PUBG [Player Unknown’s Battle Grounds], is a shooting game that is trending now. A game, where we have an avatar, and using that avatar we jump into a war field. In the battlefield, many unknown players or teams of players jump with us. We shoot each other/opponent players and the final winner gets “WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER”.
BG [Bhagavad Gita], Spoken by Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead to His intimate disciple Arjuna, Gita’s seven hundred concise verses provide a definitive guide to the science of self-realization. No other philosophical or religious work reveals, in such a lucid and profound way, the nature of consciousness, the self, the universe, and the Supreme.
This article is one of my simple comparisons of PUBG and BG. Kindly forgive me for any offenses in this article.
Player (Soul):
In PUBG, even if he is killed on the battlefield, he is not removed from PUBG. He keeps on entering the same or another battlefield with a different team, different body or dress, etc. The player is not demolished or removed from PUBG because of getting shot in a game.
As the same, even if the person is dead in this material world. The soul is not demolished. He keeps on coming to the same or another material world in a different family, different place, different body, etc. The soul doesn’t get destroyed or removed from the material world because of body death.
nainaṁ chindanti śastrāṇi
nainaṁ dahati pāvakaḥ
na cainaṁ kledayanty āpo
na śoṣayati mārutaḥ
Bhagavad Gita - 2.23
The soul can never be cut to pieces by any weapon, nor burned by fire, nor moistened by water, nor withered by the wind.
War (Reincarnation):
We have played the war game in PUBG, we get into the war play area with our team members, and by default, we will be equipped with weapons and once we get down, we can start our shooting job. We enjoy a special boon in the WAR field, that is, we will be kept reincarnated again and again to the same field even if we are shot dead within the specified wartime.
The same is the design we are living in this material world too. We are born in a family, we get equipped with a specific type of body according to the place we are born [Since we are on earth currently, we have got an earthly body with fire, water, air, ether, earth. Similarly, living beings in the SUN will have fire bodies]. The soul travels from one body to another as we change new garments daily. In PUBG thou we become like a box, after our death, we keep on reincarnating into the field with another body. The same the soul does, it leaves the current body at the time of death and accepts a new body and comes into the world as reincarnation.
vāsāṁsi jīrṇāni yathā vihāya
navāni gṛhṇāti naro ’parāṇi
tathā śarīrāṇi vihāya jīrṇāny
anyāni saṁyāti navāni dehī
Bhagavad Gita - 2.22
As a person puts on new garments, giving up old ones, the soul similarly accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones.
Revive (Good Birth):
In PUBG, Revive is a great concept. Even thou we are shot to death we have good teammates to support and if we have a good situation/place to hide from the enemy for a few moments. At the last minute of our death, our teammates can revive us. We again continue to progress in the game by using health kits, medicare etc.
In the material world, If one person has done pious activity in this birth, takes valuable steps to improve spiritually but unfortunately cannot meet up the highest spiritual goal. He is awarded to give birth in a good family so that he can progress from where he has left the spiritual journey in his previous life.
tatra taṁ buddhi-saṁyogaṁ
labhate paurva-dehikam
yatate ca tato bhūyaḥ
saṁsiddhau kuru-nandana
Bhagavad Gita - 6.43
On taking such a birth, he revives the divine consciousness of his previous life, and he again tries to make further progress to achieve complete success, O son of Kuru.
Spectate (Ghost):
Spectate option will be available to players, who have died. They can spectate the team players if team players are alive in the match, or else spectate opponents if all team players have been shot dead. Here the players are allowed to be in the game even without a body. A few times, the spectator helps the players through vocal directions.
In our material world, if the soul exists without the body, we say such souls as GHOST, AURA, etc. All souls have been given a particular amount of period in this world linked with a particular body. Unfortunately due to some situations, some lose their body and become a ghost until that particular period gets over. Not all soul gets into a ghost state. This ghost tries to communicate with their bodily relations at times through some medium to help them.
Controls (Mind):
In PUBG, we have various types of controls like moving forward, backward, jumping, crouching, walking, running, shooting etc. PUBG also gives options to customize the controls. This option is provided, to make the players feel comfortable handling the situations on the battlefield and control their avatar in the game. If the controls are comfortable to the players, the player can handle any type of situation and do whatever he likes to do with the avatar. But at the same time, if the player doesn’t feel comfortable with controls then the enemy will be comfortable to shoot them.
In this material world, our mind acts as our control. Mind is a great tool. In the programmer’s view, it is an interface between our Input-Output devices (eyes, nose, tongue, ears, skin) and intelligence. Since the mind is an interface, the mind tries to satisfy the senses and controls our intelligence. So we act only according to our sense of enjoyment rather than thinking intelligently at many times. But if the intelligence can take charge and control of the mind. Our life decisions will be on the right track. This is said by Krishna in Bhagavad Gita
bandhur ātmātmanas tasya
yenātmaivātmanā jitaḥ
anātmanas tu śatrutve
vartetātmaiva śatru-vat
Bhagavad Gita - 6.6
For him who has conquered the mind, the mind is the best of friends; but for one who has failed to do so, his mind will remain the greatest enemy.
Skillset (Karma):
As the like skill set in PUBG, we have KARMA [Action] here in our current life. According to the skill set the score is awarded, here according to the karma the material happiness and distress is awarded. Life after life we enjoy and suffer for our karma.
In Karma, we have 3 types.
- Karma - Actions that are performed in terms of one’s prescribed duties, as mentioned in the revealed scriptures.
- Akarma - Actions that free one from the cycle of birth and death.
- Vikarma - Actions that are performed through the misuse of one’s freedom and that direct one to the lower life forms.
Program (Modes):
PUBG is programmed finely so that we jump inside the battlefield and according to the program we can run, jump, loot, hide etc. But we cannot perform any other action apart from the prescribed one. We understand this knowledge only because of the knowledge we have about programmed games.
At same, all people in this material world are acting only based on three modes of material nature i.e,
- Goodness (Sattva)
- Passion (Rajas)
- Ignorance (Tamas)
All persons will have a combination of the above three modes. His character and his actions are decided only based on the highest proportion among the three modes.
sattvaṁ rajas tama iti
guṇāḥ prakṛti-sambhavāḥ
nibadhnanti mahā-bāho
dehe dehinam avyayam
Bhagavad Gita - 14.5
Material nature consists of three modes — goodness, passion and ignorance. When the eternal living entity comes in contact with nature, O mighty-armed Arjuna, he becomes conditioned by these modes.
tatra sattvaṁ nirmalatvāt
prakāśakam anāmayam
sukha-saṅgena badhnāti
jñāna-saṅgena cānagha
Bhagavad Gita - 14.6
O sinless one, the mode of goodness, being purer than the others, is illuminating, and it frees one from all sinful reactions. Those situated in that mode become conditioned by a sense of happiness and knowledge.
rajo rāgātmakaṁ viddhi
tṛṣṇā-saṅga-samudbhavam
tan nibadhnāti kaunteya
karma-saṅgena dehinam
Bhagavad Gita - 14.7
The mode of passion is born of unlimited desires and longings, O son of Kuntī, and because of this, the embodied living entity is bound to material fruitive actions.
tamas tv ajñāna-jaṁ viddhi
mohanaṁ sarva-dehinām
pramādālasya-nidrābhis
tan nibadhnāti bhārata
Bhagavad Gita - 14.8
O son of Bharata, know that the mode of darkness, born of ignorance, is the delusion of all embodied living entities. The results of this mode are madness, indolence and sleep, which bind the conditioned soul.
Weapons (Opportunities/Work):
In PUBG, we roam to various places, and buildings in search of weapons. These weapons are useful for improving our survival or to protect us from our enemies. As same in our real life, we search for opportunities to improve our living standards. We also do our day-to-day work to get some money and survive our life.
AirDrop (Spiritual Knowledge):
AirDrop is a package box, that contains high-tier items at an increased rate, often giving two crate-exclusive weapons amongst other top-tier items. The player can move in the direction of the drop and pick the weapons and upgrade themselves. Many opponents may also wait to trap us. But once you pick up those weapons, you are upgraded and your success factor increases to defeat the opponent easily.
The material world has Spirituality as the AirDrop. It has great weapons inside to progress towards your victory in life. But once you start tasting it, Material Energy or Maya starts testing you more to check whether you are worth for it. But once you stick to it, gets those weapons strong in hand, then sure NO Material energy can stop you in progressing towards your destination for life.
daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī
mama māyā duratyayā
mām eva ye prapadyante
māyām etāṁ taranti te
Bhagavad Gita - 7.14
This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it.
Conclusion:
Finally, to conclude, PUBG is a game to be played in leisure time, not to be played on your valuable productive time. So Knowing our responsibility we can use the game for our relaxation purposes, but we need to be conscious that the game should not waste our valuable time.
yadā saṁharate cāyaṁ
kūrmo ’ṅgānīva sarvaśaḥ
indriyāṇīndriyārthebhyas
tasya prajñā pratiṣṭhitā
Bhagavad Gita - 2.58
One who can withdraw his senses from sense objects, as the tortoise draws its limbs within the shell, is firmly fixed in perfect consciousness.
But spending time with the Bhagavad Gita is always valuable. Converting your leisure time into valuable time is possible by Bhagavad Gita. So kindly choose your work according to the time.
Thank you for spending your valuable time reading this article.
I thank by showing my humble obeisance to my Spiritual Master, Sri Guru, Srila Prabhupada, and Gauranga for showing mercy on me. Without their mercy, for me to get such kind of thoughts above is not possible.