Māyā: Vidyā and Avidyā

Māyā, “the power that veils”

Māyā has other meanings too: see all meanings of Māyā.

Māyā is the power of Bhagavān Rāma that makes the world appear. It has two sides. As vidyā (knowledge) it works in harmony with Bhagavān Rāma and helps creation. As avidyā (ignorance) it binds living beings and leads them astray. Śrī Rāma explains this to his younger brother Lakshmaṇa at Pañcavaṭī, in the Araṇya Kāṇḍa of the Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa, the Hindi Rāmāyaṇa of the poet-sant Tulasīdāsa.

This talk is one of the most concentrated spiritual teachings in the whole Rāmāyaṇa tradition. It covers the nature of māyā, jñāna (spiritual knowledge), vairāgya (detachment), the relationship between the jīva (individual soul) and Brahman (the Supreme), and the supreme place of bhakti (loving devotion). It is given by the Supreme Brahman in human form to his devoted younger brother.

The Occasion

Rāma, Sītā and Lakshmaṇa lived for about a year at Pañcavaṭī, on the banks of the river Godāvarī. One day Lakshmaṇa came humbly to his elder brother with a question. He addressed Rāma as the master of all moving and unmoving beings, the one who knows everything, and asked him to explain:

  • The nature of māyā
  • The nature of jñāna
  • The nature of vairāgya
  • The difference (and the oneness) between the jīva and Bhagavān Rāma

Tulasīdāsa says this question was asked for the good of the world (lokopakārārtha), so that Rāma’s answer could teach all people for all time. Rāma was delighted by the question and answered it fully.

The Nature of Māyā

Rāma begins by saying what māyā is:

“The sense of ‘I’ and ‘mine’, ahaṃkāra and mamakāra, is what the wise (paṇḍitas) call māyā. All living beings, moving and unmoving, are under this māyā and wander within it.”

Māyā is not one single force. It works in two basic ways.

Vidyā (Knowledge-Māyā)

Vidyā-māyā is the helpful side of māyā. It works in line with the saṃkalpa (will) of Paramātmā (the Supreme Self) and serves the purpose of creation. By Paramātmā’s will, it helps bring about the world of the three guṇas (qualities of nature), the world of creation, keeping and dissolving. It is under Paramātmā and depends on him. Vidyā-māyā does not really act on its own; it serves the divine purpose.

Avidyā (Ignorance-Māyā)

Avidyā-māyā is the dark, binding side. It works through the false sense of being separate. It makes jīvas think they are the body and mind, and drives them through saṃsāra (the cycle of birth and death), with its endless rounds of joy and sorrow. When a jīva falls under avidyā, it takes its ahaṃkāra (ego) to be itself. It mistakes itself for this small self and forgets its true nature as the pratibimba (reflection) of Paramātmā.

Jñāna

“Not to give room to the sense of ‘mine’ and ‘I’, and to see that everything is filled with Brahman: this is called jñāna.”

Jñāna comes when the jīva sees that it is the pratibimba (reflection) of Paramātmā. It is not separate and does not stand on its own. It is an expression of the Supreme. The jīva is bound by māyā only as long as it does not see this relationship. The moment it sees that it is Paramātmā’s own reflection, it becomes māyā-mukta, free from the binding side of māyā. That freedom is ātma-jñāna, knowledge of the Self in the deepest sense.

As long as the relationship between the jīva and Paramātmā is not seen, the jīva is in bondage and is called “māyā”. Once this relationship is directly known, freedom begins and the jīva is called “Paramātmā”.

Vairāgya

“One who has thrown away the three guṇas (sattva, rajas and tamas) as if they were mere grass is called vairāgya-sampanna, fully endowed with detachment.”

Vairāgya is not simply not caring about worldly pleasures. It means rising above the three guṇas themselves, even sattva (the quality of goodness and clarity). A person truly rich in vairāgya is not pulled by any guṇa in any direction. This vairāgya grows naturally from real jñāna of the relationship between the jīva and Brahman, and in turn it prepares the ground for bhakti.

The Jīva and Brahman

Rāma describes the relationship as one of pratibimba (reflection):

  • As long as the jīva does not see its relationship with Paramātmā, it is bound by māyā and is called “jīva”
  • When it sees that it is Paramātmā’s own reflection, it is freed from māyā and is called “Paramātmā”
  • Freedom is not a change in the jīva’s true nature. It is a change in how the jīva knows itself

This is ātma-jñāna, the highest knowledge.

Bhakti Is Supreme

After explaining māyā, jñāna and vairāgya, Rāma comes back to bhakti as the crowning teaching:

“Bhakti is atīva prīti, supreme love for Bhagavān Rāma. It is through bhakti that I am quickly pleased. Bhakti does not depend on any condition; it is fully independent (sva-tantra). Bhakti arises through virakti (detachment), and virakti arises through serving brāhmaṇas and following one’s own svadharma (duty).”

The nine forms of navadhā bhakti (the nine kinds of devotion) are the practical ways of living this supreme love. Rāma ends by saying clearly that he himself depends on the devotee’s love:

“Whoever worships me without selfish motive, with body, speech and mind as one, whose heart thrills, whose eyes stream with tears, whose throat is choked with love: in the lotus of such a devotee’s heart I live forever, without a break. I am fully under the command of such a devotee.”

Why This Teaching Matters

This talk at Pañcavaṭī is unique in the Rāmāyaṇa tradition. Here the Supreme Brahman himself, in his saguṇa (with form and qualities) avatāra, explains the deepest truths about māyā and liberation to his own brother. The teaching is given in simple, direct words suited to the devotional mood of the Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa. It does not use heavy philosophical language, yet it reaches the heart of Vedānta. It shows that bhakti is not a lower path for beginners. It is itself the crown of jñāna and vairāgya.

Sources

  • Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa, Araṇya Kāṇḍa