What is Maya? Is it all powerful? Is Maya Emotions?
Maya is that power of God which hides God from us. The purpose is not to deprive us from the happiness that resides with God. Maya actually makes the living possible on this earth.
No one can be more powerful than God. God is powerhouse of infinite powers. There are three types of powers. Internal powers, Neutral Powers and External powers. Maya is external power. Soul is Neutral Power and Divine Love, Divine Happiness etc all are internal powers.
Maya being external power, it is lifeless. The vitality that you see in any living organism because of presence of soul is absent in Maya. Still Maya captures soul. Maya encompasses the complete world. Not only outer world, even inner mind is under influence of Maya. Maya had few important associates. They are. Kam (Sexual urge), Krodh (Anger), Lobh (Greed), Mad (intoxication), Matsar (jealosy) etc. Most important of all is Ahankar (Ego).
All desires and therefore all emotions are result of Maya. Maya helps mind to create desires so that it is possible for mind to fetch happiness for soul. The limit up to which human intellect can understand, is all realm of Maya. Maya has been there since the beginning and no one created it, including God.
There is an important statement in Gita, "Something, which does not exists, will never come into existence and something, which is existing, will never cease to exists." God does not create anything new.
The sole purpose of Maya is to direct soul towards its aim of seeking divine happiness. Saint also does the same thing. Saint's way is through teaching while Maya's way is through punishment.
For example, it is only when you suffer pains from some person, you realise that you were on the wrong path. You leave that person and try to establish relationship with other persons. Again, the same story repeats. Happiness is ever eluding. Ultimately after many lives, individual decides to turn to God. Thus, Maya serves a useful purpose. Actually when one does not realise the presence of all-powerful, all-knowing, blissful God, he or she is said to be under Maya - Away from God. As if there was a curtain that prevented the sight of God.
War is always on. There are two opposing forces reside in our mind. One is temptation of lustful life and another is urge for divine experience. Whichever force is powerful, mind drifts that way. In this fight, we must nourish divine forces so that they are powerful enough to steer us through this painful Maya to the final abode of supreme bliss.