“The Lord, Sri Krishna, says,
daivi hy esa guna-mayi
mama maya duratyaya
mam eva ye prapadyante
mayam etam taranti te
‘This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it.’ (Bg 7.14)
“One who surrenders to Krishna can easily overcome Maya—not directly, but by Krishna’s mercy. We do not have the strength to fight Maya independently. Maya is a very powerful energy of Krishna’s. When we surrender to Krishna He will arrange for our release from the clutches of Maya. So, Ravana is lust personified. He could be killed only by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Ravana had ten heads, and as soon as one head was cut off another head would grow. In our own practice of Krishna consciousness, we can recognize this phenomenon. Material desires come one after another. And lust does not mean only sexual desire but any desire to enjoy independent of Krishna, any desire to enjoy anything in forgetfulness of Krishna which will take us further away from Krishna.” —Giriraj Swami