Topic Research: Maya

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After brainstorming potential topic choices last week, I feel like I'd be most interested in making my project about Maya. There are plenty of stories and examples of Maya throughout the Indian epics, but I'm also interested in analyzing the meaning of Maya through these narratives as well as comparing the ideas to contemporary philosophy. The first story that I found relevant to Maya was with Narada and Vishnu. Narada directly experienced maya as he realized his experiences were an illusion. When re-telling this story, I'd be interested in adding more details to highlight how powerful the illusion can be, and I'd want to include a section that analyzes the story's connection to specific philosophical ideals. The narrative can show how illusion grips us into a false world, which parallels the reader's experience with reality itself. The second story that I would use described Shiva's perspective of Ravana's birth and death. While the experience was simply two consecutive earthquakes, the comparison to bubbles in water was really profound. When re-telling the story, I'll be sure to include this simile in some capacity in order to convey the idea of maya. The third story that I would want to re-tell would be more of an explanation of Advatia Vedanta. I feel as if explaining the topic is essential in order to properly interpret the other two stories, and it's relevant with storytelling as a whole. By explaining the Advatia Vedanta philosophy and its understanding of maya, the other narratives are more accessible and can be analyzed through this lens.

Waterfall, a painting by M.C. Escher, in which Maya is demonstrated. Source: Wikipedia


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