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maya

 

In Hinduism, a powerful force that creates the cosmic illusion that the phenomenal world is real. The word maya originally referred to the wizardry with which a god can make human beings believe in what turns out to be an illusion, and its philosophical sense is an extension of this meaning. The concept is especially important in the Advaita school of the orthodox system of Vedanta, which sees maya as the cosmic force that presents the infinite Brahman as the finite phenomenal world.

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(Sanskrit, the veil of illusion) The way in which the world is experienced and which disguises the true unity of reality (see also brahman, atman).

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Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Philosophy Dictionary. The Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy. Copyright © 1994, 1996, 2005 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.  Read more