Journey to the Source: Decoding Matrix Trilogy [Paperback]

Pradheep Chhalliyil (Author), Don Davis (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2004

A scene by scene commentary on all three Matrix Movies based on spiritual and scientific interpretations. Do you know why the black cat comes twice in the movies (in Matrix as de Javu and in the end of Matrix revolutions with Sati, the Indian girl). Why does the Morpheus crew use phone (land line) to get in and out of matrix but use cell phone inside the matrix? Of course you are curious to know why Persephone asked for a kiss and how Trinity's kiss brought Neo's life back, about Merovingian, twin guards and the Keymaker. Do you know why the Architect tells Neo that he is an anomaly of an unbalanced equation, Neo stopping sentinels and falling unconsciousness, Oracle bakes cookies and offer candy to Neo. More interesting is to read in the book about the Trainman and about Sati creating a Sun for Neo and ending of the movie. Discover more of these hidden secrets of the movies. You would simply love reading about the hidden meaning of the sentinels and how switching on the EMP makes them powerless and how they become peaceful when Neo reaches the source. Sentinels are thoughts in our brain and brain consumes 50% of body's energy while thinking. So our thoughts use our body as an energy source like machines using human bodies in Matrix (Morpheus shows Neo a battery to convey this message). The book has fascinated many readers and all of them have watched the movies over again with lots of fun knowing the hidden meanings. Don Davis, the music composer of the Matrix Movies has given for the foreword for the book. He has commented 'As Morpheus told Neo that he can only show the door but Neo is the one who has to walk through it, this book - Journey To The Source holds the door open and illuminates our path'. Disclaimer: However this book is not licensed or promoted by the Wachowski brothers or the Aol time Warner company. This is the author's own interpretation of the movies.

Editorial Reviews

Review

As Morpheus showed the path to Neo, this book holds the door open and illuminates our path. -- Don Davis, Composer of Matrix Movies, Foreword,2004

This is a wonderful navigational tool for our own personal quests to discover who and what we truly are. -- F. Ruiz , 2004

This is the only book that does an outstanding job of interpreting three movies in credible and thoughtful manner. -- Mischoulon, David,M.D. 2004

About the Author

Dr. Pradheep Chhalliyil, M.Sc., Ph.D., received his Doctoral Degree in Cancer Biology & Biochemistry for identifying a novel anti-cancer compound from the plant, Cleistanthus collinus. He worked as a post-doctoral fellow at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY. Pradheep now works as a Senior Scientist at Genetic-ID, Inc., developing techniques to detect Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) in food.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Sakthi Books, Inc. (June 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0975258605
• ISBN-13: 978-0975258606
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #864,540 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best interpretation of the Matrix Trilogy as a whole, October 4, 2004

By 

David Mischoulon - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Journey to the Source: Decoding Matrix Trilogy (Paperback)

Of all the Matrix-related books I've read (and I've read almost all of them!), "Journey to the Source" does the best job of interpreting "Reloaded" and especially "Revolutions" in a credible and thoughtful manner. Most other books, even those written after "Revolutions" came out, barely touch upon the 2 sequels and still tend to focus on the first installment. This book places the three movies in a unified and cogent perspective.

I was one of those people who loved the first "Matrix" movie and didn't like the next two installments as much. When I first saw "Reloaded" and "Revolutions" I left the theater thinking that I hadn't grasped what the directors were saying (or that they weren't trying to say much!). I thought that the 2 sequels didn't have enough development of the philosophical underpinnings from the first movie, and I was hoping that some of these newer books would clarify the meanings of the sequels.

Chhalliyil's book is the first one that fills this gap in the body of work and analysis on the Matrix trilogy. Having read it, I've realized that the Wachowskis had simply gone in a new direction from the first movie. I wasn't very familiar with the system of thought that Chhalliyil discusses, and now I want to see the 3 movies again with the perspective from this book.

"Journey" is very well organized. It covers the three installments in order and uses headings referring to selected scenes from the movies that illustrate the author's arguments. This makes the book fun and easy to follow. The author takes a lot of complicated philosophical ideas and makes them accessible to the novice, which is not an easy task. It's a very impressive achievement. I strongly recommend this book to all Matrix fans.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Journeys about halfway to the source, but then we run out fuel, February 5, 2006

By 

Landham Wilson "L. Wilson" (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Journey to the Source: Decoding Matrix Trilogy (Paperback)

Don't get me wrong. This is a great piece of work and a lot of effort has been put into it. But there are some serious flaws in the points the author tries to very hard to make and the chronology of his examples in the film. For example, at one point he refers to Neo throwing up immediately after he is extracted from the power plant in the first Matrix (a specific action he uses to support his point) when really this was several scenes later, after he was revived, perhaps weeks after his initial rescue. So the point he makes about Neo "purging the illusory world of the Matrix" immediately after he is rescued, resolves as a bit of a stretch. The book is riddled with these types of errors, as well as several misquotes of the films' characters, which if they were quoted correctly would falsify the claims the author tries to make.

While it is easy to see how Vedic literature undoubtedly plays a significant role in the events of Revolutions, the author applies Hindu philosophy to every section of EACH of the three films, which after awhile gets very monotonous, and seems like an extended paper from a C+ philosophy student than a Doctor. The philosophy present throughout the Matrix Trilogy is clearly a mix of so many religious symbols and ideologies, it devalues them as a body of work to say that just one set religious ideals defined the entire philosophical undercurrent of the films, whether its Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, Gnosticism, Mysticism, etc.

However, while it is a predominantly narrow view of the religious influences of the Matrix Trilogy, it's an EXCELLENT introduction to Vedic Literature and The Upanishads, which I have delved into since, and find to be an INCREDIBLY interesting body of work. So I'd say that the book was worth reading for that introduction alone.

Overall, if you are interested in an analysis of the Matrix Trilogy from a strict perspective of Hinduism, look no further. If you are looking for a somewhat broader perspective, check out some of the other "Matrix and Philosophy" books that are avaiable. There are a TON.

Also, I have to say that this book could use a second edition after it fixes its plethora of spelling and grammar mistakes. They are hard to ignore.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, but problematic, July 14, 2004

By 

Rob - See all my reviews

This review is from: Journey to the Source: Decoding Matrix Trilogy (Paperback)

I found the book interesting and insightful, as I had never learned much about the Upanishads or Indian mythos, upon which the book focuses primarily. My two problems with the book are (1) the author makes a lot of mistakes summarizing the plot points of the movies; and (2) the author attempts to explain the *entire* story, including all the characters and symbols, no matter what the religious or historical reference (e.g. "Trinity", "Morpheus", the "Merovingian"), with reference to the Upanishads, and many times such an analysis is akin to hammering a square peg through a round hole. The Matrix trilogy draws on a number of theories and influences and no one theory or influence, based on all the analyses I've read (yes, I'm a big fan too), explains the whole trilogy in a satisfactory fashion (at least in my opinion).

I think the book would have been better as a 15-20 page essay on the Upanishads and their applicability to the plotline of the Matrix movies, rather than trying to explain each scene of the Matrix movies through the lens of the Upanishads, which seems forced at times.

All in all, this book is a good read if you're a fan of the movies and the philosophical questions they raise. Kudos to the author for taking the time to write an interesting piece.