Maya — The Cosmic Illusion
Maya is one of the most misunderstood concepts in Hindu philosophy. It does not mean 'the world is fake.' It means the appearance of separateness — the perception that you are a separate self in a separate world, rather than a wave that has temporarily forgotten it is the ocean. Maya is the divine power by which the one Brahman appears as the many. Shankaracharya compared it to seeing a rope in the dark and thinking it is a snake — the rope (Brahman) is real; the snake (the appearance of a separate world) is the illusion.
Look at a single object near you. Now consider: its atoms are 99.9% empty space, held together by forces we cannot see or touch. The 'solid' thing is already a kind of illusion. Maya begins with physics.
Best contemplated at dusk — the hour between light and dark.