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6/12/08

THE MATRIX AND THE GITA?? WHAT DO THEY HAVE IN COMMON?


IS THERE A NEO IN THIS WORLD OF OURS WHO IS THE ONE, THE ONE WHO HAS THE KEY TO THIS MATRIX. THE WACHOWSKI BROTHERS, CREATORS OF THE MATRIX, CREATED A MODERN EPIC PACKAGING THOUSANDS OF YEARS OLD HINDU MYTHOLOGY, “THE GEETA”, TALKS ABOUT THE ROLES WE PLAY IN OUR LIVES AND BEYOND OUR LIVES which FORMS THE BASIS FOR OUR EXISTENCE IN THIS WORLD.


"To bend the spoon, you need to realize that there is no spoon. The spoon does not bend, you yourself bend."The above line is from the first movie, at the house of the Oracle.


The statement that the little boy makes, helps Neo realize that the spoon is an illusion, and the bending of the spoon is a deceptive trick!In the first movie Morpheus tells Neo:
"What if you were to wake up from a dream which was soreal that you found it difficult to differentiatebetween the dream world, and the real world?"

This is exactly what the world in which the people live, called Maya is. it is a dream world. Maya is deceit, exists at many levels, and at one level it exists as an illusion. It is neither the truth, nor the reality, it is but a dream, from which one hasn't woken up yet. This world that we live in is considered to be a dream that Lord Vishnu (one of the gods in the Hindu trinity, also the preserver) sees while sleeping. Maya is what shields us from knowing the Supreme Consciousness or Bhraman.Maya deceives the atman (the inner soul or self) from seeing the truth, the "real" world, also described as Zion in the movie.

The "independent" people in Zion i.e. Morpheus, Trinity, Neo, etc. plug into the Matrix (Maya, computer programme), and out of the Matrix, going back and forth into the real world and that of illusion. In explaining Maya, Sankara (ancient guy) very often refers to the example of the rope and the snake. As long as one mistakes a rope for a snake, he is frightened and reacts to the rope as if it were a real snake. When he realizes that what he sees is only a rope he laughs.


Similarly, as long as one is engrossed in the ignorance of relative consciousness, the world is indeed quite "real". But when true knowledge dawns, one becomes aware that the world is an illusion.Morpheus, after logging into the Matrix with Neo for the first time, says:
Your appearance now is what we call residual self image.It is the mental projection...of your digital self.

The above lines I believe directly refer to what is called Mithya, or imagination. This makes Neo realize that all that he sees is false, and only the Almighty is true.There is another interesting dialogue, between the architect of the Matrix and Neo, where he tells Neo, that five "The One's" came before him, but they failed. Implying that he is the sixth one, also might mean that he is the sixth re-incarnation of Lord Vishnu. In Matrix Revolutions, Sati fits in to be the seventh re-incarnation of Lord Vishnu. The name Sati comes from the woman who lures (if that's an appropriate term to use), Lord Shiva, into the family ways of life. Before her, he used to roam in the wilderness. Sati means love and sacrifice.That dialogue could also turn out to have something to do with the Yugas. In Hinduism it is believed, that the Maya is bound by space, time, and causality. The Yuga we currently live in, also depicted in the Matrix, is Kaliyuga. The seventh Yuga is that of the Satyuga. The Yuga of Truthfulness and Harmony, probably what Neo achieved, by ending the war, saving Zion (real world).


Also in the beginning of the first movie, Morpheus explains to Neo what the matrix is, or at least tries to.
He says: "The Matrix is everywhere. It's all around us, even in thisvery room. You can see it when you look out your window orwhen you turn on your television. You can feel it when yougo to work, when you go to work, when you pay your taxes.The Matrix is the world that has been pulled over your eyes,to blind you from the truth."


In my opinion he is explaining the extent of Maya / Matrix. Lord Vishnu, of whose dream is the Maya / Matrix, has no bounds and exists everywhere. Vishnu in Hindi expands to, "Vishva Ke Har Anu Mein". It means, "In all the world's atoms, I exist".The striking similarity between the Matrix and the Gita struck me in the Rescue mission of the first movie. The idea is that Gita is what Lord Krishna is telling Arjuna to do, who is reluctant to battle his own family in the epic Mahabharata. At this point of time, Lord Krishna tells Arjuna, he must do his dharma (duty). He tells him that he has already slain all of them. So it is only right that he performs his duty, as the soul can neither conquer, nor be defeated, the Atman (soul) is the higher self not bound by space, time or casuality.The philosophy is to do your dharma. For the warrior it is to battle, for the victim it is to die. Karma-Yuga is what I interpret the Mahabharata to be set in. It is destiny that drives one, which is made by your Karma.Not surprisingly, Matrix Revolutions also touches upon this, very explicitly I might add, as the Indian Rama Kandra, meets Neo at Mobil Ave. (Limbo), and explains why he is taking the train to transport Sati. And then Neo asks if he believes in Karma to which the reply is a subtle explanation of cause and effect.At the end of the trilogy, Neo attains Nirvana, he knows of Brahman - the Supreme Consciousness. He is in what I believe the Golden age of Satyuga.


Phew!


At the end of movie 3, revolutions, you’ll hear some techno music playing, while you can hear the following Slokas in chorus:
"Asatoma Sadgamaya Thamaso Maa Jyothir Gamaya Mrithyor Maa Amrutham Gamaya Om Shanti Shanti Shantihi"

'Lead the world from wrong path to the right path,from ignorance to knowledge,from mortality to immortality and peace'

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