How many times have you woken up from an illusion, frightened or reassured, hit by a myriad of thoughts without knowing what to believe but with the desire and hope for a better world? Has it ever happened to you to desire so much a pure and intense love between all living beings and then to feel the weight of loneliness or to see yourself as an alien in this world? Don’t worry, it could be the sign that within you there is still the awareness of an ancient time when we were all One, without divisions, without identifications, without wars, pure and united in peace and harmony. We spend many years of our life building our identity and with it a reality altered by a filter with which we judge, analyze, act and grow. Since childhood, they teach us to have an idea of ourselves to live in the world and realize ourselves in society, but which actually makes us perceive as separate from
the Whole and ultimately leaves us embittered and discontented as deluded.
“There is no end to the illusion. Life is a succession of moods, like a string of pearls, and when we pass through them, they prove to be colored lenses that paint the world with their tints, and each of them shows us only what it is. contained in its focal range”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
Everyone needs something to believe in to build the foundations of their conduct, those values with which we choose how to act and give shape and colors to our realities. Becoming aware of this natural tendency of ours is the key to returning to be free and to see beyond that famous “Veil of Maya” that covers the masses of humanity, so that they can experience their mistakes and evolve or destroy themselves.
‘Maya is the deceptive veil, which wraps the face of mortals and makes them see a world of which it cannot be said that it exists, nor that it does not exist; she because she resembles the dream, she resembles the reflection of the sun on the sand, which the pilgrim from afar mistakes for water; or she too resembles the rope thrown to the ground, which he takes for a snake ‘. – Arthur
Schopenhauer
The Sanskrit term māyā (devanāgarī माया), present in the philosophical and religious doctrines of ancient India, has the original meaning of “creation” of phenomenal appearances, and of “illusion”. Māyā originally means “creation”. It derives from the Sanskrit verb mā in the meaning of “measure”, “distribute”, “build”. In the Vedas, the term māyā indicates the power from which the material world originates. A power used to transform one’s idea into a concrete, careful and efficient form. We all know how important it is to firmly believe in something in order for it to have a chance to materialize. It is impossible for our Ego to live without a creed on which to build their beliefs. He does not care if in the end it is right or incorrect, the important thing is to have it and agree with it. You yourself will have noticed how people’s actions change based on their own beliefs and how this shapes the life of each of us. But what happens when we build an illusory world away from universal truth through our ideas? We find ourselves in a simulation to experience reality and emotions that most of the time are unpleasant. Because it is precisely from evil that we understand the importance of good, and it is in the dark that we see the light shine stronger. When we see reality clouded by the Veil of Maya we feel separate, distant, alone and by doing so we give strength to further illusions, to lies we prefer to believe in order to pretend to be happy. But this fictitious, subjective, dangerous reality, which is similar to a dream, to a bubble, is destined to break. There are many possible truths, but in the end only one is the authentic and eternal one. Starting to observe things from multiple points of view helps us to clean our lenses of the Ego and to distinguish the true from the false. Knowing how to see beyond our illusions means remembering who we really are, remembering our authentic origin, and breaking the mold we grew up with. It means returning to feel in union and connecting with our deepest consciousness and with that mysterious universal and divine energy.
In more technical terms, this Veil of Maya in fact, like that of Isis, of a metaphysical and illusory nature,
separating individual beings from the knowledge / perception of reality (if not blurred and altered), prevents
them from obtaining moksha (i.e. spiritual liberation ) thus keeping them imprisoned in saṃsāra, or the
continuous cycle of deaths and rebirths. Some dualistic currents (for example the Hare Krishna) define Maya
as the “veil” that prevents the individual being from rediscovering one’s relationship with God. While in
monist schools (such as, for example, Advaita Vedānta) this “veil” “Is represented by the identification with
the body, with the mind, with the intellect and with one’s own individuality, the sense of self (ahamkara), that
is everything that covers and dresses the Ātman (the only eternal and immortal entity) , preventing the
recognition of one’s identification with it and thus deluding the individual soul of being an individual distinct
from the whole. (- source taken from the web)
Schopenhauer states that this veil must be torn off. Only in this way will man be able to know the world. He argues that the veil must be torn through the three ways of redemption from pain. These are the three ways that can defeat man’s pain and ignorance. According to him They are art, piety and asceticism. For Schopenhauer, human life is in fact like a pendulum swinging between boredom and pain. Instead, I deviate a little from this idea, which is precisely an idea and a possible sad illusion and I tell you instead not to tear this veil but to learn to see beyond, observing and becoming aware of what moves your thoughts and your actions. Just as when you find yourself on the mat practicing yoga to make peace with your body and your thoughts by returning to a state of well-being, awareness and harmony, in the same way when you find yourself in life make peace with that creating veil of reality, let it thoughts flow beyond certainties and let the mind be free from its chains to seize the infinite opportunities that will show themselves on your way to truth and freedom. Follow your Dharma, discover your True Self beyond the infinite personalities; learn to do less to do better, when you feel alone, listen more, the Universe envelops you and constantly sends you its messages. You will discover that in reality we are never alone, because separation is an illusory idea of the mind, we are all constantly and atomically connected between heaven and earth. Discover your true self and when you need love, love more.
Your very affectionate
Vivian Mil.
– Odaka Yoga Teacher RYT 500
Instagram: @ararisko_harmony_yoga_
