Brahma Sūtras carve out Māyā as that inscrutable power of Brahman which both veils true knowledge and projects the universe. It isn’t dismissed as sheer fantasy nor embraced as ultimate reality, but sits in a no-man’s-land of “anirvacaniya” (indescribable). Behind every sunrise or the latest AI hallucination trending on social feeds, Māyā is at play—casting shadows that look real until clarity dawns.

Main contours emerge in how later commentators read those terse aphorisms:

• Advaita Vedānta (Śaṅkara): Māyā performs double duty—veiling Brahman’s oneness and projecting names-and-forms. Real in our everyday world, yet ultimately unreal, like a dream once one wakes.
• Viśiṣṭādvaita (Rāmānuja): Maya transforms into śakti, a genuine divine energy. Creation isn’t an illusion to be tossed aside but the Lord’s own play (līlā), fully real though sustained by the Supreme.
• Dvaita (Madhva): Māyā as mere ignorant illusion doesn’t get much screen time. The world exists, eternally distinct from God. Any talk of illusion serves mainly to correct over-enthusiastic monism.

These sutras also anticipate modern thought experiments—from the “Matrix” simulations to VR headsets promising alternate realities—by suggesting that what appears real may rest on unexamined assumptions. Just as quantum physics pokes holes in “common sense” notions of matter, the Brahma Sūtras invite a closer look at how perception and ignorance conspire to keep ultimate truth hidden.

Today’s conversations around AI “hallucinations,” deepfakes on social media, and our own selective attention all echo that ancient chorus: reality can be a crafty illusion. Peeling back Māyā, whether through meditation or philosophical inquiry, reveals that the world’s sparkle isn’t false but woven from levels of truth—some brilliant, some deceptively dim.