Inception and Hinduism. The Movie and The Philosophy.

   (Image Courtsey 4.bp.blogspot.com) 
     Hello folks. This is my first blog. I wanted to write something, but just couldn't find the time. Last night, a thought struck my mind. I had already watched 'Inception', the Brilliant Christopher Nolan movie a few times. And I had a gut feeling that there was more of a link between it's ideas and the ideas in Hindu scriptures. I searched for the same on google, a few posts came about. But yet, I thought, what I wanted to see was not really there. So I began writing. Here's what it is.

    Firstly, I am not forcing a connection here, from the movie to the philosophy or vice versa. I am an avid movie watcher. I can watch almost any movie any day. And watch repeats also with the same intensity like the first time. A fact not many around me like! And I am an avid reader of literature and philosophies of various Religions as well. I am aware of almost all the major religion's scriptures and have read them many times. Now, I have read the Hindu philosophies a bit more cause I am a born and practicing Hindu. As it happens, I had watched Inception in a Multiplex with my buddies. So awestruck I was that I bought it's DVD as it came in the store. In my DREAM before I actually did it! Later I watched it again on the DVD and whenever it came on the television. Now here, without any conscious process, my mind, literally, my mind itself linked Inception's ideas to that of the Hindu philosophies. I'll describe how they are similar, the following time scale has been taken from Wikipedia- Hindu units of measurement their sources being the Srimad Bhagavatam (Chapter 11 - Calculation of Time)/Vedabase.net and Vishnu Purana Chapter 3/Sacredtexts :

Reckoning of time amongst the pitrs (ancestors)

• 1 human fortnight (14 days) = 1 day of the pitrs
• 30 days of the pitrs = 1 month of the pitrs = (14 x 30 = 420 human days)
• 12 months of the pitrs = 1 year of the pitrs = (12 months of pitrs x 420 human days = 5040 human days)
• The lifespan of the pitrs is 100 years of the pitrs (= 36,000 pitr days = 504,000 human days)

Reckoning of time amongst the Devas

• 1 human year = 1 day of the Devas.
• 30 days of the Devas = 1 month of the Devas. (= 30 human years)
• 12 months of the Devas = 1 year of the Devas = 1 divine year (= 360 human years)
• The lifespan of the Devas is 100 years of the Devas (= 36,000 human years)

     Now Brahma, the Creator of this world of ours, has the following time scale ( as on Wikipedia )

• Reckoning of time for Brahma

• 1000 Mahayugas = 1 kalpa = 1 day (day only) of Brahma

(Two kalpas constitute a day and night of Brahma)

• 30 days of Brahma = 1 month of Brahma (259.2 billion human years)
• 12 months of Brahma = 1 year of Brahma (3.1104 trillion human years)
• 50 years of Brahma = 1 Pararddha
• 2 parardhas = 100 years of Brahma = 1 Para = 1 Mahakalpa (the lifespan of Brahma)(311.04 trillion human years)

One day of Brahma is divided into 10,000 parts called charanas. The charanas are divided as follows:

4 charanas (1,728,000 solar years)	Satya Yuga
3 charanas (1,296,000 solar years)	Treta Yuga
2 charanas (864,000 solar years)	Dwapar Yuga
1 charanas (432,000 solar years)	Kali Yuga

I hope you have read the above mentioned time-units of measurement. Now in Inception. (Note: Please do not proceed if you haven't watched the movie, don't blame me for spoiling it!) 
There were Dream levels:
 In the Reality ( presumably), Fischer Jr. is on the plane and drugged to go into Level 1.

Level 2 is the Van Chase where Yusuf dreams
Level 3 is the Hotel, where Arthur dreams.
Level 4 is the Snow Fortress, dreamt by Eames.
Level 5 is the Limbo, to get Saito out.

(Image Courtesy cinemablend.com)
     Now, according to the movie, as one goes deeper and deeper into the Dream Levels, time is stretched, what is 5 minutes in reality turn to an hour in Level 1 and so on, increasing exponentially and successively, as one goes deeper into the Levels.


The Hindu units of measurement and that of Inception can be compared as follows:
Inception                                                           Hinduism
Reality                                 ----            The Ultimate Reality of Brahma.
Level 1                       ----------------              The Devas's Level.
Level 2                 -----------------------                   The Pitr's (Ancestor's) Level.
Level 3       -----------------------------------                     Our (Normal Human's) Level.

Hindus believe that after death our souls go back to where they came from, i.e. the level of the Ancestors. Then come the Devas, the gods who are handling the working of the world. They are a level up from the Ancestors. Then comes Brahma, the Creator, who is just dreaming and within his one single day, a 10,000th part of it, 1 charana, is equal to an entire Yuga, Kali Yuga, consisting of 432,000 solar years for us!

There are some souls which linger on in our world not getting freedom, and for them, special rituals and prayers are held so that they can go and attain freedom, doesn't Saito's situation ring a bell? He was a soul waiting for freedom, trapped in a limbo. He grew old ( Like Cobb and Mal in their past) in the Limbo while all that, on the real plane, on the plane, was just a flight from here to there!

So we all might as well be a dream of Brahma and nothing more nothing less!

More on in it in the future, take care till then! God bless the world!