Hindu Mythology: Re: Maya - Creation of the Trinity

» Harsh Nevatia - Re: Maya - Creation of the Trinity

In response to message posted by pv05:

First of all let me apologise for the delay in responding. Since the traffic at my forum at Suite101 is low I do not check it out on a daily basis. Now that you have enrolled in the course please use that forum.

Hindu mythology is not that cut and dried and you will find varying versions of the same event in different texts. The variations in the interpretations are even greater.

The simplest understanding of Maya is the veil of illusion that prevents us from realizing that we ourselves and the world around us is no different from ‘brahman’ or the essence of Godhood. Brahma (the Creator) used this illusionary power to ‘create’ the world and everything in it. Those who have attained ‘enlightenment’ realize that the world is an illusion. Hindu mythology personifies everything and so Maya is personified as a Goddess – sometimes as a Mother Goddess at other times as a manifestation of Shakti. (Shakti has a wider connotation)

The Trinity is also an illusion. In reality the three Supreme Gods of the Trinity are nothing but the essence of Godhood – formless and without characteristic. We perceive them as three separate Gods performing three different functions: Brahma – Creation, Vishnu – Preservation, Shiva – Destruction. This illusion too has been created by Maya.

The following site contains a very interesting article on Maya.

http://www.mythandculture.com/academic/m...

-- posted by Harsh Nevatia