♥Lifting the Veil of Illusion♥ Illusions are a false or misleading impression of reality. They are experiences that are created by our own mind that confuse our senses. We are led by our own mind to believe one thing and in actuality it shows up as something else. How do we recognize and escape the emotional illusions, to see the reality behind them before we are tricked or misled, and how do we free ourselves from the pain of being fooled or cheated? Illusion is sometimes described as Maya. In Hinduism Maya is the principal deity who manifests, perpetuates and governs the deception. She is depicted as a female, a temptress, luring and enticing the individual away from truth (note: both male and female can be lured, not just the male!). And once the individual is entrapped, Maya reveals her true evil form. The word Maya comes from a Sanskrit root ma (‘not’) and ya, (‘that’). So Maya is literally that which is not! Illusions are often referred to as a veil as they distort or blur our vision – we can’t see the thing for what it really represents. Even if we can see the form, we can’t see the true colours. We only see the illusion, through the veil, and what it wants to show us and not otherwise. It takes a great deal of courage to remove the veil to see what is really behind it. One may prefer to stay in the comfort zone of remaining blind to the truth, and that is one’s choice. By choosing to remove the veil, we are choosing to wake up. Otherwise the illusion lulls us into a deep perpetual sleep. It feels pleasant and comfortable. We may not realize that it is Maya’s job to numb the senses, to prevent us from seeing and feeling something deeper, more rich, colorful, powerful or perhaps painful. It is better to wake up gently and willingly than with a jolt! Sometimes life experiences can shake us so hard, it is only then we see the truth, the truth we have been avoiding looking at for so long. Surely it is better to explore, investigate, research the outcome of our thoughts before acting upon them. Waking up can be precipitated by the comments of others because they can often see beyond our blind spots more clearly than us – if only we can have the presence of mind to accept what they say. However, they can only shatter the illusion if we have the humility to listen, saving us from the pain and distress that Maya, the illusion may bring. Only knowledge and understanding can dispel Maya. Knowledge is light and Maya is the darkness. Darkness is simply the absence of light. Illusion is the rope that we mistake for a snake in the darkness. The illusion is crushed once the rope is revealed. In the same manner, once we have an insight into a certain feeling or emotion, we realize it was not real, just a projection. These days there are 3D, 4D and even 6D movies that use different sensory perceptions to imitate reality. ‘Real life’ is no different – where our emotions overtake our sensibility. We think we are happy until something comes along and takes that happiness away, which is when we realize it was not real happiness but based on something temporary and illusory. However, the truth is the soul is happy – always. And not only after I receive the bunch of flowers! We live off many illusions that feed the self-image in the wrong way! We mistake wealth for happiness, anger for control, ego for confidence, lust or attachment for love and so on. And we don’t even realize that Maya the illusion makes us into our own worst enemy by shielding us from the truth and as a result creating more sorrow. We are innately powerful, abundant and complete with all beauty, yet Maya plays hard to hide this truth from us. It takes a refined intellect to discriminate truth from falsehood. Nowadays everything false looks so real: fruits, jewelry, even wax idols in Madame Tussauds, that it’s hard to know which is the real thing. Likewise, people also play with our feelings – advertisers try to prove how good their product is and how we won’t be complete without it, health firms try to promote their products as a cure for all, restaurants try to entice us with ‘the best meal in town’, and lovers promise to give us everything! Maya the chameleon knocks on our door in various forms. We are led astray like the innocent Red Riding Hood, only to realize later how far we have come from ‘home’. We then need a compass to get back. It is the compass of Truth that we need to find. Truth is constant – it never changes. Truth enlightens. Truth brings joy not sorrow. Truth guides the soul. Truth is value and principal based. Truth is our original pure self, and once we act from these inherent qualities we can never be deceived. It’s time… to remember that all that glitters is not gold! To learn to recognize the illusion before the pain kicks in. Ask questions to seek the truth behind the matter – the insight and wisdom of the answers should eventually make us peaceful, removing all restlessness. When we realize deeply how powerful and abundant we are within our own right, we will never open the door to Maya again! Share these thoughts! It’s Time is spreading far and wide! Feel free to forward this wisdom, but to avoid any karmic rebound, please acknowledge its source – ‘It’s Time’ by Aruna Ladva,
Posted on: Mon, 11 Aug 2014 19:17:20 +0000
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