2001, that masterpiece of Sci-Fi, is actually a huge, authentic cosmo-spiritual metaphor. A show-case for the ancient Eastern outlook on life, the universe and everything. It is an ancient prophecy about the true destiny of the human race put into a futuristic forum. It describes the idea of humanity’s ongoing collective evolution of awareness from primitive cave-man to high technological civilisation. It proposes that mankind is evolving not to greater technical heights but to deeper spiritual awareness.

This evolution begins with primitive man’s Mastery of the natural environment and ends with the transformation of Dave’s consciousness. The cosmos itself portrayed as an active participant in this process thus suggesting its equivalence with “The Divine” or “God”.

The core theme of 2001 is an artful demonstration of the ancient eastern idea of the evolution of consciousness.

via 2001: A Cosmic Metaphor.