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A Series of Lessons on the Inner Teachings of the Philosophies and Religions of India1192
student will notice that the Advaitists use the same figure of speech (the
magnet and the bits of steel) that is used by the Sankhyas in illustrating
the action of the Purushas upon Prakriti. In fact, there are many points of
resemblance between the Sankhya Prakriti and the Vedanta Maya, the
principal difference being that the former is regarded as a fundamental
principle of nature, while the latter is regarded as an illusory figment of the
imagination or dream of Brahman—or, rather, as the imagination or dreamcondition
itself. As an authority says: “Maya, the inexplicable illusion, selfimagined,
has been the unreal adjunct illusorily overspread upon Brahman
from all eternity.”
Before proceeding with our consideration of the nature of Maya, as stated
by the Advaitists, let us consider the teachings regarding the operation of
Avidya, or Ignorance, through Maya. This Avidya, which is held to be of
cosmic extent and effect, operates in two ways by means of Maya. The first
way is in the enveloping of Brahman and producing the illusion of the Many
Selves; the second way is the projecting of the phenomenal and material
universe by reason of the first error or illusion. This projection is as follows:
By Avidya, through Maya, is projected the subtle elements of ether; air; fire;
water; and earth, From these subtle elements is evolved the seventeen subtle
principles and the five gross elements. The seventeen subtle principles
comprise the five senses, viz.: sight, hearing, smell, taste, and feeling; the
two mental principles of Buddhi, the principle of understanding, reasoning,
determining, etc., and Manas, the principle of will and imagination,
respectively; also the five principles controlling the organs of action, namely,
the organs of speech, the hands and feet, the organs of excretion, and the
organs of generation, respectively; and the five vital airs, or vital energies,
or forms of Prana. The five gross elements are evolved from the five subtle
elements, in certain combinations and phases, and from the operation and
activities of which proceed the material universe. The above classification of
the principles is common to the majority of the Hindu philosophical systems,
and seems to have descended from some common ancient source, and to