A Gurmat Perspective on Māyā, Haumai, and the Non-Dual Nature of Reality
Introduction Gurmat, the psycho-spiritual and ontological wisdom system embedded within Guru Granth Sahib Ji, offers a radically different worldview from both materialist reductionism and religious dualism. At its core, Gurmat affirms the ontological reality of creation while simultaneously exposing the delusive entanglement with duality through Haumai (ego-centric consciousness). Contrary to Advaitic and nihilistic interpretations, the world is not an illusion (māyā in the sense of unreality), but the phenomenal, expressive unfolding of the One (IkOngkār). This article explores the Gurmat understanding of māyā as a veil, the function of Haumai in veiling non-dual awareness, and the ontological unity of creation.
- Introduction: Ontology in Gurmat Psychology Gurmat psychology and metaphysics begin with IkOngkār: the One Reality that is simultaneously immanent and transcendent. The declaration of the Mool Mantar—IkOngkār satnām kartā purakh nirbhau nirvair…—is not a theological proposition but an ontological affirmation. It asserts that all that exists is an expression of the One. The phenomenal world is not an illusion, but a sacred play (līlā) of consciousness.
“ਏਕ ਅਂਕਾਰਾ ਏਕ ਪਰਕਾ। ਜਿਤੁ ਦੂ ਪਾਸ।” (Jap Ji Sahib) The One is the Creator, the One is the Doer. All is the manifestation of that One.
- Māyā: Not Illusion but Phenomenon In Gurmat, māyā is not mere illusion in the Vedantic sense of “unreal.” Rather, it refers to the dynamic, ever-changing phenomenal world—real in its appearance, yet not ultimate in essence.
“ਮਾਈਆ ਮੋਹੀ ਸਾਕਾ। ਬਿਤੋ ਨ ਭਾਰੀ ਭੁਕਾ।” (SGGS, 921) Māyā is such a deceiver; it does not let one understand the Truth.
Māyā is the mode through which creation unfolds—a projection or appearance of the One through nād (vibration), bindi (point), and Ongkār (creative force). The world is real in the sense that it is a projection of the Real, but it becomes “illusory” when perceived through the lens of Haumai.
- Ongkār: The Unfolding of One into Many Creation is the rhythmic, vibratory unfolding of the singularity into multiplicity. Ongkār represents the creative principle—sound, vibration, and formation of forms.
“ਈਕਾਂਕਾਰ ਏਕ ਅੱਗਾ। ਸਾਚੇ ਬਾਹਰਾ ਏਕ ਬਾਨਾ।” (SGGS, 929) Ongkār is the One who created everything and remains pervading in all.
The world is a play of forms, names, and phenomena—real as waves are real expressions of the ocean.
- Duality and the Veil of Haumai Haumai, or the ‘I-am-ness’ rooted in ego-identity, is what veils the experience of the One in all. Haumai is not just pride; it is the fundamental misidentification of the self as separate from the Whole.
“ਹਊਮੈ ਨਾਵੇ ਬਾਹਰਾ ਜੋਰ। ਹਊਮੈ ਜਾਤ ਦੁਖਾ ਸਂਸਾ।” (SGGS, 466) Haumai is the cause of coming and going; through Haumai, one suffers pain.
Haumai generates a fragmented perception that gives rise to duality: self and other, creator and creation, good and evil. It is not the world that is illusion; it is Haumai that renders our experience of the world illusory.
- Is Haumai the Real Illusion? Yes—in Gurmat, it is Haumai that is the primal illusion, not the world itself. The veil of Haumai obstructs the innate realization of Oneness.
“ਹਊਮੈ ਜਾਤ ਦੁਖਾ ਮਾਈਆ ਭੌਖਾ।” (SGGS, 415) Haumai is the illusion through which Māyā deceives.
This explains why renunciation of the world is not the Gurmat path. The task is not to escape the world but to pierce through the veil of Haumai and see creation as One Light.
- The World as Divine Play (Līlā) Creation is not a trap to escape, but a divine play to participate in with awareness and love. The multiplicity of forms is the expressive dance of the One.
“ਈਕ ਕੇਲੇ ਰੰਗ ਮਾਈਾ ਭੁਖਾ ਜਾਤ।” (SGGS, 83) The One has staged this wondrous play through Māyā.
From the Gurmat lens, the world becomes sacred, not rejected. The practice is to live within the world, in action, relationship, and love, while abiding in the awareness of IkOngkār.
- Conclusion: Beyond Illusion, Into Light Gurmat reveals that creation is the manifestation of the formless in form—real, sacred, and meaningful. Māyā is a dynamic veil that becomes delusion only when seen through Haumai. Liberation lies not in negating the world but in recognizing its divine essence. The illusion is not the world; the illusion is the egoic self that claims separation from the One.
“ਈਕ ਕੂ ਅਪਨਾ ਕਿਤਾ ਸਾਚਾ।” (SGGS, 1023) The One is pervading in all—see this with your inner eye.
This is the ontological awakening Gurmat calls us to: not away from the world, but into it, as the playground of the Divine One.
Keywords: Gurmat, Māyā, Haumai, illusion, ontology, IkOngkār, creation, non-duality, Sikh metaphysics, Gurbani exegesis
Author: Davinder Singh Panesar
Founder, Gurmat Psycho-Spiritual Psychology
Gurmat Psychology Series © 2025