Understanding maya

 

What is maya? Maya is that which can be measured. The whole world can be measured, that is why it is maya. 

All five elements – earth, water, fire, air and ether – can all be measured. Can space be measured? Only in space can things be measured. Space is the first dimension of measurement. 

Measurement is always relative and not absolute. For example, if something weighs six pounds on earth, it will weigh only one pound on the moon. The light of the star you see today is not really today’s light. It has taken at least four years for the light to reach you. Both size and weight change in air, water and earth. 

So “measure” is illusory and not dependable. Your bones, skin, body, environment and the five elements can be measured; you can put a value, a quantity, to them. So, the whole world is maya. All measurements only provide a relative understanding. Einstein’s theory of relativity correlates with the advaita (non-dual) philosophy. 

But what is not maya? Everything that cannot be measured is maya. You cannot say one ounce of love, two ounces of peace and five kilograms of happiness. Can you be measured? It is not possible. Your body has weight, but not you. 

Truth cannot be measured, ananda – or joy – cannot be measured, and beauty cannot be measured. All these are part of consciousness – the Divine – and are called mayi.

Connection between Shiva and Ganesha

 

The lord of the diverse universe is called Ganesha. 

The whole universe is nothing but clusters of atoms – groups of qualities, of energy. Gana means group and a group cannot exist without a “lord.” Like the queen bee whose mere existence brings forth the honeycomb, this diverse universe in itself is enough evidence for Ganesha’s presence. 

Ganesha, or lord, was born from the unmanifest transcendental consciousness, the Self, called Shiva. Just as when atoms bond and matter comes into existence, so when all the fragmented aspects of human consciousness bond, divinity happens effortlessly and that is the birth of Ganesha from Shiva.