Understanding Maya

By Bholanath 2004

The word maya should be understood. “Illusion” is a mistranslations and “dream” is an oversimplification. In the East, there is that which is eternal and timeless; it will always be and there was never a time when it was not – this is what they call “true” or “actual”. There is also that which is not, never was, and never will be – this is what they call “false” or “unreal”. Maya is just in the middle -- between “true” and “false”, between “actual” and “unreal”. Maya appears to be and yet it isn’t. It is a lie that seems to be true: it is a very convincing lie. While perceived it is undoubtably true. The typical human, even the cynical human, when he sleeps at night, he does not suspect his dreams. No matter what the dream contains, however out of place or absurd it might be, the dream is accepted as true. Within the context of the dream, the dream is true. Doubting itself becomes the absurdity. But then in the morning, when the human opens his eyes, his dream becomes unreal. The dream was a manifestation of his unconscious. It came from within and had no existence independent of him. It was a game and it was his game which he became lost in. How should we refer to this nocturnal dream? There was a time before it and there is now – during both these times the dream was false, so we can hardly call the contents “true” or “actual”. However, there was also a time in the middle and during the night it was “true”, so how can we reject it as “false”. So, we call it a “dream”. Maya is just like that. Maya is the environment in which we live. For the human, he can not escape the reality of maya. Every perception he has is unescapably true. However, the strigoi vii realizes that Maya is the product of magick. The strigoi vii is awake to the dream. He can choose and shape his truths, creating the very maya within which he walks. Using his Will, the strigoi vii is no longer a pawn within maya, but the master of maya.

There are two types of living human who are aware of maya – perhaps not in name, but in concept: Magickians and Mystics. While the difference is primarily one of perception, the most easily understood difference is how the the adept (one who is accomplished on his path) relates to his Self and how he relates his Self toward the Universe. The Magickian is one who values his Self and seeks to make the Universe conform to his Will. The Mystic is one who denies the Self and seeks to sublimate his Self to the Will of the Universe (or whatever deities he holds faith in). It has been said of the Tantrics (who are Magickians) that they do without knowing – with the intentional implication that their blindless may lead to the wrong results. Conversely, the Sanyassi (who are Mystics) know without doing – with the intended implication that they are not responsible to the world which bears them. The path of the one leads often towards mania and solipsism, where the “accomplished” Magickian bears limited functionality within the accepted world of man. The path of the other leads towards reclusiveness and escapism. The path of the strigoi vii is the path of balance. The strigoi vii does not seek to either become the universe nor to lose his Self to the universe. The strigoi vii seeks to devour the universe: that is – he extends his Self (feeds upon) that which is useful for him and he disassociates himself (shits out) that which is toxic to him (ie, holds him back). In between the feeding and disassociating, he digests such material and energy as he has fed upon, transforming and utilizing it accordance with his Will. The materials and energy he expels (whether through simple disassociation or by using his creativity to vent) fertilizes the universe and through an ecology that may or may not be perceived and understood it recycles to feed him and others on his path.