"There is no spoon"

A young child, bending spoons, spoke to Neo: "Do not try to bend the spoon—that's impossible. Instead, only try to realize the truth."

Neo asked him, "What truth?"

The child answered, "That there is no spoon."

Neo meditated on this. "There is no spoon."

The child continued: "Then you will see that it is not the spoon that bends—it is only yourself."

And Neo was enlightened.

There are times when I prefer to veg out in front of the TV despite knowing the fact that it's an ill wind that blows no one any good. But half the Fun in doing so lies in the fact of following on great master pieces. "MATRIX" is one such Masterpiece. And guys I must tell you that all I ever needed to learn in my life is all exhibited by the movie "The Matrix" (part 1 to be more precise).

Initially I thought of it as any other action packed thriller incorporating all cool special effects and stuff like that. But I was really amazed by the very astuteness and the cognition depicted by this movie. To be honest earlier I was little confused by it all. I must have seen Matrix umpteen times and every time I watch the movie I chance upon on some new matter. New constructs that I hadn't seen before appeared with each viewing. New thoughts. New perspectives. New paradigms. Suddenly, it wasn't an action movie anymore. It depicted about almost everything - the Life, the Freedom, the Thoughts, the Destiny and a lot more. The best part of this movie is that the real movie is not surfaced to you the first time you watch it. It gets clearer with every successive watch. As I watched it with a more sensitive mind I began to actually see the hidden substance, the hidden wisdom.

The citation "There is no spoon." holds in itself much more wisdom than anything could ever articulate. After acknowledging the wisdom I just redeemed myself. I could cognize with the very powers I bear. All experiences we get, all the success in life, the failure, the happiness the sadness, the conventional thinking, the unlawful views everything, is effected / starts with that twelve-pound mass sitting pretty between our shoulders. The implication referred out here is to our Thoughts that we put into our mind every second of every minute of every day. By controlling the thoughts that we think and the way we respond to the events of our life, we begin to control our destiny. The thoughts form our world and the quality of one's life comes down to the richness of one's thoughts.

I guess you don’t sound sold. Well that’s the ultimate truth that life always wanted to convey. Robin Sharma the author of "The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari", which is told like a fable, presents the following paradigm:

"Thoughts are vital, living things, little bundles of energy, if you will. Thoughts are just as much a part of the material world as the lake you swim in or the street you walk on. Weak minds lead to weak actions. A strong, disciplined mind, which anyone can cultivate through daily practice, can achieve miracles. If you want to live life to the fullest, care for your thoughts as you would your most prized possessions."

It’s been beautifully put up in Matrix:

Morpheus: You have the look of a man who accepts what he sees because he is expecting to wake up. Ironically, this is not far from the truth. Do you believe in fate, Neo?

Neo: No.

Morpheus: Why not?

Neo: Because I don't like the idea that I'm not in control of my life.

Morpheus: I know exactly what you mean.

Let me tell you why you're here.

You're here because you know something.

What you know you can't explain, but you feel it; you've felt it your entire life.

That there's something wrong with the world.

You don't know what it is, but it's there....like a splinter in your mind...driving you mad.

It is this feeling that has brought you to me.

Do you know what I'm talking about?

Neo: The Matrix?

Morpheus: Do you want to know what...it...is?

The Matrix is everywhere. It is all around us. Even now...in this very room.

You can see it when you look out your window, or when you turn on your television.

You can feel it when you go to work, when you go to church, when you pay your taxes.

It is the world that has been pulled over your eyes....to blind you from the truth.

Neo: What truth?

Morpheus: That you are a slave, Neo. Like everyone else, you were born into bondage.

Born into a prison that you cannot smell or taste or touch. A prison....for your mind.

That’s what the struggle is, in this materialistic world. It is indeed about Freedom as well. The freedom, to do things your way at your convenience. Not thinking much about what the world might think of you. The immunity from an obligation or duty. The freedom to see the forest beyond the trees, the freedom to choose what is right over what seems pressing. Freedom to take charge of your life.

The fight in Matrix is also about the freedom. To free the lot.

Morpheus: I'm trying to free your mind, Neo, but I can only show you the door.

You're the one that needs to walk through it.

You have to let it all go, Neo. Fear...doubt...disbelief. Free your mind!

This ties in closely with the skeptical idea that the everyday world is illusory. A penny for your thoughts?

It’s not Denial but Relativity

"It's not denial. I'm just selective about the reality I accept."

Rings a bell? Well, the guess is much on the right track. The above is the citation from "Calvin & Hobbes". To umpteen the C&H quotes or citations might be like giving someone a thick ear but guys they are the sharpest knife in the drawer.

So getting back to the quote, the query that concerns is being selective about reality. Well do we really have numerous aspects of reality / truth? Truth is supposed to be unrivaled. It is absolute in nature. The thing I would like to assert out here is that Everything is Relative, admitting the Truth as well.

The theme in reality is that all ideas, and all possible ways of looking at the world are equally true and valid. This is no wishful thinking and it is easy to get one's thinking about such abstract matters tangled up. So you call back on the very existence of Truth. The precise definition of Truth - "A fact that has been verified" does spread light but then again it lays its dependence on the perception of facts, depending on one's point of view.

It appears that the statement is true if things in reality are as the statement says they are put up, otherwise it is all but crap. Many a times things may prove to be relative on the basis of mere observations. What tastes sweet to one person may taste bitter to another. What sounds melodious to me may sound cacophonous to you. And so on. Whether something is "true" or not depends so much on the context, and so much on your needs and goals, that it comes very close to complete relativity. Even if I say "the sky is blue," the perspective of an astronaut might change that. (Well, as you get closer to the "sky," it actually starts to get kind of black)

Don't you think this universe operates in a perfect harmony? It’s awesome to see its mysteries that are happening around us and inside us. Everything is a piece of perfection operating by precise laws. What I want to imply to is one such Laws of nature - "The Law of Relativity". It is not by accident that the Laws of nature exist, and no matter what your belief is regarding whom or what created them. The laws are irrefutable. It’s like the state of being relative; as, the relativity of a subject.

The work of M.C. Escher needs no introduction. We have all learned to appreciate the impossibilities that this master of illusion's artwork presents to the layman's eye. Nevertheless, it may come as a surprise for some, but many of the so-called 'impossible' drawings of M. C. Escher can be realized as actual physical objects. Let me share a wonderful Woodcut which describes Relativity:

"Relativity" is the name of a popular woodcut created by M.C. Escher in 1953. The illustration is centered on three staircases in a triangular arrangement, each one perpendicular to the others in three-dimensional space. Featureless men and women are walking up and down these stairs past each other, but everyone seems to use a different direction for "down" -- so that one's wall is another's floor. One part of the illustration even has two men descending a staircase perpendicular to each other.

This illustration was popular in the 1960s and 1970s because of its psychedelic effect, but it can be seen as having a deeper metaphor -- that of different people living in different world’s side-by-side. One may consider an act good that another right next to him would think of as bad; one may think that progress is in this direction, another that it's over that way instead. But the figures in the woodcut live side by side, going about their activities, cooperating with those who agree with their sense of "up" and allowing those who don't to continue on their own way.

To bring to a close I would leave you with an excerpt:

"If my theory of relativity is proven correct, Germany will claim me as a German and France will declare that I am a citizen of the world. Should my theory prove untrue, France will say that I am a German and Germany will declare that I am a Jew." - Albert Einstein

Confused? Well that’s relativity for you.