The result of all this the creation of maayaa, a world of illusion to which normal human experience is inevitably subject. In so far as maayaa, is a veil that screens the true nature of reality from our apprehension, it may be regarded as something negative. But we must recognize that maayaa, it is not necessarily evil and hurtful, once its innate illusory nature is recognized as such. On the contrary, maayaa serves us very well in the course of our lives, and is in fact at the root of many of our enjoyments, institutions, intellectual exercises, and societal interactions. Let us consider some of these.
Art is aesthetic maayaa.
A great painting is an illusion which transports us to an aesthetic experience, as indeed is any work of art. It paints imaginary people and events in moving ways, it kindles our longing for justice, it allows us to express our capacities for anger and compassion, and it helps us in our search for the deeper truths regarding human nature. We know that not one page in a novel is true, yet great literature moves us profoundly, it touches our feelings and stirs our emotions. Communism is supposed to be the power of the people, the end of oppression, and the absence of exploitation. But we know only too well that these are not quite so in actuality.