Using a modern analogy to explain the reality according to the ancient Indian texts.**
The teachings of ancient Indian texts describe a reality that underlies the world we see. This reality can be rephrased using a modern analogy: Life is like a massively-multi-player video game. Souls are like people trapped into playing the game. Don’t play it well and you would be forced to keep playing in one avatar after another. Play it well and you will soon be free to go off and live an eternal life of bliss. The game is full of misery but people still get very attached to parts of it through traps of ego, wealth, desires etc.
Here are the parallels between a person playing an addictive game and the soul passing through a life that binds it:
- The game is full of distractions that keep us from that which is truly valuable – the key to escaping the game. This key is like a hidden treasure. Outside the game lies a full and fulfilling life. Inside the game the players mostly see suffering (death, old age, mental health challenges etc.) but keep chasing digital goods that have little value once the players have acquired a small enough amount to sustain their avatars’ lives. Similarly, in life, the soul gets trapped into a sense of attachment with things like wealth, power, ego etc. We chase stuff that goes well beyond our necessities of life. Life has more than enough ways to keep us distracted. And the mind’s restlessness is designed to make it even more challenging to slow down and reflect. The truly valuable thing here is the spiritual knowledge that makes us blissfully happy and frees us within this life from the cycle of related births and deaths. Even as people follow this path, they can tangibly feel that they are getting liberated. But this treasure is hidden in plain sight. People come across this concept in life but move on – not having the time to give it the needed thought or effort.
- The people playing the video game are tired, stressed, and yet they remain drawn to it. Their eyes ache to look away. But they cling on to the routines of the game even more. Similarly in life, once trapped by attachment, the more a person suffers, the more he clings to his body, his existence, and his reality. It’s relatively simple to develop spiritual skills and a measure of detachment when the body is healthy and the person is not challenged by physical or mental ailments. But that time is when he is young and a carefree youth is usually spent partying. At such a prime-time, who would be up for spiritual reflections or deep meditation? Gita says that most people do not endeavour for spiritual advance. This creation appears to be designed like a game that keeps its players trapped inside over extended periods of time.
- It’s easy to keep score in the video game. Almost all players tend to play the game with the same priorities. Frantically working day and night to acquire digital money, power, and other bits of useless electronic “assets”. These “assets” are lost each time the player’s avatar resets into a new life and the score resets based on past avatars’ karma (good past conduct) and not on past material “success” related to acquiring digital “assets”. Things are not very different in life. We have measures that have become standard norms for success. Have I acquired wealth? Power? Properties? A following? The list can go on. These are the standard measures of success that people use today. And yet, those who do succeed on these measures clearly remain vulnerable. Rarely do these folks appear to be at peace. No one appears immune to old age. Or physical suffering that comes with it. Or diseases. Or death.
- Escape from the game is possible. It starts with the player looking away from the addictive view the game presents. And then following this up with diligent effort directed towards escaping. Similarly, escape form a miserable cycle of births and deaths is possible. It starts with a person spending time “looking away” from mindless chase of sense-gratification. Such an effort is well-spent on spiritual reading, reflection, and practices such as meditation. All one needs to do is sincerely, thoughtfully, and routinely work towards it. As a player starts getting liberated from the game, he can feel a palpable sense of freedom that keeps rising. The effort is not driven by just faith but also clear, tangible achievements along the way.
Life beyond the game is wholesome and rich. A player can reclaim it. Similarly, our spiritual heritage holds out the prospect of eternally blissful life that one can start tasting while we endeavour towards it.
Some Learnings
Here are some points that deserve emphasis. Some of these are important and deserve a mention, even at the risk of being repetitive:
- The game serves to primarily distract its players from the ultimate reality. These distractions assume the form of things that attract and repel us. Desires and aversions are the primary focus of effort of almost all players. Liberation, on the other hand, lies in spiritually transcending them. Spiritualism helps with this transcending.
- The general measures of success are usually meaningless. Their limited utility lies in their ability to provide a person space to pursue a wholesome and fulfilling life. But, as we know, they usually become an end in themselves. And when it is said that a person is “doing well”, it means “he is sitting on more than enough resources to serve his needs but is focusing his time and effort to get much, much more”. It means that the person is likely acquiring karmic debt that will bring more misery to him in exchange for acquiring stuff he does not need and will likely not use. “Doing well” does not mean that the person appears to have found a well of happiness within and is one his way to liberating himself.
- Like money, there are other things that should be used to provide us with the space needed for spiritual success. One sacrosanct example is one’s family. Family is often seen with reverence. But prioritising the family over all else is not very different from similarly prioritising money. Those who have watched mafia movies like “The Godfather” would have seen an extreme example of how this can go wrong. A family is probably more like wealth. It is a platform that can provide the stability and space to lead a meaningful life. Over-attachment to it is just as much a spiritual hinderance as love for money.
- One of the most primal attachment is that to one’s physical body. This is so basic that most people identify themselves as the body. In the spiritual context of Vedic literature, this identification of the self with the body is defined as ego (which is a very different idea compared with the western concept to ego). This attachment is a lot more difficult to overcome than most of the other attractions in life. This attachment is akin to the above-described video-game player being so attached to the avatar he is playing that he refuses to consider any alternative reality. Conversely, this attraction also provides us with “reminders” to look for fulfilment elsewhere. Seeing the body grow old and progressively frail is understandably painful for all those who see themselves as the body. Losing near-and-dear ones to death can be comparably unsettling. This anguishing process is partly designed to push us to look for an identity that goes beyond this mortal coil and could open the doors to spiritual progress.
Closing note
No analogy is perfect. This one is also quite far from being so. Nonetheless, the message ancient Vedic texts have for readers should be clear: we live a life wherein even our core identity is not what it appears to be. Our true identity is that of an immortal soul that takes on new life forms like a video-game player moves from one avatar to the next. If we make time for spiritual advance, we will be on a path to freeing ourselves. This does not have to be done on faith and the process of liberation is palpable and tangible. And we would also be in a better frame of mind- enjoying the journey. Ignore our spiritual self and the game keeps burning us out – one life after another.
Footnote
** This article will hold in temporary suspension the typical scientific approach I generally use to question, test, and be sceptical. The aim here is to understand the perspective of reality – as explained by ancient Indian texts. Such an understanding is valuable in itself as it provides a full picture of how the larger system of creation is said to work. Once we have this understanding, it becomes easier understand smaller parts of it and to frame experiments to test them.
Recommended Reading
Scientific Spirituality: A scientific, experiment-based approach towards spiritualism and ancient Indian texts could serve us well.
The Copernicus Logic: Just as Copernicus’s revolutionary heliocentric theory was difficult to appreciate due to the enormity of its scope, Indian epics are not easy to fathom in one step. It’s probably better if one starts small and focuses on whether the practical guidelines on meditation and yoga are personally beneficial and bring happiness.
The Advanced Meditation Exercise (TAME): This meditation technique is an incredibly powerful way to keep the mind peaceful. It is prescribed in Bhagwad Gita, the primary book of Indian spiritual heritage. It derives its power by activating three key things in us: detachment, stillness, and transformation.
Why TAME meditation appears to work better than other techniques: TAME meditation appears to be more effective than other meditation techniques because it activates three essential elements of meditation: detachment, transformation, and stillness. Meditation needs all three.
Use Meditation to counter depression and stress: Modern approaches towards depression and stress are not working as they do not understand the mind that creates them. It’s time to rethink our approach.
