BY: SUN STAFF
Feb 20, CANADA (SUN) —
Bhagavat Sandarbha
by Srila Jiva Goswami
SECTION EIGHTEEN
Two Divisions of Maya
The external energy is explained by Supreme Lord to Brahma in Srimad Bhagavatam (2.9.34):
That which is perceived in the absence of My realization but perceived in My presence, know that to be My Maya, the external energy. It manifests like a reflection and like darkness.
Artham means " the Supreme object, the Lord." That which is perceived without Me and not perceived when I am perceived, i.e. which is perceived by herself without My support, an object having such characteristics is called My; the Supreme Lord's Maya-sakti. It has two features, jivamaya and gunamaya. In this analysis the pure jiva is counted in the same category as the Lord because of it being likened to a ray particle of the Sun like Lord and because of being conscious like Him".
The names of Maya having two parts are known by the two examples in the verse. Out of these two, the above stated qualities are shown in the first part called jivamaya by the example of reflection (yathabhasa) and such an impossibility is dispelled. A reflection, abhasa, is the light somehow bounced into an area which is separated from the light of an effulgent source of light. Just as a reflection exists outside its source yet is imperceptible without the source, jivamaya also exists similarly. This quality of prati-cchavi, synonymous with abhasa, implies that Maya is also called abhasa. Therefore, sometimes its manifestation is also called abhasa such as in Srimad Bhagavatam (2.10.7.), abhasasaca-nirodhasca-the creation and dissolution of the universe.
When a splendorous brilliant sun shines into someone's eyes, it covers the vision and after by its dazzling brilliance causes pain in the eyes and produces from within a polychromatic effect. Sometimes the sun produces diverse forms in this polychromatic vision. Similarly Maya also covers the real consciousness of the living entity, and manifests from within herself the inert material nature called gunamaya, consisting of the modes in their balanced state. Sometimes she transforms the different modes into various forms. This is stated in the Vishnu Purana (1.22.54.), "As the fire situated in one place....."
Similarly the experts in ayurveda say, "Like the reflection of the sun, this eternal material nature is the reflection of the Personality of Godhead, who is purely transcendental, inconceivable, and the source of the universe. Although she is inert herself, like a mask in a play, she has manifested this ephemeral universe, by the association of the conscious potency of the Lord.
In this way the efficient or sentient aspect is called jivamaya and the material or insentient aspect is called gunamaya. This will be again analysed later on. Thus the portion of Maya called jivamaya has been explained.
The second portion called gunamaya is clarified with the example of darkness (yatha-tama), The word tama refers to the previously mentioned darkness like polychromes. Just as this polychromatic effect can neither exist in the light source nor without it, similarly Maya also cannot exist in the Lord nor without His support.
Or both of these examples separately describe Maya and not her two divisions. The example of reflection abhasa is same as explained above. The example of darkness is as follows: Darkness is perceived only in a place devoid of light, but not without the help of light. It is perceived by the eye, is the embodiment of light, and not by the back or any other sense organ. Maya is to be understood similarly. The two divisions of Maya are understood by their different functions and not by the different examples. In the former case of two examples meaning two divisions, sometimes jivamaya is called chaya, a synonym for abhasa and gunamaya called only by the word tamas. The Srimad Bhagavatam states (3.20.18):
"First of all, Brahma created with shadow, chaya, the five coverings of ignorance of the conditioned soul, called tamisra, andha-tamisra, tamas, moha, and maha-moha."
And again in the Tenth Canto (S.B.10.14.11):
What am I, a small creature measuring seven spans of my own hand? I am enclosed in a pot-like universe composed of material nature, tama, the total material energy, false ego...."
In the first verse the Maya referred to is jivamaya, because its subject is the jiva, being the potency of efficient cause in the form of knowledge and ignorance. The second verse describes gunamaya, being the material cause in the form of the mahat and other elements that are composed of her three modes.
The verse 3.20.18, described that Lord Brahma at the dawn of creation manifested ignorance with the support of Maya called the shadow energy, chaya-sakti. The Srimad Bhagavatam (11.11.3) states:
O Uddhava, both knowledge and ignorance, being products of Maya, are expansions of My potency. Both knowledge and ignorance are beginningless and award liberation and bondage respectively to embodied living beings.
Also the different appearances of these two divisions of Maya are described in the scriptures. The manifestation of the first division is described in the Padma Purana (Uttara khanda 104.23,24) in a dialogue between Lord Krishna and Satyabhama concerning the glories of the Kartika month in which prayers the demigods once offered to Maya are cited. "While the demigods were thus eulogizing her, they saw an effulgent aura in the sky, illuminating all the directions. From the being they heard the voice which filled the sky "Divided by the three modes, I am situated in three ways."
The second (division of Maya) is described in the Padma Purana (Uttara khanda) "Unlimited are the places of material nature, all imperishable and pitch dark."
COMMENTARY
In the previous anuccheda Srila Jiva Gosvami mentioned that the Lord has two types of energies para and apara. Para means distant, beyond, superior, and so on. The energy is called para because it is superior to the material energy or is beyond it, and thus material energy is called apara or near or inferior. The living entities are also counted as para, because of their conscious nature. Lord Krishna confirms this (B.g. 7.5):
"This eight-fold separated energy, (the material nature) is called apara, but different from it, O mighty-armed one, is the para energy of mine, called jiva, by which this world is sustained".
To understand para first apara is explained because it is easier to understand. This is called candra-sakha-nyaya or the branch-moon principle which means to point to the branch of a tree which is close to us and then show the moon beyond it.
To define the apara, or external energy, Srila Jiva Gosvami cites one of the catuhsloki bhagavatam verses that Lord Krishna spoke to Brahma at the dawn of creation (S.B. 2.9.33). In this verse the Lord defines His external energy Maya. The term maya has various meanings such as false, cheating, illusion, compassion, power, wisdom, entanglement, goddess of fortune, magic, and so on. Krishna uses it in the sense of the energy that causes bewilderment, the external energy.
According to this verse the basic characteristics of Maya are:
1. Maya does not exist within the Lord.
2. Maya does not exist without the Lord.
3. Maya exists outside the Lord.
4. Maya is perceived when the Lord is not perceived.
A doubt may be raised concerning this definition. A conditioned living entity also has the above characteristics and thus this definition has the defect of being too broad (ativyapti dosha.) To avoid this Srila Jiva Gosvami says that the jiva is conscious and has been counted in the same category as the Lord. Moreover the above definition should include the jivamaya and gunamaya features which are indicated in the verse. Maya is not in the para-sakti. This also implies that it is not in the svarupa of jiva or in the nature of the living being, and this is good news. Were Maya the part of the jiva, there would be no question of getting liberated from it.
This explanation of Maya defies the impersonal view. Impersonalists say that Maya is neither sat (real), asat (false), or a combination of both. It is different from both and yet not nonexistent. Thus it is inexplicable or anirvacaniya and antagonistic to knowledge. Shankaracarya defines Maya in his Vivekacudamani as (111):
"Maya is neither sat or asat nor a combination of sat and asat. It is neither different from nor one with Brahman nor different and one with simultaneously. It neither has limbs or divisions nor is it without limbs nor is it a combination of both. Maya is most astonishing and inexplicable".
The reason behind such an explanation is that Mayavadis do not accept that Brahman has potency. Srila Jiva Gosvami however established that Absolute is full of inconceivable potency which manifest in multifarious ways. This is a simple fact without which the absolute reality cannot be comprehended. Because Mayavadis cannot accommodate this fact they have to give complicated definitions. Instead of accepting achintya sakti they are forced to accept anirvacaniya maya which is certainly acintya.
Mayavadis also propose that both Isvara and jiva are products of Maya and at the absolute level there is only formless, unqualified Brahman. Vidyaranya Swami states in his famous work Pancadasi (6.236):
"Both jiva and Isvara are the two calves of the kamadhenu cow called Maya. Let them drink the milk of dualism to their fill; indeed reality is advaita."
But the Supreme Lord does not agree with such a definitions of Maya. He says that Maya is under His support and the verse cited from Srimad Bhagavatam (11.11.3) states that Maya is the Lord's energy mayaya me and it is beginningless, adye. Lord Brahma also confirms this (S.B.2.6.20): yad avidya ca vidya ca purushastubhayasrayah--Lord is the support of both the vidya and avidya features of Maya. There cannot be any entity like that who can influence Brahman to turn into Isvara and jiva. So it cannot be said to be different from sat and asat. Krishna says in Bhagavad-gita that there is either sat or asat existence. There is no third category as speculated by the impersonalists (B.g. 2.16):
"The unreal (asat) has no existence and the real (sat) has no non-existence. The conclusion about both of these has been seen by the knower of Truth".
This definition of Maya also defeats the philosophy of Sakti, Sakta Vada. They consider that Sakti, or Devi, who has various forms, is the Supreme controller. She is the mula prakriti, original nature, and divides herself into purusha and prakriti. She is Mahamaya, who creates Vishnu, Siva and Brahma out of herself and enables them to perform their respective duties. In her ultimate feature she is nirguna and called parabrahmana. There are various branches of the Saktas and they have various types of practices for attaining their goal, which is described in scriptures like Devi Bhagavat Purana, Kularnva Tantra, Rudra Yamala Tantra, Spandakarika Tantraloka, and so on.
In the Skanda Purana, Devi Bhagavat Mahatmya (2.36) Narada Muni describes the glories of Devi:
"Bhagavati, or the Supreme Goddess, is eternal and has a transcendental form. She pervades the whole universe and there is nothing superior to Her".
In Sections 17-19 of the Tattva Sandarbha, Jiva Gosvami established after careful analysis that among all the Puranas the Srimad Bhagavatam is the Supreme. The various Puranas are in different modes and the Srimad Bhagavatam is the most sattvika, hence the most efficient in giving knowledge of the Absolute. Skanda Purana and Siva Purana conceal the reality and glorify some other deity for the benefit of those in the lower modes. Therefore the verses that establish Devi as Absolute cannot be taken in the absolute sense.
On the contrary, Srimad Bhagavatam clearly describes that Maya cannot exist without the support of Lord Krishna. She cannot even face Him. Maya paraityabhimukhe ca villajamana (S.B. 2.7.47). In Bhagavad-gita (7.14) Krishna says "Maya is My divine material energy". Since Bhagavad-gita is accepted as authoritative even by the impersonalists, certainly the claim of the Saktas is not supported by the prasthantrayi which is accepted by all Vedic philosophers.
Srila Jiva Gosvami says that Maya can be divided in two categories based on her functions. The two examples in the verse (S.B. 2.9.33) explain these two features. The first feature is called jivamaya, or the feature of Maya that covers the svarupa of the living entity. This is also called nimitta, or the efficient part, owing to its being instrumental in covering the living entity with ignorance. But it is not sufficient to cover the nature or intelligence of the living entity. To make the bondage perfect she gives the material body, senses, and sense objects for the enjoyment of the jiva. This is called gunamaya, because all this paraphernalia is a transformation of the modes (guna) of Maya. This feature is also called upadana, or the material aspect, because it supplies the material ingredients. Just as when a man goes to a nightclub first he gets intoxicated which covers his intelligence (jivamaya) then he gets allured by sense objects, such as a young woman, (gunamaya). That makes his illusion complete. In this way the attack of Maya is two-fold--internal and external. The two features complement and strengthen each other. Thus it is impossible for a conditioned soul to get out of her clutches without superior help.
Although Maya is real and this world manifested by her is also real, the bondage of the jiva is not real. Otherwise there will be no possibility of liberation. This is confirmed in Lord Krishna's teachings to Uddhava (S.B. 11.11.1):
The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: "My dear Uddhava, due to the influence of the material modes of nature, which are under My control, the living entity is sometimes designated as conditioned and sometimes as liberated. In fact, however, the soul is never really bound up or liberated, and since I am the supreme Lord of Maya, which is the cause of the modes of nature, I also am never to be considered liberated or in bondage."
These two aspects of Maya are indicated by Jvara in his prayers to Lord Krishna (S.B. 10.63.26):
"Time; fate; karma; the jiva and his propensities; the subtle material elements; the material body; the life air; false ego; the various senses; and the totality of these are reflected in the living being's subtle body. All this constitutes Your material illusory energy, maya, and is an endless cycle like that of seed and plant. I take shelter of You, the negation of maya."
In this verse, time, fate, karma, and the jiva and his propensities form the jivamaya and the rest of the elements constitute the gunamaya.
The Lord said that whatever is experienced in His absence is Maya. This means that only when a living entity is not favorably disposed to the Lord he experiences Maya. Sage Kavi further described this to King Nimi (S.B. 11.2.37):
"Fear arises when a living entity misidentifies himself as the material body, because of absorption in the external, illusory energy of the Lord. When the living entity turns away from the Supreme Lord, he forgets his constitutional position as a servant of the Lord. This bewildering, fearful condition is effected by the potency of illusion, called maya. Therefore, an intelligent person should engage steadfastly in the unalloyed devotional service of the Lord, under the guidance of a bona fide spiritual master, whom he should accept as his worshipable deity and as his very life and soul."
This absorption of the living entities into the second i.e. Maya, the deluding potency, is the cause of his bondage and thus the jivas are called nitya-baddha or anadi-baddha. Nobody can trace the beginning of this conditioning. When by good fortune the living entity surrenders to the bonafide spiritual master, this bondage is cut. The fear is not because of Maya but due to becoming absorbed in it. If one is absorbed in devotional service then the Maya can do no harm to him although he may live in the material world. Therefore one need not give up the material world but change his consciousness or object of absorption.
The jivamaya feature is further classified in two groups, vidya and avidya. This is explained in Srimad Bhagavatam 11.11.3. Vidya is the gateway to liberation and avidya to bondage. The essence is that gunamaya creates the upadhis and then, owing to ignorance caused by jivamaya, the jiva superimposes these false designations onto himself or vice versa. The result is his bondage to illusion. When he understands his real nature as servant of the Lord and surrenders to a bonafide servant of the Lord, then he is freed from this adhyasa, or illusory superimposition.
This understanding refutes the impersonal theory that the jiva comes about by the combination of consciousness with inert matter, which in effect means that the jiva has no factual existence.
In the catuhsloki the Lord gives two examples to illustrate the covering and deluding aspects of maya. The first example is that of a light reflected into a dark region. The reflection cannot occur without the light source nor can it occur within the source, and it cannot be perceived while perceiving the source. Yet to perceive the reflection we need eyes, which work on the principle of light. If a strong light shines into one's eyes the vision will be distorted. It is not possible to see the source of light. This is the function of jivamaya--to cover the vision of the living entity. This is also called abhasa and chaya. When the eyes are dazzled, one sees colors that are caused by the reflected light which appear to take various shapes. This effect is the gunamaya feature--to delude the living entity. This polychromatic effect is referred to by the word tama because it is like darkness.
Or the example of reflection and darkness, independently, describe Maya. The explanation of the reflection is same as above. Darkness cannot be found in the source or presence of light, yet it is dependent on light because darkness is nothing but absence of light. And it is seen with the help of light, the eyes, which are designed to perceive light.
Maya, although the energy of the Lord, is external to or apart from His internal nature. She is like the skin of a snake just before it is shed. It is dependent and supported by the snake and grows from the body yet is inert and external to his body. The defects of this shed skin do not reflect in the person of the snake. Hence it is neither one with nor different from the snake. It is not one because snake sheds it and still exists as before without feeling any loss. It is not different because it cannot grow independent of the snake.
In conclusion, Maya is an inert potency of the Lord. It is separate from the Lord, yet not independent. Although inferior, apara, to the jiva which is para or superior, it nevertheless covers its intelligence by its inconceivable power and engrosses them in sense gratification by supplying them a material body, senses, and sense objects. It is real and thus eternal, yet undergoes transformations and has a personal form called Devi or Durga. Padma Purana describes the different appearances of jiva maya and gunamaya energies. One can get free from its influence only by taking shelter of the Supreme Lord.
The word maya is also used to indicate yogamaya, which is a manifestation of the Lord's internal potency. This should be noted. Sometimes the external energy is called mahamaya to distinguish it from yogamaya. Yogamaya favorably covers the living entity so that he can participate in intimate pastimes with the Lord without feelings of awe and reverence. Feelings of awe and reverence create distance between the master and servant. Such distance is not conducive for intimate affectionate pastimes. Yoga Maya, however, being the internal potency of the Lord, accommodates the pleasure of the Lord. Thus the living entities that are qualified are favorably covered so they can loving intimacy free of awe and reverence. The understanding of Mahamaya will help one to understand the Yogamaya.
In the following Text Srila Jiva Gosvami explains that all activities have their ultimate source in the internal potency.
