhakrishnan, 1929).

(There are two causal laws or principles namely, the law of uniformity of nature and the law of causation. The law of uniformity holds that the same cause will produce the same effect under similar circumstances while the law of causation states that every event has a cause).

According to the doctrine of Karma the smallest to the biggest event is an effect with an earlier cause. An effect seen today must have had a cause yesterday and a cause today must have an effect tomorrow. Our thoughts and actions of today are causes with effects for tomorrow and each cause will have its own separate effect or effects.

 

It is the doer or the thinker who ultimately bears the consequences of this cause-effect chain. Even though normally one may not be able to perceive the link in every case, it exists nonetheless.

 

The question is, who is the doer that will reap the results?

 

There are also collective Karmas affecting groups, organizations, and nations. The cause-effect chain is a blind, unconscious principle governing the whole universe. It is a mechanical law. It is, thus, generally equated to fatalism and is said to engender passivity. However, Radhakrishnan (1929) negates this by claiming that it inspires hope for the future and resignation for the past. Actually, if rightly understood, it does not discourage moral effort. It only says that every act is the inevitable outcome of the preceding conditions and, thus, one can work upon one’s present situation for a better future.

It is vital to know, that through free will and self-determination one can overcome the basic law of cause-effect.