The illusion means a false idea or belief. So how can life be an illusion? Most of the Hindu Scripture says, human life is a dream state. So, if life is a dream, then what is the reality? To know the answer, let's look at life from a biological point of view.

Before anyone takes birth as a human being, one can be identified as an atom. It is a group of atoms that takes the shape of a body, which contains the five senses. After birth with the information one collects through the senses, one then creates thoughts and belief systems in the self. Then he misidentifies, self-thinking he is what his thought and belief make him think of. So as the thought and belief system changes, the identity of representation also changes. So what keeps changing all the time can't be real.

Basically what one has collected throughout life through experience or any other way takes the shape of thoughts and belief systems. As a result, one thinks he is so and so based on the things one has experienced.

Hence, the definition of life as one perceives to be is all illusion and nothing more. In fact, the truth is, we are all energy in the form of atoms. As per the quality of energy present in any atom, it can store information.

Based on the information stored in the atoms one misidentifies, self-thinking one is only the information. But in fact, we all are only energy, and that's the true identity of any human being.

Taking birth is only the expansion of energy from one body to another. But after taking birth, one is taught what is right and what is wrong. One is given an identity, such as a name, religion to follow, culture to practice. So there are things ready for the one before taking birth what to do in life.

With all the things one goes through in life, one fails to realise that one is only an energy. Every other thing in life makes one misunderstand the self. Instead of energy, one thinks one is different. So because of this misunderstanding of the self, one suffers and feels life as pain.

If someone keeps feeling pain and suffering in his or her memory, then the energy in the self will only intensify that feeling.

Therefore we should not give priority to pain and suffering in our memories so that they don't expand further.

Self-being is, thus, only an energy one should be careful in selecting the kind of memory one wants the self to energise.

Whatever memory we give our awareness is what energises the self. Therefore, the objective of being born is only to witness the world, not to engage in issues of the world that diminishes our true identity.

A version of this article appears in the print on June 29, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.