Is Reality an Illusion? The Scientific Perspective

The material world seems so solid when we perceive it through the senses, but is it possible that it is little more than a dream?

Einstein once said that, “Reality is an illusion, albeit a persistent one.” Albert Einstein was a great soul who had so much wisdom, even outside of his groundbreaking scientific discoveries.

These days, science seems to be indicating more and more that everything is made of energy. Through smashing electrons and other particles together in huge accelerators, they’ve found that the foundations of the physical world aren’t really physical at all.

The particles that make up reality (e.g. electrons, quarks) don’t have a physical structure or size. In fact, they can be in hundreds of places at once, a phenomenon called “superposition.”

So quantum theory has shown us that reality is far stranger than we ever thought. It seems like the more we find out about physics, the harder it gets to hold on to any sense of physical reality.

We could get into “Schrodinger’s Cat” and the “Copenhagen interpretation,” but perhaps that’s enough science for one day!

Is Reality an Illusion? The Spiritual Perspective

If you think about your memories, your childhood, don’t these seem somehow like the memories of a dream? They’re hazy, incomplete. Of course, we can have specific, detailed memories, but often, our memories have a dreamlike quality.

In India, they call this dreamlike reality, Maya. Maya means the great delusion, and this idea is consistently agreed upon by spiritual teachers.

On the spiritual path, we’re trying to realise the illusory nature of the material world, so that we can reclaim our true self, which in India they call Sat-chit-ananda.

Sat-chit-ananda means, “Being, consciousness, bliss”. Or as Yogananda once called it: “Ever-existing, ever-conscious, ever-new joy.” That is what we truly are.

In Sanskrit, they say that self-realisation (enlightenment) is Smriti. This word means “divine memory”. So, it’s about remembering who we truly are — this is the goal of the spiritual path.

Notice that it is memory; we’re not adding anything to ourselves. We are stripping away the layers of delusion, until only the truth remains.

The Dreamlike Nature of Reality

Our senses have evolved in a specific way, to keep us tuned into a specific vibration, which is largely about perceiving what we need to in order to survive.

So out there, in the great cosmic soup of infinity, we tap into only a tiny percentage of what is truly there, so that the physical organism can survive effectively. But as we move forward through time, perceptions change, our understanding of reality shifts, and consciousness evolves towards truth.

In The Essence of Self-Realization, Yogananda says,

“A man is sleeping and dreams that he is a soldier. He goes into battle, fights , then is fatally wounded. He dreams of his approaching death. Thinking of the dear ones he must leave behind. Suddenly, he wakes up. In joyful relief he cries, ‘Ah! I am not a soldier. And I am not dying. It was only a dream.’ And he laughs to find himself alive and well.’”

But what of the soldier who actually fights in this earth life and there is wounded and killed. Suddenly, he wakes up to find that it was all just a dream. That in that other world, he has no physical body, no flesh to wound, no bones to break. Don’t you see? All the experiences of this world are like that. They are nothing but dream experiences.”

I find some comfort in the fact that this is a kind of dream reality that we are experiencing. It’s a little unsettling, but at the same time, it can give you freedom to enjoy the dream.

Suffering: A Tool for Evolution

Let’s be honest; sometimes, this world isn’t too much fun. It’s hard down here; It feels like we’re down in the trenches sometimes.

The human world is like playing a video game on hard mode, but the reason you play on hard mode is to get stronger, to earn more points.

What does that mean? It means that down here, you’re more quickly evolving. You’re paying back your karmic debts, so that you can make your way towards lasting freedom. It seems that suffering has been chosen as our primary tool for evolving and developing our consciousness towards truth.

Yogananda used to speak of an “anguishing monotony” that we feel when we’re ready for the spiritual path and for liberation from this world. It’s a feeling like you’ve been here before, you’ve done it all before, and it’s become a little tedious. When that’s the case, it is time to find a satguru who can help you find your way home.