I am Māra, king of deceit, deception, fear, pride, ego, vanity and delusion; master of suffering, of inducing the desire for having things one does not have and getting rid of things one does not want.
Aging men and women elders are the perfect target for my products. With the aging baby boomers I can acquire trillions of dollars without entering those pesky unstable housing, insurance and stock markets. All I have to do is plant and nurture the fear of sickness, old age and death.

I have special “siddhis,” also known as unclean spiritual powers, which make elders disappear from sight as the aging process begins. Their panic and desperation makes them ripe candidates for my products. I hear their thoughts when they look in the mirror—“Whose face is that with all those wrinkles and age spots. Whose neck and arms are those, with all those wattles? Why is the print getting smaller; why are sounds fading, the need for medicines and supplements increasing, knee joints locking up, memory diminishing, and doctor's visits increasing?”

Corporate empires flourish and thrive with my minions on Madison Avenue. Billion-dollar industries spawn products that are devoted to the image of youth and beauty. These are all attributed to me.
This is the perfect scenario for me: You look in the mirror one day and see an old person. Who is that? It must be a mistake. Someone else must be in the room that sort of looks like you but can't be. That person is old and you are not old.

There are surgeons who perform surgeries to add and subtract body parts, with promises to make you more beautiful, vibrant and appealing. Where would the sagging, nagging and dragging population be without plastic surgeries and poisonous Botox injections? The American Medical Association gives their blessings. This is all mine.

The hair industry is mine. You are an elder who is old and gray and maybe a tad ugly. You can find products to dye your hair so that you can try to look young and beautiful. No more gray for you - just buy and dye before you die. Do you want thicker, thinner, straighter or curlier hair? How about buying a wig or rug if you have no hair? My products are an endless assortment for you to use in the hope of reestablishing the vigor, suppleness and beauty that was once yours.

The media industry is mine. Pictures of products in magazines show you how the perfect elders live. “80 is the new 60.” That motto surely sells the products quickly as I laugh up my sleeve hauling money to the bank.

I, Māra, do not want you to know that Lord Buddha said there was a way out of these endless cycles of birth, life, sickness, old age, death and suffering. It is so much fun for me to see you spinning on the Wheel of Life and Death. The clues and hints are everywhere for everyone to see if they have the eyes to see. The Buddha said, “I teach only one thing - the path that leads to the end of suffering.” I, Māra, do not want you to see this truth. The more you see the less you will buy. The more peaceful you are with things as they are the more agitated I become. I hate being foiled and that is what some of you are doing down there, meditating, practicing, going against the stream, ordaining, waking up. DRAT foiled again.