On reality and religion

What is reality? What a question. So deep. I will try to sidestep the attempt to actually answer this by taking one of my favourite definitions for granted and building up from there. The definition is "Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away." by Philip K. Dick.

I've always imagined it as "everything we would discover again if we were to lose all our memories". And since the quote plays with belief, I've always wondered how our most sacred religions would fare in the test.

Would we rediscover that god created the universe in seven days? Would we find out again that the prophet split the moon in half? Hardly. It is almost funny. No - there is no version of the Bible or Quran that would pass this test.

Maybe we would be able to uncover parts of the ten commandments. But I really doubt that the "thou shalt have no other god but me" would be there. But the message of universal love and cooperation will definitely be found again. Not much so burning of witches or stoning of infidels. I also can't imagine the fantastic pantheons of Hinduism or Greek, Roman and Norse mythologies being found after the global memory wipe. Sorry, Ganesh.

What would be found then? There is little doubt in me that the basic tenets of Taoism, Buddhism and Advaita Vedanta would be rediscovered. Yes, the absolute is unspeakable, suffering inevitably comes from attachment and the baseline of reality is non-dual consciousness. Sage acts by non-action. All phenomena are empty of independent existence; reality is the mind's illusion.

It is like rediscovering the laws of gravity and quantum mechanics. These truths are vowed into the fabric of reality and people would find them again and again.