"The lyrics to this song come from Emerson's poem of the same title, and while it is entirely possible to write a thesis on the meaning of this song, I will try to sum it up as briefly as possible. According to ancient Hindu thought, Maya essentially means "illusion", and the Veil referrs to the veil of illusion that cloaks us all, thus creating a barrier between us and God's vision of perfection...or in other words, reality.
Maya is the world perceived but is an illusion of the derived, or falsely perceived. That is, there is something perceived by awareness, but it is an illusion. It is the veil which covers reality's true nature.
Ancient Hindu thinkers propounded a vision of reality that is very relevant in the context of discussing illusion. According to this, the essence of ultimate reality is normally veiled from our comprehension because of a number of constraining factors that are imposed on matter and mind. The result of all this is the creation of maya, a world of illusion to which normal human experience is inevitably subject.
In so far as maya is a veil that screens the true nature of reality from our comprehension, it may be regarded as something negative. However, maya is not necessarily evil and hurtful, but also can be enlightening and revelatory. Indeed, it serves us very well in the course of our lives, and is at the root of many of our enjoyments, institutions, intellectual exercises, and societal interactions. Certain aspects of maya have even helped us gain a deeper understanding (or visions of higher categories) of reality.
Thus, not just individual lives but civilizations and institutions are based upon maya of all kinds. We are condemned or blessed to lead a life that is both distorted and enriched by a variety of maya...and hence, a delusive world of duality."
"The lyrics to this song come from Emerson's poem of the same title, and while it is entirely possible to write a thesis on the meaning of this song, I will try to sum it up as briefly as possible. According to ancient Hindu thought, Maya essentially means "illusion", and the Veil referrs to the veil of illusion that cloaks us all, thus creating a barrier between us and God's vision of perfection...or in other words, reality.
Maya is the world perceived but is an illusion of the derived, or falsely perceived. That is, there is something perceived by awareness, but it is an illusion. It is the veil which covers reality's true nature.
Ancient Hindu thinkers propounded a vision of reality that is very relevant in the context of discussing illusion. According to this, the essence of ultimate reality is normally veiled from our comprehension because of a number of constraining factors that are imposed on matter and mind. The result of all this is the creation of maya, a world of illusion to which normal human experience is inevitably subject.
In so far as maya is a veil that screens the true nature of reality from our comprehension, it may be regarded as something negative. However, maya is not necessarily evil and hurtful, but also can be enlightening and revelatory. Indeed, it serves us very well in the course of our lives, and is at the root of many of our enjoyments, institutions, intellectual exercises, and societal interactions. Certain aspects of maya have even helped us gain a deeper understanding (or visions of higher categories) of reality.
Thus, not just individual lives but civilizations and institutions are based upon maya of all kinds. We are condemned or blessed to lead a life that is both distorted and enriched by a variety of maya...and hence, a delusive world of duality."
(source : www.cynicalsphere.com)