I am not a big fan of virtual games. However, sometime back, I started playing a mobile game named "Hey Day" and I got quite addicted to the same. The player in the game acts like a farmer and he gets some points, a small virtual farm, and some other things to begin with. Then he harvests crops, cuts the same, and sells that in the market. He gets money for the same and with such money, he can buy more fields, hens, different types of seeds, farmhouses, boats, ships, and so on. Initially, the game looks quite innocuous, however, as we keep playing, we get addicted to the same, to the extent that we do not mind paying real money to get some virtual money. Probably, that's the trap every virtual game has. We get addicted to the rewards after some time and keep playing the game in anticipation of the rewards.
Isn't this society also similar to a virtual game? Society too gives us certain things to begin the game. Some of us are born with a silver spoon and inherit quite a lot of wealth and workplaces, to begin with. While some of us are born in starvation and have to fight for resources. Society sets accumulating more and more wealth and power as the target of human life. As soon as we enter the school, we get busy with the achievement of the targets. We keep crossing different levels of the game and get tempted to have more and more points. We get so addicted to the game that at some point in time, we give away our health as well to get a few points in the social game. Different societies have devised different games. In some societies, the target of the game is to gather more and more money, in some, it is about powers, intelligence, positions, medals, fame, and so many other things.
Some of us play easy games and are happy wasting the rest of our time in laziness. Some of us want to be an expert in the game we play. They want to be achievers in their societies. Some are not satisfied with a game and want to explore multiple games, and they move from one to the other society to explore the games different societies are playing. Some want to learn the coding language of the games so that they can design their own games to make the people dance to their tunes. There are many babas like that who design their own games to play with the minds of the people. There are few, who are interested in the science behind coding and they try to understand human psychology. There are some who are more interested in understanding the mobile sets and their hardware and they undertake the study of human biology. Some are keen to understand the fundamental forces of nature that make this entire operation possible and they undertake a study of science. However, there are some who want to understand the truth behind all this and they make an effort to understand the programmer, the self.
Like virtual games exist only in the virtual world, all social games exist only in the mental world. We may become resourceful, powerful, or intelligent in the mental world, however, that may be just a creation of the mental game, our society plays. When we switch over to another game, such accumulations may not carry any value. For example, somebody born in certain communities of India may have placed a lot of value on vegetarianism, since that is a very sought-after virtue in the game his society is playing, while in another society, it may not carry the same value. That is why, when we switch over from one social game to the other, we find it quite challenging to play. The value of some of our dearest possessions suddenly becomes nil.
Most of us are so obsessed with the game, that we spend our entire life playing one game and accumulating the points to realize on the deathbed that we have made a fool of ourselves. Some get so addicted to the game that they spoil even their health to earn some extra points in the game. The designer of the game keeps playing with our minds to make the game more and more attractive and addictive. After crossing a particular level of the game, there are different challenges and rewards. Crossing every level of the game gives us a certain dose of dopamine that makes us engaged in the next level. Level after level, we keep making efforts to cross the level. First class in school, to a good college, to good placement, to a decent spouse, to kids, to their school, to promotion, increments, flat, property, and so on. We keep crossing different levels in the social game and remain as dissatisfied as we were at the beginning of the game.
Probably crossing different levels in the game that society plays with us, and earning points in that game in the form of money, positions, power, and properties can never make us happy because all these things exist in the mental world. We have become addicted to these games. The moment we get over the addiction to any virtual game, we connect to reality and realize that having whatever points or having crossed whatever level in that game has no impact on our well-being. Similarly, the moment we get over the addiction to the mental game society plays with us, we realize the futility of all money, power, and everything that society has given great value to. We start examining our true nature, the nature of the player of the game. We realize that this player does not need any points in any mental game to be happy. Happiness is the basic nature of the player. He plays different games, explores the body, and tries to understand the language of coding and the forces of nature, just for fun. In that state of completion, he explores everything around him, not to seek something but just to play for the fun of playing. That helps him connect to everything around him and live with love and compassion. He does not search for a specific meaning in life, rather he finds meaning in everything around him.
Comments