Māyā

In Hindu philosophy, particularly within Vaishnavism, Maya is understood as the illusory, material energy of the Supreme Lord. While monistic (advaita) schools define the material world as entirely unreal, Gaudiya Vaishnava theology views Maya as a real, functional energy of God (bahiranga-sakti, or the external potency). The illusion lies not in the existence of the world, but in the individual soul’s (jiva) misidentification of itself with the physical body and material circumstances. Under the influence of Maya, living entities mistake temporary material experiences for permanent reality, driving them to pursue selfish pleasures and entangling them in the cycle of birth and death (samsara). Personified as a goddess (Mahamaya), she acts as a gatekeeper, testing the sincerity of those who seek to transcend material existence. According to the Bhagavad-gita, overcoming the formidable power of Maya is possible only through genuine surrender and devotion (bhakti) to Krishna, which reinstates the soul in its natural, eternal position of spiritual awareness.