Maya Room

Maya in Sanskrit means 'that which is not'. It is a deluded state wherein each individual soul, under a sense of false identity considers itself to be separate and distinct from the supreme consciousness and rest of the creation.

A parallel example explaining the same would compare ones consciousness to water, which over time was altered to drinks such as beer and cola by means of adding additives and adulterations. Similarly our consciousness over time was fragmented to futile possessions such as name, religion, status and social bonds among others.

Maya is thus an epiphany that has the power to liberate the soul. Realization of adulteration leads to its eradication resulting in pure water. Likewise, realization of futile possessions within oneself and around us results in finding one's true consciousness.

Ek Se Anek Artwork (Unity to fragmentation):
The artwork is an artist's interpretation of how supreme consciousness is broken up into various elements that facilitated in the formation of diverse cells, species, and planets amongst other things. The varied shapes and sizes denote the different levels of consciousness. It aspires to articulate the journey of the supreme consciousness from 'unity' or 'one' to 'fragmentation' or 'many' and back.

Slant art with quote by Khalil Gibran:
"Say not I have found the truth but rather I have found a truth." -Khalil Gibran The world is an illusion not because it does not exist but because, it is not what it appears to be all the time. From the absolute perspective, the material universe is a temporary creation. It changes from moment to moment and is never the same. We cannot say we live in the same world each and every moment of our existence. The senses may take time to perceive the changes that happen in our environment, but change is what characterizes our world and our existence all the time. Duality and plurality are facts of life. Similarly, something that you may perceive as the truth today may not remain the truth tomorrow, it could be one facet of your existence but it is simply not possible to pronounce it as the ultimate truth.

Elements of Maya Grid:
Maya or 'delusion' manifests in several ways such as developing false notions of self, represented within the grid by means of a camera and movie reel, depicting life is much like a movie and the lives we lead are similar to that of characters within the movie. Just as we are aware that the movie is far from the real world we live in, similarly our true lives are meant to be far from the world that we are currently living in and our current analysis of our existence and truth. The other pieces within the grid explain that society, societal bonds, justice hold true or otherwise solely based on our perception of these factors. Therefore as our perception changes, so do these factors and their significance within our lives.

The Painting:
The painting shows how across time the human mind on opening of the eyes desires wealth, love, dreams and always hopes.

Moh-Maya Chair:
Moh-Maya is a Sanskrit word that roughly translates into 'ignorance' or 'mistake'. The chair is an artist's interpretation of elements such as wealth, pride and ego to be temporary and a delusion that originate from our ignorance and therefore our perception of false reality.

Other Elements within the room:
The other elements within the room include glass and mirrors helping one reflect ones true reality versus perceived reality. These elements are present, to push the boundaries and facilitate in questioning if there is more to life than the individuals' current existential perception of reality.

Outside Niche- Sword Matchstick:
All our progress, our vanities, our reforms, our luxuries, our wealth, our knowledge, has that one end, death. Cities come and go, empires rise and fall, planets break into pieces and crumble to dust, saints and sinners die. All of us meet the same end and yet there exists, a vain and tenacious clinging on to life. This clinging we realize to be meaningless and yet we fail to let go. The sword that has been burnt represents pride, power and ego meeting a similar ultimate end, death; bringing with it a close to the lifelong endeavor of keeping these very same, now, meaningless vanities alive.

Outside Niche- Chess with Hands:
The Divine is described in the Hindu scriptures as mayavi, the grand master of illusion. Through the force of illusion, He holds beings under his control. This objective is accomplished through the interplay of the three Gunas-Tamas, Rajas and Sattva and the grand play of desires caused by the formation of ego and lack of discrimination and knowledge. The Hands controlling the various characters within the chessboard is representation of the Divine as the grand master of illusion. Similarly, all the characters on the chessboard are souls in the world, continuously striving to find a way out of 'maya' or 'illusion' by treading on many different paths of life with an ultimate objective of attaining 'moksha' or 'freedom'.