What is the real world?

The level of consciousness people hold about the world is not sufficient for them to decide the right way of living.

The “real world”

What I have called the “real world” is nothing but the psychological state you dwell in when you are aware of the higher reality.

Whenever you discover some higher truth a different world is created inside your mind. Then the world you dwelt in prior to the discovery is no more real.

Let’s take an example. At one point of time people believed that the Earth was flat. That was the highest level of knowledge that prevailed about the shape of the Earth. Even though today we know that this idea was not true, at that point of time there was no reason to believe it was untrue. Thus, flat Earth was the reality then. Later, when someone discovers that the Earth is not flat but is spherical, the new world emerges; the new reality which renders the flat Earth idea no more real.

When the new reality is supported by evidences, there remains no reason for a rational mind to hold on to the old reality. To the one with the knowledge of the new real world, those living in the old world are living in the illusion. Those still believing that the Earth is flat are, thus, living in the illusion. This world of illusion is what I have called the “game world”.

Real world = Game world – Illusions

Why I call our world the “game world”?

I call our world the “game world” because it’s like a video game world for me to live in. When you are playing a video game you enter a fantasy world. The events of the fantasy world take control of your feelings and emotions to some extent as long as you are playing the game. Ask a game addict, these fantasy world events can thrash him into depression and can take him to extreme level of happiness depending on his level of psychological involvement in the game. When the fantasy world takes control of your mind to an unusual degree it is alarming. Because after all it’s just a game, you know. Not reality. It should not have the power to disturb your equanimity.

Only the one who is aware of the “real world” can stay unaffected of the events of the “game world.” Will you ever commit suicide if you lose in a video game? Most certainly not; because you are aware of the real world, and know that you have lost only in the fantasy world. Imagine a mental patient who has no sense of real and unreal and who also happens to be a game addict. It’s no wonder if losing in a video game motivates him to give up his life. Won’t you call this act insane? But his only problem was that he did not know the difference between the real world and the game world. Thus, losing in the game meant absolute failure to him which took away his motive to live.

This is precisely the problem with the world. Most of the people in the world are living in the fantasy world, believing in the things that do not exist. Though for them that’s “real world”, but to the mind with higher level of consciousness their reality is merely an illusion. For example, for the believers the world with God is “real world”, whereas for the rational atheists – repeat, ‘rational’ atheists – the world with God is an illusion. So, they will not visit temples or worship God on the first place; but if, say, by force they are made to go to temples and worship God then that act will be akin to playing a game, because the mind which is aware if the reality can’t help telling real word from unreal world.

What is the absolute reality?

While there’s no way to know what the “real world” is in absolute sense, here’s what I have realized with the level of consciousness I have been able to rise to –

As you go higher and higher spiritually you might see the meanings of all the things dissolving. And when you reach there you might see that you exist just like a lone dot on the infinite spread of blank sheet. No story. No meaning. No purpose. Just exist.

In short, the world as it would be without human intelligence is the real world. Purpose, meaning, and everything else are the products of human intelligence.

You believe in God, friendships, other relationships, marriage, soulmates… All those are but illusions! Not that friendship is not, or marriage doesn’t give pleasure, or relationships are not a good thing, but the way and the extent to which people rely on these things is absurd. They are just purpose-driven social activities, all of them. No more. Nothing is like “meant to be”, and certainly not “forever”.

If you want to physically exist in the “real world” then you have got to go to the Himalayas or some such secluded place where nothing created of human intelligence exists. But since you are living in this world where everyone is still unconscious of the higher reality you have no choice but to live as all others do. It’s like, when in Rome, do as the Romans do. But being conscious of the higher reality you will know that you are not Roman, and that Rome is just a “game world”! Thus, you won’t be enslaved by the emotions arising off this game world!

Of course, this fantasy world gives people happiness; but more than happiness it spreads misery. While “everyone in the world is happy” won’t sound like an agreeable statement, “everyone in the world is miserable” wins more agreement. This suggests that the level of consciousness people hold about the world is not sufficient for them to decide the right way of living.

What is the difference between happiness and contentment?

Happiness is but temporary insanity.

When I say things like “happiness is not a real thing to pursue” or “happiness is a disorder”, people quite don’t digest that. I can understand. Happiness is such a positive feeling. For as long as you have lived you have been hearing people saying happiness is all that matters in life, and that the purpose of life is attaining happiness, and all that. Fine. But then I have already explained in my article Are you happy or content? what is true nature of happiness, and why I say pursuit of it is futile.

For me, contentment is the all-important thing to attain in life. I have also called it the state of perfect happiness, which is beyond ordinary human experiences like pain and happiness.

Here, I feel a need to explain the difference between what I call contentment and what you call happiness with more clarity. The difference is so subtle. I will try to enunciate it.

Consider the difference between contentment and happiness as that between smile and laughter. Smile indicates serenity. Laughter indicates agitation. Smile is tranquility. Laughter is ripples. If you are in contentment you smile. You laugh if you are in happiness. To smile at someone all you need is to be free of pain. If there’s pain you can “fake” a smile, but not really smile. So, once you are free of pain and you can go on smiling at anyone you meet. That’s the sign of a contented person. Contentment does not need any “input” from the world outside of you. It completely comes from within. Happiness, on the other hand, requires input from the outside world. Like, laughter requires a joke be said. That state which requires some input from the outside world is not only unnecessary, but also undesirable.

Now, expand your perspective. Don’t just stick to the words “smile” and “laughter” for contentment and happiness. Of course, buying a mobile phone also makes you “happy”, though not necessarily you laugh! So, the important words actually were serenity and agitation. Upon buying a mobile phone you will feel the agitation inside, won’t you? Mind has lost its tranquility. There are ripples (of excitement) when you have just come to possess some valuable thing. What you feel as happiness is just those ripples. They never last. What is everlasting is tranquility.

Now think. If I can smile (genuine smile devoid of any pain within me) anytime of the day and night when I look at someone, would you consider me “happy”, even if I never feel like real laughing at anything, or dancing, or doing parties and celebrating days and stuffs? Then between your happiness and my contentment there is no difference. I think, in spiritual terminology what is called happiness is just what I call contentment. I just prefer to call it contentment because otherwise it creates confusion as to what to call “laughter”. I call “laughter” thing happiness and am against chasing it. “Smile” thing is contentment and I am totally in its favor.

This, by no means, is to suggest you should never laugh or get excited over something in your life. But the thing is that you should be able to make out the difference between “tranquility” and “ripples”. Understand that the state of “ripples” is, by its very nature, temporary. So, do not give much importance to it. Be in perfect happiness, which is contentment.

You might also now understand how it is said that happiness comes from within. The same thing I call contentment. The other happiness is but temporary insanity. No real need for that, sure.

Are humans really intelligent?

Stupidity is not an opposite of intelligence, but intelligence used unwisely.

Meaning of Intelligence

Intelligence in simple words is defined as: The ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills. Another definition of Intelligence I found says: The ability to comprehend; to understand and profit from experience. As we can understand, there is no fundamental difference between the two definitions.

Looking at the two definitions anyone should be able to make out that the main function of intelligence is to make life better; to bring ease to life.

Some background

Nature has endowed each and every creature on this planet with intelligence. If you ask evolutionists the reason for this then you will learn that intelligence exists in creatures to enable them survive in the world where the norm is “survival of the fittest”. One of the proven observations by the naturalists is that life on the planet is being governed by an immaculate mechanism of Nature according to which no species of organism would grow so much in population that it wipes out any other species and no species of organism would shrink so much in numbers that it gets wiped out by some other. It is evident from the process of natural selection in evolution that Nature takes due care that every species of organisms on this planet is best equipped to survive in its environment. Intelligence is just one of the tools to accomplish this purpose.

The important thing to note is that the difference between human and animal intelligence is one of degree and not of kind. So, it is still not wrong to say that the main function of intelligence is to make life better. After all, making tools and developing strategies for securing survival is certainly a process of betterment of life.

However, this meaning of intelligence is more clearly understood in relation to human life, because human life as it is today is largely driven by intelligence. Humans have invented so many tools to add comfort to their life that today they are almost totally free of the natural struggle for survival, unlike other creatures. That certainly “appears to be” a huge betterment of life.

Intelligence or pseudo-intelligence?

The question is: Have humans really bettered their life using their intelligence?

Looking on the surface of it human life seems to be a very developed one. They are living like the masters of the world. They have invented such tools that they no more need any kind of physical struggle as far as surviving in the natural environment is concerned. The words “comfort” and “convenience” are only justified by the way humans live. What an advancement of one species over the billions that have been on this planet!

Now, if you will remove the veil of ignorance then you should see a diametrically different picture. In truth, humans are living the most miserable, most destructive and the worst life on this planet. Tomorrow if the world is fully destroyed (which has already started happening) the reasons lie in thoughtless human activities like pollution, global warming, and relentless exhaustion of resources (not to mention inter-human fights, and wars!). At every step of the life humans are defying Nature’s laws and making their own life and the whole world worse.

Dwelling on the surface you might think you are not suffering surfing the web with your computer; sleeping in peace at night in your cozy bed rather than on a pile of leaves inside a cave; not experiencing pain every hour of the day due to tooth aches (which without modern dentistry are what we would have); having a car that you can use to visit friends living hundreds of miles away, et cetera. You might, instead, wonder how your life would be better without all these things.

Here are the explanations –

1. If you lived in caves then your life would be less convenient than it is now? Wrong! It's just like saying when electricity was not invented people weren't able to feel convenience that they feel today in an air-conditioned room...! Already being in comforts if you imagine life without those comforts then, of course, you would find it inconvenient. But when the comfort is not invented at all, and is inconceivable, there's no question of feeling inconvenience. People were always able to feel as comfortable as they can feel today. When fire was invented the arising feel of comfort would not have been any less than what man felt when he first drove a car. So, more technological advancement means more comfort and convenience is a flawed conviction! Intake of alcohol would give you the feel of great comfort, but just because of that is it good? That advancement which brings more harm (however in the long-run) than benefit is no advancement, and is doubtless undesirable!

2. Humans seem to be oblivious to the fact that all the comforts added to their lives today are taking high toll on natural resources as well as entire planet's living systems. Due to exhaustive human activities every living system in the biosphere is in decline and the rate of decline is accelerating. And those living systems provide the basis for all life. On the other hand, humans are not only getting used to all these comforts but are also getting genetically modified to live with those comforts. When the natural resources on which those comforts ride decline or finish (which is undoubtedly imminent) they will have no power live without them; or they would invent new ways which would further accelerate the degradation of living systems! The rate at which natural resources are being exhausted today is far greater than the rate of re-building of resources. These are by no means acts of intelligence.

3. The planet is naturally designed to accommodate only about a billion human beings. Until 1800 CE the human population has never exceeded a billion in numbers. But due to various inventions after the development of advanced science human population is increasing by leaps and bounds. Can you believe when John Kennedy was inaugurated the planet carried only half of the people compared to what it carries today! If you can not think beyond humanity and human welfare – that too, a short-term one – then it's okay. But if you can, then that's certainly not admissible, when you also check on the facts about how many species of creatures have gone extinct because of ever-increasing human needs. And why, it’s most certainly also affecting human welfare in the long run! Humans have been keeping comfort and convenience (short-term ones) ahead of survival (in the long-run), in importance. What to do of comforts when survival of the entire planet itself is being endangered! In truth, in the short-sightedness of human intelligence this fact is continually ignored.

One of the functions of intelligence is also to make out a difference between the right way and the wrong way and then choose the right one. Today, the humanity certainly knows what the right way is but utterly lacks the will to adopt it out of the insane greed for convenience arising off social, economic, and political situations. What humans are doing is out of intelligence, of course; but in doing so the word intelligence loses its meaning. Because humans are neither making their life better with intelligence anymore; nor are they “okay” for the safe survival of the entire life system on this planet.

These facts prove my kind a bunch of stupidest creatures on this planet. Here, stupidity is not an opposite of intelligence, but intelligence used unwisely. I would call it pseudo-intelligence. Or simply “human intelligence” – because so far this sort of intelligence is known to be existing only in humans!

Where’s the line between “natural intelligence” and “human intelligence”?

The point, beyond which the amount of intelligence no more betters life but rather degrades it, for humans as well as for Nature (for that matter, that humans are separate from Nature is an extremely insane thought), is the dividing point. Intelligence up to that point is natural intelligence, which is good and desirable; and intelligence beyond that point is human intelligence, which is the cause of most of the miseries of, and beyond, humanity.

After learning the difference between natural intelligence and human intelligence one should also be able to decide which actions are natural and which are unnatural. The actions driven by natural instincts and natural intelligence are natural actions, and the actions driven by human intelligence are unnatural acts.