Hindu Beliefs and Practices
At the heart of Hinduism is the monotheistic principle of Brahman,
that all reality is a unity; the entire universe is one divine
entity. Deity is simultaneously visualized as a triad:
Brahma the Creator who is continuing to create new realities
Vishnu, the Preserver, who preservers these new creations. Whenever
dharma (eternal order, righteousness, religion, law and duty) is
threatened, Vishnu travels from heaven to earth in one of ten
incarnations.
Shiva, the Destroyer, is at times compassionate, erotic and
destructive.
This page gives a somewhat opinionated view on Hinduism in a the
Matrix Trilogy. I found this information while searching around in
forums for information on the Matrix. While, it may be an argument
to illustrates the authors belief that Matrix Revolutions has many
Hinduism elements, the information it presents is very accurate and
suprising it is one of the best accounts of hinduism in the Trilogy
that I have been able to find as of yet. If you want to learn more
about Hinduism so that you can understand the information better,
click here.
Now, Hinduism in the Matrix:
When Sati raises the sun, it symbolizes a new era or epoch. That's
what Hinduism is divided into, epochs. The cycle is broken, but a
new epoch exists. One in which man and machine are at peace.
However, when Sati asks the Oracle if we'll see Neo again, she says
"Maybe". You know why? Because Neo is DEAD. His code/spirit along
with Smith's reloads the Matrix at the end. But he can be
reincarnated if he is needed. Revolutions is about hindu
philosophy. Reloaded was buddhist. By the way, while it isn't a
matrix within a matrix, the IDEA of it is the same. In this one the
idea is blink of vishnu, which is pretty much what matrix within a
matrix is. However, it's not so blatant. Remember, Neo's powers
EXTEND BEYOND the Matrix. Why is that? It's logically explained in
the movie, but think of this: if we define reality by what we can
and cannot do, and suddenly the powers that Neo has in the Matrix
(due to it not being real) have transcended the Matrix, what does
that imply about the real world? What does that imply about the
very nature of reality? Answer: Reality is a matter of perception.
the Matrix can be just as real as the real world. The real world
may not even be that real anyway. In the Blink of Vishnu, Lord
Vishnu dreams of a thousand universes that are created and
destroyed within the blink of an eye. He wants to be close to man,
but man rejects him and chooses suffering instead. But he comes
down to earth in various incarnations to teach man how to become
closer to God. Well, Neo meets one of those incarnations right at
the beginning. Rama is an incarnation of Vishnu. He is the first
program to exhibit a "human" emotion: love. He will lead the way
for programs to become closer to humans. In the Matrix trilogy
there is no real divine intervention (at least not blatant). Humans
are considered as gods to the machines and programs, while programs
and machines are equated to what we are right now. By the way, Neo
is also representative of Vishnu. And Smith is representative of
Shiva. Especially in the Superbrawl. It's a battle between Hindu
gods, that's why the song is in Sanskrit (taken directly from the
Upanishads, hindu texts). Vishnu is the protector of the world
(like Neo is the protector of the Matrix), while Shiva is the
destroyer of the world (like Smith is the destroyer of the Matrix).
Many complain about the lack of ideas in Revolutions, but that's
not true at all. remember, Reloaded and Revolutions were filmed at
the same time. For a reason: they were meant to be a dialogue
between Buddhism and Hinduism. In Buddhism, there is no end. It's
all about cycles. That's the ultimate destiny of the One, which is
proposed in Reloaded. No free will, you can't exert any change. You
just follow the cycle of life. Neo rejects this destiny. In
Revolutions, it's Hinduism, where he exerts his free will, there is
nobody controlling his actions. Everything that has a beginning has
an end. Even Neo, because he is an incarnation of Vishnu as well.
And he accepts this (his own mortality) to destroy Smith. By the
way, another reason to believe Neo is Vishnu and Smith is Shiva
especially in the Superbrawl is because shiva is a part of Vishnu,
just like Smith is a part of Neo. By the way, it's not that Neo is
only Vishnu. He's also Buddha and Christ that's why you see him
form a cross at the end. But he's nowhere near only Christ. IMHO,
the Matrix trilogy owes more to eastern philosophy than
Western.
