Swami Brahm Bodhi

Question:
When Maya (the created universe) and the Jiva (individual soul) are both forms of the same Brahman, then why is it that a person who remains attached to sense pleasures, following the activities of Maya-created nature (Prakriti), while remaining detached from the other form of Brahman (the soul aspect), does not attain liberation (Moksha) but is instead subject to rebirth; whereas a person who considers the Maya-created universe or Prakriti as false and illusory, and recognizes only the soul (Atma) as the true form of Brahman, remaining attached to that alone, receives the reward of Moksha (liberation)?

Answer (by Brahm Bodhi)
You have asked a very serious question!
When the inquiry into Brahman (Brahma Jijnasa) arises in the mind, the journey toward liberation (Moksha) begins. Small questions keep arising in the mind all the time, but this fundamental inquiry into Brahman arises less often.

First, let us understand what the process of understanding something is.
We understand a new thing by comparing it with some prior experience we have already had. For example, when someone tells us that the Taj Mahal is white in color and has domes, we already know what the color white is and what a dome looks like. But if we tell a person who has been blind since birth that the Taj Mahal is white, what will they understand? They have never seen colors. Therefore, they do not understand what color is. Similarly, their understanding of shapes and forms is limited.

God is a reality, especially in His formless (Nirakar) and attributeless (Nirguna) aspect, that is extremely difficult for a human being to understand. Yet, some understanding of it is possible.

Look, the truth is that existence is only one, and that is God – formless and attributeless.

Until creation arises, God remains alone.
When He decides to create, He uses His own power called Maya, which is also called Prakriti (Nature). Maya is not an independent reality but is inherent in God.

You must have seen projectors in cinema halls. Light comes from inside the projector and creates a whole world on the screen.
As long as we watch that world for three hours, we become absorbed in it. We laugh, cry, and feel joy or sorrow in that world, believing the events are real.
Occasionally, a thought arises, “Oh, this was not real!”
But until that awareness fully dawns, the movie world remains real for us.

Similarly, the world of nature is like that.
In the Gita, two kinds of Prakriti are mentioned – Para Prakriti and Apara Prakriti.
Apara Prakriti means the manifest, the directly perceivable part.
All the mountains, stones, objects, the body, air, and smell that we see, hear, and experience belong to Apara Prakriti – the gross or manifest nature.

Behind it lies the invisible Para Prakriti, which is unmanifest, formless, and subtle.
That Para Prakriti is called God’s Maya.

So, when the world is called “Mithya” (unreal or illusory), it does not mean it does not exist at all.
Rather, the existence of this visible world is “Asampratishthita” – not firmly established.
Just like the colorful world inside a movie on a cinema screen, it is both “is” and “is not” at the same time.

That is why it is called Maya.
Because it has no independent existence and is born from Brahman, it is considered a form of Brahman itself.
There is no existence apart from Brahman.
It is a mere illusion, just like a rope appears as a snake in the darkness.

That is why it is said – live in this world (which is Prakriti), but do not become attached to it.
Search for the source of this world.
Carve a path toward that source, which is the Supreme Brahman (Parabrahma).
This should be the goal of life.
These truths are explained in Chapter 15 of the Gita.

You should study seriously the 13th and 14th chapters of the Gita, where the difference between Prakriti (Nature) and Purusha (the Soul or God) is explained.
After that, study the 15th chapter.