Maya

What is Maya?

-        The word maya is mentioned several times in the Rigveda and Atharvaveda. In that context though, it wasn’t considered to mean illusion, like it is now. Instead, it was considered to mean magic, might, and power. In the Puranas, Maya is described as one of nine shakti’s of Vishnu. It is heavily associated with sleep, and it is Vishnu’s maya that envelops the world when he awakes to destroy evil. As time progresses, Maya takes on a new connotation. In Vedanta, māyā is to be seen throughin order to achieve moksha Ahamkāra (ego-consciousness) and karma are seen as part of the binding forces of māyā. It is at this time that Maya is held to be an illusion, a veiling of Brahman.

From this, we will transition into what maya is now, which will place more emphasis on Maya as an illusion. This will be reinforced by the following clip from the matrix:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8eKxVCFoUk
After this, we will discuss the role that Maya plays in our lives today, and how it can differ. This will bring up the concept of good maya vs. bad maya. We will also discuss what are some of the different kinds of Maya that we encounter today, and why they can be classified as maya. This will lead into the following clip from House MD:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbE2ch-9ZFc

What are the different kinds of Maya, and what different forms have you encountered?

                                                Why is Maya necessary?

The importance will be explained by a clip from Avatar, which shows how everything is connected while demonstrating examples of Maya. Like the veteran who was helped by the illusion, despite him knowing it was an illusion, we can grow by fighting through maya. By attaining moksha, we removed our sense of duality.