Summary:

Vivekachudamani, Verse 32: Māyā is anirvacanīya – not subject to categorical explanation – because any name or form only captures māyā's effect, never māyā itself. Māyā is neither sat nor asat. Māyā is neither separate from Brahman (like a pot inseparable from clay) nor identical to it, since change can only be reported against an unchanging substratum. Māyā is neither with parts nor partless. 

Vivekachudamani, Verse 33: The unmanifest māyā, expressed through the three guṇas, is the kāraṇa-śarīra (causal body) of Ātmā — the seed state of both individual and universe. Due to māyā's āvaraṇa-śakti, the jīva identifies with the guṇas and remains ignorant of its true nature as Awareness. Deep sleep (suṣupti) is the causal body's distinct state, where the subtle body resolves into seed form – making it a direct personal experience of the causal state, indistinguishable from cosmic dissolution (pralaya).

Vivekachudamani – Verse 32: Maya is Indescribable

सत् न अपि असत् न अपि उभयात्मिका न
भिन्ना अपि अभिन्ना अपि उभयात्मिका न
साङ्गा अपि अनङ्गा हि उभयात्मिका न
महा अद्भूता अनिर्वचनीय-रूपा (१०९, अल्त् १११)
sat na api asat na api ubhayātmikā na
bhinnā api abhinnā api ubhayātmikā na
sāṅgā api anaṅgā hi ubhayātmikā na
mahā adbhūtā anirvacanīya-rūpā (109, Alt 111)

Māyā cannot be said as real or non-existent or combination of real and non-existent; It is not separate nor non-separate from Consciousness; nor is it made up of parts. She is a great wonder and cannot be categorically explained.

Chinmaya: Maya is: i) Neither existent; nor non-existent; nor is She of both these natures;  ii) She is neither different from them; nor the same as them; nor is She of both these natures;  iii) She is neither made up of parts; nor is She whole; nor is She of both these natures; Indeed, most wonderful is She! Beyond description in words is She!

Why Maya Can’t be Categorically Explained (anirvacanīya – not subject to categorial explanation):

Maya manifests countless forms with names. So any name-form doesn’t define maya, only maya’s effect.

1. Neither Existent nor Non-Existent, Nor a Mixture of the Two:
   1. Maya is Neither Existent nor Non-Existent: Maya is not sat (real/independently existent) because it has no independent existence. It is not asat (non-existent) because it produces observable effects, like the world.
   2. Maya is not a Mixture of existent and non-existent: Sat and asat are opposite attributes, like light and darkness – they’d cancel each out. Can't say pot is existent & non-existent at same time, else there would be no pot.
2. Neither Separate (different from), nor Non-Separate from Brahman (same as Brahman):
   1. Maya is not separate from Brahman: Maya is not separate from Brahman, just as a pot is not separate from the clay it is made of. It is not a part or quality of Brahman, because Brahman is without qualities and exists even without māyā, just as clay exists without the pot. If maya was same as Brahman, then you wouldn't couldn't be able to report changing (maya) things.
   2. Maya is not same as Brahman: Change (maya) can only be reported in presence of an unchanging (Brahman) substratum.
3. Neither With Parts Nor Without Parts:
   1. Maya is neither made of parts: Since maya is beginningless and all-knowledge, all-power – it cannot be made of parts. Thus it must be partless (anaṅga).
   2. Maya is neither partless: However it CAN’T be partless either because world of parts arises from it. If māyā were truly partless, it could only produce another partless, single entity – but it produces world of parts.

Simple Way To Understand Why Maya, As The Cause, And Its Effects Are Inexplicable (Anirvacaniya):

You cannot definitively state what any object is. Labeling things is ultimately untrue and leads to being judgmental – as you’re only looking at one standpoint of it, never the whole.

The only thing that can be said about māyā is that it is.

Is Māyā Identical to Brahman, Different from Brahman, or Both?

1. Not Identical to Brahman:
   • If māyā were identical to Brahman, it would be pure consciousness, which is formless, unchanging. However, māyā is the material, which has perceptible form and changing. If maya-brahman were identical, then you could never perceive a changing world, because your Awareness would be changing.
   • EG: For instance, a wave (equated to effects of māyā) is not identical to water/H₂O (equated to Brahman), because the wave is a temporary, changing form, while water is the substance that always remains water and doesn’t move because it’s the only reality that is.
2. Not Different to Brahman:
   • If māyā were a separate entity from Brahman, it would limit Brahman. Brahman is defined as infinite, unchanging, and without a second (ekam eva advitīyam). A second entity would make Advaita meaningless.
   • EG: The wave is not different from water, as its entire existence is nothing but water; you cannot separate the two.
3. Not a Mixture of Being Different To, And Same as Brahman:
   • Total identity and total difference are mutually exclusive opposites and cannot coexist. Violates law of non-contradiction.
   • EG: The wave is also not a mixture of identity and difference, because a single thing cannot be both wholly identical and wholly different at the same time. For instance, you cannot say a person is both completely tall and completely short. Can't say shadow is both light & darkness at same time. Can't say fire is both absolutely cold, and absolutely hot at same time. Can't say water is absolutely frozen, and absolutely liquid at same time. Can't say māyā is absolutely changing, and absolutely unchanging at same time.

Therefore, māyā's relationship to Brahman is bhinna-abhinna vilakṣaṇam – distinct from both difference and identity.

Vivekachudamani – Verse 33: What is the Unmanifest?

अव्यक्तम् एतत् त्रिगुणैः निरुक्तम्
तत् कारणम् नाम शरीरम् आत्मनः
सुषुप्तिः एतस्य विभक्तिः अवस्था
प्रलीण-सर्व-इन्द्रिय-बुद्धि-वृत्तिः (१२०, अल्त् १२२)
avyaktam etat triguṇaiḥ niruktam
tat kāraṇam nāma śarīram ātmanaḥ
suṣuptiḥ etasya vibhaktiḥ avasthā
pralīṇa-sarva-indriya-buddhi-vṛttiḥ (120, Alt 122)

The unmanifest māyā appears as the three gunas and is the causal body of awareness (ātmā). Deep sleep, the state in which all the activities of the senses and the mind are resolved, is its subtlest state.

Chinmaya: The Unmanifest is said to be the three Gunas; it is verily the individual Causal Body; it is specially similar to “Deep Sleep”, since all functions of mind and senses are dormant.

The Unmanifest Māyā and the Causal Body

This māyā (which manifest as 3 qualities/gunas observed in its effects) – is the causal body (kāraṇa-śarīra) of Ātmā (Awareness). The causal body is the seed state for both the individual and the total universe.

Śarīra means “subject to destruction/change”, meaning it goes from unmanifest-seed state to manifest state which produces forms with names attached.

One of the forms that manifests is a sentient being (jiva). Owning to maya’s avarana-shakti, the jiva (whose truth is awareness, as Awareness is the truth of maya) only knows a little-bit, thus is ignorant of many things.

Therefore, from the standpoint of the jiva, the self identifies with the 3 gunas (maya) – in form of the jiva.

Deep Sleep: The State of Resolved Activity

There is never a time when māyā is not active. It’s active in waking/dream states, in which case it produces a subject-object duality. In deep sleep, the “part” of maya that manifests jiva's subtle-body, is in seed form.

Experientially, there’s no difference between the deep sleep state of the jiva, and the dissolved state of the entire universe (pralaya). So deep sleep serves as a direct, personal experience of the causal state, when everything is in potential.

The only technical difference between sleep and cosmic dissolution (pralaya) is that in pralaya the world is truly resolved, while in sleep it is only seemingly resolved from your perspective.

The Dominant Role of Each Body in the Three States

Each of the three bodies plays a predominant role in a specific state of experience, while the others are present but secondary.

1. In the waking state (jāgrat), the gross body (sthūla śarīra) is dominant. The subtle body backs it up, but your personality is predominantly physical.
2. In the dream state (svapna), the subtle body (sūkṣma śarīra) is dominant. The physical body is present but inactive; the dream world is created from your thoughts and impressions, which belong to the subtle body.
3. In the deep sleep state (suṣupti), the causal body (kāraṇa śarīra) is dominant. This is its distinct state (vibhakti avasthā). In this state, the gross and subtle bodies are non-functional, having been “swallowed” or resolved by the causal body. The proof of this is that upon waking, all your knowledge, ignorance, and emotions are reborn from this seed condition.  NOTE: Sleepwalking is not “deep sleep”; the mind is minimally active in it.

The 24 Principles of Creation (Sāṅkhya Framework)

It all started like this, “sat eva saumya, idam agre āsīt, ekam eva advitīyam” – C.U 6.2.1. “All that was here in beginning my dear, was One without a second”.

From that non-dual reality, the creation of universe is explained through 24 principles (tattvas), beginning with Māyā.

• • Mūla Prakṛti (Māyā):
    • The root cause, also known as avidyā (not that it’s ignorant of its nature, but in sense that it’s the cause of jiva’s ignorance) or śakti or avyaktam. It is in unmanifest-seed form, undifferentiated potential.
  • The 23 Effects:
    1. The manifest products, starting from mahat tattvam up to the physical body (deha).
    2. Mahat Tattvam (blueprint for creation): When this potential begins to stir or evolve, it manifests the “intelligent plan”, the blueprint that’ll give structure/order to materials. Also called Hiranyagarbha (macrocosmic buddhi).
    3. Ahaṃkāraḥ: The principle of individuality. It is the power that creates the sense of “I” or a separate self. When associated with the macrocosmic, becomes “I am Ishvara, I am the Whole”. When associated with one individual, becomes “I am this person”.
    4. From ahaṃkāra, 16 principles emerge that form the subtle-body (by which past causes can be worked out):
       1. Five subtle elements (Sūkṣma Bhūtāni).
       2. Five Jñānendriyāni (organs of perception: hearing, touch, sight, taste, smell).
       3. Five Karmendriyāni (organs of action: speech, hands, feet, excretion, procreation).
       4. Manaḥ (the mind).
    5. From the five subtle elements, the five gross elements are born from which arises time-space, etc that we study using our five organs of perception.

All 24 principles constitute the anātma / mithyā.

The Mirage Analogy

The entire anātma (product of maya) is comparable to mirage water (maru-marīcikā).

A mirage is experienced but lacks independent existence. Similarly, the world is experienced but has no independent reality.

A mirage is tempting from a distance but can never quench thirst. Similarly, worldly accomplishments (wealth, relationships, status) seem alluring but provide no lasting fulfillment (tṛpti).

The moment you attain a worldly goal, the promised satisfaction vanishes, and you seek the “next” thing.

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Recorded 14 Jan, 2026