Chapter 1
The ancient roots of oneness
Chapter 2
The master of non-duality
Chapter 3
The magic show of the mind
Chapter 4
Waking up to who you are
Ch 3 · The magic show of the mind
BETA
sloane Swipe away illusions to learn how the rope and snake analogy explains our true self.
sloane Advaita Vedanta
Only a rope, not a snake! (Only a rope!) It's a trick our minds make!
sloane Maya is the concept of a cosmic illusion or creative power that makes the single reality appear as many different things.
Fun Fact
Rope trick: In the rope-snake analogy, the snake never actually existed; the fear disappears the moment a light is shone on the rope.
sloane The analogy of clay and pots explains that while shapes and names change, the underlying substance remains exactly the same.
Glossary
maya (noun)
The powerful force that creates the cosmic illusion that the phenomenal world is real. Eighth-century thinker Adi Shankara compared this illusion to mistaking a harmless rope for a snake.
The powerful force that creates the cosmic illusion that the phenomenal world is real. Eighth-century thinker Adi Shankara compared this illusion to mistaking a harmless rope for a snake.
Quiz
In the jewelry analogy used in Advaita, what underlying substance represents Brahman?