Life of Pi: The Mystical Island

I just watched the movie Life of Pi. In one word, "beautiful"! It is a beautiful picturization of a heart-wrenching, but eventually uplifting story. It is a beautiful work of art that is surprisingly accurate in its portrayal of Indian culture, though it was born out of the work of a Western (French-Canadian) author, Yann Martel, and a Far Eastern (Chinese-Taiwanese) filmmaker, Ang Lee. Most of all, it is a beautiful rendition of the profoundly abstract Hindu (which literally means Indian, political correctness apart!) philosophy of monism, which happens to be the dominant Hindu/Indian religion today (more on this another time).

Of all the things I liked about the movie, my favorite was this seemingly perplexing scene that shows Pi on a mystical floating island. Many people seem to think that this scene was weird at best, and pointless at worst. I beg to differ, since my analysis of that scene shows that it is a beautiful allegory about Indian philosophy (in keeping with the theme of the whole story). This analysis was prompted by my discussion with my friend, Vijay, who saw the movie with me, and pointed out that the island was shaped like a human in a shot shown from afar. I thought it could be an allegorical reference to Vishnu, and after my analysis, it turns out to be much deeper than I thought. While my analysis is somewhat speculative (only Martel can state the exact meaning), I support my interpretation with ideas expressed in the story, and relevant Indian philosophical concepts (for the interested reader, I have put in links to Wikipedia articles).

1. Metaphor: The island floating on the Pacific ocean.
Meaning: Vishnu, floating on the cosmic ocean (this imagery was shown at the beginning of the story).

2. Metaphor: The seemingly surreal happenings on the island.
Meaning: Our reality, which is a "dream" in the mind of Vishnu (this was also mentioned at the beginning of the story).

3. Metaphor: The carnivorous algae on which the island floats.
Meaning: Sesha, the five-headed snake on which Vishnu rests.

4. Metaphor: The numerous meerkats.
Meaning: Human beings. I know, what an unflattering metaphor! Possibly, they were chosen for their semi-bipedalism, semi-intelligence, social living, or some combination of similar reasons.

5. Metaphor: The island supports life by day, and causes death by night, again and again.
Meaning: Samsara, the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth - that which supports life, causes death, and that which causes death, supports life.

6. Metaphor: The meerkats live meaningless lives eating, running, and dying on the island, under the impression that this is all there is to reality.
Meaning: Maya / Avidya, the illusion about the false nature of reality, which ultimately arises due to ignorance, and causes people to be stuck in Samsara.

7. Metaphor: Pi realizes the true nature of the island, and recognizes its futility.
Meaning: Vidya / Sat / Chit, knowledge or consciousness of the ultimate truth, which dispels Maya, and enables one to achieve enlightenment and liberation.

8. Metaphor: Pi, recognizing the truth of the island, decides to leave it for good.
Meaning: Moksha / Nirvana, the ultimate liberation of one's self from Samsara, so as to attain union with Vishnu (in Vaishnavism, a monotheistic Hindu religion), or union with God (in Sikhism, another monotheistic Hindu religion), or attain supreme character (in Jainism, an atheistic Hindu religion), or to attain supreme serenity (in Buddhism, another atheistic Hindu religion), or union with the supreme oneness (in Advaita Vedantism/Smartism, a monistic Hindu religion). This constitutes the soteriology of the major Hindu/Indian religions.

The whole story is filled with many wonderful metaphors. And it is fascinating to me that the author managed to weave these complex concepts into the story so beautifully. It seems he must have diligently studied Indian philosophy. I should also note that some people have pointed out similarities to Abrahamic (Judaic/Christian/Islamic/Bahai, all monotheistic religions) mythology, particularly the resemblance to the Garden of Eden. More importantly, I think Pi's story is remarkably similar in spirit to the Book of Job - a pious man being subject to unfathomable trials by his God, and yet his faith is unimpeachable, and he eventually achieves salvation (the soteriology of the Abrahamic religions). This is quite possible, again in keeping with the multi-religious, and monistic theme of the story that aims to blend philosophies. It would be great if someone can refer me to a similar analysis as above from the perspective of Abrahamic, or even Chinese (Confucian/Tao) mythology or philosophy. If I ever happen to meet Martel, I hope to remember to ask him how accurate my interpretation of his allegory is (and why exactly he chose meerkats!).

So, are you an Atheist?

Once in a while, I am asked if I am an atheist, or if I "subscribe" to any religion. The answer I usually give is that I think of myself a "freethinker" that does not subscribe to sweeping labels like Hinduism or Christianity or Atheism or Agnosticism or whatever else (although "freethought" itself is sort of a label). In my view, such labels often represent an oversimplification of the matter at hand, simply because the reality is multidimensional and complex. When Gandhi was asked if he was a Hindu, he famously replied, "Yes I am. I am also a Christian, a Muslim, a Buddhist and a Jew." While it is a politically correct answer, there is far more to it than that. It made me ponder what exactly constitutes subscribing to such labels.

It is clear to me now that there are at least 5 key aspects associated with such labels. Depending on the extent to which one aligns one's self with each of them, one align one's self with that particular label. The label could be a religion, an ideological system, a life-position, etc. These aspects are not completely disjoint though.

1. (Blind) Faith / Theology

This is probably the best known aspect of most religions - a theology, a (blind) faith in the notion of a supernatural being, a "God" or Gods. Often, it comes as a package deal with some rather fantastical claims and stories that are often unverifiable and unrepeatable. The best known examples are in the Abrahamic religions (Judaism/Christianity/Islam/Bahai), some Hindu religions (Vaishnavism/Shaivism/Shaktism/Smartism) and some animistic/pagan/nature religions. To many people, they serve as allegories for a larger morality. But to many others, they are literal truths to be blindly accepted, even if they contradict scientific evidence, or even common sense logic. This is certainly not an aspect that I can subscribe to.

2. Philosophy / Spirituality

This aspect transcends traditional religions, and applies to labels like secularism, humanism, Marxism, etc. Simple things like 'live and let live', 'treat others as you would have them treat you', 'an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind', etc. constitute philosophy in my view. Most religions have rich philosophical systems, often shaped by their theology. The Hindu religions have several distinct philosophical systems that are based on ideas ranging from monotheism and monism to polytheism, pantheism, panentheism, henotheism, hedonism, agnosticism and atheism. Some religions like Buddhism, Jainism, Confucianism, and perhaps Taoism seem almost exclusively like just philosophies. Secularism and humanism are also powerful philosophies. Most people live out a complex mixture of such philosophies, shaped by their life experiences, and I am no different. In that sense, I too am a Hindu, a Buddhist, a Christian, a Confucian, a Gandhian, a secularist, an atheist, a humanist, etc.

3. Culture / Identity

Life would generally be boring without culture. No wonder then that most religious systems have been customized to the cultures of specific ethno-linguistic groups to reinforce a sense of identity. For example, Judaism and Shintoism are often called "ethnic religions", while some Hinduisms are often considered "lifestyles", rather than religions. Over the course of civilizations, this notion has become quite ingrained in most societies. Festivals and attire are mostly reflections of culture. This includes not just religious festivals but also secular festivals like Earth Day, Friendship Day, etc. In my view, they represent celebrations of life itself. And it is not necessary to subscribe to only one culture. I think assimilating good aspects of various cultures makes life richer. So, I have my own reasons to celebrate Diwali (symbolizing the primacy of knowledge over ignorance), Holi (symbolizing nature's amazing diversity), Pongal (celebrating agriculture's foundational role in civilization) , Christmas (celebrating the spirit of giving), Thanksgiving (reaffirming one's gratitude to family), and so on. And of course, who does not want to enjoy the holidays!

4. Politics

This is probably the aspect about religions that most people, including me, detest. Not so long ago, I wrote a post arguing why religions are essentially tools of politics and why they should be contained (Deus Caritas Est). Religions have always been, and still are, routinely used as tools of political division, subjugation and hatred. Early Islam's spread in West Asia and North Africa was essentially through imperialistic wars. Christianity's spread in Latin America occurred mainly in conjunction with colonial conquests. The Crusades were essentially a geopolitical tussle for hegemony. Religions remain potent political tools even today, whether it is in the geopolitics of nations, or communal pogroms faced by common people. There is a delicate distinction I draw between philosophy and politics. Imposing rules on one's own self is philosophy. Seeking to control others is politics. Choosing vegetarianism, or abstinence for one's self is a philosophy. Curtailing women's rights, or hanging apostates is politics. We already have (though still evolving) codified systems of politics, based on human rights and democracy, designed with reason and common sense to promote equality and harmony around the world. We do not need religions to dictate subversive alternative politics of hatred.

5. Business

Of course, no religion would be complete if it does not provide a means to make money for the people involved. Many religions have become lucrative businesses (although they probably always were). Whether it is the tithe given to the church, or devotees donating tons of gold to temples, religions are indeed big businesses. Not to mention that they are tax-free! No wonder then that smart businessmen in the recent past have started their own religions like Mormonism and Scientology. In India, "swamis" preaching neo-Hinduisms have proliferated. Of course, there are those who use this money for genuinely progressive purposes like building schools and hospitals. But then again, there is no reason such endeavors cannot be done based simply on the philosophy of the common good, for example, UNICEF. Religions essentially profit from these activities by being the "middle-men". I suppose one can engage in whatever legitimate profession one likes.

Perhaps we should all try starting our own religions just for the fun of it. In all actuality, it does not seem to take too much effort. Recycle a bunch of philosophical principles, mix it with some unverifiable fairy tales, possibly including the claim that a cooked up God creature passed them to you, grind it with some cultural practices, season it with many arbitrary restrictions, and garnish it with a few warning about the dangers of not believing in it - voila, you have a new religion! The tough part is probably gathering a coterie of dedicated "disciples" to take care of the logistics of propagating your religion to newer customers using carrots and/or sticks. Give it a few centuries, and who knows, maybe it will become the dominant player in the marketplace of religions!

In real life, more often than not, I do not have the time for such an exposition to people who ask me that question. If the freethinker response is not satisfactory, I just reply, "Yes, I am. No, I am not. Maybe. Any or all of these positions simultaneously!"