माया की छाया (Maya ki Chhaya)- The Shadow of Illusion - Poem

 

चारो युग की माया कभी निकले करू?

chaaro yug kee maaya kabhee nikale karoo?

छाया की तरह रात में

chhaaya kee tarah raat mein

सात्यकि वचनु मेह अचित की बहुमान

saatyaki vachanu meh achit kee bahumaan

असत्य को वचन में पक्षपात अनुमान

asaty ko vachan mein pakshapaat anumaan

इश्क का अभिमान करके घृणा की तरफ दिल होता

ishk ka abhimaan karake ghrna kee taraph dil hota

ना इश्क़ और प्रेमा के स्पर्श सपनामे हम सोता 

na ishq aur prema ke sparsh sapanaame ham sota

इसी तरफ घूमू घूमू के 

isee taraph ghoomoo ghoomoo ke

संसार मार्ग आना आना के

sansaar maarg aana aana ke

Meaning:

How can I ever escape the illusion (maya) of the four ages (yugas)? 

It is like a shadow in the night.

In the words of the truthful, there is great respect even for the ignorant 

in the words of the untruthful, one presumes partiality.

Taking pride in passionate love (ishq), the heart turns towards hatred

neither in the touch of passionate love (ishq) nor divine love (prema) do we sleep in dreams.

In this way, wandering and wandering, we keep coming and going on the path of the world (sansar).

Elobrate Meaning:

Across the vast cosmic ages, the four yugas, we are caught in an endless cycle of birth and rebirth. Throughout this journey, we fail to realize that the illusion of Maya—which follows us relentlessly like a shadow in the night—is not permanent and must be dispelled by the light of knowledge.

In this world, Truth is often a bitter pill to swallow. Yet, the words of the truthful hold compassion and respect even for those who are ignorant. In stark contrast, the untruthful speak pleasing lies, manipulating others simply to get ahead.

Even our most profound emotions are traps. Passionate love (ishq), when entangled with the ego, is destined to turn into hatred. We spend our lives dreaming of a divine, selfless love (prema), often while mismanaging or avoiding the very love we receive.

And so, we keep going on and on, wandering through these conflicts and desires. In this way, the vicious cycle of existence, the Samsara Chakra, consumes us entirely.

Poet's Note:

One of the favorite poems I have come across is "Matkar Maya Ko Ahankar," written by Saint Kabir Das ji.

I usually don't write in Hindi because I'm not much of a Hindi speaker nor do I have much familiarity with it. Yet, I feel it is with his grace that I have written this poem today. I have been reading a lot of Advaita-based books, and as a practicing practitioner of Advaita philosophy, I was attracted to the Saint's verses and moved by the vast knowledge of the 'I', or what we call Brahmajnana.

I believe the suffering we go through can be addressed not by changing or reforming society, because society changes and reforms on its own. The only way is by looking inwards to change our own perspective. As the Buddha says, desires lead to suffering. The root of these desires starts from illusion (Maya), which makes us feel that these things are essential. It can all be given up to be set free from suffering, by coming out of the vicious cycle (Samsara Chakra) through pure surrender to our Self and understanding what we truly are.

This poem is just a small token offered at his feet.

ॐ तत् सत्। (Om Tat Sat.)