Why Live a Life of Illusion?

[air]

Should we live a life of illusion? The question that comes to me is that if I know that the pizza in front of me is plastic, would I still pick that plastic pizza and put it on my plate and then admire it, smell it and look forward to eating it? When I know that it is a plastic pizza, then what is the point in dreaming of eating this “delicious” meal?

I know that this world is like a plastic pizza, it is not to be eaten; because this world is a transitory world, a temporary world. This world is not real! At the end, death will face me. I know it; I know that I am not this body, this mind - I am something else. I am the Energy that is inside, I am the Soul, the Divine Power, then why do I live a life of illusion? Why do I get so engrossed in this world, in buying properties and enjoying pleasures, building relationships that will eventually surmount to be nothing,; everything has to be left behind. It seems real today, like the plastic pizza is real in front of my eyes, but I can’t devour it, I can’t eat it, and similarly, I can’t have this world – I can’t because this world is not mine. It is like me checking into a hotel room and thinking that the hotel belongs to me. No, the hotel doesn’t belong to me; the room doesn’t belong to me. I am just a guest and I have to move on eventually. Life too is like that. I know I have to move on. Then why am I living this life of illusion? Should I not wake up? Should I not get on to truly living a life that is real? Should I not realize the truth?

AiR

[gruntal]

At one level this world should not be viewed as an end to itself because it does not exist. At another level everything we experience here is the culmination of everything ever imagined. That it is less then perfect does not invalidate it but merely points out the imperfection of our thoughts and desires.

And what is so wrong with plastic pizzas? Because we ourselves are not plastic but complex beings that can not live on plastic. We need nourishment. But what better way to get it then by making it taste good?

A philosophical argument for years is that the gods created us for their pleasure. Assuming they themselves wanted to experience life but were too timid to actually dirty themselves and play in the mud. A more mature assessment is that there was no better way to test out lofty thoughts and soaring ambitions then to incarnate in the flesh and see if it worked. The stakes were rather high: no less then the death penalty.

But in the beginning that was the only motivation we understood to keep us from giving up ....