Maya: Why the World We Built Feels Unreal
Humans have built something entirely artificial—a world
ruled by complex regulations, detached from and directly contradicting nature.
Under the guise of compassion, humanity prolongs suffering by attempting to
save those who cannot naturally survive. While nature operates on the survival
of the fittest, human laws and institutions allow everything to flourish,
regardless of natural order. It is not the universe or nature around us that is
false, but the society humans have constructed; it is a fundamental lie. The
deeper issue with this artificial existence is that humanity continuously
attempts to refine the lie, only compounding the problem. From healthcare and
education to procreation, modern systems run counter to natural laws. The
resulting human population explosion—a phenomenon that would never occur
naturally—has driven severe resource scarcity and intense competition. To
secure a partner, a luxury vehicle, a gadget, or an overpriced home, humans now
engage in behaviors completely alien to the natural world.
In Hindu thought, the world we perceive through our senses
is described as Maya - not a lie in the sense of being false, but a covering, a
projection that constantly changes and therefore cannot be the final truth. The
Upanishads speak of Brahman as the one unchanging reality, and everything else
- names, forms, achievements, possessions - as passing waves on that ocean. The
Bhagavad Gita puts it simply: what is temporary is not truly real, and what is
real does not cease to be. Human society, built entirely on things that decay,
expire, and go out of fashion within a year, is a working example of Maya in
daily life.
An Everyday Example
Think of a mirage on a hot road. From a distance it looks
exactly like water - convincing enough that a thirsty traveller runs toward it.
Up close, it disappears. Modern life works the same way. A new phone, car, or
house feels like the final destination of happiness. Within months a newer
model appears, and the old one that felt essential is forgotten in a drawer.
This is trishna - the Sanskrit word for craving - a thirst that briefly hides
itself as satisfaction, then returns stronger.
Comparing With Modern Science
Science describes this pattern through entropy - the
tendency of all ordered systems to break down over time. Every manufactured
object, every fashion, every structure humans build is already moving toward
decay the moment it is created. Ecologists also note that unchecked expansion
in any species eventually meets its own resource limits. Vedanta arrived at a
similar observation through a different path: anything built on change alone
cannot offer lasting peace, because the ground itself keeps shifting.
Symbolism and Life Lessons
Krishna tells Arjuna in the Gita that the wise are not
shaken by what comes and goes, because they have learned to see beyond the
surface of change to what remains constant within themselves. Adi
Shankaracharya later gave this a formal name - Advaita Vedanta - teaching that
liberation comes from recognising the changeless self, the Atman, rather than
chasing an ever-shifting world of forms. This is not a call to abandon daily
responsibilities, but to hold them with vairagya - a light, unattached grip - understanding
that the object of pursuit today will not hold the same value tomorrow.
Modern-Day Relevance
Comparison culture, constant upgrades, and the pressure to keep pace with the newest trend all echo this ancient observation. The lesson is not that the world is worthless, but that mistaking the changeable for the changeless is where suffering begins. Recognising Maya for what it is - a passing display rather than the final word - is what Hindu scripture offers as the starting point of real steadiness in a restless world.