Maya means ‘magic’ or ‘illusion; in Devanagri. According to philosophies in India, Maya has various meanings, depending upon the context. Maya suggests extraordinary wisdom and power in Vedic literature during ancient times. Maya signifies an illusion where things do not seem what they are but appear to be present – a ‘magic show’, later on in modern literature as well as Vedic texts. In spiritual terms, Maya signifies something that is spiritually not real, it exists but is changing constantly. The real character of spiritual reality is hidden in the principle or power of Maya.
A nickname ‘Maya’ is used for goddess in Hinduism. She is called the goddess of love, prosperity and wealth. Maya is the exemplification of Goddess Lakshmi. Maya is a Sanskrit word which comes from the root ‘ma’ probably, meaning ‘to measure’.
The Vedas has mention of the word Maya a number of times, with the word having different interpretations and meanings. Vaishnav technology and the Puranas describe Maya as one of Vishnu’s 9 Shaktis. Maya has been correlated with the sleep of Vishnu which the world is enveloped with, when he wakes up to destroy evil. During the early Aditya phase, Vishnu’s early solar prototype was linked with the central Solar God.
In the Atharvaveda, Maya has a contextual meaning that is not illusion, but the ‘power of creation’.
According to the Upanishads, human experience and the universe is described as the interplay of the eternal consciousness, unchanging principles (Purusha) and the temporary, nature, changing material world (Prakrti). While the latter manifests itself as Maya, the former manifests itself as Self, Soul (Atman). Gautam Buddhas’ mother’s name is Maya, according to Buddhism.
