” A mirage is not real, but yet we see it. A dream taking place while sleeping is not real, yet we experience it during the time of the dream as a reality.”
– Remez Sasson
Kabir – The couplet
???? ???? ?? ???, ???? ???? ? ??? |
?? ???? ? ?????, ???? ???? ??? ||
transliterated:
Maya maya sab kahe, maya laakhe na koi |
Jo manase na utaare, maya kahaaye soi ||
Translation:
References to illusions are all around, yet the illusion in front of us is not recognized|
That which seems like reality, is the true illusion that engulfs us||
My thoughts:
How often have we been caught up in the entirety of a moment and made rushed decisions, only to later reflect on the real insignificance of what seemed to be the most important act in the world?
We learn in early biology class that what we perceive as sight is only the brain’s interpretation of what the eyes signal as received input – yet we take that to be the true sight of what is in front of us. Psychologists have proved beyond doubt that the mind can coerce the brain to perceive what the mind prefers – and the brain does succumb to the coercion.
The human being is permanently engaged in a struggle with making reality what is truly but a convenient truth – and yet, we have, throughout history, gone to war and even our graves with that perceived conviction.
This is the true strength of illusion – to make us believe that it is the true reality. That is the maya that Kabir wants us to conquer. When we can get past our own vulnerability to illusion, we can become the true powerhouse that we are destined to be.