The Guise Of Māyā

The Gita still remains in the occult section and will evidently for years to come. The word "occult" comes from the Latin word occulere meaning to cover over, conceal, and no doubt it is only right for a society that so methodically conceals the Divine to place the words of the Divine on an occult shelf. God in this age remains hidden, obscure, mystical (from Greek mystikos, referring to secret rites). In this age of technological chaos, the guise of maya is very heavy, and when the Divine appears, He seems only to be a vaporous apparition subject to vanish quickly

(Hart Crane, "Poem" to The Bridge)

In this age, the vision of God is as elusive as the seagulls that glide and dip in New York Harbor. One may then appropriately question how it is that Krsna, who is the totality of everything, remains unseen. Because no one knows Him, mankind concludes that He is either nonexistent or dead.

In the Gita, Lord Krsna concludes the situation. "I am never manifest to the foolish and unintelligent. For them I am covered by My eternal creative potency [maya]; and so the deluded world knows Me not who am unborn and infallible." (Gita 7.25) In this Age of Iron, practically the totality of mankind is deluded. "All living entities are born into delusion, overcome by the dualities of desire and hate." (Gita 7.27) Man is born into this material world because he desired material enjoyment, and when his material desires are frustrated he becomes angry and so directs his hatred to animals, to other men, and to God. Being in such passion, his senses are bewildered, and thus he cannot perceive the resplendent Godhead who is everywhere about him. For him Krsna is never manifest, for He is covered by maya, which, for the living entity, is forgetfulness. Consequently Krsna, who is the infallible Lord, remains unknown. "I know all living entities, but Me no one knows." (Gita 7.26) Because no one knows Krsna, no one knows His song, Bhagavad-gita, and therefore it is placed aside on bookshelves marked occult.

The sun, moon and stars may be obscured by clouds, but this does not mean that they are actually covered. It is the vision of the earth that is covered. If we but travel a mile or two high we would rise above the clouds and see the stars and the moon and sun in all their glory. It is not that we have to travel very far. But we at least have to make the effort. Similarly, there is a speck covering our eyes which makes us see this universe as purposeless. But once that speck is removed, everything will appear as it is-the boundless glory of Krsna.

God's appearance and disappearance in this world are continuous and eternal, but common men cannot understand this. The owl says that there is no sun because he doesn't see or wish to see it. No amount of speculation or discussion can bring about realization of the Absolute Truth, but one to whom Krsna reveals Himself can understand immediately. The best process is to execute devotional service and wait for His mercy. Just as the sun sterilizes a contaminated place, He purifies the soul before He enters. The appearances of Krsna are unlimited and eternal, and in the Gita He says that one who knows the nature of His appearance and disappearance is a wise, liberated soul and is not born again in this material world. Actual knowledge of the appearance of Krsna in the world is neither occult nor difficult. All the informations are given in Vedic literatures, and they are available to everyone. Unfortunately, being under delusion, man considers such literatures to be occult and so does not take them very seriously.

The philosophy of atheistic existentialism and its grandchild, that of Hippyism, would balk at the philosophy underlying Bhagavad-gita. Existentialism would never admit of an Absolute which makes existence meaningful. The existential conception of man's freedom as the only philosophical possibility in a senseless universe would be threatened by the absolutism of Krsna. In the Gita Lord Krsna says that nature is working under His direction, which means that the universe is not purposeless but has a meaning known to its controller. Again, Krsna says that millennium after millennium He sends forth all of these various created beings who are helpless under the sway of His maya. This precludes any absolute freedom from the point of view of man, for this makes man dependent on an exterior creative, maintaining and annihilating force.