»Hinduism in the Matrix«

Any opinions of Hindu philosophy in the Matrix? Are any of you Hindus?

Well, AG, I can give you some opinions, but they're not my own, they're from Taking the Red Pill. If you want them, just ask, and I'll do my best!

Ya, what does it say in Taking the Red Pill. Im curious

I'll do the reading on it tonight, and report to you tomorrow, ASAP! (I'm not a Hindu, so cut me some slack, it might take a while to learn about a whole new religion, but I'll try! )

I don’t label myself belonging to just one particular belief system. I respect and love them all and one can get help from all of them. I have noticed a lot more of Hinduism in the trilogy than meets the eye. Here are some things, in my opinion, have a Hindu slant.

1. Matrix as Maya is very Hindu concept and predates Buddhist or any other re-interpretation/re-renderting of that idea.

2. Different versions of matrix are like Yuga concept. The cyclic theory of creation, sustenance with savior’s interventions and destruction parallels Hindu metaphysics

3. Multiple ones, are like multiple avatars and they interact and co-operate with the current One just as in Hindu Purana stories.

4. Mr. Smith, the Ego (with me, me and more me attitude) is the part and parcel of the One. This Ego ( and not some external “Devil”) is the real villain throughout the trilogy. The real spiritual battle is with your own ego. This again is very Vedantic view.

5. The dangerous program like Mero, Trainman are depicted as Danavas, Kinnaras & Pishachas (I might have misspelled this) in Puranic Mythical stories. I have read a lot of them and they very cool and have deep meanings

6. In M3, Neo becomes like Shiva with his eyes closed. The special vision is like that of Shiva, who sees divine (only light) in all creation and is at peace with even deadly beasts (machines) The machine tentacles circling Neo in machine city feels like snakes rolling at ease around Shiva.

7. The equal representation of women in spirituality is seen in Hindu gods and goddesses (Rama and Sita, Shiva and parvati and so on..). In matrix we have Neo and Trinity, Morphius and Niobe, Link and Zee and so on… The theme: Man and woman complimenting each other.

8. The chant from Upanishads in the end, kind of sums up the plot of trilogy.
Asato Ma Sat Gamay->From ignorance to Reality
->Awareness of reality, the main plot of M1
Tmaso ma jotirGamay->From darkness to light source
->Go to the source, key objective in M2
Mrutyomamrutam Gamay->From death to immortality
->End of time (immortality) and the peace is theme of M3

I'm sorry AG, I thought there was Hinduism in Taking the Red Pill, but it was Buddhism, Christianity and Greek Mythology.

Thats pretty stupid. Why do they leave out Hinduism. And Gnotisicm in that case.

bEagle, very good observations. I will comment on each one of them.

1. Very Good. Yes, this was originally a Hindu idea but was progressed upon by Buddhism, which is an offshoot of Hinduism.
2. Yes, this is good too. I noticed this as well.
3. Excellent. The various Ones definitely represent the various avatars of Vishnu. They all come to Earth when it becomes too corrupt ect and they bring back the stability and balance on Earth.
4. Yes, I think while the Merovingian represents the Devil or Satan or Evil, Smith represents the greater evil which is more important to overcome- Ego and ignorance. In Eastern religions, these are most important to overcome to reach enlightenment. Other evils or sins are just part of the system or equation. Even though they are a bad part of it. They help keep the balance. Thats why I never expected Neo to have a major confrontation with the Merovingian.
5. Hmm....interesting. Haven't heard about this one. Can you tell me more?
6. Maybe a coincedence. I dont think it has a deeper meaning.
7. Excellent observation. I didn't notice this before. Yes, man and woman complimenting each other is seen alot and is very essential in Hindu philosophy.
8. Yea....my friend told me about the chant at the end of the film. When I read it, it felt very complete and complements the entire trilogy.

Thanks....keep posting.

Akshat Gupta wrote:

Taking the Red Pill

Totally off topic i know but is this a book? where can i get it?

I'd like to know too. Who is the author of "taking the red pill"?

There is no author, and I got the book at Borders, but I live in the US. The book is a compilation of essays written about different aspects of the Matrix (only the first one, but still, it makes sense for the other two) If you want it, go here and order it:

the only direct reference to religous symbolism in the matrix that the wachowski brothers have spoken of is zen bhuddism...

at least in the only interview ive read

i know that

so any other religion or symbolism however obvious,is arguable

Of course its arguable, its interpretive. So is Christianity, Gnosticism and the like. They're not gonna tell us obviously. Yet....

AG, More on item 5 …
I am reading a book called “Vasishta’s Yoga” written by Venkatesananda. This is an English translation of a scripture called “YogVasishta” which was written down roughly around 800BC. It is organized in sections such as “On Creation”, “On Existence”, “On Dissolution” and “On Liberation” and has a lot of little stories and sub plots. One of the story is called “The Sage from outer space” in which there is reference (verse VI 2:97) to these various forms rouge aspects consciousness (rouge programs). Will mention some of the type of consciousness for whom I find parallels in the movie.
Kinnaras: Lust for wealth and power like Mero.
Gandharvas: Beautiful and talented, but consumed by vanity and cursed with bad relationships like Persep.
Pichachas: Strong, deadly but always work for the bad guy to harass the weak, like Trainman
Nagas: Inert and unintelligent, like the doped out crowd in Mero’s club

In view of this, one can look at these rouge programs as our own vices. The lust for wealth and power, vanity, inertia etc. The keymaker is the resources (Mero puts it as “just a means to an end“) Resources such as money, tools and most importantly the time. Our vices lock up the keymaker (our time). Neo, the pure part us, has to hijack keymaker and put it to the right use. The right use is for spiritual pursuits to reach to that hidden level which opens him to the source of all life and creation. But as one grow in virtues, so does one's ego (Mr. Smith) and hence the final battle is for the dissolution of one’s own ego. There is no liberation without that. This is a recurring theme in this book also.

Something on “Zen” of Buddhism:
Zen is western pronunciation of the Chinese word “Chan”, which is Chinese pronunciation of Sanskrit word “Dhyan” which means to meditate. Zion also comes very close that pronunciation. Zion, in my opinion, is a metaphor for the realm of mediation, where you step away from the illusive reality (matrix) and dive deep into underground city of true reality.

Excellent analysis on the book, bEagle. Thanks a lot. Are you a Hindu by the way?

Perhaps. Wouldn’t like to put a label on it. I love the Vedantic insights. Sat (Truth), Chit (Existence) and Ananda (Love and Joy) are beyond any measures of name and form. “Pyar Ko Pyar Rahna Do. Use Nam Na Do” Hope my Hindi is legible. Wish you well, dude.

Yes, it is legible. Thanks.

I liked reading this topic very much, but I have one question: What is Gnosticism? If someone could just give a little explanation.
By the way we have been talking about hinduisme in the topic called "Free your mind" and it would be great with some more comentaries to that...

matrix site
philosophy section
article called "wake up! gnosticism and buddhism in the matrix"
see what you think

I also have a gnosticism section on my website, but it kinda sucks - my interpretation of the first movie is really bad. But the links are quite good.

Gnosticism is a religion where they believe that the Devil, not God, made the world to enslave human kind.

Not exactly. The devil is different from the demiurge.

The demiurge (or Yaldabaoth, or Samael as he is sometimes called) has demons which he created to do his bidding. Satan is one that rebels against him. Satan is a demon who rebels against all higher powers wheras The Demiurge is the (false?) God of the Old Testament who (in Genesis) wants to deprive humans of knowledge.

I see. Interesting. Thanks. Back to Hinduism. Any other comments?

AG, Few more observations…

There is reference to re-incarnation, another Hindu (later also Buddhist, and even early Christian) concept. In M1, when Neo meets oracle for the first time, she tells him “You have the gift, but you are waiting for something. Maybe Next life. This is how these things go.”

The names of agents such as Smith (and Jones) are chosen, in my opinion, to imply ordinary and ubiquitous nature of ego which is personified in Mr. Smith. This too is in sync with Hindu/Buddhist values.

there is another book about matrix philosophy, that does include hinduisim in it, (im a hindu too AG) its called the matrix and philosophy, welcome to the desert of the real. there is no real writer, but its edited by william irwin, and published by open court. it comes in volumes 1-3 but three is da best.

Nice. Thanks. I'll see if I can get my hands on it.