Liberation from Being Controlled By Māyā

The conditioned soul is bound by the laws of material nature, a state described by Śrīla Prabhupāda as being "controlled by māyā." This control is comprehensive, dictating one's body, mind, and circumstances. However, the Supreme Lord remains eternally the master of this energy. This article explores the philosophical distinction between the controller and the controlled, the symptoms of material conditioning, and the specific process of liberation—shifting one's allegiance from the illusory energy to the Supreme Lord.

The Fallacy of the Māyāvādī Philosophy

Śrīla Prabhupāda frequently utilizes the concept of being controlled by māyā to refute the Monistic (Māyāvādī) theory that the soul and God are identical. He argues that if the living entity were truly the Supreme, they could never be covered by illusion. The very fact that the soul is currently conditioned proves it is minute and subordinate, not the infinite controller.

• Although one in quality with the Supreme Lord, the individual soul is under the control of maya. Mayavadi philosophers cannot distinguish between the controller and the controlled.
• The impersonalist, they think, we are cent percent one with the Lord or the Supreme Absolute Truth, but that is not a fact. If one is cent percent one with the Supreme Lord, then how he has come under the control of maya? This question, they cannot answer.
• Mayavadi theory is, "I am Krsna. I am God. Now I am overpowered by maya, & as soon as I become free from maya, again I become Krsna." But question is, - If you are Krsna or God, then why you became under the control of maya? What kind of God you are?
• If I am creator of something, so I cannot be under that particular thing which is created. It is logical. So therefore, because the Supreme Brahman, or Bhagavan, is the creator of this material nature, He cannot be under the control of maya.

Symptoms of Material Conditioning

When the living entity is controlled by māyā, they lose their spiritual identity and identify with the material body. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that this results in a false sense of lordship; the conditioned soul thinks they are the master, but they are actually being pulled by the stringent laws of nature, forced to suffer birth, death, and the threefold miseries.

• One who is controlled by maya, he's thinking himself master, but he's servant. And a devotee, he'll never thinks himself, "I am master." "I am servant." That is the difference between maya and not maya.
• Dehi, within the body, the living spirit, or living soul, is sitting there. And because we are under the control of maya, we wanted it, such a body, so Krsna has given.
• Everyone is controlled. Either you are controlled directly by God, or you are controlled by His agency, maya. Being controlled by maya, you spoil your life; you remain in material existence one birth after another, changing your bodies.
• Pisaci paile yena mati-cchana haya, mayar grasta jivera sei dasa upajaya. One who is under the control of maya, he speaks like ghostly-haunted man - all nonsense.

Kṛṣṇa: The Supreme Controller

In contrast to the living entity, Śrīla Prabhupāda establishes that Kṛṣṇa is never under the control of illusion. He is the master of māyā. Even when He descends into this material world, He is not subject to the laws of karma or material nature; He retains His full spiritual potency and independence.

• God is the controller always. When one becomes a devotee, he is controlled by God; when he is a nondevotee, he is controlled by His agent, maya. But he has to be controlled.
• Maya is controlled by Krsna; Krsna is never controlled by maya. That is not very good theory. That is due to poor fund of knowledge. Krsna cannot be covered.
• In this material world, Krsna does not change. Therefore His name is Acyuta. He never changes. He never falls down, because He is the controller of maya. And we are controlled by maya. That is the difference.
• We are compelled to take birth. Krsna does not take birth in such condition. Atma-mayaya. Because maya is under the control of Krsna. So how maya can control Krsna? One who thinks that Krsna is also like us, controlled by maya, they are called mudhas.

Freedom through Surrender

Since the living entity is by nature a servant, they cannot become the supreme controller. Śrīla Prabhupāda teaches that the only choice is between being controlled by the external energy (mahā-māyā) or the internal energy (yoga-māyā). By surrendering to Kṛṣṇa, the devotee is immediately released from the clutches of illusion and placed under the divine protection of the Lord.

• Anyone who is not devotee, who is not engaged in the service of the Lord, he is under the control of maya. And anyone who has surrendered to Krsna and is simply twenty-four hours engaged in the service of Krsna, he is not under the control of maya.
• If one becomes Krsna conscious, then immediately he gets out of the control of maya. That is the sign. Otherwise, if I remain a blind man, how can I lead others?
• You cannot change. But you can change by one process. What is that? Mam eva ye prapadyante mayam etam taranti te. If you surrender to Krsna, then you can get out of this control of maya.
• They (devotees) are not under the control of maya. They are controlled directly of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore they have no fear. The Krsna says, - Anyone who surrenders unto Me, I take charge of him.

Conclusion

To be controlled by māyā is the diseased condition of the soul, characterized by ignorance and suffering. Śrīla Prabhupāda emphasizes that no amount of artificial speculation or material adjustment can free one from this control. The living entity is eternally a subordinate energy. The perfection of life, therefore, is not to strive for an impossible independence, but to voluntarily accept the control of Kṛṣṇa. As Śrīla Prabhupāda concludes, one who surrenders to the Supreme Lord crosses over the ocean of material existence and is situated in their original, constitutional position, free from the dictation of the illusory energy.

Dive Deeper into Śrīla Prabhupāda's Vani

Śrīla Prabhupāda lives within his instructions. This article is a summary of the profound truths found in the Vaniquotes category Controlled By Maya. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience his teachings in their direct, verbatim form.

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