MĀYĀ

To the third aspect of illusion, the name Māyā is given.

What then is māyā?

Māyā is the identification of the self with transient creation and all outer appearances of life. Most human beings are caught in the grip of Māyā.

Where do we start to explain the hold of māyā on the Life of individuals and of humanity as a whole? The following paragraph may shed some light on the matter!

The soul, that body of Light which is the Higher Self, is situated on the upper levels of the mental plane.This soul creates a threefold expression in the three worlds of human living: the mental, emotional and physical in which men live, move, and have their being.

The outer form, the dual physical body (dense and etheric bodies), is produced, created, motivated, energised and conditioned by certain energies and forces emanating from levels whereon the soul has engineered a reaction of identification. (Note this phrase)

These make the man what he is; they give him his temperament, profession and quality upon the physical plane, making him negative or positive to various types of impacting energies.
They give him his character, producing his colouring, his capacities and his personality.
With all of these the average man identifies himself; he believes himself to be the form,
the medium through which he attempts to express his desires and his ideas.

This complete identification with the transient form and with the energies that move it is māyā.

Men and women begin to free themselves from the stronghold of māyā when they come to know themselves, above everything else, as the director of forces; these he directs from the altitude of the soul, wherein lies the Observer, through the attainment of detachment from form, and from the forces that move it.

Release from māyā is achievable through re-identification with the soul, the true Self.

The world of thought (mind), the sphere of feeling (emotions), and the playground upon which these forces and energies play (the physical), are all distinct from the Observer: the One who Thinks with the mind, feels with the emotions, and acts and responds with the body. It is the indwelling Soul that has undertaken the role of playing these parts with the aim of gaining experience.