Key Takeaways

  • Ancient eastern philosophies described simulation theory thousands of years before computers existed, using the technological metaphors available in their eras.
  • In Hindu and Buddhist thought, Maya does not simply mean a vague illusion; Virk points out it refers to a carefully crafted, deliberate simulation.
  • The Bhagavad Gita defines the soul (atman) putting on physical bodies the exact same way a player puts on clothes or equips an avatar.
  • Multiple civilizations share a myth of amnesia before birth: Plato described the Greek river of forgetfulness, Chinese tradition points to the goddess Meng Po, and Arabic links insan (human) to nissan (forgetfulness).
  • Treating business challenges as an avatar in a rendered simulation removes the paralyzing fear of failure while preserving tactical focus.

The Ancient Metaphors for Avatars and VR

Silicon Valley treats simulation theory like a modern invention born out of Nick Bostrom papers and graphics processing units. MIT computer scientist and video game entrepreneur Rizwan Virk argues that ancient mystics beat technologists to the punch by thousands of years.

When ancient texts lacked words for pixels or virtual reality headsets, they used the closest material comparisons they had. Virk points directly to Vedic scripture to show how early thinkers modeled the separation between player and character.

“In the Buddhist and Hindu traditions the world is an illusion. It's a type of maya. I mean the word maya literally means illusion but it also means a carefully crafted illusion,” Virk explains. He connects this directly to the mechanics of character selection: “In the Bhagavad Gita it says that the soul which is called the atman actually puts on the body just like the body puts on a set of clothes. So that's believe it or not that's a technological metaphor.”

If the body is simply clothing for the atman, you are not your physical form. You are an operator piloting a rendered character through an interactive environment.

The River of Forgetfulness: Why the Player Forgets the Game

For a game to feel real, the player must forget they are playing. If you sit in a high-end VR simulation and constantly think about the plastic strapped to your forehead, the immersion breaks. Virk notes that world religions independently arrived at this exact mechanism to explain the human condition.

“The Greeks have [Lethe], the river of forgetfulness. Plato describes how the soul incarnates by crossing the river of forgetfulness. The Chinese have [Meng Po], the goddess of forgetfulness,” Virk says. He sees the same psychological lock in Abrahamic traditions: “Even in the Islamic traditions, they say that the word for a human in Arabic is insan. Insan literally means prisoner. You say prisoner of what? There's another Arabic word called Nissan, which means forgetfulness. So you're basically a prisoner of forgetfulness.”

Virk points out that the Quran describes physical existence through an identical lens: “In the Quran it says that this world is a type of enjoyable delusion. Okay. [Mata' al-ghurur] which is Arabic for an enjoyable delusion. Well what does that mean? Well some people translate it as a sport or a game.”

When you view your company through this lens, the stakes shift. Founders freeze when they believe a single mistake ruins their entire existence. Ancient philosophy treated the world as a training simulator where the character takes damage, but the player behind the screen remains completely untouched.

What to Do With This

Take the single hardest decision currently stalling your startup: firing a poor performer, killing an unprofitable feature, or pitching a demanding client. Write the problem on a physical index card, step back, and ask: "If this business is just a quest line in a video game, what move would a top-tier player make right now?" Make that move before Friday.