[Advaita-l] What exactly does Maya do and related questions...

[Rishi Lamichhane]

Dear All,

I have some questions about Maya and related topics and I wonder
whether they vary in the various schools of classical Advaita since I
have heard different positions about it from different authorities.

1) Does maya also project appearences or does it merely conceal Brahman?

Let me try to make this absolutely clear because I think its very important.

We get a certain appearance and think that there is an independent
object called a table in front of us. Which part of the cognition is
due to Maya here? Is the appeareance itself projected by Maya or is it
simply the fact that we do not recognize the appereance as the
non-dual Self that is the problem?

2) On this related note, for a knower of Brahman, do all appereances
vanish or does only duality vanish?

I think Padmapada's categorization of Maya's functions into Avarana
and Vikshepa makes the answers clear, but I don't think this is
accepted by all.

3) Is the essence of the world Brahman or not? Some people seem to shy
away from this and say anirvachaniya whilst others clearly say this is
the case. Two of the analogies of Brahman/Maya suggest two different
answers here and of course analogies should not be taken beyond their
intention. The rope in no sense is the essence of the snake, whereas
the gold is clearly the essence of the bracelet,

Regards,

Rishi.