Summary:

Vivekachudamani, Verse 31 – Part 1: Māyā is the beginningless, unmanifest power (śakti) of limitless Brahman that projects the entire jagat without Brahman itself undergoing change – making Brahman the vivarta-upādāna-kāraṇa while māyā, as pariṇāmi-upādāna-kāraṇa, does the actual manifesting. Composed of the three guṇas, māyā reconciles how the many arises from the One and how the limitless ends up appearing as limited. It carries two beginningless śaktis: vikṣepa-śakti (projection) and āvaraṇa-śakti (veiling), the latter causing the jīva's anādi avidyā – though not anantam, as it ends when buddhi recognizes universal Awareness as its own truth.

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Vivekachudamani – Verse 31: What is Maya?

अव्यक्तनाम्नी परमेशशक्तिः
अनाद्यविद्या त्रिगुणात्मिका परा
कार्यानुमेया सुधिया एव माया
यया जगत् सर्वम् इदम् प्रसूयते (१०८, अल्त् ११०)
avyaktanāmnī parameśaśaktiḥ
anādyavidyā triguṇātmikā parā
kāryānumeyā sudhiyā eva māyā
yayā jagat sarvam idam prasūyate (108, Alt 110)

That māyā, through which this whole world is born, is called avyakta (unmanifest) and is the power of the limitless Lord. She is the beginningless ignorance, of the nature of the three guṇas viz., sattva, rajas and tamas. Her existence is to be inferred from her effects, by a person with a clear mind. By Her is this entire universe projected.

Three Fold Purpose of Māyā's Teaching:

1. Answers how can changing world come from unchanging cause:
   • Māyā solves the apparent contradiction of a non-changing, limitless Brahman appearing as a changing, finite world. If Consciousness (Brahman) has undergone change to becomes the universe, then wouldn’t find Consciousness now. So it can’t be Consciousness that is the direct cause of universe. Māyā, which is a power of Consciousness, accounts for this apparent change.
   • How to understand maya? In dream, I, without undergoing change – project mountains, characters, personalities, time-space, etc. So I am vivarta-upadana-karana (cause without undergoing change), while in my presence, my power (parinami-upadana-karana) is manifesting a dream jagat (universe).
2. Reconciles how can many comes from the One: It reconciles duality (many effects) into non-duality (one cause). Unlike in Sāṅkhya, which says that prakrti (maya) and purusha (consciousness) are two independent causes.
3. Answers if you’re limitless, how did you end up being limited: If I am limitless and all-pervasive, how did I end up inside this limited body-mind?”. Maya explains this.

Caution About Maya – It’s a Provisional Explanation

Vedanta's function is to reveal non-duality. Māyā is a stepping stone to this. Forgetting this leads to entanglement, making world (māyā) bind you more to it.

Descriptions of Maya

“Maya is unmanifest” ^{(avyakta-nāmnī)}

Meaning before time-space, that power has to be there in potential. Then potential becomes manifest.

EG: 5 minutes from now is unmanifest. When it manifests, it won’t be random, it’ll be connected to something now. Also what is manifest now, will become unmanifest 5 minutes from now.

“Maya is beginningless”  ^(anādi)

Unmanifest-manifest is constant. There was never a “time” when it was not. It’s cyclical, not linear.

Can’t find beginning to anything, even though scientists create “confirmation bias” evidence to substantiate linear creation model.  Meaning anything in creation is anadi, nothing came for the first time; not even the jiva.

EG: Tree came from seed of previous tree, and bears features of whatever previous tree has learned about environment. Similarly, jiva (sentient being) arises from seed called sancita-karma.

“Maya is ignorance”  ^(avidyā)

When word “Ignorance” is used to define māyā, it’s not referring to māyā itself, as maya is all-knowing (sarvajña). It means, maya is the cause of jiva’s ignorance.  

To explain, maya has 2 powers (both are beginningless)…

1. 1. 1. Viskepha-shati:
         • Capacity to project.
      2. Avarana-shakti:
         • Capacity to veil. That’s why jiva didn’t know one’s truth since beginningless time (anadi).
         • Though jiva’s avidya is anadi, it’s not Anantam (forever) as it comes to an end for the buddhi that recognizes the light of awareness doesn’t belong to it, but it’s the universal Awareness; the truth of everything.

Summary: For maya, its avarana-shakti is just a shakti; a capacity to veil/hide in order to create differences. For maya, its not avidya. However for the jiva – maya's same avarana-shakti manifests as avidya (ignorance) of one’s true nature, with other things like math, walking, eating, language – thus have to learn them each new life.

“Maya is of the nature of the three guṇas – sattva, rajas and tamas” ^{(tri-guṇa ātmikā)}

The best definition of māyā is “all-knowing, all-powerful creative capacity (śakti) of limitless consciousness”. This abstract power can be understood more concretely through the model of the three guṇas.

The variety of the world manifested by māyā is observed in three primary modes (in natural forces like weather, fusion of elements, behaviour of animals, cells, humans, etc).

1. 1. 1. Sattva: The mode of knowledge, clarity, and information.
      2. Rajas: The mode of activity, energy, and motion.
      3. Tamas: The mode of inertness, materiality, and resistance.

How do we know maya is of these 3 gunas? Because…

“Maya’s existence is inferred from her effects…”  ^{(kārya anumeyā su-dhiyā eva māyā)}

Māyā is inferred from its effects, which can be divided into 3 categories:

1. 1. 1. Sattva:
         • Positive: Knowledge, clarity, discernment, empathy, calmness.
         • Negative: Addiction to samadhi, no-mind. Stuck in sattva.
      2. Rajas:
         • Positive: Activity, desire, ambition, forward-movement.
         • Negative: Agitation, unsettled, pain. Windy/noisy day (unsettled trees/ocean/etc).
      3. Tamas:
         • Positive: Stability, sleep.
         • Negative: In the mind, this manifests as ignorance, confusion, stagnation, laziness, and forgetfulness.
         • In the physical world, it is observed as solidity, mass, and resistance, like a solid wall.

These 3 observations tell us they must be present in their cause, māyā. Meaning the guṇas (qualities) are distributed into everything that exists, including our own body-mind.

Verse says, this inference is only possible for a sudhī — a person with intelligence, faith in the scripture, and strong reasoning capacity. Meaning, unless you have a subtle, clean mind — you'll dismiss or misinterpret maya, as we see in pop spiritual culture.

“Maya is power of the limitless Lord…” ^{(īśa / īśvara)}

Throughout Upanishads, the word Īśa, or Ishvara or God, Lord, Bhagavan – can be understood from two standpoints:

• • • Standpoint 1: Remember, māyā means all knowledge-power in potential. Meaning it's in unmanifest. And maya is manifesting the universe, or when maya is activated — that same maya is called Ishvara (God). So both maya/Ishvara are nothing but knowledge-power. Maya = knowledge-power in unmanifest. Ishvara = knowledge-power manifesting as forms.
    • Standpoint 2: Ishvara is Brahman (consciousness) in association to māyā manifesting. So Brahman gains a new name called “Ishvara” when His power (maya) has activated and is manifesting the universe that you're experiencing now. Thus when you ask, “who is God (Ishvara)?”, the answer is, “Brahman in relation to its power of maya activated”. 

In this verse, we'll stick to standpoint #1. Therefore…

When maya (which is of nature of all-knowledge, all-power / omniscient, omnipotent) converts from unmanifest to manifest, then maya is called Ishvara (Creator or cause of the universe).

However, don't think maya/Ishvara are separate from Brahman (consciousness). Remember the satya-mithya relationship you learned about in Verse 67b? Wherever there's mithya (Ishvara/maya), that's exactly where satyam (Brahman) is.

Thus Ishvara is considered the creator of the universe, laws, time-space, jivas. 

Can’t say “maya is creator of universe” as maya is in unmanifest before creation comes.  Just like woman is only called “mother” when potential for child, converts to manifest child. 

When universe (time, space, elements) comes, you have to talk about the cause of universe, and that cause is given name “Īśvara”.

For simplicity, maya/Ishvara is “all-knowledge, all-power” (sarvajna, sarva-shakti). So what or who is the cause of the universe? Knowledge-power.

“By Māyā, is this entire universe (jagat) projected/born”  ^{(yayā jagat sarvam idam prasūyate)}

From what is the universe projected/born? What material is used to project or create the universe?

Because so far we've established in above definition of Ishvara, that Ishvara is knowledge-power, thus He is the efficient or intelligent cause of the universe. He has all knowledge how things are to work. But what material does Ishvara use to form this universe of tangible forms?

So question is: What is the material cause of the universe?

Answer: Before time-space comes, there’s no material. If there was some separate material from which Ishvara (creator) borrowed to create time-space-elements, that means there was already time-space-elements hanging out somewhere.

That poses a problem, because for things to “hang out somewhere” implies they're hanging out in space “over there”. So now you have Ishvara number one, residing in space, asking for “space material” from Ishvara number two who is also residing in space. Logic gets silly.

Furthermore, if space-time-material was already hanging out somewhere, then need to ask, “Who created that material?”. If answer is Ishvara, the next question comes, “Where did that Ishvara get His material?”. Then suppose you answer “From another Ishvara”. This logic leads to infinite regression. Once again, silly logic!

So the only explanation is that Ishvara is also the material cause of creation, meaning nothing in creation is away from Ishvara.

And remember, Ishvara's “material” is nothing but knowledge-power also. What we see as carbon or even space-time, through satya-mithya analysis shows it's nothing but knowledge-power, or Intelligence in short.

So how do we find all-knowledge-power (Intelligence) in every form?…

How Is There Knowledge-Power (Material Cause) In All Forms?

Let’s explore how Ishvara (all-knowledge, all-power – or Intelligence for short) is present in everything we see and experience.

For anything to manifest, there must be underlining order or structure or information that directs how things (such as atoms, molecules, limbs) are put together. So first thing to note is Intelligence cannot be inert. It has to be conscious in order to function. Therefore, the entire universe, being nothing but Intelligence (as you'll see below), is Conscious.

There's no such thing as “inert rock”, even though the inert-teaching is used provisionally in self/not-self teaching.

Everything reduces into subtler forms – eventually into mere concepts

Science says everything reduces into subtler forms.

What Vedanta adds in an inquiry, “What put together those subtle forms, making them function and do what they're assigned to do?”. Answer is knowledge-power.

Thus knowledge-power is needed to manifest as tiniest particles. And particles (which are nothing but knowledge-power), need knowledge-power to put themselves together to form atoms. 

Atoms need knowledge-power to form into slightly more complex structures like molecules. And molecules to form cells. Cells to form tissues and organs. All the way to limbs working together to create a functioning, thinking body-mind.

If we create a hierarchical diagram, it would look like this:

1. 1. 1. Brahman (consciousness).
      2. Maya (knowledge-power): Blueprint for how thing are to work. Knowledge of laws (such as morality, cause-effect) and orders (such as phycological, physiological, physical orders).
      3. 5 Subtle Elements: Mind (that which makes up your thoughts), prana.
      4. 5 Gross Elements: Time-space, periodic table of elements, sub-atomic particles, solids, liquids, gases. Light. Heat. Electricity. Magnetism. 

Intelligence is seen in both sameness and diversity of creation

• • Atoms are organized in the same way for all bodies, but are also organized slightly differently for every single body.
  • Within every living species and their biological category (e.g. mammals, amphibians, birds, etc) – a range of capacities is given.
  • Cells are automatically coordinated – without conscious intervention.

The organizing intelligence is not random – it is all-knowledge, all-power

What organizes atoms to organize as rocks? As limbs? As organs?

A seed is programmed to sprout only when in contact with soil and water, not metals. Yet metal, soil, and water have the same atoms, just arranged differently.

Photosynthesis, where sun's heat energy is converted to chemical energy by plants, involves a highly accurate putting together of atoms: CO2 + H2O + Glucose (C6O6H12) + O2. That makes up “photosynthesis”.

Additionally, to appreciate this intelligence, watch videos of the microscopic world. Every facet is teeming with intelligence. Organisms exist within organisms. Even your body is like an organism swimming in Ishvara’s blood (space), surrounded by other organisms you consume and interact with – just as fish in water.

Thus, knowledge-power pervades all mithyā levels.

Recognizing this, we begin to see Ishvara everywhere:

When you think like this, you can’t miss the presence of Ishvara. Knowing an incredible amount of intelligence is going on every moment to facilitate the entire show for trillions of species in the universe – your feeling of isolation, uncertainty, and distrust goes away.

All sciences are simply the study of this Intelligence from different angles

Biology, quantum physics, geography – all are manifestations of Intelligence from different standpoints.

When you study this Intelligence for 5+ years with reference to animals: You call yourself a Veterinarian.

When you study this Intelligence in the human body: You become a doctor.

When you study the Intelligence behind human behavior: You become a therapist, and so on.

So, we simply give different names to the manifestations of Ishvara.

Can’t attribute any particular attribute to Ishvara (such as good/bad):

For instance, when person is angry, which neuron is angry? None. Neurons rearrange (based on your perception) in a certain way to produce anger. If can’t find anger at neuron level, what to say of Intelligence. Intelligence reshuffles (in form of neurons) to produces experience based on your punya/papa.

Besides forms, All-knowledge-power also manifests as two important laws:

1. 1. Dharma: This law keeps things in harmony)
   2. Karma: Records past causes and manifests corresponding effects. That's why you always get results done by you, and not done by someone else.

Nothing is outside Ishvara:

The people / gurus / partners / friends you meet – is within Ishvara’s order. Thousands of causes led you to Vedanta.

Overwhelmed? Understand Ishvara in a single “OM” Mantra…

Mantra “om” is made of 3 letters, and each conveys aspect of Ishvara. Meaning, when you say “om” it instantly brings your buddhi on Ishvara…

1. A:
   • Stands for physical universe; everything past-present-future. Meaning Ishvara is intelligence that makes up your body and every object in the universe – and also assigns unique features and functions to each body/object.
   • Total physical is called “Virāṭ”. Individual physical is called “Viśva”, or sthula-sharira. 
2. U:
   • Stands for subtle universe. Meaning Ishvara is intelligence that makes human’s/ant’s/tiger’s mind what it is.
   • Total subtle is called “Hiraṇyagarbha”. Individual subtle is called “Taijasa”, or sukshma-sharira, or antahkarana.
3. M:
   • Stands for all things yet to come; they’re in potential. Meaning Ishvara is Entire causal that determines what world will look like in 20 years; which depends on mixture of present actions and past causes.
   • Causal-body from standpoint of macrocosm is called Māyā, and from standpoint of microcosm (for single individual), is called karana-sharira, or sancita-karma.

Revision of What is Ishvara or How to Relate to Ishvara:

Ishvara is conscious intelligence that makes every form what it is.

For instance if you look at a tree, you see it's a putting together of branches, leaves, roots, fruits, seeds, bark skin, etc.

So to relate to Ishvara, you're asked to cognitively see Intelligence principle is orchestrating photosynthesis, tree sap, seasonal leaf shedding, etc. And don't think tree sap is a different material; it too is this very same Intelligence.

Thus what is the satyam of all forms (such as tree sap, photosynthesis, seeds, fruits, and the whole tree)? It is intelligence.

You can even appreciate Intelligence in a mountain. It's an assembly of rocks and earth, which is assembly of minerals. Which is nothing but this Conscious intelligence. Meaning, there's nothing inert in existence. Even a rock is not completely inert. 

Same thing for the stuff that makes up thoughts/emotions. It is 5 subtle elements, whose truth is Intelligence.

Purpose of Ishvara Teaching – What are Benefits of Bringing God Into My Life?

Seeing the truth of all forms is Intelligence, is another way of saying, bringing Ishvara (God) into your life.

This model of God as Intelligence, gives your mind a common vision to fallback on. Instead of getting entangled in countless objects and experiences, they are all generalized as Intelligence reshuffling itself into countless forms. 

You stop feeling persecuted, knowing life or God isn't rewarding nor punishing you. It's just responding to an impersonal laws, delivering consequences of past causes.

Ishvara's vision also strips pride, knowing everything is given to me. I was born into a world already existent and that'll keep running just fine without me. 

You also being to live more responsibly, knowing you can't cheat the order, because you're not outside the order that always delivers appropriate feedback depending on quality of your actions.

And most importantly, having a relationship with Ishvara, is the best cure for loneliness. You genuinely feel protected and safe irrespective of whether you're physically alone or with others.

Conclusion:

If all that is Ishvara, how can you ever be disconnected from Ishvara. Even to say “I’m disconnected”, requires physical/subtle to say it.

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Recorded 14 Jan, 2026