We are responsible for our own bondage. All we have to do is turn towards God.
… जुष्टं यदा पश्यत्यन्यमीशमस्य महिमानमिति वीतशोकः ॥
…Juṣhṭaṁ yadā paśhyatyanyamīśham asyamahimānam iti vītaśhokaḥ.- Mundak Upanishad 3.1.2 (partial)
The moment a soul becomes sanmukh (turned towards God) to God, he meets God face-to-face and all of his suffering, all of his mayic (related to maya) bondage is finished forever. So we have to become sanmukh to God. We are so small. We’re a tiny fraction, like God is the sun, and we are just one tiny ray of that sun. You see, the metal on this harmonium (Indian musical instrument) is shiny. It’s got an ansh (fraction) of prakash (light, brilliance) in it. But the sun is the maha prakash (great light). When the sun is there, there can never be darkness. When God is there, there can never be maya (material energy, illusion). In other words, if you’re turned towards God, maya cannot affect you, even if you’re living in the mayic world.
But if you’re turned away from God, then maya can affect you, just like right now, this is shiny, right? But if we turn off all the lights in this room, and it’s nighttime, will this piece of metal be able to illuminate this room? No. But even though this has ansh of light in it, the darkness overpowers it, because it is such a tiny fraction of light. We are like that. Yes, we are ansh of God, but we’re such a tiny fraction. We’re called anuchit. Anu means infinitesimal.
Therefore, if we don’t have God enlightening us, if we’re on our own, we’re turned away from God, maya has its way with us, maya overpowers us. And this is the situation since eternity. We’re turned away from God, therefore, since we are only anuchit, maya, even though it’s jaḋ (inert), it takes over.
It keeps us under its bondage. But the solution is, all we have to do is turn towards God, and with His grace, we’ll be free from maya.
