In a discussion today with my relatives, the idea of a devotional metaverse came up. The idea is that in the near future, devotees may no longer need to meet physically at all. They just have to log in to the metaverse and meet each other in their virtual devotional meeting spaces. What's a metaverse? It's a 3D version of a social network, where people can meet and interact with each other using digital projections of their real selves.
The talks that we're having on Zoom right now will soon be replaced by 3D metaverse talks. The speakers will be situated in their respective homes on their computer chairs, and using an augmented reality headset, they will project their digital selves into the metaverse. These digital projections of devotees will be wearing virtual devotional clothing. Similarly, the audience too will project their digital selves and meet the speakers and hear from them. The temples will be built on virtual property spaces purchased in the metaverse using digital currency.
For me, the idea was certainly very interesting to hear, but I said that it is not really needed. Why not just make Krishna and the vrajavāsīs as virtual characters in the metaverse and interact directly with them? Why go through the headaches of executing sādhana-bhakti in the metaverse? Just create a Goloka metaverse, login through your siddha (perfected vrajavāsī) identities and interact directly with Krishna. Problem solved!
Or maybe not. I've been saying it often that digital projections of oneself, either on Zoom or in any so called metaverse, are in no way replacements of the actual person in flesh. Goloka cannot be replicated in a metaverse, simply because the flow of rasa that occurs between real individuals in the real world cannot be experienced by digital characters in a metaverse. A digital character does not have previous births or saṁskāras, and hence cannot experience struggles in sādhana-bhakti (unless such struggles are artificially programmed in it).
Moreover, the previous ācāryas have already said clearly that service to Krishna is of two types — (1) ceṣṭā-rūpa — which requires the movements of physical limbs of the body ; (2) bhāva-rūpa — which doesn't require the movements of the physical limbs of the body. Platforms such as Zoom and metaverse severely trivialize the ceṣṭā (physical movement) aspect of Krishna-bhakti. We falsely think that we are executing the same devotional service, when in fact our ceṣṭā-rūpa bhakti has been heavily reduced.
Instead, we should simply have a look at the example set by the ideal sādhaka devotees in the Śrīmad-bhāgavatam, such as Mahārāja Ambarīṣa:
tad-bhṛtya-gātra-sparśe 'ṅga-saṅgamam — "Mahārāja Ambarīṣa engaged his sense of touch in touching the bodies of the devotees." (Śrīmad-bhāgavatam 9.4.18 - 20)
pādau hareḥ kṣetra-padānusarpaṇe — "He used his feet in physically walking to the various abodes of Hari." (Śrīmad-bhāgavatam 9.4.18 - 20)
Platforms such as Zoom and metaverse have severely trivialized these ceṣṭā aspects of bhakti, and many individuals do not even realize it. Srila Prabhupada would be very unhappy if there would be no prasādam after a program, but nowadays many of us consider a Zoom class devoid of prasādam to be a complete act of bhakti. A devotee cannot even feed prasādam to another devotee using these platforms, and if feeding prasādam, nourishing the body and relishing bhojana-rasas (mellows of food) is not possible on these platforms, what hopes do we have of relishing bhakti-rasa on these platforms?
Tis a very simple thing to understand — one cannot expect one's physical body to remain fit simply by going to a gym in the metaverse. Similarly, one should never expect the fulfillment of one's devotional life while simply sitting on a chair and neglecting physical acts of bhakti. Genuine bhakti requires genuine ceṣṭā (physical activity), and visiting virtual temples while one's muscles are getting atrophied in the chair is certainly not the way of advancement for a serious sādhaka. The injuction in śāstra is — hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣīkeśa-sevanam — "Serve the Lord of the senses through all the physical senses". Let us not reduce it to — vivartena vivarta-sevanam — "Serving a digital illusion through illusory digital senses".
Platforms such as Zoom and metaverse are based on vivarta (an illusory projection of the true self). Interactions on such platforms may lead to some bhakti-ābhāsa (semblance of bhakti) and therefore may have some limited utility, but unless we follow the examples set by the previous devotees, there is no possibility of gaining a real taste in one's bhajana. __/\ò__
