Aptavani-1 Aptavani-1 | Page 276

Aptavani-1 251 Questioner : What can one do to be free from the bondage of maya? Dadashri : Ignorance is maya itself. Ignorance of the real Self is maya and this maya gives such a beating that no one can see the wounds it causes. There is no superior above you in this world. It is only because of maya that you feel a sense of oppression. What is maya? Maya is the relative manifestation of God (the Self). What does it mean when people say, ‘It is maya that entraps us’? Who runs this world? Because people have no knowledge of who runs the world, they believe themselves to be the doers. That itself is maya and they become trapped in it. God is the only one who does not succumb to maya. The weak continue to suffer and that is the rule of maya. One cannot say whether the suffering caused by maya is mild or intense, but it is the suffering itself that will inspire one to seek liberation. The great curse of maya is the oblivion of one’s own Self. Once this ignorance is removed, maya is gone. Projection of anything where it is not, is maya. In my presence, your maya cannot remain; it will remain at a distance, but as soon as you leave from here it will shroud over you again. However, if you acquire the Knowledge of your Self (Swaroop Gnan) from me, you will remain untouched by maya wherever you go. The Lord says that everything is a drama (not real). You should not become one with it. People blame the mind but it is not the mind but the maya behind it that creates all the problems. Let maya go and the mind will be a beautiful endless film. Many have renounced their attachment of worldly life and become ascetics, but does that mean they have become free from their maya? No; on the contrary their maya doubles. When can one