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Spirituality
Avatar, Self-Realization and the Collective Conscious
The spiritual genesis of the “Avatar blues”
Posted January 26, 2010
Very often, we need things spelled out in black and white, and, in terms of spirituality, the film Avatar does this handily, drawing on everything from quantum physics to Gaia Theory to self-realization to the Atman/Brahman dissonance. The film -- decidedly lacking the opacity of a spiritual teacher or nuance of a Zen koan -- slaps us in the face with notions of universal interconnectedness, existential crisis, spiritual revelation, personal evolution, and global responsibility in a decidedly unsubtle fashion.
The film The Matrix is a wonder of Buddhist and Vedantic teaching, and no less powerful in its message than Avatar. To the uninitiated, however, The Matrix is simply a super sexy sci-fi martial arts action thriller replete with amazing special effects and gorgeous folks clad in skin-tight vinyl. For most, it boasts an intriguing, but, ultimately, not terribly provocative, story-line, if you aren't in on the secret. Avatar is nowhere near as subtle, and that, one suspects, is the genesis point for its somewhat negative effect on the common consciousness.
The Matrix is like the Zen master who silently pours tea into a cup until it overflows, demanding that the student puzzle out the metaphor of beginner's mind. By contrast, Avatar is more akin to the Zen master who tosses a student off a bridge and into a stream to show him beginner's mind. One is a suggestion, the other, a concrete shock to the system.
While the film itself is visually gorgeous, the manner in which it imparts its lessons is clunky to the point of clumsiness -- even the least spiritually minded of us can't miss them - and that is the connection point. The lessons are indeed so obvious as to plug right into that universal sense of existential dissonance - the sense that "there must be something more" - that plagues each of us at some point, even if it's only for a split second.
So, why is everyone depressed? The film, by all rights, is a potential inspiration, a roadmap to a higher calling, if not a higher state of being. Sure, it's not the Bhagavad Gita, the Imitation of Christ or the Gospel of Thomas, but you get the idea.
Well, the disconnect seems to come in that the film, rather than showing us where we might go, shows us where we have been -- or, more properly, where we are. It is raw social commentary couched in a vehicle so stupefyingly obvious that, if you miss it, you must actually be asleep.
As for the depression effect, we have to consider that the seed of social and situational depression is informed by a sense of powerlessness; a lack of control or influence over what is happening around us. This sensibility then feeds into a subtle system of victimization that is debilitating, if not paralyzing.
Avatar shows us that, through egoism (not egotism - different), arrogance, and a general lack of respect for ourselves and our surroundings, we have not only victimized ourselves, but become our own worst enemy; we are the alien. We have done so because we are disconnected from both our true nature, and, more importantly, the source of that true nature. This revelation, for some, is apparently like pouring gasoline on the fire of a smoldering existential crisis.
The vehicle of this message is also clearly influential. The power of visual media is such that it quite literally brings to life Marshall McLuhan's ethos, "The medium is the message." The film strikes a universal chord on two fronts - first, it is so sensorially engrossing and rich and, second, its metaphoric lessons -- especially in 3D - just get unavoidably dropped in your lap.
It's hard to discuss anything more specific without spoiling the film. But should you choose to see it, try to bear in mind a few choice phrases -- self/Self, unified field, ground of being, divine spark, universal oneness.
Then, rather than asking yourself, "What did we do...?, ask yourself, "What's next...?
© 2010 Michael J. Formica, All Rights Reserved
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