In spirituality circles you may hear of Maya or Illusion. It refers to the illusory nature of the world. So what's so illusory about it?

The term 'Maya' comes from Indian philosophy and means illusion or magic. It generally refers to the appearance of the changing universe from and in the Unchanging Reality. The illusion is that there is a world that seems to move and change, whilst Reality is unmoving and unchanging. There appear to be many limited forms but the Reality is a formless Infinite Indivisible One.

Is the world really an illusion? Well, yes and no. The illusion is that the world appears to be other than the Divine Reality. The world appears to be something it is not. There can be nothing other than the Infinite One, so what appears to be other than the Infinite One is illusory. So, is there an illusion or isn't there? The illusion is that there is an illusion. There is only Reality.

This may sound confusing. It needs an example. The traditional example is of the snake and the rope. From a distance there appears to be a snake in the road. This is illusory, because on closer inspection it is found to be just a harmless piece of rope. So the 'illusion' is really a mistaken understanding. The rope appeared to be something it wasn't. The rope didn't really change its appearance to become a snake. It was simply as it was. There was really no illusion, just a mistaken understanding.

And so it is with the world and Reality. From a seemingly limited perspective the world seems to move and change, and have many limited forms that come into being and disappear again. It is the seemingly limited perspective that projects this view of the world. The world appears as if it is a reflection of the Unseen Unchanging Formless Reality. There appears to be a play of opposites that makes What Is appear to be what it is not. The Permanent Reality appears to be changing, but it remains the same.

This is the human experience - a seemingly limited experience of Reality. The human experience allows the Unseen Infinite One to be seen. Well, kind of, although whatever is seen will always be less than the Whole, seemingly limited. The human experience allows an appearance of many, of me and other, of beginnings and ends, here and there, now and then. It appears that the Infinite One is divided into many. There appears to be a me and what is not me. This is the illusion of the world, that there can appear to be something other than the Infinite One. But it doesn't really happen.

The Great Illusion is this play of opposites that allows countless experiences within the One. The One cannot be divided, but it can appear to be divided. Just as the rope can't become a snake, but it can appear to be a snake if the perspective is skewed, if clear seeing and knowing is seemingly limited. The Great Illusion is that I am this and not that, when there is truly no division in Reality. I do not really become this or that. It can only seem that I am this or that. Reality remains as it is. The illusion is in the mistaken perspective.

The Great Revelation then is that it is what it is. There is nothing other than Reality. There are not really many forms. There is no separation or division of the Whole. The Singularity of Reality remains timelessly as it is. Reality is qualityless though of the Highest Quality. There only seems to be less than the Whole. The world of opposites that seems resplendent with division, incompleteness and imperfection is truly the Complete Perfect Oneness of the Whole.