Hinduism and the Matrix

Nirav Patel Dr. Rachelle Smith Science Fiction 28 March 2015 The Matrix and Hinduism asato mā sad gamaya tamaso mā jyotir gamaya mṛtyor mā amṛtaṁ gamaya From ignorance lead me to truth From darkness lead me to light From death lead me to immortality

--Brhadaranyaka Upanisad, 1.3.28

One of the foremost themes of "The Matrix" is to free oneself from the illusion of a false life and fight to regain your true one. In the first film, we find out that the human race has been enslaved by a literal deus ex machina. Through the efforts of a select group of people, Neo, the protagonist of the series, is freed from the clutches of a machine-made illusion made by that entity. This plot event struck me deeply because the process and outcome works very similarly to the idea of moksa, or liberation, one of the main goals for those following various Hindu and Buddhist paths.

In the ending song for The Matrix Revolution, we find lyrics that are directly taken from the Brhadaranyaka Upanisad (1.3.28). The first verse states "from ignorance lead me to truth." Both in the world of The Matrix and Hindusim, the mainstream world is considered ignorance or false (asato). While in the world of The Matrix, the world is actually a virtual reality, in Hinduism, the world is considered apparently real. To easier comprehend this point, imagine a castle made out of sand. The castle apparently looks real, but it is ultimately made out of sand. The material elements are compared to sand which we humans use to make something that looks like something. The actual form of the item is considered an illusion because they can be broken down and built into something else. The sand castle can be broken down and built into a car. In the same way, a material object can be broken down and built into something else, thus the objects are not considered real (Bhaktivedanta 95). Then what can we consider real? The vedic teachings consider the living spirit trapped within the living body as real, or in...