Hinduism and The Matrix

The Matrix an action masterpiece created by the Wachowski brothers has produced millions of fans around the world. But does the Matrix trilogy have deeper meanings than just guns technology and computers. This is a take on that thought.

The Matrix philosophy.

There are some interesting connections between The Matrix trilogy and Hindu philosophy. The Matrix has got some aspects that may be considered as example for some of the concepts of Hinduism. Maya, Moksha, the concept of God and the balance of good and bad can all be understood through its well-known plot.

For the uninitiated, The Matrix is about a computer hacker (Neo) who is given the knowledge by Morpheus (A Guru or Acharya perhaps ?) that the world he was living in is not real, and just a simulation created by machines of the future. He also comes to know that machines have enslaved humanity and are now harvesting and breeding them just as a power source. He comes to know of the escaped rebel group who are fighting war against these machines and races to save the city of the real world (Zion), created by others like him, from the machines.

Let's start from the beginning . Neo, a computer hacker, is wondering about what The Matrix is, after he hears about it in a chat room. It haunts him for a long time, until he meets Trinity, aide of Morpheus, who tells him how to find out. Neo asks her, "What is the Matrix?", to which Trinity replies, "Twelve years ago I met [Morpheus], a great man, who said that no one could be told the answer to that question. That they had to see it, to believe it." Morpheus here forms what can be said as a guru or teacher, a realized one who leads his followers to truth. He tells Neo exactly what Ramakrishna Paramahamsa said to Swami Vivekananda's question, "What is God?" Hinduism says that God cannot be explained and that truth can only be experienced.

Later in the movie, Morpheus shows and explains to Neo about the Matrix, the world from which he was living in before he got to the real world. Neo asks, "This isn't real?" To which Morpheus replies, "What is real? How do you define real? If you're talking about your senses, what you feel, taste, smell, or see, then all you're talking about are electrical signals interpreted by your brain." In Hinduism, this concept of the "Matrix" is called Maya. It is said that the world we live in is just an illusion, created by our minds. Our senses, feelings and emotions are just illusions we trick ourselves into believing in. In explaining Maya, Sri Adi Sankara 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.

The Hindu concept of God is the state in which one realizes that the world is just a Matrix, or Maya, and that everything around him is an illusion. This state is called Nirvana, or much more aptly the state of Nirmohatva, which Neo attains in the movie after he realizes what the Matrix is. ( The poem Bhaja Govindam by Sri Adi Sankaracharya goes like this :

" satsangatve nisangatvam ;

Nisangatve nirmohatvam;

Nirmohatve nischalatatvam;

Nischalatatve jeevanmukhti")

Then, in the second movie, the Creator calls Neo "an unbalanced equation". By this he is hinting to what exactly Hinduism puts forward. Good cannot be alone in this world. Without Badness, the aspect of goodness has no meaning. Without Darkness one cannot appreciate light.There has to be a balance of good and evil, of creation and destruction. Among the Hindu Pantheon of Gods, the three main deities or TRINITY are Brahma the creator, Vishnu the Preserver and Shiva the destructor. Creation and preservation does its part in sustaining the world for a time after which destruction is necessary because "Everything that has a beginning has an end."

The Wachowski brothers might not have thought of Hinduism when they created the Matrix trilogy. But taking on the spirit of sanathana Dharma ( the real and imperishable Truth), to fully realize oneself , we must do what Morpheus says "Wake up, Neo, Wake UP."

Arise, Awake and Rest Not Until the Goal is Reached!!

Swami Vivekananda