Six years ago, I filmed a gang of sadhus (spiritual ascetics) smoking weed on the banks of the Holy Ganga in Northern India. Their guru stepped away from a young European woman meditating under a banyan tree, and approached me, machete in hand. "You want to know about gurus?" He popped a squat, and lit up a bidi. "All those big gurus you see, they are not spiritual people. All they want is money. It's not that easy man... Living a spiritual life is very difficult." That night, they swapped the pot for heroin.
Back home in New York City, I filmed the world around me embracing the "spiritual life," or at least one packaged into a healthful 90-minute alternative to aerobics class. The modern definition of yoga is convoluted as the postures yogis aspire to. Symbols, smells, words, icons, and religions of the East became an easy aesthetic for branding and marketing. Was the culture I grew up in becoming just a marketing scheme for a flourishing industry? In yoga class, was I the only one who wasn't feeling the vibe of getting enlightened? And why were people all of a sudden bowing down to people in robes with expensive philosophies and the promises of happiness? I became skeptical of anyone who sold a spiritual product, anyone who claimed to be holier than anyone else, anyone who said they had the answer.
Since those days as one-man crew, my answers and strong opinions have turned more into questions. As a documentarian on the edge of a subculture for years, the lives of the characters I met have come full circle -- almost repeating the same plot lines as the teachers that fell decades before them. I've tried Iyengar, Ashtanga, Jivamukti, Kundalini, Anusara, and met the founders, inventors, entrepreneurs, and gurus in many traditions. I've also chanted (reluctantly and enthusiastically), set intentions, retained breath, hugged a saint -- or rather got hugged by one, received blessings, blessed, fasted, veg'd out, finished a first series, kriya-ed, flossed my nose, taken pilgrimages, avoided dysentery, bathed in the royal baths, found moments of deep tranquility, gave in to temptation, restrained it, fluctuated mentally, and even saw a most surreal event called an International Yoga Competition. I've said 'No, it's Vikram with a V' more than any other phrase these past few years. I learned from this, that practice never makes anyone perfect. We are all the same -- flawed, yet capable of greatness.
Trailer:
I'd always wanted to make a movie about 'us' -- about our inner, "spiritual" lives. I've watched so many movies about 'them' -- the backwards people of the others and even, the fundamentalist right-wingers. What about us? Why don't we turn our gaze back on ourselves? I figured: If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. So, I impersonated a wise guru from the East named Kumaré and started a following of real people in the West.
The character Kumaré was the center of a social experiment testing what we coined "The Spiritual Placebo Effect." Can a fake religion and religious leader have the same effect as a real one? If the facts are not real, does it make the experience any less real? Some people were appalled, offended at the idea. It's easy not to question what feels right -- people think you're being a downer, a bummer, or a cynic. But to me, asking questions, breaking down icons and idols, and destroying the illusions our society is built on are highly 'spiritual' acts. And aren't the saviors of history the ones that decided to speak up and say something?
This film was my humble attempt to bring the spiritual heroes I learned about as a child to the real world. I studied Buddha, Shiva, Krishna, Jesus -- all the big ones but it took the form a bearded barefoot man who carried a trident and spoke like my grandmother.
It was not a matter of fooling people -- everyone from the footsteps of the Himalayas to the Mexican Border believed in Kumaré. I suspect this is not because I am a great actor, but because Kumaré is a dream worth believing in. Being a fictional spiritual leader has a lot more rules than being a real a guru. No money can be earned. No temptation can be acted upon. My character only saw the highest in people, his 'motivation' was to make them happy -- to trick people to be happy.
At Q&A's, people ask me if I'm still as critical of spiritual leaders as I was when I started. I can say now that I understand why we have spiritual leaders, and how slippery the slope is from hero to villain, when one takes on that role. I may be more sympathetic now, but I still always think back to something Kumaré once said: "It is you real gurus that make us fake gurus so necessary."
Below are some scenes from 'Kumaré':
'Kumaré' is now playing in New York at the IFC Center. Visit the film's official site for additional upcoming dates and locations.
What Gandhi does quite deftly is show that this dynamic is not so easily explained away or so easily condemned.
Here's a few timely pieces I wrote recently on taking a honest look into the guru-disciple dynamic, from my own experience recently being initiated into a Hindu tradition:
"Gurus, Guides, and Grounding In Our Spiritual Journey" (HuffPost Religion)
huff.to/NpuNw3
"Gurus And The Cult of Relativity"
bit.ly/LVAdDc
Lies and fantasies can never replace truth and reality. Placebo and nocebo effects are mental fictions, not real healing or disease.
It's SO obvious you don't know what the meaning of GURU is or you would not have linked it with the word, "pagan."
Nearly all of them informed me that, as a woman, I'm too intellectual, too rational, too 'awkward', too 'masculine'. I should be more emotional, more soft, more intuitive, more 'receptive', more empathetic. Oh yeah, brilliant guy, I'm vomiting.
Call me arrogant, but I'm far too pragmatic for that bullshit and I don't think that cliché-ridden stereotypes will illuminate me, rather will my kundalini just rope down. Those people all work in the same way: they just puzzle together elements of philosophy, science (quantum theory, chaos theory and genetics are very popular), psychology, religious elements and practices to suggest some sense.
I should write a guru-translation-guide. If they tell you, you're too intellectual, they mean 'shit, she knows what I'm talking about'. When they say, you're too rational, they mean 'damn, I can't tell her the crap I tell the other broads'. And when they say you need to be more receptive, well, guess receptive to what, the 'little guru' of course. Too predictable... ;-)
Read, read, read, and find your own truth. Strangely, it is experiential knowledge, but reading the words of those who have truly experienced it does help one in the practices and clarifications that lead to experiencing it oneself.
Recommended:
http://www.nondualitymagazine.org/nonduality_magazine.2.chrishebard.interview.htm”
http://www.realization.org/page/doc1/doc100a.htm
"Silence of the Heart" -- Robert Adams
"In Days of Great Peace" - Mouni Sadhu (Mieczyslaw Sudowski)
Regards. (vedpremi@yahoo.com)
The Brainwashing Cult of Paramahamsa' Nithyananda is a classic case of organized fraud. This cult leader, the so-called Paramahamsa Nithyananda, entraps innocent victims into his web of empire building by using psychological, financial, and quasi-legal methods to obtain finances and a free source of professional labor. Nithyananda has established an illegal immigration racket exploiting his nonprofit religious status in the United States.
Nithyananda is very dangerous and should be deported from every single country that Nithyananda has established himself in. His criminal organizations have defrauded individuals, tax payers, and communities of millions of dollars, and his fraudulent 'nonprofit' organizations are known as the Nithyananda Foundation, the Life Bliss Foundation, and the Nithyananda Vedic Temples.
Nithyananda lures people in his trap by using spiritual truths, meditation, yoga, and healing energies, and then does a 'bait and switch' approach. What candy is to a pedophile, Vedic Truths are to Nithyananda.
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL91D5ABDA256E4AC8
People totally misunderstand, refuse to understand, or have their own definition of what a Guru should do, become disappointed with what they see - and then come up with these sort of ignorant tirades against Gurus.
One more thing - since when is having wealth a crime? Many of us believe that if a Guru is among wealth, its no good, and go on to say that - if a Guru has no money, he is trustworthy. Really? Take a moment to think about it. The ignorance of that logic will reveal itself.
You are not alone.
Ask yourself why you are looking for a Guru? If the same things can be given by someone else, Guru is not for you.
Guru will show you a way of living which is different from what you know and live. If you are not ready for it, Guru is not for you.
Its ok if Guru is not for you. You can continue to live on happily.
Dont have to become bitter and be sour and dedicate your life to bashing them. Its not going to defame them in any way. (if you have fame, you can defame. What if you dont? how do you rob a pauper?)
Paramahamsa Nithyananda transform your life. http://www.youtube.com/lifeblissfoundation
Therefore Hindus and other sections of the society which provide the opportunity and fertile ground for fraudsters in the guise of swamis to thrive in the name of Hinduism are equally at fault. Ignorant, miracle and fortune-seeking followers are the ones who help such fake swamis to prosper in our Hindu society.
Daily we get to hear about such fake swamis and their notorious activities – which include rape, illicit relationships, amassing wealth through dishonorable means – but this has not deterred many Hindus from approaching fraudsters in the guise of Swami. Why?
Both the fake Godmen, his followers and those who go after such swamis are fortune seekers. Godmen is using religion to become rich and conduct other antisocial activities.
Followers are fortune seekers who want the help of an outside agency to reach God and bribe God and amass wealth, cure diseases, solve social problems and above all know the future.
Undoubtedly your ancestors were Hindu or Buddhist, and your clear Hindu-bashing is only to direct the unbelievers to Islam. You've indicated as much in your discussion of taqwa posted above. Of course, anything positive in Hinduism is just a prelude to Islam and that which can be criticized will be dissolved once you accept dawa.
Jaya jaya Kumaré!.