Religious Themes in Film

Lesson 4: The Matrix II: Zion, Trinity, and Christ

Hindus and Babylonians: More Names

Sati

Sati, in the movie, is the sweet young girl who is a computer program for sunrises. In Hindu, Sati means “chaste wife” and it refers to the cultural practice of burning widows so that they may follow their husbands into the next life. Ideally, the widow is supposed to willingly throw herself on her husband’s funeral pyre. Clearly, not all widows have agreed to the practice and sometimes the widow is burned by others. The practice is illegal now, though still practiced in parts of India. (In Bombay and in Maharashtra, “accidental deaths” still account for nearly 20% of the women’s deaths).

Sati comes from the name of the wife of Siva who committed suicide when her father insulted her husband.

Perhaps, then, the filmmakers were referring to the Buddhist concept of Sati (or smrti) which means “mindfulness.” Right mindfulness (samma-sati) is a spoke in the Eightfold Path to enlightenment. It would be difficult to elucidate its meaning in a few words (or without years of meditative discipline) but basically it means to react mindfully to things without involving your ego, in terms of likes and dislikes, passions and prejudices.

This concept is closer to the character of Sati then the Hindu idea, we hope. The Buddhist concept is closer to the characters’ non-judgmental curiosity about people and things.

Ramacandra

Rama is one of Visnu, one of the three major Hindu Gods. He is also the hero of the Ramayana, one of two great epic stories in Hindu (and considered to be sacred scripture.) The Matrix Ramacandra is much different from the Hindu Rama because the Hindu Rama is a great warrior and king who battles his way to save his wife, Sita.

The connection, however, is that both the hero of the Ramayana and Ramacandra in the Matrix are the perfect family men. One who is willing to sacrifice everything – his kingdom and his life – for the love of his family. While in the Ramayana, Rama must save his wife, in the movie Rama’s actions serve to save his child, Sati.

Merovingian

The Merovingians in history refer to a royal dynasty that ruled Gaul and Germany from 476 AD to 751 AD, established by Clovis.

Both at the time of their rule and in today’s new age mythology, however, the Merovingians are more than just an old kingship. Some believe the Merovingians had magical powers and divine origins. Some have them as the ancestors of Christ. Other think their family blood lines go further back – to the Fallen Angels or to the angels that we have already met in Genesis 6. Others say the Merovingians are the race of higher intellect from Atlantis and other lost worlds that have given us art and mathematics.

Whatever they are, the Merovingians definitely deserve their own course.

  1  2  3  4