Posted on: 06 Sep 2021
Ms. Laxmi Thrylokya asked: Please explain the word Maayaa in more detailed manner. At Your Divine Lotus Feet, Laxmi Thrylokya
Swami Replied:- The word Maayaa has two meanings:- 1) Wonderful, 2) Does not exist by itself. Based on the meaning selected by you, you have to use this word to two different items. 1) The 1st item is the unimaginable power of God, which is selected in the 1st sense (wonderful) only. In this sense, there is no difference between unimaginable God and His unimaginable power. You cannot isolate the ability of any person from that person. Moreover, there cannot be two unimaginable items because any number of unimaginable items shall be treated as one unimaginable item only. At least in imaginable domain, we can say that the possessor of power and power are different. Therefore, we say that God alone existed in the beginning before this creation (Ekamevādvitīyaṃ Brahma, neha nānāsti kiñcana… – Veda). 2) This ability of God to create 2nd item and several other items is the root cause of this creation. The Giita says that Maayaa is Prakruti and this means that Maayaa is the root cause of creation (Māyāṃ tu prakṛtim…- Gītā).
The word Prakruti means root cause (Prakṛtiḥ mūlakāraṇe, prakṛṣṭam kriyate anayā iti prakṛtiḥ…). Since Maayaa is not different from unimaginable God, we can say that God is the root cause of this creation as told in the Brahmasuutram (Janmādyasya yataḥ- Brahmasuutram). The created creation (Prakruti) is also called as Maayaa because this creation does not exist by itself and exists only due to the gifted absolute reality of unimaginable God. Moreover, this creation is also wonderful. Hence, this creation is called Maayaa from the view of both the meanings (wonderful and does not exist by itself). The root unimaginable power (Kāraṇarūpa Śakti) and the resultant product (Kāryarūpa Śakti) – both can be called as Maayaa. The root causal power is unimaginable whereas the product or creation is imaginable.
Before creating this creation for the sake of entertainment, the unimaginable God called Purusha created some space (Paramavyoma) and an energetic form (both body and soul) in that space and merged with that form to become imaginable and expressed form as mediated God for the sake of worship to be done by the future souls. This mediated God is called God Datta. This mediated form without the unimaginable God is also imaginable creation or Prakruti. But, after the merge of unimaginable God (Purusha), this body (created item) became expressed Purusha.
Aadiparaashaktii is the creation (Prakruti) as well as the ability of unimaginable God (Maayaa) to create this creation. As Maayaa, She is the unimaginable God Himself. As creation or Prakruti, She is the second item created by the unimaginable God to give entertainment to Him. If you take God Datta, as body and soul, He is Aadiparaashaktii only. Since the unimaginable God (Parabrahman) merged with this body perfectly, this part of Aadiparaashaktii is the unimaginable God Himself, which means that Aadiparaashaktii (as part of creation) became the unimaginable God having a resultant name called God Datta. In this way, God Datta and Aadiparaashaktii are one and the same in essence and it is foolish to fight based on the ignorant gender difference.