“My dear father, I am very respectfully and humbly inquiring. What is this arrangement? Why you are busy in making some sacrificial ceremony, what is the reason, and what is the result? For whose benefit is it and by what means will it be accomplished?” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 10.24.3)

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कथ्यतां मे पित: कोऽयं सम्भ्रमो व उपागत:
किं फलं कस्य वोद्देश: केन वा साध्यते मख:

kathyatāṁ me pitaḥ ko ’yaṁ
sambhramo va upāgataḥ
kiṁ phalaṁ kasya voddeśaḥ
kena vā sādhyate makhaḥ

“Alright, I will admit to being confused on this one. I think there are too many terms floating around, and there appear to be many contradictions based on the application of those terms. We begin with the premise that I am spirit soul, part and parcel of Brahman. But due to the influence of illusion, I have forgotten my true identity.

“That illusion has a name. Maya. If I remove the illusion, I will again become aware. This is one of the reasons His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada describes the science of self-realization as going back to Godhead. It is a return to a healthy condition. It is fixing an ailment. That delusion may have been covering me for many lifetimes already, through past experiences.

“That is fine. I understand the importance of removing illusion. I should see things as they are. Clearing the window, which has become foggy. Like putting on glasses for reading. Sharpening the vision, except in this case it is like a constant awareness, a discernment which never leaves.

“Once I have accepted everything and am ready to go, you throw some new terms at me. Mahamaya and yogamaya. Apparently, there are different kinds of maya. They both refer to illusion, but one is auspicious, while the other is not. Mahamaya is like the influence of the material world, making me forget my identity as spirit soul and my relationship to the Supreme Spirit.

“Yogamaya is the illusion that brings me closer. I guess? Is that right? But how does that work? How can illusion help me in something that requires intelligence? Are not ignorance and knowledge incompatible? More importantly, if there is a specific incident that occurs in my life, how do I tell whether the energy acting upon me is yogamaya or mahamaya? How do I decipher the same for someone else?”

The assortment of terms taken together might cause confusion, but the key distinguishing factor is the presence of the word “yoga.” This means linking or bringing together, so the illusion associated with yoga is beneficial because of the ultimate effect. That is the easiest way to tell the difference. We make the assessment by asking a few questions. What happens in the aftermath? What is the long-term impact of the maya?

We can use the historical incident of the first Govardhana Puja as a case study. The principal players are a young Shri Krishna, the son of Nanda Maharaja, and Indra, the king of heaven. Though a beautiful, adorable, and delightful child of an incredibly attractive bluish complexion, Krishna is actually the Supreme Personality of Godhead. His descent as Krishna served many purposes and it was preceded by proper planning.

Specifically, the residents of the heavenly region were given notice of the travel. Since it is an eternally existing entity descending from the spiritual world, the appearance of Krishna is known as an avatara. Lord Vishnu sent word out to the celestials. The devas, including Indra, knew exactly what was going on.

For some reason, however, after some time had passed there was a sense of rivalry. Krishna understood this, and so He devised a plan to teach a host of lessons through a single event. He posed a series of innocent questions to the father about the planned Indra-yajna. The residents of Gokula-Vrindavana were getting ready to worship Indra, in a manner that was sort of a tradition. It was paying respect to the higher authorities, with an inherent understanding that rainfall is vital to the continuation of life and that there is no guarantee of sufficient rainfall in a given season.

अन्नाद् भवन्ति भूतानि
पर्जन्याद् अन्न-सम्भवः
यज्ञाद् भवति पर्जन्यो
यज्ञः कर्म-समुद्भवः

annād bhavanti bhūtāni
parjanyād anna-sambhavaḥ
yajñād bhavati parjanyo
yajñaḥ karma-samudbhavaḥ

“All living bodies subsist on food grains, which are produced from rain. Rains are produced by performance of yajna [sacrifice], and yajna is born of prescribed duties.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 3.14)

The question anchoring the presentation from Krishna was, “Kim phalam?” What was the fruit to be gained by the yajna? What exactly were the people looking to do? Upon hearing the response, which was expected, Krishna made a case for worshiping Govardhana. This was in lieu of the yajna for Indra. It was an intentional diversion. Indra would certainly notice what was going on.

As expected, like clockwork, Indra became incensed over the perceived insult. He could not believe the people would go along with what some child has to say. Since when do adults give in to the demands of the dependents? That flies against common sense, better judgment, and rational thought.

In a retaliatory measure of epic proportions, Indra brought torrential rain to the area of Govardhana. This was a targeted strike timed to arrive moments after the completion of the first Govardhana Puja. The residents would receive a clear message as to the impact of their newly created worship, which was born in the mind of Krishna.

At this point, we could say that Indra succumbed to maya. He was suffering from the negative kind of illusion, based on the swelling of false ego. Though he is closely aligned with Vishnu, Indra is still a resident of the material world. He is not immune from the effects of delusion and irrational thought. For a few moments, he completely forgot about Krishna’s standing as the Supreme Lord.

Since Krishna was directly involved, the incident certainly involves yogamaya. The ultimate effect was auspicious. Krishna lifted the just-worshiped Govardhana Hill and used it as an umbrella to protect the people from the rain. Indra essentially went full force; he brought everything he could think of. The attack was thwarted by a mere child holding up a massive hill and resting it on the pinky finger of His left hand for seven days.

It is yogamaya because the effect was to bring further remembrance of Krishna. The incident brought everyone closer to the Supreme Lord. Even Indra now has a firm place in history which is auspicious. Though we may think he is the villain in that encounter, he is always closely associated with Vishnu. That will not change.

The question may be raised as to why any kind of maya is required. Why should yogamaya have to act at all? We see that there is already some illusion within fixtures of the devotional standard. I worship the deity and bring offerings, thinking that God is standing before me, as a comfortable resident in my home. This is a kind of illusion, because certainly God is everywhere. He will not starve if I fail to bring offerings, but I operate with that mentality, regardless.

महात्मानस् तु मां पार्थ
दैवीं प्रकृतिम् आश्रिताः
भजन्त्य् अनन्य-मनसो
ज्ञात्वा भूतादिम् अव्ययम्

mahātmānas tu māṁ pārtha
daivīṁ prakṛtim āśritāḥ
bhajanty ananya-manaso
jñātvā bhūtādim avyayam

“O son of Pritha, those who are not deluded, the great souls, are under the protection of the divine nature. They are fully engaged in devotional service because they know Me as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, original and inexhaustible.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 9.13)

This is an auspicious kind of illusion, since it brings me closer to transcendence. As explained in Bhagavad-gita, the great souls are under the protection of a different kind of energy. Even if supposedly bad things should happen to them, the ultimate impact is always beneficial, since their attachment to the lifter of Govardhana only increases.

In Closing:

Maya with a specific name,
Energy to impact all the same.

As maha in illusion known,
As yoga when devotion shown.

Such that even when striking terror brief,
Krishna soon providing relief.

As when Govardhana held in the air,
Indra again to become aware.

Categories: kim phalam, questions

Tags: god, hare krishna, hinduism, maya, poem, poems, poetry, religion, vedas