The Doctrine of Illusion
Māyāvāda ('doctrine of māyā/illusion') is the general term, often used polemically, for Advaita Vedānta — the school founded by Śaṅkara (8th century CE) that holds: (1) Brahman alone is real (brahma satyam); (2) the world is ultimately unreal/illusory (jagat mithyā); (3) the individual self is identical to Brahman (jīvo brahmaiva nāparaḥ); and (4) the apparent distinction between Brahman and the world/selves is due to māyā — a cosmic illusion whose nature is indescribable (anirvacanīya).
Rāmānuja's Refutation
Rāmānuja in the Śrī Bhāṣyam devotes extensive passages to refuting Māyāvāda. His key arguments: (1) the concept of 'anirvacanīya māyā' (illusion of indescribable nature) is internally contradictory; (2) if Brahman is the sole reality, the very distinction between 'ultimate' and 'conventional' reality collapses; (3) the Upaniṣads themselves teach a qualified non-dualism (viśiṣṭādvaita) rather than bare monism; (4) the world and individual selves are genuinely real as Brahman's body (sarīra), not as illusions.
Sri Vaishnava Perspective
For Sri Vaishnavas, Māyāvāda is not merely philosophically flawed but spiritually dangerous: if the individual self is ultimately identical to Brahman, then the relationship of devotion, service, and love between the jīva and the Lord becomes impossible — a contradiction in terms. Rāmānuja defends the reality of this relationship as essential to both devotion and liberation.
Other Names
Māyāvāda is also called Kevalādvaita (bare non-dualism) or Śāṅkara-mata (the school of Śaṅkara). Rāmānuja also refers to its practitioners as Prācchanna-bauddhas — 'hidden Buddhists' — because their doctrine of the unreality of the world parallels Buddhist śūnyavāda.