Imagine. The world is an illusion. The universe is composed of computer codes... a virtual fantasy force fed to us. The most over-analysed movie since film critics were invented, The Matrix: Reloaded abounds with theological references. Christianity, Buddhism... all streams jostle for space, even as a hefty dose of Greek philosophy is thrown in.
But the very premise on which the movie is based — the illusory world versus the real world — recalls the concept of ‘Maya’ in Hinduism. ‘‘Maya has several levels to it of which illusion is one level. The foundation on which The Matrix is based assumes that ours is a computer-coded world — hence, it is an illusion. In this regard, there is a parallel,’’ says sociologist Ashish Nandy.
The Vedas state that whatever is happening all around is Maya, a dream which Lord Vishnu sees as He sleeps. Maya shields the truth or Brahman from the self or Atman. ‘‘Maya, as a concept, is both fluid and unstable. It exists but, at the same time, it is fictitious,’’ says Imtiaz Ahmed, professor of sociology at JNU.
This explanation is analogous to The Matrix philosophy, which states that we live in an illusory world and only an unplugged/awake world is the real world. In the movie, Neo, Morpheus and Trinity often leave the real world behind and, by computer wizardry, enter the Matrix. But it is not their physical beings, but their mental projections which fight all the battles. This recalls the Vedanta concept of ‘mithya’, the belief that only the Almighty is real.
The Vedantas say that humans live in a world of illusion and, when we comprehend this reality, we realise that man and the Almighty are one. ‘‘Acceptance of the ‘real world’ can be linked to Brahman — the supreme consciousness. Sankara asserts that the individual Atman and the universal Brahman are one and the same and the concept of a creator distinct from the creation is a cosmic illusion,’’ says spiritual guru Sudarshanacharya Maharaj. Moreover, Neo’s realisation that the world is a computer programme is compared to attaining nirvana.
In one scene, a boy bends a spoon by sheer will-power and tells Neo, ‘‘To bend the spoon, you need to realise that there is no spoon. The spoon does not bend, you yourself bend.’’ When Neo realises the truth about illusion, he becomes omnipotent — he is even able to stop bullets! ‘‘Hinduism propounds a similar belief. It talks about ethereal state beyond matter through divine knowledge and in this state he conquers all fear; he experiences eternal peace,’’ says Sudarshanacharya Maharaj. Moreover, as with Arjuna in the Mahabharata, Neo, is caught in a dilemma at the hour of reckoning — of having to choose between saving the world and saving Trinity.
Neo chooses the latter, thus deviating from his ‘duty’ as interpreted by Lord Krishna in the Gita. However, his prior exchange with the Oracle is insightful. ‘‘You already know my choice. How is it a choice then? What if I do not choose?’’ he asks her. ‘‘Even that is making a choice,’’ she tells him. ‘‘Knowledge is the only truth. Knowledge is power — the power to make a choice. And this power helps good in its fight against evil — be it in the Mahabharata or The Matrix,’’ says TKV Subramaniam, dean of social sciences at DU.
Behind the metaphoric blitzkrieg perforating The Matrix: Reloaded is the unwritten word of Indian philosophy, which has influenced man and mankind since time immemorial. Ironically, it has taken the box-office success of a blockbuster movie based on illusion to reload a universal truth — Indian in spirit —once again.
It's one of the biggest movie hits of the decade and has revolutionized the use of technology in film. But James Cameron's 'Avatar' may also be a profound interpretation of one of humanity's oldest scriptures. That's according to writer and director Sudipto Chattopadhyay, who writes in the Passion for Cinema film blog that Cameron's choice of title was deeply thought out from the Hindu perspective.
Despite the film coming under criticism for a weak story line Chattopadhyay instead lauds Cameron's "Avatar" as "a truly post-structuralist, post-modern work of epic proportions both in terms of story telling and redefining how the human eye can perceive a constructed image in motion."
The concept in Avatar is the possibility of out of body travel or body to body travel. There are lot instances of this vedic history or puranas there is no dogma in this because the soul is the occupier of this body and theoretically differnt from the body so there is all possibility of a body to body travel. The one of the recent examples in vedic metaphysics is from the life of Shankaracharya one of the main proponent of modern vedic theology. Once when challenged on his knowledge of amorous love, through the powers of mystic yoga Shankaracharya entered into trance. He left his body and entered the body of a sensuous king named Amaruka. In the body of the king Shankaracharya experienced erotic love and acquired knowledge of all its intricacies. Before the forty days had ended Shankaracharya re-entered his own body and returned to debate with his opponent Bharati and defeated her.
There are many such incidents of astral travel and out of body travel which reinforces the science of soul.