The Analogy of the Cave is a metaphor about the relationship between perception and reality by the ancient Greek philosopher Plato.
Meher Baba gives an analogy of the world as a cinema which is very similar.
"A cinema operator is turning the handle of an old hand crank movie projector with his own hand and is at the same time absorbed deeply in looking at the pictures on the screen. He becomes so much absorbed that he forgets that his own hand is turning the machine out of which all those scenes come out. He laughs and cries according to the scenes which he sees presented on the screen. He forgets the unreality and non-existence of the scenes on the screen but thinking them real (false thinking) gets the feelings (experiences). All of a sudden a scorpion (grace) stings his hand, which stops it from turning the crank. The machine stops. The pictures vanish but he has his eyes open, and when with open eyes he sees nothing on the screen he wakes up to the consciousness (real thinking) that it was he who was turning the handle, and the pictures depended on the activity of his hand, and that his laughing, weeping (happiness, misery) for the various picture events were due to the ignorance of the real state of affairs."
Also, much like the analogy Baba refers to a person still caught-up in illusion (Maya) as a slave (i.e. bandaa, which I understand means 'slave' in Urdu, Hindi, and also I believe Persian).
"It is owing to these impressions that the human mind realizes Itself as limited, as bandaa (slave). And when the impressions are removed, the human mind realizes Itself as Infinite, unlimited."
"A cinema operator is turning the handle of an old hand crank movie projector with his own hand and is at the same time absorbed deeply in looking at the pictures on the screen. He becomes so much absorbed that he forgets that his own hand is turning the machine out of which all those scenes come out. He laughs and cries according to the scenes which he sees presented on the screen. He forgets the unreality and non-existence of the scenes on the screen but thinking them real (false thinking) gets the feelings (experiences). All of a sudden a scorpion (grace) stings his hand, which stops it from turning the crank. The machine stops. The pictures vanish but he has his eyes open, and when with open eyes he sees nothing on the screen he wakes up to the consciousness (real thinking) that it was he who was turning the handle, and the pictures depended on the activity of his hand, and that his laughing, weeping (happiness, misery) for the various picture events were due to the ignorance of the real state of affairs."
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