Do you ever feel like life has you cornered? You think, “After all this effort, I suddenly find myself back at square one, as if I’ve achieved nothing.” According to the Vedas, that’s Maya.
Maya is a real person, someone who manipulates those pursuing control or pleasure in this world. She initially entices you with sweets, but once you are settled comfortably on the couch, she strikes with her dagger. Her role is to undermine all your plans until you finally surrender, declaring, “I want to get out of here; I want to leave this materialistic plane of existence.”
When you decide to improve your life, you meticulously make a plan: you prepare, lay out your clothes neatly for the gym and go to bed early. But then, the unexpected happens—your dog gets sick, or the kitchen sink breaks, throwing you into a whirlwind that lasts for three weeks. When you finally return home, you can’t even remember where you left off. That’s Maya.
Maya is incredibly clever and possesses a deep understanding of human psychology. She knows how to give you breaks so you let your guard down, enchanting you with promises of success, money, and fame. She knows how to make everything fit together to trap you. The moment you think your life is going well, boom!—an atomic bomb, and it’s back to square one. You feel weak, insecure, and defeated. You wonder: How did I end up like this when just a few days ago everything was going so perfect? That’s Maya.
The other day, I watched “60 Days In,” a show where they secretly place ordinary people in jail to see how they cope and how long they last. Some of the participants are police officers, other marines—people who think they’re tough and can do well on the show. However, once inside, they often end up crying within two days. Jail is filled with deceit, politics, and constant danger.
In season 5, they introduced someone named Abner, a reformed ex-convict who spent 17 years in prison. His life story is quite extraordinary. From the age of 16 to 36, he was in and out of jail: three years in, two months out, then back to prison after shooting someone in the leg. During his incarceration, he would often get into more trouble and end up in solitary confinement. He was left in a room in his underwear, with nothing to do and no one to talk to. His only entertainment was killing rats, sometimes up to four a day. Occasionally, he would smear his feces on the wall to annoy the guards and force them to clean it up. He also made tubes out of fabric, filled them with his feces, and shot them at guards when they passed by.
Because many prisoners stop eating to attempt suicide, they are sometimes restrained in what is called the “four-point.” This involves stretching out their legs and arms, leaving them in a pose reminiscent of Davinci, and forcibly feeding them through their mouth.
Abner wanted to end his life; he had everything planned out: how to hang himself, at what time, and other details. However, a guard, who had probably seen that look before, opened his cell and threw him a Bible. Abner began reading it nonstop, without any distractions. It was just him and the book. Whenever he had suicidal thoughts, he would open the book and find a message that seemed personalized for him. It saved him.
He finished his sentence and got out, but the parole officer would say, “You’ll be back. You’ll be back like everyone else.” However, Abner decided otherwise. He made a radical change and became a chaplain, a person who provides spiritual guidance to others.
Someone from the TV show heard his story and invited him to participate. At first, he wasn’t too thrilled. “Go back to jail? Are you crazy or what?” But then he recognized the spiritual aspect of it: he could go in and help others “from the inside.”
He entered and quickly became the “enforcer” for the Chicanos. If someone wronged a member of his race, Abner was responsible for either beating them up or stabbing them, just like he did twenty years ago when he first entered prison. Maya’s favorite trick.
Abner got caught up in the prison scene. He focused on not appearing weak, earning respect for himself, and ensuring respect for the Chicanos. Ultimately, a young kid challenged him in front of everyone, and he had to teach him a lesson. The whole incident was caught on camera, which is fascinating.
Maya is incredibly skilled at deceiving you. She knows your psychology, understands how you think, and even if you possess a spiritual armor, she will find a way to slip through its cracks. Abner respected prison; he knew very well how low one could fall. He sought refuge in spirituality, and yet, he still fell for it.
In the Vedas, Maya is described as an illusion, a powerful person and force that causes beings to perceive the physical world as permanent and separate from the spiritual reality.
We must respect Maya; otherwise, she’ll ensure we respect her the hard way.
