Science Meets Sanatan — Part 6: Maya and Illusion— Reality as Perception

Science measures.
 Sanatan remembers.

In this 10-part journey, we explore where ancient dharmic wisdom meets modern scientific wonder.
From consciousness and karma to quantum physics and AI — this is Science Meets Sanatan.

You’re reading Part 6

Maya and Illusion — Reality as Perception

“Brahma satyam, jagat mithyā.”
“Brahman is the only truth; the world is illusion.”
— Adi Shankaracharya

We’ve seen consciousness as fundamental (Part 1), how meditation and mantras can transform the brain (Parts 2 & 4), and how karma and rebirth shape the soul’s journey (Parts 3 & 5). Now, we turn to one of the most challenging — yet liberating — insights of Sanatan Dharma:

Is this world... real?

And if not, then what is?

Welcome to the concept of Maya — the cosmic illusion that hides the truth of our existence.

Maya is Mithya — Not Satya, Not Asatya

MAYA

↘

Not Satya
(Ultimate Truth)

↙

Not Asatya
(Absolute Falsehood)

What Is Maya?

In Vedanta, Maya is not nothingness — it is a false appearance. The world we see, touch, and believe in is not the ultimate reality, but a projection shaped by our senses and conditioned mind.

“Māyāṁ tu prakṛtiṁ vidyān, māyinaṁ tu maheśvaram”
“Know Maya as Nature, and the wielder of Maya as the Supreme.”
— Shvetashvatara Upanishad 4.10

Maya makes the One appear as many, the eternal as temporary, the Self as separate.
This illusion is not evil — it is necessary. It creates the cosmic play (Lila) through which consciousness experiences itself.

What Science Says About Reality

1. Quantum Mechanics — Observer Creates Reality

In the double-slit experiment, particles behave as waves — until observed. The act of observation collapses possibilities into a single outcome.

The observer changes reality.

This matches the Upanishadic insight: the world appears because we perceive it — not because it exists independently.

2. Neuroscience — Your Brain Is a Simulator

Your brain does not show you reality — it creates a virtual model based on inputs, memory, and prediction.

What you see is not the world — it's your brain’s best guess of it.
This aligns with Maya: our experience is a filtered projection, not truth.

3. The Holographic Universe Hypothesis

Some physicists suggest that the 3D universe is a **projection of 2D information** — like a hologram.

“As in the microcosm, so in the macrocosm.”
Yatha pinde tatha brahmande — Sanatan Dharma

Everything may be a code-based illusion — a cosmic dream, just like Maya.

Types of Maya — According to Vedanta

• Avidya (Individual Ignorance): Not knowing your true Self. You think you are the body, name, ego, and story.
• Cosmic Maya: The illusion that makes Brahman appear as the universe — time, space, and matter.

Maya doesn't mean nothing is real. It means: what you think is real isn’t the full truth.

The Layers of Illusion

“Neti, Neti” — Not this, not this.

To find the truth, the sages used negation — peeling away all that is not the Self:

• You are not the body
• You are not the mind
• You are not your thoughts or roles

What remains is pure awareness — the Seer behind all seeing.

The Dream Analogy

Sanatan Dharma compares life to a dream:

“When you dream, the world feels real. But when you wake up, it disappears.”

Who’s to say this world is not another dream — from which you must awaken?
Even neuroscience shows that the same brain regions activate in dreams and in waking life. The mind treats both as real — unless you become conscious of it.

Maya and Karma

Maya is powered by karma. Your past impressions shape your perceptions — what you see, how you react, what you believe.

That’s why two people can live in the same world — and see **completely different realities.

Mantra and meditation (Parts 2 & 4) begin to dissolve these impressions. Slowly, you see through the illusion.

Breaking Maya — Liberation Through Knowledge

“Yadā te moha-kalilaṁ buddhir vyatitariṣyati...”
“When your intellect crosses the illusion of delusion, you will attain clarity.”
— Bhagavad Gita 2.52

Maya is not defeated through force — but through Self-knowledge (Atma-jnana). You don’t destroy the illusion. You wake up from it.

That is Moksha — liberation that ends rebirth and suffering.

What’s Next?

If Maya is the illusion — then what is real?
Perhaps the Universe itself holds the clue.

In our next journey, we decode the cyclical time model of Sanatan Dharma and examine its resonance with modern astrophysics.

Up Next:
Science Meets Sanatan — Part 7: The Universe’s Cycles — Yugas and Modern Cosmology

✨ Final Thought

“Tat Tvam Asi — You Are That.”
— Chandogya Upanishad 6.8.7

This world is not false — but it is not ultimate.
Maya is the dream.
Consciousness is the dreamer.

The journey of Sanatan Dharma is the journey of waking up — from illusion to truth, from fragmentation to unity. 

🎬 Next Episode:
Part 7: The Chakras and Bioenergy — Mapping the Subtle Body

Frequently Asked Questions

1. If everything is Maya, why do anything?

Even within Maya, Dharma matters. Right action leads to growth and eventually liberation.

2. Is Maya the same as Simulation Theory?

Similar — but Maya has a spiritual purpose. It’s not just illusion — it’s evolution.

3. Can we fully break free from Maya?

Yes — that’s Moksha. When ego dissolves and the Self is known, Maya ends.

Sources

• Bhagavad Gita — Verse 2.52
• Mandukya & Chandogya Upanishads
• Yoga Vasistha & Advaita commentaries
• Holographic Universe — David Bohm
• Neuroscience of Perception — Predictive Brain Models

📚 Want to explore the entire series? Visit the Series Landing Page