It is often said that Buddhism declares creation to be an illusion and that freedom from this illusion is nirvāṇa. The same idea is frequently attributed to Vedānta as well. This has become a widely accepted notion, and therefore it is necessary to examine whether this understanding is accurate.

If the word “illusion” is taken in its common sense—as something purely imagined, like a mirage or hallucination that has no existence outside the mind—then this interpretation is not correct from the standpoint of Vedānta. However, this is precisely how the term is generally understood, which has led to widespread confusion.

This confusion largely arises from the translation of the word māyā as “illusion.”

In Vedānta, māyā refers to that which cannot be categorised as either absolutely existent or absolutely non-existent. It is a condition in which something appears, is experienced, and yet does not have independent reality.

Vedānta defines absolute existence as that which remains unchanged in all three periods of time—past, present, and future. Only pure consciousness satisfies this condition. Everything else in creation is subject to origination, existence for a period, and eventual dissolution. Therefore, nothing in creation can claim independent or absolute existence.

However, this does not mean that the existence of objects during their period of manifestation is denied. Vedānta enquires into their source, their sustenance, and their eventual resolution.

If creation did not exist prior to its manifestation, it could not have arisen from nothing, since nothing can come out of nothing. The only reasonable conclusion is that creation existed in an unmanifest form and later became manifest.

Vedānta explains this by recognising consciousness as the underlying reality. Even in the present, every object can be analysed as a combination of name and form, which resolves into its causes—just as a cloth reduces to threads, threads to fibres, and so on—ultimately resolving into consciousness.

Thus, creation is nothing but consciousness appearing in various forms. At the time of dissolution, it resolves back into the same consciousness. Therefore, in all three periods of time—past, present, and future—there is nothing other than consciousness.

This raises an important question: if consciousness alone is real, what is the status of the world that we experience?

Vedānta explains that the reality of the world is comparable, in some sense, to that of a dream. A dream appears real while it is experienced, but is later understood to be unreal. However, even a dream is not entirely unreal—it is real for the dreamer at the time of experience.

Similarly, the waking world appears undeniably real due to factors such as shared experience and continuity. Yet, the content of experience remains subjective. Different individuals experience the same situation differently, and even the same person may respond differently at different times.

These subjective interpretations give rise to likes and dislikes, which in turn shape one’s decisions and experiences of life. However, these likes and dislikes are based on the assumption that the world and one’s experiences are absolutely real, which is not the case.

This misunderstanding binds one to a subjective framework of interpretation, leading to suffering.

When this is partially understood, one may conclude that the world is entirely unreal and attempt to dismiss it as an illusion. While this may seem like an easy solution, it is not correct.

The world cannot be dismissed completely for two reasons. First, as long as one is alive, one must continue to engage with the world—through basic activities such as eating, speaking, and interacting. This itself indicates that the world has a certain level of reality.

Second, the world continues to exist independently of one’s personal conclusions. Creation is not brought into existence by an individual, but is governed by Īśvara, the total order. Therefore, it cannot be negated by individual perception.

What can be negated, however, are one’s subjective projections and incorrect conclusions.

Creation itself is not eternal—it is time-bound and finite. Anything that is finite is dependent and cannot be absolutely real. At the same time, it is not non-existent, since it is experienced.

Therefore, Vedānta does not describe creation as an illusion in the absolute sense, nor does it grant it absolute reality.

It is understood as an appearance—a dependent reality that is valid as long as it is experienced.

This is what is meant by māyā.