Editing Maya (religion) (section)

==Etymology and terminology==
''Māyā'' (Sanskrit: {{lang|sa|माया}}), a word with unclear etymology, probably comes from the root ''mā''<ref name=jangonda>[[Jan Gonda]], ''Four studies in the language of the Veda'', Disputationes Rheno-Traiectinae (1959), pages 119-188</ref><ref>[a] Tracy Pintchman (1994), The Rise of the Goddess in the Hindu Tradition, State University of New York Press, {{ISBN|978-0791421123}}, pages 3-4;<br>[b] Donald Braue (2006), Maya in Radhakrishnan's Thought: Six Meanings other than Illusion, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120822979}}, page 101, Quote: "Etymologically, the term ''māyā'' is derived from the Sanskrit verbal root mā (...) Whitney says the primary meaning of √mā is 'to measure'. L Thomas O'Neil agrees in his helpful exposition of the ways and contexts in which ''māyā'' is used in the Rigvedic tradition."</ref><ref name=adriansnodgrass29>{{cite book|author=Adrian Snodgrass |title=The Symbolism of the Stupa |author-link=Adrian Snodgrass |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nzqK8dDCM0UC |year=1992 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0781-5 |page=29 |quote=The word ''māyā'' comes from the same root ''mā'', "to measure", as does ''mātra'', "measure", which in turn is etymologically linked to the Latin ''materia'', from which our word "matter" derives. ''Materia'' not only relates to ''mater'', "mother" and to ''matrix'', but also to ''metiri'', "to measure, to lay out (a place)", (...)}}</ref><ref>Bangala Bhasar Abhidhaan (Dictionary of the Bengali Language) Shishu Sahitya Samsad Pvt Ltd. 32A, APC Road, Kolakata&nbsp;– 700009, Volume 2, p.1757 (ed. 1994)</ref> which means "to measure".<ref name=wmahonytau32/><ref>Wilhelm Halbfass (1992), On Being and What There Is: Classical Vaisesika and the History of Indian Ontology, State University of New York Press, {{ISBN|978-0791411780}}, page 42 footnote 40</ref>

According to [[Monier Williams]], ''māyā'' meant "wisdom and extraordinary power" in an earlier older language, but from the Vedic period onwards, the word came to mean "illusion, unreality, deception, fraud, trick, sorcery, witchcraft and magic".<ref name="sb">Bhattacharji, Sukumari (1970), [https://books.google.com/books?id=lDc9AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA35 The Indian Theogony: A Comparative Study of Indian Mythology from the Vedas to the Puraṇas], pages 35-37, Cambridge University Press Archive</ref><ref name=":1" /> However, P. D. Shastri states that the Monier Williams' list is a "loose definition, misleading generalization", and not accurate in interpreting ancient Vedic and medieval era Sanskrit texts; instead, he suggests a more accurate meaning of ''māyā'' is "appearance, not mere illusion".<ref name=Shastri>P. D. Shastri, [https://archive.org/details/thedoctrineofmaa00shaauoft The Doctrine of Maya] Luzac & Co, London, page 5 and ix</ref>

According to William Mahony, the root of the word may be ''man-'' or "to think", implying the role of imagination in the creation of the world. In early Vedic usage, the term implies, states Mahony, "the wondrous and mysterious power to turn an idea into a physical reality".<ref name=wmahonytau32>William Mahony (1997), The Artful Universe: An Introduction to the Vedic Religious Imagination, State University of New York Press, {{ISBN|978-0791435809}}, pages 32-33</ref><ref>Teun Goudriaan (2008), Maya: Divine And Human, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120823891}}, pages 1-2</ref>

Franklin Southworth states the word's origin is uncertain, and other possible roots of ''māyā'' include ''may-'' meaning mystify, confuse, intoxicate, delude, as well as ''māy-'' which means "disappear, be lost".<ref>Franklin Southworth (2012), Linguistic Archaeology of South Asia, Routledge, {{ISBN|978-0415655446}}, page 92</ref>

[[Jan Gonda]] considers the word related to ''mā'', which means "mother",<ref name=jangonda/> as do Tracy Pintchman<ref>Tracy Pintchman (1994), The Rise of the Goddess in the Hindu Tradition, State University of New York Press, {{ISBN|978-0791421123}}, page 30, Quote: "This material power is thereby readily linked to maternal creativity, a link made evident in the Sanskrit noun ''mā'', meaning both "mother" and "measure".</ref> and [[Adrian Snodgrass]],<ref name=adriansnodgrass29/> serving as an epithet for goddesses such as [[Lakshmi]] and [[Durga]].<ref name=jangonda/><ref>Monier Williams, A Sanskrit-English Dictionary Etymologically and Philologically Arranged, Oxford University Press, page 764 (Article on "मा"), Quote: 4. ''mā'', f. measure; (...) 4.2 ''mātā'', ''mātṛi'', a mother; (...) a measurer in Nirukta XI, (...) a maker, former, creator, arranger, preparer (Ved.); a knower, one who infers correctly or has true knowledge; (...) the maker (of the child in the womb, ''jā-mātṛi''); a mother (...) mother earth (Rigveda V.42.16); (...) epithet of Lakshmi, (...) epithet of Durga (...)</ref>

A similar word is also found in the [[Avesta]]n ''māyā'' with the meaning of "magic power".<ref>Mary Boyce (1996), A History of Zoroastrianism: The Early Period, Brill Academic, {{ISBN|978-9004104747}}, page 38-40</ref>

Maya can refer to  one or more types of illusion:
# Illusion of the permanence of this world. Everything, including cells, humans, and stars, follow their own cycle of death & rebirth.
# Illusion that each individual is independent from the world/ecosystem. Reality as a living being is a facet of God experiencing other facets (living beings). This Ecosystem includes farmers, bus/train drivers, shopkeepers, software engineers, etc. who are all inter-dependent.
# Illusion that our ever-evolving desires can be satisfied. We desire something and feel that we will be happy if that desire is fulfilled. But, when it is fulfilled, we desire something else.

{{Hinduism}}