Some people say that everything is an illusion. But such a statement is self-contradictory.

When we say that everything is an illusion, then we are claiming that we as observers of everything are able to come to a real conclusion that everything is an illusion. That means that the assessor who makes the assessment is not in illusion at least at that time because the assessor is making a right assessment.

The Bhagavad-gita explains the nature of illusion and the nature of reality. It is not that there is no illusion, but neither is it that everything is an illusion.

We the observing realities are not an illusion. In fact, we as souls are parts of the supreme spiritual reality Krishna. Even if what we observe may not be real, the observer is real. And Krishna is the ultimate observer.

The Gita explains that there exists a foundational reality which is infinite consciousness, and from that infinite consciousness emanates many other realities. There are units of finite consciousness which are all of us souls and there are material energies which are not conscious.

What exactly is the illusion? The notion that anything is disconnected from Krishna. To see ourselves disconnected from him or to see the objects of this world that tempt or threaten us as disconnected from him – both these conceptions are illusion.

The process of bhakti-yoga centered on remembrance of Krishna is a time-honored means of connecting our consciousness with him, and thereby developing the skill of seeing the connectedness of everything with him. The Bhagavad-gita (07.14) states that those who surrender to him transcend illusion.

When we appreciate the connectedness of both the observer and the observed with Krishna, we go beyond illusion towards the ecstatic enlightenment of devotional absorption in our eternal Lord.

To know more about this verse, please click on the image