What Happens When God Removes Maya?

The Vedic scriptures teach that liberation occurs when God removes Maya—the divine power that causes the soul to identify with the body and remain bound in the cycle of birth and death.

When God removes Maya, Maya ceases to bind and cover the soul. The soul becomes free from delusion and worldly bondage.

Maya itself does not cease to exist, nor do the body, mind, intellect, senses, or the material world disappear.

The liberated soul—whether Bhakt or Gyani—continues to live in the world, but is no longer controlled, deluded, or bound by Maya.

All the vices born of Maya, such as attachment, anger, greed, jealousy, pride, and hatred, disappear.

The person does not die upon God-realization. Rather, he continues to live in the body for the remainder of its allotted lifespan, but the afflictions of Maya no longer touch him.

The Prison Analogy

When a prisoner is released from jail, the prison itself is not destroyed.

• The prison building still exists.
• The prison walls still exist.
• Other prisoners still remain confined.

The only difference is that one person is no longer imprisoned.

Similarly, when God removes Maya, Maya and the material world continue to exist, but they no longer bind the liberated soul.

For this reason, liberation is not the destruction of the world, but freedom from bondage to the world.

The Blanket Analogy

A person tightly clutching a blanket may complain:

"The blanket is holding me!"

But the blanket is inert. It cannot hold anyone.

The moment the person lets go, he becomes free.

Similarly, Maya does not forcibly imprison the soul. The soul remains bound because it continues to cling to Maya through ignorance and worldly attachment.

When the soul sincerely turns toward God and takes refuge in a God-realized Guru, Divine Grace descends and the soul becomes free from bondage.

The Colored Glasses Analogy

Suppose a person has worn colored glasses since birth.

Everything he sees appears distorted.

When the glasses are removed, the world does not disappear.

Only the distortion disappears.

Similarly, when God removes Maya, the world does not disappear. The soul simply begins to perceive reality as it truly is.

The Experience of the Liberated Soul

Bound Soul

The bound soul experiences a world made of Maya through instruments that are themselves products of Maya—namely the body, senses, mind, and intellect.

Liberated Bhakt

The liberated Bhakt experiences God everywhere—at all times, in all beings, and in all objects—and lovingly serves Him.

Having transcended Maya, he perceives the entire universe as pervaded by God and existing in God.

Because God alone is the ultimate cause and support (Nimitta and Upadana) of creation, the Bhakta sees God everywhere while simultaneously relishing loving relationship and service.

Liberated Gyani

The liberated Gyani perceives Brahm everywhere.

The separate experience created by Maya disappears, and he no longer experiences himself, the world, and God as independent realities.

Having transcended Maya, he experiences all existence as resting in Brahm alone.

When God removes Maya, the world does not disappear. Rather, the soul becomes free from bondage and begins to perceive reality as it truly is.

Go Deeper

• Maya — The Cosmic Power
  Explore the functions of Maya and understand why one aspect can be transcended only through Divine Grace.
• Why Can Only God Remove Maya?
  Learn why no soul can transcend Maya through self-effort alone and why Divine Grace is indispensable.
• How Can the Lifeless Rule the Living?
  Discover why the soul remains bound by inert Maya despite being divine by nature.
• Self-Realization Is Not God-Realization
  Learn why realizing the soul does not automatically culminate in God-realization.
• Grace Is Necessary at Every Stage of the Spiritual Journey
  Discover why Divine Grace is indispensable from the beginning of spiritual practice to final God-realization.
• Guru — The Spiritual Master
  Learn why the scriptures declare that only a God-realized Guru can remove ignorance and lead the soul beyond Maya.
• Why Must the Gyani Ultimately Surrender to the Personal Form of God?
  Understand why knowledge alone cannot remove Maya.
• Aspects of Brahm
  Understand how liberated Bhaktas and Gyanis experience God differently.
• Atma-Gyan, Brahm-Gyan, and Gyan Yog
  Understand the different stages of spiritual knowledge and their relationship to liberation.
• Mukti (Liberation)
  Explore what liberation means in the various Vedic traditions.
• Bhagavadprapti (God-realization)
  Learn what it means to attain direct realization of God.
• The Eternal Relationships Between Brahm and Jeev
  Learn how liberation restores the soul's eternal relationship with God through loving service.