Maya

The often deceptive appearance of things

April 21st 2023

Appearances are often deceptive: behind beauty may lie ugliness; behind wealth, poverty; behind strength, weakness. This is what Hindu philosophy calls maya: false appearances, illusion.* A wise person is one who has seen through the veil of appearances and found reality. Once they have found this, they have to decide whether or not to pursue their yearnings. Very often, seeing what is in store for them, they will abandon their former ambitions and give up their pursuit of wealth, glory or pleasure. As long as people do not see, as long as they do not understand about maya, they fall into its trap. But once they see things in their true light, they become more prudent.

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