Background
What is The Matrix ? It is a science fiction movie featuring Keanu
Reeves ("Neo"), Carrie-Anne Moss ("Trinity") and Laurence Fishburne
("Morpheus") released by Warner Brothers in 1999 that explores the
complex relationship between physical human beings and their
perception of reality as controlled by a gigantic computer
programme - "The Matrix". The movie has most of the Hollywood
elements of high drama, action, violence and a cameo love affair
but what is most intriguing -- and most probably overlooked -- is
its striking similarity with the philosophy of Vedanta. There is an
uncanny echo of Sankara's treatment of the Atman, the Self, and
Maya -- the veil that shields the Atman. What is science fiction
today may just become scientific fact tomorrow and this apparent
convergence may just be a harbinger of a more significant
convergence of rational science and the intuitive insight of Indian
philosophy. Hence this analysis.
A modern concept that illustrates Maya / Illusion is the
science-fiction movie "The Matrix". Everything in The Matrix is
believed to be real, until the character Neo wakes up, and sees
that it's just a dream world. The movie points out that one never
knows he is asleep until he wakes up.
1. Atman - the Self : The entire phenomenal world is bound by time,
space and causation and as long as one is confined by these
concepts, the experience is limited. Beyond the realms of time and
space, there is an absolute and unconditional Reality that has no
beginning and no end. That is Atman, the Self. The Self cannot be
experienced by the senses. This Self is both within and outside the
body. Unlike the body it is beyond death and decay. The Self is the
fountainhead of the life force that animates and motivates the
mind-body complex. According to Sankara, this Self is the
all-pervading, self-illumined Consciousness.
2. Brahman - the Supreme Consciousness : Brahman is the ultimate
Truth within and without. Brahman is also all-pervading and
self-illumined Consciousness and the relationship of the Brahman to
the Self is that of the forest to the tree. The entire universe
emanates from Brahman, exists in Brahman and at the time of
dissolution returns into Brahman. Stepping beyond the primitive
monotheism of the Judeo-Christian philosophy/theology, Sankara
asserts that the individual Atman and the universal Brahman are one
and the same and the concept of a creator that is distinct from the
creation is a cosmic illusion.
3. Maya - the Illusion : The phenomenal universe that can be
perceived by the senses is actually an illusion called Maya. This
Maya is what causes human beings to perceive worldly phenomena and
respond to the environment. Vedanta states that Maya shields the
Truth or Brahman from the Self or Atman. The concepts of time and
space that veil the face of Truth are aspects of Maya. Because Maya
veils the Truth, the individual Atman misconstrues both the world
and itself as different from the Truth or Brahman.