In the words of Ādi Śankarachārya man’s deceitful senses are part of this duality and are continuously trapped within its illusionary ordeal. However, S. Radhakrishnan qualifies this further and says that māyā is not the illusionary world around us as is commonly interpreted. It is rather an opportunity for honing our senses to a higher order and merging the ātman back into the Brahman. The Maitri Upanishad says that Brahman is like a spark which when revolved becomes a fiery circle. Thus the incessant movement of matter prevents us from ‘seeing’ this spark as an individual bindu or spot of light. It is the silent mind that escapes this entrapment and overcomes the pain – pleasure circumambulation.

What emerges through this veil of words is that māyā is like the scrim of Radhakrishnan. To pierce this screen we should illumine the ‘other’ side with venturesome knowledge. We can overcome an illusion by outward knowledge e.g. the silvery shimmer of a mirage or the straight stick appearing bent in water is determined both by experience and science. Delusion, on the other hand is when we fail to perceive the Divine essence of nature and regard it as a mere mechanical determination unrelated to Brahman. The implication is that the problem of māyā is inherent in the attitude of those who perceive, not in that which is perceived. So long as the individual thinks himself to be a separate atom in this immense universe, so long as he has the idea that he is the chief actor in the stage, he is in the world of māyā,…. When he recognizes the essence of the finite to be in the Infinite, when he realizes that he is but an instrument of a nobler purpose, he will get out of this world of māyā. To transcend this statistical limit we require an inner search, a repetitive build-up of spiritual energies, a regimen of reinforcing natural harmonies.