Everyone is under the control of maya. Nobody is free. But there are two maya, yoga-maya and maha-maya. Maha-maya, this material world, and yoga-maya the spiritual world. If you agree to be under the yoga-maya, then you are happy. Just like there are two kinds of laws: civil laws and criminal laws. You have to remain under one of these laws. But if you live under criminal law, then you go to the jail, and if you live under civil law, then you are free. But in either condition, you cannot say that "I am free of law." That is foolishness. That is foolishness. The atheist class of men, they say that "We do not believe in God." But that is craziness. You may believe God or may not believe, but you are under the stringent laws of God. That you cannot say, that "I am free." No.
Lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.26.15, Bombay, 24 December, 1974