Mistress of illusion

Yesterday was Durga-Puja, a celebration in honor of Durga, the cosmic mother, personification of the material potency. Also known as Maha-Maya, "The Grate Mistress of Illusion".
Devi-Mahatmaya is a scripture in honor of Durga. It is said that anyone who reads it will have the blessing of the holly mother such as fortune and wealth. Such worship of Durga is meant for people who are attached to material things. But like all Vedic scriptures, it also gradually elevates people towards the Divine.
The Devi-Mahatmayam begins with the story of a king who was betrayed by his people and lost his kingdom. On his way, he ran across a householder who was betrayed by his family and lost all he had. As they talk, they realize they both are still attracted to the things they lost. The king is still longing to his kingdom and the householder still has feelings for those who betrayed him. Such a nasty senseless attraction for both intelligent man, both king and commoner aren't amuned to. Together they try to find out why do they have such an irrational attraction. They approach sage Sumedhas asking him why do they have this problem, and the sages answer was conclusive: it is Maya, the mistress of illusion, who is making all being after what they shouldn't be after". And then the sage started to tell them the story of that grate Devi.
According to the Vedic narrative, all that is comes from the one. God. Brahman. Param-Brahman, the supreme, is known by many names such as Narayan or Vishnu and also has many incarnations. In a small corner of his domain, lays the material creation. But most of what is, is actually the spiritual creation. In the material creation Vishnu lays down in a mystic sleep: Yoga-Nidra. At the same time he is in the spiritual world, having relationships with the souls who are there, he is also in his Yoga-Nidra sleep in the material corner of his domain. And out of that sleep, the material universes are manifested. You might say that this whole world is God's dream. And if so, Durga is his sleep. She is the very force that is manifested as the material worlds, those very same worlds in that corner of creation meant for those who chose to be apart from God, just to fulfill their desires, just until they'll choose to return home to their heavenly father.
And in this material world there are many things to attract the mind and senses. So many things that seems beautiful, hiding the fact that it is no more then one big cosmic jail. And Maya, the mistress of illusion, is guarding it's gates. By her we are trapped here. But by her mercy we can also be free from this illusion and see the supreme truth (Sanatan-Dharma). For she is the grate servant of him, the supreme lord. And in the spiritual realm she also has a form. In here she is Maha-Maya, but there she is Yoga-Maya. In here she constructs the entire world of illusion, making us forged the lord and our eternal relationship with him. But in the spiritual world, as Yoga-Maya, she helps us forget the lord's greatness so we could have a close relationship with him. Forget the lord's gratness? is that a good or a bad thing?
In the Bhagavad-Gita the lord appears as Krishna to his devotee Arjuna. They have a close relationship as friends, which is the goal of the spiritual practitioners and yogis. Arjuna is acting as the lord's friend, unaware of his supreme universal form. And then, upon his request, Krishna revels that grate universal form to Arjuna, which Arjuna finds very disturbing. How can you have a close relationship with something that grate? How can you be his friend? And so Arjuna request the lord to take back his original form as his dear friend, lord Krishna.
Also, in the Srimad-Bhagvatam it is told how Krishna appeared on earth as the child of Vasudeva and Devaki. At first, when he was born, he took his majestic form of Vishnu. But then, upon the parents request, he took the form of Gopal, the sweet baby Krishna. For only in such a form they could have a close relationship with him as their child. So sometimes, spirituality is not about seeing God as the all mighty in his greatness (even though he is), but also about forgetting this greatness. And Yoga-Maya makes it possible.
Krishna appeared on earth to Vasudeva and Devaki who were immediately persecuted by the evil king Kamsa. And then the grate mother Maya appeared there and Kamsa became so frightened. In this world she is the grate mother Durga, holding all the wepons given to her by all the celestial rulers, just to show she manifests all their strength. Like fire, she is riding a tiger through the battle filed, destroying the enemy. As such, we should pray to that grate mother Durga to destroy our illusion and bad habits, so that we'll no longer have obstacles in our spiritual path.

Maha-Maya in Vrindavan