A woman devotee: Maharaj, why do we forget God? What is it that drives us away from Him? Swamiji: You ask me why you forget Him, my daughter? This is what is called Maya. Under the spell of Maya a person forgets God and remains attached to sense objects which are impermanent. Do you love God as much as material things? Must I tell you that the world as well as this body of yours and the relatives to whom you are so inordinately attached are short-lived? You see before your eyes that things existing today do not exist tomorrow. What is here this moment ceases to be the next moment. A person born today may die tomorrow. Sorrow comes soon after happiness, yet people find joy and are deeply engrossed in this world! Woman devotee: Maharaj, how shall we be saved? How shall we be free from Maya? Please do bless us. Swamiji: One cannot realize the unreality of the world without the grace of the Lord. There is no way to lift the veil of Maya other than self-surrender to God. My daughter, the Lord says in the Gita (VII. 14): "Verily this divine illusion of Mine, composed of the gunas, is difficult to surmount. Those who take refuge in Me alone cross over this illusion." There is no other way than to call on the Lord wholeheartedly. You are in the world and have many things to attend to. I realize that you do not find enough time for spiritual practice. Resign yourself and cry to Him. Pray to Him sincerely, "O Lord, be gracious unto us!" Crying will wash away the impurities of the mind, and He will reveal Himself to you with the brilliance of a million suns. Then you will realize that He, the Lord, is within you. Do cry to Him and exercise discrimination between the Real and the unreal. God only is real; the world with its birth and death, pleasure and pain, is false. Such discrimination accompanied by prayer will certainly earn for you His grace. You will be disgusted with the world and your mind will turn towards God. *Source:* For Seekers of God by Swami Shivananda