We are living in a virtual reality

What we call reality is just the way our brain interprets the different inputs it receives from the eyes, ears, and so on. What reality really is, we don't know.

With the platforms of virtual reality growing and becoming more realistic, many started to question what reality is. The fact is that what we call reality is just the way our brain interprets the different inputs it receives from the eyes, ears, and so on. Virtual reality exploits that to create virtual worlds that exist only inside the memory of a computer, creating artificial stimuli that are transmitted to our senses using a headset and other accessories. In this way, VR adds another layer of illusion on top of the illusion we are already in.

In reality, what we call “real life” is already a type of virtual reality. At least, that’s what the Vedas say. Even the date of when this simulation started is given: 155.522 trillion years ago, the date when our Universe was first created by Brahma. Before that, there were other iterations in the form of other cycles of creation, and therefore, our imprisonment here is practically beginningless.

The Vedas actually go further, saying that we are actually eternal beings, but somehow we got trapped in this simulation, and we have been inside it since then. What we call “death” is just the process of transference of our consciousness into a new phase of the simulation. Just like one may play with different avatars in different virtual worlds, we take birth on different planets and in different species of life. This process has been going on for so long that we have already forgotten that there is a real life outside of it.

How does this artificial reality work?

The Vedas explain how successive material layers gradually cover our original spiritual senses. Just as one may use a headset, special gloves, and so on to interact with a virtual world, these different coverings allow us to take part in the world we currently live in.

First of all, there are the five material elements, described as earth, water, fire, air, and ether. What the Vedas call ether is the absence of the other four elements, like the vacuum of space. Even though extremely refined, ether is still a material element, and the proof is that it works as a medium for the transmission of electromagnetic signals, as well as light and other forms of energy. Ether also works as a substrate for the manifestation of the other elements, as Śrīla Prabhupāda explains in his purport to SB 3.26.34.

The combination of these five elements creates all the planets, stars, and everything else that exists around us, as well as our bodies and the senses we use to see, touch, hear, smell, and taste things. Each sense has particular sense objects. The eye captures images of things, the ear captures sounds, and so on.

The Vedas put a lot of emphasis on explaining the interactions between the senses and the sense objects that so much enchant us, calling our attention to their ultimately illusory nature. Just as by using a VR headset long enough we may become gradually disconnected from the external world, by using our senses we gradually forget our spiritual nature and become absorbed in this material world, gradually forgetting that there is anything outside of it.

In the Bhagavad-gītā, Kṛṣṇa describes this world as illusory. One reason it’s called that is that it is temporary. Kṛṣṇa explains that things that are real in the full sense of the term are eternal, and temporary things are ultimately illusory. This may sound difficult to understand since everything we have around us was created at a certain date and will eventually be destroyed (even the universe itself has a beginning), so we may question what is real after all. That’s exactly the point made in the Bhagavad-gītā: there is another world outside the world where we live that is eternal in nature. That’s the real world from where we came from. In this way, everything that is material is ultimately illusory, and full reality exists only in the spiritual platform.

Another reason this world is called illusory is that nothing is really what it seems to be. We may think we are dealing with solid objects we can touch, but that is ultimately an illusion, since everything is actually just energy, as also studied in modern physics. Atoms are just combinations of protons, electrons, and neutrons, and these are also not really solid particles, appearing to be more like vibrating strings. We thus think we own different things, but not only are these things temporary, but also illusory, just like objects in a VR world.

On top of these five gross elements, there are three additional subtle elements that interact more deeply with our real self: the mind, intelligence, and ego. Just like we have spiritual senses that are covered by our current material senses, our original consciousness is also covered by these different layers. As a result, even the way we feel, the way we desire things, and the plans we make to satisfy such desires are also illusory. Our current consciousness is deeply different from our original consciousness. As a result, what we are now is profoundly different from what we are in reality.

The first layer of this covering is the false ego (ahankara), the desire to be something other than what we really are. Just like someone claiming to be Napoleon or Cleopatra is considered crazy, the false ego makes us act in delirious and unnatural ways in this material world.

The false ego leads to the acceptance of the next two coverings: the mind and the intelligence. While the false ego makes us think we are Napoleon, the mind and intelligence make us really feel and think like him, making the identification complete. Finally, we acquire a set of body and senses that complete the simulation, allowing us to really experience the illusion of being someone we are not.

What we do during our current life gradually shapes our consciousness, and at the end of it, we receive a new body according to it. In this way, Napoleon may become Cleopatra in his next life, or maybe Indra, or even Laika, the dog. In this way, the simulation goes on as we rotate through the different possibilities of virtual identities over and over again.

Philosophies like Buddhism (in its original form) speak about extinguishing our consciousness as a solution for the pains we experience in this world. They understand that our current consciousness is ultimately an illusion and conclude that dissolving it is the best way to end our struggles in this world. However, this is ultimately not a very good idea, because extinguishing our current material consciousness without first connecting with our original spiritual consciousness ultimately leaves us in an unconscious state, just like someone who breaks his VR Headset without removing it will end up not being able to interact with neither of the two words.

Here we come to the process of bhakti, which is the process that allows us to gradually dissolve our current material consciousness while at the same time reviving our original spiritual consciousness, as well as our original spiritual body and senses. When this process is complete, we can finally recover our original existence as complete spiritual beings. All other forms of liberation, like the nirvana sought by Buddhists and the impersonal liberation that is the goal for followers of the Advaita philosophy, are actually temporary because, without connecting with his original spiritual consciousness, the soul eventually comes back to this temporary world in search of variety.

Three of the main works of Śrīla Prabhupāda guide us in this process. The Bhagavad-gītā helps us to understand that we are not this body, but the eternal spirit soul, and it helps us to gradually reconnect with this eternal identity through the practice of karma-yoga and other spiritual processes, culminating with the idea of surrendering unto Kṛṣṇa. The Śrīmad Bhāgavatam goes beyond, explaining more about the nature of the spiritual world and about the activities of the absolute truth and His associates, culminating with the intimate pastimes of Kṛṣṇa described in the tenth canto. Finally, the Caitanya Caritāmṛta gives us details on how to revive our original identity and finally join these pastimes.

While VR platforms just create illusory words on top of the illusion we are already in, these works, as well as the explanation of advanced devotees who deeply realize the knowledge they contain, help us to become free from the illusion, gradually awakening our blissful true self.

You can also donate using Buy Me a Coffee, PayPal, Wise, Revolut, or bank transfers. There is a separate page with all the links. This helps me enormously to have time to write instead of doing other things to make a living. Thanks!