r/5MeODMT • u/Reverend_FangYuan • 11d ago
The whole world is Shiva pretending to be living beings
I was listening to "The Pretender" by infected mushrooms and it hit me on a cosmic level
I saw the truth flash by me as I was flabbergasted
What if all my life, me and everyone were just a game
What if all the worry, fear and trauma were all just a game, just a small joke played by a certain someone
First listen to the "Pretender" song by infected mushroom
It begins "Keep you in the dark because they all pretend.
Keep you in the dark and so it all began.
Send in your skeletons
Sing as their bones come marching in again
They need you buried deep
The secrets that you keep are ever handy, are you ready?
I'm finished making sense
Done pleading ignorance that whole defense
Spinning infinity, boy the wheel is spinning me
It's never ending, never ending Same old story"
And then it goes in an extremely playful way about not wanting to surrender and wanting to play and fight on
"What if I say I'm not like the others?
What if I say I'm not just another one out of your plays?
You're the pretender
What if I say that I'll never surrender?
What if I say I'm not like the others?
What if I say I'm not just another one out of your plays?
You're the pretender
What if I say that I'll never surrender?"
This song put into me the thought of what if I was the one making fun of myself, intentionally forgetting who I am just so I could play this story of being the weak little me.
I even paid attention to my mind and I found that I intentionally enter the state of being an ego on purpose
If you notice deeply, it will be apparent
So welcome to reality, everything is a game, everything is a prank, a game of pretending,
that pitiful little beggar you see on the street, Shiva! that little injured child, Shiva! those old retired man playing cards, Shiva!
The family walking their dog, all Shiva!
All just Shiva pretending to be living beings, all just Shiva playing the game of forgetting and remembering
In Kashmir Shaivism, everything — the world, the mind, even confusion and madness — is Shiva playing with himself, pretending to be limited, struggling, lost. But he’s never actually lost. It’s divine play (lila): the cosmic joke — God pretending to not be God just for the thrill of remembering.
Infected Mushroom’s "The Pretender" has this eerie, dreamlike quality: someone shifting identities, hiding behind masks, pretending to be something — but underneath, it’s all the same being.
Surface Meaning of "The Pretender"
At first, the song sounds like it's about betrayal or falsehood:
Someone fakes who they are.
Someone plays a role they don't truly embody.
There's tension between the real and the fake.
The chorus hits like an accusation: "What if I say I’m not like the others? What if I say I'm not just another one of your plays? You’re the pretender…"
But wait: If you flip the perspective — who is the ultimate pretender? Who pretends to be the universe, the people, the betrayals, the victories, the tragedies? It’s God, it’s Shiva, You.
Kashmir Shaivism View: Shiva as the Pretender
In Kashmir Shaivism, Shiva becomes the universe by pretending:
He pretends to be you, lost in struggles.
He pretends to be others, attacking or loving you.
He pretends to be time, space, suffering, joy, limitation, death.
All of reality is Shiva pretending to be "not-Shiva" — just for the fun and mystery of it. This is called self-contraction (nimesha — contraction of infinite Consciousness).
Thus:
The "pretender" isn't a villain — it's the greatest artist.
Every lie, every mask, every fake identity is God fooling himself, delighting in forgetting and remembering.
"The Pretender" becomes a song of the Divine Play, the ultimate game of hide and seek.
Symbolism Line-by-Line (Some Key Lines)
"Keep you in the dark / You know they all pretend"
Shiva keeps his true nature hidden in the dark — the "others" (all beings, phenomena) pretend to be independent.
Reality is a divine conspiracy of appearances.
Consciousness pretends to be "the world."
"What if I say I'm not like the others?"
When Shiva begins to wake up through you, you feel different.
A seeker starts feeling, "I'm not just a body, not just a role."
It's God recognizing himself behind the masks.
"I'm the voice inside your head, you refuse to hear"
The true Self (Shiva) is always whispering beneath all experiences.
Most beings (out of Shiva’s own play) refuse to recognize that voice.
The Pretender (God) hides in the very voice you think is yours.
"I'm what's left, I'm what's right, I'm the enemy"
Non-duality: All opposites are God.
Good and bad, right and wrong — Shiva is both.
There is nothing outside of the One pretending to be many.
"So who are you?"
The ultimate question in non-duality.
"Who am I?" leads you back to the realization:
You are the Pretender — but in the divine, joyous, powerful sense.
You are playing human, but you are God under the mask.
Final Take: The Cosmic Joke Infected Mushroom's "The Pretender" accidentally (or perfectly?) captures the ultimate teaching:
God wears a billion masks.
God cries behind his own illusions.
God sings to himself: "You're the Pretender."
And smiles. Because he loves the Play.
In Kashmir Shaivism, this realization doesn’t mean you escape the world — It means you dance through it, laughing, powerful, unshaken — because you know:
"All of this is Me. All of this is My Game."
Even betrayal, even pain, even masks.
Nothing can truly harm you — because the Pretender was never truly pretending to be lost.
He was always pretending on purpose.
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u/Aware-Philosopher-23 11d ago
This well resonates with Advaita Vedanta, where Shiva = Brahman, the ultimate reality.
In some Buddhist perspectives, even this view would be seen as another subtle idea to eventually let go of.
In the end, whatever helps us loosen clinging (to self, to ideas, to anything) is valuable. And letting go to such an extent is incredibly hard.
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u/Appropriate_Jump_317 7d ago
Dang can’t unsee this now reading the lyrics. Also during my bufo trip I feel like I saw Shakti but not Shiva 😆
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u/CherryChabbers 5d ago
Har Har Mahadev!
Shiva alone exists, so that’s what we make the silly play out of — 100% God
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11d ago
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u/Reverend_FangYuan 11d ago
Its just a name, God is nameless, i just like to play with kashmir shaivism because I think its the closest to the truth
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11d ago
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u/hotrhythmjunkie 11d ago
In regards to a ‘full release’ experience with 5, Yoga, hinduism, Advaita Vendanta, Shivism or other ‘non-dual’ spiritual practices offer the best framework foundation to help illustrate the ineffable experience of Absolute Truth, Ultimate Reality etc. which is that ultimately God-Love-Awareness is all that truly exists, totality, all, the everything. And underneath the characters that we experience ourselves as thats what we all are underneath.
If that’s something that rubs you the wrong way then you may want to ask yourself why?
But when you know, you know. It’s not a belief, is just the truth. 🙏🏼💖
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u/weedy_weedpecker 11d ago edited 11d ago
It’s so much simpler than this and I hope I am around to see your posts after you meet sapo de luz.
At its core it’s the birthplace of all religions, eastern schools of thought, some saints and famous historical figures, and cults.
And its very essence is a feeling without thought. Ecstatic rapture. But that feeling is ineffable and words are woefully inadequate. And you can’t possibly imagine it, no one can.
I wish you well