There is something the Nolans left out of The Dark Knight script. Something important, yet I can understand why they left it out. You see, it could tarnish Batman's manly image because, truth is, Batman is in the closet about more than just being, well Batman.
So, what is it?
Batman is a yoga freak. Hindu philosophy. Closet granola. All the way.
I am very sure of this and not just because of his svelte shape and flexibility. Oh yes, it's quite evident that he secretly frequents yoga classes. But not only Bikram's macho sweat sessions, just to pick up chicks like the other dudes. He is especially into all the airy fairy chakra, meditation and transcendental texts like every philosopher and knight of history ever was. I also suspect that not only has he read The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
, but he's a closet Jain to boot.I can say this with fair certainty as I am a closet yogi myself (well I guess not anymore...) and it takes one to know one. My last set of yoga classes was led by the wonderful yoga instructor from India, Maitreyi. I was struck by one of her teachings in the class about a principle - ahimsa - that is a backbone principle to yoga, and also happens to be oh soooo Dark Knight.
The ancient Vedic texts of India outline equivalents of the vices and virtues known in western thought -- the yamas and niyamas respectively. Now the first of the yamas is ahimsa, which can be translated as kindness or non-violence. Now, ahimsa comes above all the other yamas, even truth. In other words, if one is undecided on whether to be truthful or kind to someone, choose kindness first.
Why is it more important to be kind before being truthful? This is a concept that is foreign to much western thought that puts truth on a high pedestal indeed.
In order to understand this idea most easily, you can simply think about when you are talking to a small child. We often clothe the truth when talking to children on difficult subjects such as death, disease and war because we can see how the truth could be too overwhelming and harsh for the child. We choose to be kind to the child and bend the truth so that they can handle it without trauma. We naturally know with children how to put ahimsa first.
Well, to stretch that idea, in the Dark Knight, Batman is actually taking on a parental role for the citizens of Gotham in the last scene of the movie (warning, plot killer to come) when talking with the police officer, Gordon:
GORDON
Harvey's prosecution, everything he fought for, everything Rachel died for. Undone. Whatever chance Gotham had of fixing itself... whatever chance you gave us of fixing our city... dies with Harvey's reputation. We bet it all on him. The Joker took the best of us and tore him down. People will lose all hope.
BATMAN
No. They won't....
They can never know what he did.
BATMAN
You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain. I can do those things because I'm not a "hero", like Dent. [Quotation marks my own.]
Harvey's prosecution, everything he fought for, everything Rachel died for. Undone. Whatever chance Gotham had of fixing itself... whatever chance you gave us of fixing our city... dies with Harvey's reputation. We bet it all on him. The Joker took the best of us and tore him down. People will lose all hope.
BATMAN
No. They won't....
They can never know what he did.
Whoa! Jumping jimmeny cricket Batman! Are you telling Gordon to LIE? Are you telling Gordon that you are going to bend, if not absolutely cover up the truth of the situation at hand (that Dent, like most people would, finally broke under pressure and did some very very bad things)? More discussion ensues where Batman convinces officer Gordon that Batman himself will cover for the fallen Dent. Batman will pose as the bad guy in the situation, so that Dent can remain the "hero" that the people think he is. In this way, the people will still have something to believe in, something to hold on to, something to base their hopes on. Like children, the people of Gotham obviously aren't self actualized adults. They are not there yet themselves. They need external heroes or things will swiftly go to a jokeresque hell in a handbasket.
Batman then says what I think is one of the wisest lines in the movie (considering the rise and fall of so many leaders who start out with honorable intentions only to meet corruption and a kind of apathy in the end):
Batman then says what I think is one of the wisest lines in the movie (considering the rise and fall of so many leaders who start out with honorable intentions only to meet corruption and a kind of apathy in the end):
BATMAN
You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain. I can do those things because I'm not a "hero", like Dent. [Quotation marks my own.]
After this, the movie continues with the pursuit of Batman by coppers and dogs through the night. Gordon's son is witness to this switch in heros, and is (understandably so) confused at why Batman, who did nothing wrong, is now being hunted as the bad guy, when the real culprit is Dent. The son sees the lie, and is confused. To his son's plaintive "Why Dad, why?!", Gordon explains:
GORDON (V.O.)
Because...he's the hero Gotham deserves... but not the one it needs right now. So we'll hunt him, because he can take it. Because he's not our hero... ...he's a silent guardian, a watchful protector... a dark knight.
OK, pretty cheesy, but with this the deal is sealed on Batman practicing ahimsa for the people of Gotham. The people of Gotham, who, like children NEED a hero, need to have the kindness of a hero so they do not lose their hope and their own way.
When I first watched The Dark Knight, I thought this was a very interesting twist to the ending. But now some time has gone by and I am left with a slightly bitter taste in my mouth. If the people of Gotham must have hope in the form of their leaders and heroes, what about us in the real Gothams of the world? Do we lose hope without our own real-world heroes? How grown up are we really as a society? As a culture? Without leaders who inspire will we lose our way?
Following this line of thought, if we are not really so grown up as a culture (which in many ways we are not), then what kind of story do we deserve from our leaders? Maybe there are Batmen in congress who feed us the stories they think we need to hear. If the heroes and villains in Batman can be switched, what about real life? What about the most obvious characaters on the global scene - Bush and Obama? Is Obama really the hero we've made him out to be, we need him to be? Is Bush really the villain that so many make him out to be?
What really is the truth about our leaders, terrorist villains, our lovers and friends - about the people we think we believe in? If there is a truth, are we grown up enough to swallow it? Really? Are we ready to let go of the black and white, the hero in the villain. Are we ready for non-duality, maturity, stoicism? Are we ready for the truth, no matter how bad it may be, how convoluted? If we are, how are we demonstrating this maturity to our leaders? Maybe Kennedy was right. It's not what our leaders (lovers, friends) can do for us, it's what we can....
The other question I have is, if we still want and need ours heroes, what does that make us, as a society, if not analogous to the children in the story of Batman? When will we be ready to grow up, face the shadows - and the lurking truths therein - ourselves? How much longer will we need Buddhas, Prophets and Batmen to deliver us and protect us from the truth we cannot handle ourselves?
And this is why I believe, part of the path to the light, involves a long trek through the shadows. One person, one winding path through the woods, one gordian knot, one labyrinth, on dark night of the soul, at a time. In the end, everyone should be their own Buddha, their own saviour, their own Dark Knight. But is this part of our cultural story as much as the hero or savior story is ingrained in our collective psyche? How much longer will we be hanging on Batman's cape, unwilling to spread our own bat-wings?
See the thing is, once you go in, the labyrinth is wide, the woods ARE dark, the passages are narrow and the way is unknown and fully freaking frightening. Judging by how antidepressants are one of the highest prescriptions doled out globally, I would surmise that perhaps many of us HAVE verntured into our own version of the shadow land alone.
Trouble is, once you go in and fall into the dark pit, how the hell do you get out again? Achieving Escape Velocity of the Soul 101 isn't exactly a course taught in university these days.
And so, maybe for now, we do need the Buddhas, the prophets, and the Batmen, and it's not such a bad thing. We need our yogas, our religions, our comic heros; because their stories, parables, messages & metaphors are not only kind, but equally true. Their message, namely being that it is indeed possible to not only go in, but to come out the other side of the long dark night and into the light once more. Maybe when we're ready to face the Harvey Dent within us, the villain, the fallen, as well as the shiny super hero, the favourite angel, we wish we were, we'll be practicing ahimsa along with Batman too.
Because...he's the hero Gotham deserves... but not the one it needs right now. So we'll hunt him, because he can take it. Because he's not our hero... ...he's a silent guardian, a watchful protector... a dark knight.
OK, pretty cheesy, but with this the deal is sealed on Batman practicing ahimsa for the people of Gotham. The people of Gotham, who, like children NEED a hero, need to have the kindness of a hero so they do not lose their hope and their own way.
When I first watched The Dark Knight, I thought this was a very interesting twist to the ending. But now some time has gone by and I am left with a slightly bitter taste in my mouth. If the people of Gotham must have hope in the form of their leaders and heroes, what about us in the real Gothams of the world? Do we lose hope without our own real-world heroes? How grown up are we really as a society? As a culture? Without leaders who inspire will we lose our way?
Following this line of thought, if we are not really so grown up as a culture (which in many ways we are not), then what kind of story do we deserve from our leaders? Maybe there are Batmen in congress who feed us the stories they think we need to hear. If the heroes and villains in Batman can be switched, what about real life? What about the most obvious characaters on the global scene - Bush and Obama? Is Obama really the hero we've made him out to be, we need him to be? Is Bush really the villain that so many make him out to be?
What really is the truth about our leaders, terrorist villains, our lovers and friends - about the people we think we believe in? If there is a truth, are we grown up enough to swallow it? Really? Are we ready to let go of the black and white, the hero in the villain. Are we ready for non-duality, maturity, stoicism? Are we ready for the truth, no matter how bad it may be, how convoluted? If we are, how are we demonstrating this maturity to our leaders? Maybe Kennedy was right. It's not what our leaders (lovers, friends) can do for us, it's what we can....
The other question I have is, if we still want and need ours heroes, what does that make us, as a society, if not analogous to the children in the story of Batman? When will we be ready to grow up, face the shadows - and the lurking truths therein - ourselves? How much longer will we need Buddhas, Prophets and Batmen to deliver us and protect us from the truth we cannot handle ourselves?
And this is why I believe, part of the path to the light, involves a long trek through the shadows. One person, one winding path through the woods, one gordian knot, one labyrinth, on dark night of the soul, at a time. In the end, everyone should be their own Buddha, their own saviour, their own Dark Knight. But is this part of our cultural story as much as the hero or savior story is ingrained in our collective psyche? How much longer will we be hanging on Batman's cape, unwilling to spread our own bat-wings?
See the thing is, once you go in, the labyrinth is wide, the woods ARE dark, the passages are narrow and the way is unknown and fully freaking frightening. Judging by how antidepressants are one of the highest prescriptions doled out globally, I would surmise that perhaps many of us HAVE verntured into our own version of the shadow land alone.
Trouble is, once you go in and fall into the dark pit, how the hell do you get out again? Achieving Escape Velocity of the Soul 101 isn't exactly a course taught in university these days.
And so, maybe for now, we do need the Buddhas, the prophets, and the Batmen, and it's not such a bad thing. We need our yogas, our religions, our comic heros; because their stories, parables, messages & metaphors are not only kind, but equally true. Their message, namely being that it is indeed possible to not only go in, but to come out the other side of the long dark night and into the light once more. Maybe when we're ready to face the Harvey Dent within us, the villain, the fallen, as well as the shiny super hero, the favourite angel, we wish we were, we'll be practicing ahimsa along with Batman too.
"Out beyond ideas of Wrongdoing and Rightdoing,
there is a field.
I'll meet you there."
-Rumi
there is a field.
I'll meet you there."
-Rumi
Buddha in the darkness of the Ajanta caves in India.
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10 comments:
I tagged you for this blog tagging game...hope you don't mind. Here's the link http://frugalnyc.blogspot.com/2008/12/six-random-things-about-me.html
Big fan of Batman :)
Oh, just found this tag (Christmas break n all!). Sounds like fun! I'll get on it. :)
Fantastic article. I think I see connections to capoeira and Kalaripayattu, too.
I enjoyed your article. Much to consider.
You know all saying: When you are in a hole, stop digging... :)
That's the zen comment of the day....
@ greg I think you are onto ME now. I used to practice Capoeira. An amazing sport! I'm checking out Kalaripayattu now. Really interesting!
@ Adrianna/Tess Thanks for stopping by and glad you got something out of it. I try... :)
@ Anon Or, if you are Maurice Sendak, A Hole is to Dig. ;)
@ Batman OMG it's Batman himself!!!! Where have you been hiding? You just popped out of the Ajanta cave behind a pillar or soemthing didn't you? So... Can I have your autograph? Or get ride in the Batmobile? lol
Keep up the zen work.
As you have me figured out, you know what you must do....
It depends on the level of maturity. The more mature you are; the more you are willing to commit and to forgive.
The inmature think "If you cant be kind at least be vague"
@Batman ... I'm on my way there. ;)
Claudia, you have raised a wonderful point. I believe that it is very true that it takes maturity to be able to handle the truth. From children to adulthood people gradually should be able to grasp the more difficult truths and deal with the inherent contradictions and pains that the truth will sometimes bear. This is why, in a mature relationship, truth is so important and the kindest thing.
Thank-you for adding this to the conversation. :)
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