- Title Pages
- Dedication
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- Glossary of Sanskrit Words
- Introduction
- Chapter I A Conceptual Introduction
- Chapter II A Historical Survey
- Chapter III Brahman: Nirguṇa and Saguṇa
- Chapter IV Īśvara
- Chapter V Devī
- Chapter VI The Hindu Trinity (Trimūrti)
- Chapter VII Brahmā
- Chapter VIII Viṣṇu
- Chapter IX Śiva
- Chapter X Jīva
- Chapter XI Saṁsāra
- Chapter XII Karma
- Chapter XIII Dharma
- Chapter XIV Māyā
- Chapter XV Mokṣa
- Chapter XVI Jñāna-yoga
- Chapter XVII Bhakti-yoga
- Chapter XVIII Karma-yoga
- Chapter XIX Varṇa
- Chapter XX Āśrama
- Chapter XXI Puruṣārthas
- Chapter XXII Vedas
- Bibliography
- Name Index
- Subject Index
Māyā
Māyā
- Chapter:
- (p.109) Chapter XIV Māyā
- Source:
- Classical Hindu Thought
- Author(s):
Arvind Sharma
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
This chapter discusses the concept of māyā. This term is the key to understanding the relationship between Brahman and the universe in which we live and breathe and have our existence. In referring to the world as māyā, classical Hindu thought is suggesting that ‘there is something tricky’ about the universe, whether it tricks us in terms of fact or value. For those who follow the path of devotion or prefer the theistic standpoint, māyā is that quality of the world which distracts us from God: ‘seductive in the attractiveness in which it presents the world, trapping us within it and leaving us with no desire to journey on’.
Keywords: Brahman, Māyā, theistic standpoint, universe, classical Hindu thought, Hinduism
Oxford Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs , and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us .
- Title Pages
- Dedication
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- Glossary of Sanskrit Words
- Introduction
- Chapter I A Conceptual Introduction
- Chapter II A Historical Survey
- Chapter III Brahman: Nirguṇa and Saguṇa
- Chapter IV Īśvara
- Chapter V Devī
- Chapter VI The Hindu Trinity (Trimūrti)
- Chapter VII Brahmā
- Chapter VIII Viṣṇu
- Chapter IX Śiva
- Chapter X Jīva
- Chapter XI Saṁsāra
- Chapter XII Karma
- Chapter XIII Dharma
- Chapter XIV Māyā
- Chapter XV Mokṣa
- Chapter XVI Jñāna-yoga
- Chapter XVII Bhakti-yoga
- Chapter XVIII Karma-yoga
- Chapter XIX Varṇa
- Chapter XX Āśrama
- Chapter XXI Puruṣārthas
- Chapter XXII Vedas
- Bibliography
- Name Index
- Subject Index