Maya's War Strategy

(written on August 3, 2019)

The 4 Ways Maya Can Attack:

• When a person wants to be known as a religious leader for fame and power over others.

• When a person neglects religion and tries to become wealthy in order to have fame and power.

• When a person wants fame, power, and wealth but also unlimited sense gratification.

• When a person is frustrated in not being able to achieve fame, power, wealth, and sense gratification, and becomes an impersonalist where they want to become one with God or become God by rejecting everything.

Resisting Maya:

This question is explained in a nutshell by one of the most important verses in Bhagavad Gita, 7.14. Krishna says, “This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it.” So here, the divine energy which Krishna is speaking about is maya, which consists of the three modes of material nature (goodness, passion, ignorance). Krishna says that to overcome maya, one must be surrendered unto Him. Srila Prabhupada stresses the importance of surrendering to Krishna only in this section of the purport where he says… “Another meaning of guṇa is rope; it is to be understood that the conditioned soul is tightly tied by the ropes of illusion. A man bound by the hands and feet cannot free himself – he must be helped by a person who is unbound. Because the bound cannot help the bound, the rescuer must be liberated. Therefore, only Lord Kṛṣṇa, or His bona fide representative the spiritual master, can release the conditioned soul. Without such superior help, one cannot be freed from the bondage of material nature.” So we cannot get the help of anyone who is under the control of maya. The only person who is not in the clutches of maya is Krishna because he is the proprietor of maya. Hence we must surrender unto him.

What is the process of surrendering? Srila Prabhupada says “Devotional service, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness, can help one gain such release.” Therefore, by the practice of constant unalloyed devotional service, or Bhakti yoga, one can fully surrender to the Supreme Personality of Godhead and hence be liberated from the clutches of maya.