Asathoma Sathgamaya, Thamasoma Jyothirgamaya, Mrityorma Amruthangamaya, are the verses that resonate in one’s head when the movie The Matrix comes to mind. Actor Keanu Reeves, the protagonist of the film, said that The Matrix was a documentary. In fact, this seems so, as the movie itself revolves around the concept of Maya and how to overcome it. It involved the concept of The One/The Christ/Ram/Krishna, any you want to put in, frees people from bondage.
The basic philosophy of The Upanishads is that one has to realise their own divinity and immortality in order to break free from the Maya, the worldly limitations imposed on humanity through the tool of ignorance. Just like the common man, the protagonist of this movie lives in his social confinements while maintaining a secret identity as Neo, an Ethical Hacker, tries to decode the secrets that run the society, but lacks courage to decipher them.
Neo, in the beginning, struggles to fight the Agents Just as Arjuna lacked courage to confront the entire Kuru army filled with his kins, after realising his true potential, through Krishna, (Morpheus), realises that he’s the one. The Upanishads convey that The world we see is but a perception interpreted by our brain according to the electrical impulses which Morpheus discusses with Neo. In other words, what is real is only perceived by senses, and the very limitations we see are nothing but illusionary perceptions and can be defeated by realising the true potential within.
-Viswanath Venkat Dasari
