IS THE WORLD AN ILLUSION?


While looking at this world our vision is biased in the sense that we remain distant from the world and then see and describe what we see. It is another thing that what we see is meaningless. Whatever, the world which we see and describe is just a very small fraction of the whole universe; it is bound by the time and place and consists of only the animate and the inanimate matter. A common man can never visualize the whole world; he just has his own comprehension of the whole world from whatever he sees around himself which definitely gives an incomplete orientation to him about the world. The oft repeated question in spiritualism is whether this world exists or not. Shree Samarth says that it does otherwise the question of it being an illusion or else wouldn’t arise. How does it exist and what is the root cause of its existence is definitely a matter of conjecture. Shree Samarth compares the world in the wake of the total truthfulness that is the hallmark of the Parbrahma. His assessment of this world is thus based on moral, ethical and spiritual values. If one is not sure of what is truth or otherwise then there are fair chances that he would end up having an image of this world which is very close to being an illusion. This will surely lead to unhappiness on every imaginable front. We think that all including us are destructible. I am temporary and incomplete. My organs, my knowledge, all those things from which I strive to obtain organic pleasures are incomplete. Despite knowing this we still want complete happiness from all the incomplete things throughout our lives, is this not an illusion? Therefore what is wrong if it is said that it is untrue and an illusion to expect complete happiness from this visible universe? It is true that there is something called as the universe, but it is an illusion that it can yield complete happiness. This dilemma and unclear thinking leads to the futility of life. We don’t realize the true form of this universe and what we do realize is not the true form of the universe. Our intelligence is the tool for this realization to dawn upon us and for gaining the ultimate knowledge. But whatever the intelligence hypothesizes is based on the so called facts which are perceived by our senses which are incomplete in many aspects to say the least and therefore whatever information they provide us about this universe is also incomplete and faulty. On top of this there is a limitation to even a genius’s intelligence which can think only about the conceivable things, mind you not concepts, but here we are talking about the matter where concepts don’t apply. Therefore through the use of intelligence one can’t have the total, real and complete knowledge of the universe. This knowledge consequentially has falsehood as a part of it, even if in small quantity. Therefore there is nothing wrong in saying that this world is an illusion. It is funny that the intelligence of man can raise basic questions about the world but can’t give any satisfactory answers or explanations. Any live form is bound by death and lack of knowledge. On the contrary the universe is unlimited and full of knowledge. While thinking of the universe one tends to impose one’s own ideas upon it which yields incomplete or illogical hypotheses and this is the proof of the world being an illusion. To really understand this world one has to totally and completely change one’s range of experiences.