Mahamaya

Mahamaya

महामाया, mahāmāyā

"a great dimension", "a general image of all psychophysical states"

Maha-maya, also Maha-kundalini – the cause of the incarnation and rebirth of all living beings – this is the force leading to immersion in ignorance, imposing kanchukas on jiva, is a source of accumulation of karma for a living being and, as a result, staing in samsara.

In Nathas tradition and in Tantra, Mahamaya is one of the names of the Great Goddess, the creative energy of god Shiva, which is twofold:

• as Mahamaya, she envelops a person in a veil of ignorance, hides the nature of Shiva and turns him into a "conditioned" jiva;

• as Mahavidya, she bestows the great liberating knowledge on jiva, shuddha-vidya, and leads it to moksha.

Vishnu said:
Worship to you, O Goddess, Mahamaya, the cause of creation and destruction [of the world],
Unborn and immortal, Chandi, giver of Delight and Liberation, auspicious. (40)

[Devibhagavata Purana, Book 1, Chapter 9]

Then Bhagavan Vishnu, seeing her smiling sweetly,
Said, through his own knowledge, coming to a conclusion in his mind: (50)
“This is Bhagavati Devi, the cause [that gave rise to] everything, [including] us,
Mahavidya, Mahamaya, complete, deathless Prakriti, (51)
Goddess, unknowable to the unintelligent, comprehended through yoga,
The will of the Supreme Spirit, transient and non-transitory [at the same time] in its nature. (52)
It is difficult for unfortunate people to honor her, for she is the Goddess, the good mistress of the universe,
Source of Vedas, big-eyed, mistress, the beginning of all [creatures]. (53)
During the death of the universe, she plays by destroying everything entirely
And placing the subtle bodies of all living beings in her body. (54)

[Devibhagavata Purana, Book 3, Chapter 3 "Seeing the Devi"]

According to the Nathas doctrine, Guru, Gorakshanath and the rest of the Navanaths are shuddha-vidya, and the Gods and various forces of the Universe are Mahamaya.

Mahamaya also means the transcendental state. In "Durga Saptashati" she is called Mahavidya (great knowledge), Mahamoha (great obscuration), Mahasuri (great demoness), Mahadevi (great goddess) – all this is Mahamaya, which is transcendent, above "bad" and "good". Mahamaya is above dharma and adharma, it helps the jivanmukta to be impartial in this world, being in sahaja.

Mahamaya bija is ह्रीं hrīṁ