Hello! Holidays are coming, and many of you, tired of winter, will surely spend time in nature. And this is just great and wonderful! But someone in his spare time wants to watch some kind of movie. And so that the viewing would not be wasted for you, but would be beneficial for your spiritual development, I prepared for you Top 7 of their favorite feature films about spiritual quest, enlightenment and self-realization.
I will review each movie. But, since these will be films of spiritual, esoteric subjects, I will try to focus more on what kind of spiritual work they provoke, and not on the artistic features of these pictures. Although, I must say that in the last respect all the films below are outstanding.
Of course, everything you read further is only my subjective opinion. This expression is nonsense in itself, because our opinions are always subjective. But, nevertheless, I am writing this to warn you that your impressions will be very different from mine. Do not become attached to my words. Maybe you will see in these films what I did not see, and I would be very interested to know your impressions in the comments.
So, I will start in order, moving to my favorite film from this subject. I remind you that all films are not documentaries, but feature films, despite the fact that some of them describe the life of real people.
7 Place - Peace Warrior
Considered tradition: the philosophy of Mindfulness / Heritage Eastern practices
Quote: "Where are you, Dan? - Here. - What time? - Now. Who are you? - This moment."
The film is about a talented, self-reliant and successful gymnast, who can do everything easily. He has brilliant career prospects, girls, cars and money. But he has an accident and is seriously injured. All his hopes and perspectives are crumbling in a flash. Trauma does not allow him to return to the sport.
But he meets a mysterious teacher who turns all his ideas not only about sport, but also about life.
The film's philosophy is “here and now.” No, it does not mean at all to forget about everything and not to think about tomorrow. This is not a synonym for the phrase "after me even the flood." All our fears, anxieties, doubts are only the fruit of thoughts about the future or thoughts about the past. If we concentrate on the “here and now” moment, then all these fears are dispelled like clouds in hot weather. This approach has found its effectiveness in getting rid of anxiety, depression, and simply in terms of improving the quality of life. And in this film shows the application of this principle in relation to sporting success.
Of course, there is nothing revolutionary in this approach. Recently, he gained fame thanks to Western writers, for example, Eckhart Tolle. But all this is just a heritage of the ancient as the world of philosophies and practices, including the Eastern ones. In the modern world, people are wary of religion and esotericism. And they are more willing to listen to a modern white European than a bald monk or a long-haired yoga from the Himalayas. Although all these people can tell them the same thing. And there is nothing wrong with that. It is even good that the ancient techniques of meditation make their way to the west through secular popularizers. Different people need to explain the meaning of ancient truths in different ways, only then will these truths flourish in their hearts. I will tell about this in the review of the next film.
The film The Peaceful Warrior talks about how important it is to be here and now, to deny your expectations about what the future should be, to abandon its proud arrogance, habitual ideas and boldly, with an open mind to move in the stream of reality.
6 Place - The Last Temptation of Christ
Considered tradition: Christianity
Quote: “If I were a fire, I would burn. If I were a woodcutter, I would chop. But I - the heart, because I love. And that's all I can do. ”
The beautiful picture of Martin Scorsese, who received much criticism from Christian organizations, since the plot that underlies the film does not correspond to the canonical biography of Jesus Christ. But, in my opinion, the meaning of this film, as well as other similar works of art, is not to sow sedition, not to undermine the authority of Holy Scripture, but to demonstrate the innermost essence of Christian teaching, which lies along the same lines of dogma and traditions.
There is an expression "You need to look not at the finger that points to the moon, but to the moon itself." In my opinion, it historically related to the teachings of the Buddha and was addressed to those people who are too attached to the words, conceptual and traditional aspects of the teachings, and at the same time they forgot what this teaching was about.
Many Christian (and not only) theological disputes, in my opinion, boiled down to a discussion of what this finger was like: long or short, smooth or wrinkled. Well, it would be limited to innocuous religious disputes. But no! Due to the fact that some people were convinced that the finger was crooked, they used to be tortured and killed by those who believed that the finger was straight. And those who thought that there were several fingers or that they did not belong to one particular person at all were treated in the most cruel way. Not only did it give rise to a lot of misunderstanding and cruelty among people, the most important thing is that in the heat of all these disputes they forgot to look at the moon pointed by this finger, be it at least three times bent!
And the film "The Last Temptation of Christ", presenting its version of the Biblical events, diverges from the dogma of the church (finger), thus reminding us of the most intimate essence of Christianity (the Moon), which the picture leaves untouched. Whatever Christ may be, whatever brings him to the cross, it is important that he revealed to the world a wonderful teaching, the essence of which is Love and nothing but Love!
Of course, the church authorities insist that everything written in the version of the Scripture that has survived to our day is the absolute truth, which cannot be doubted. But the film makes the assumption that certain words were spoken for certain people only in order to arouse faith in them, to guide them to the true path. But this does not mean that they were completely truthful.
Of course, the presence of such "tricks" goes against the Christian tradition. But, if we look at Eastern religions, then everything is much easier with this. There is even a special term "upaya" in Sanskrit, which translates as "skillful means." For example, the Buddha, in order to bring people to relief from suffering, could tell them completely different things, depending on the type of these people. Someone could get on the righteous path only after hearing about the wonderful wonders of the saints. And someone needed to get an impeccable logical, philosophical justification of the provisions of faith. And this does not mean that miracles really happened. Just the stories about them open the gates of righteousness for many people who cannot be reached in any other way. This is the "skillful tool."
Some followers of Buddhism say this directly: "Buddhism is a lie." And it is not seditious. Because the doctrine itself is just a collection of words and concepts, and the personal religious experience of each person is his intimate treasure, not subject to language and speculative ideas.
Maybe our Christian tradition has something to learn from this approach? In general, try to perceive the film “The Last Temptation of Christ” not as an arrogant challenge to dogma and habitual ideas, but as an opportunity to recall again the love, compassion, and kindness that are the main values of Christian teaching, regardless of how the events that preceded the birth of this doctrine were unfolded. . Ask yourself if Christ had not been resurrected, if he had not been the son of God, would these values have depreciated then? Perhaps, on the contrary, they would have acquired value for many atheists and agnostics who reject the doctrine with all its values just because it contains the obligatory aspect of belief in the supernatural? How do you think?
I am not saying that we should remove the concept of God from Christianity. I speak simply of a more tolerant attitude towards those who have their own opinion about biblical events. Maybe different ways will lead different people to the same God?
And if any scenes of the film touch the strings of your soul and you feel that your feelings are offended, look inside yourself. And ask yourself, where does this insult come from? Does it come from love or is it a symptom of pride, self-righteousness and exaggerated self consciousness with all its views and beliefs?
5 Place - Man from Earth
Treated traditions: Christianity / Buddhism
Quote: “I was raised on the Torah, my wife is on the Quran, my eldest son is an atheist, a younger Scientologist, and my daughter is studying Hinduism. I can have holy wars in my living room! But we follow the rule, live and let live. "
Very interesting and intriguing film, built almost on the same dialogues. With all this, he keeps the viewer in suspense until the very end. The film can be called fantastic. And the view of Christianity, which we can see in the film, is also quite fantastic. Probably, due to the very description of the Christian doctrine that was very divorced from reality, the film did not become as scandalous as the Scorsese painting, which I considered above. Nevertheless, "Man from the Earth" contains a number of very interesting ideas about the essence of Christianity about its refraction in the history of mankind.
The goal of good, high-quality fiction, whether it is prose or cinema, is not just an image of completely unprecedented and fantastic circumstances. Images of the future, unprecedented possibilities of technology and man use a fantastic genre as a means to address the problems of the present.
4 Place - Samsara (2001)
Considered tradition: Buddhism
Quote: "Tell me, what's more important? To satisfy a thousand desires or to win only one thing?"
(The year is in brackets, since there are two famous films with this name.)
A very beautiful film about a monk from Ladakh, who is torn between a "sinful" worldly life and a righteous monastic existence. (Ladakh is a mountainous region in India in which Buddhism is prevalent).
In my opinion, the film demonstrates how indulging one vice creates other evils. If a person cannot hold his lust in check, then he often has to lie to hide the actions generated by this vice. Negative results of actions accumulate like a snowball, and the person as a result completely capitulates to his desires, becoming their prisoner. And can it be much easier to win one desire than to satisfy a thousand desires all your life and never reach full satisfaction?
The film is very good and I recommend it to everyone. I will refrain from my interpretations of the ending, as I am not sure that I understood it. It would be great if you shared your opinion in the comments about what happened at the end of this film. What exactly did Tashi understand?
3 Place - Zen (Zen) (2009)
Considered tradition: Zen Buddhism / The spiritual path outside the teachings
Quote: "Eyes horizontally, nose vertically ..."
Beautiful, very beautiful Japanese film about the life of the patriarch of Zen Dogen.
The picture reveals very well the peculiarities of Zen teaching, the main one of which is that there is no teaching, in fact. Everything we know about Zen from books and words is a lie. The main spiritual idea of the film, which is very close to me, is the following:
"Eyes (positioned) horizontally, nose (positioned) vertically."
To this, in fact, nothing more to add. Watch a movie, highly recommended.
2 Place - Siddhartha
Considered Tradition: Buddhism / Spiritual Path Outside Teaching
Quotes (some of them are taken from the book): “Knowledge can be transferred, wisdom is never. It can be found, it can live, it can be made its own sail, it can work wonders, but put it into words, teach it to someone impossible. "
"For every truth, one can say something completely opposite to it, and it will be equally true."
Buddha: "You are smart, my friend, and you know how to speak intelligently! Beware, however, of excessive knowledge."
"With a hidden smile, quietly, calmly, resembling a healthy child, the Buddha walked forward, wearing his attire and putting his foot just like all his monks, according to the exact prescribed rules. But his face and gait, his softly lowered gaze, his quietly hanging the hand and even each finger on this quietly lowered hand breathed peace, breathed perfection. They didn’t feel any quest, no imitativeness, they breathed in meekness, unfading serenity, unquenchable light, indestructible world. "
“It’s not a matter of opinions, whatever they are - beautiful or ugly, clever or ridiculous, everyone is free to agree with them or reject them. But the teaching that you heard from me is not an opinion, and not his chain to explain a world for people of inquisitiveness. His goal is different - redemption, deliverance from suffering. A bot that Gautam teaches is nothing else. "
Excellent screen version of the same work of the writer Hermann Hesse. One of the few screen versions, which are very nice and interesting to watch, even after reading the book. The film tells about the spiritual path of a young man, then a man, later an old man, Siddhartha. His quest is reminiscent of the path of his namesake Siddhartha Gautama, the historical Buddha.
Like him, Siddhartha is trying to accept the teachings of the Indian sages, to practice their methods of deliverance from suffering and death, in order to eventually reject these teachings. He fasts and starves, but does not find salvation in this. He tries to destroy his ego, denying the world around him, as the cover of Maya, of illusion. But this does not bring the desired peace. Our fictional Siddhartha refuses to become a disciple of even Siddhartha-Buddha, realizing that the teachings of Gautama are just a collection of words and concepts, whereas the experience of Buddha’s enlightenment is fundamentally inexpressible. He himself, Siddhartha, should strive for this experience, and not seek the "ideal" teaching. He searches for his own path, moreover, he himself becomes a path, a conductor of the teachings outside the teachings for himself.
The film is very beautiful. Excellent camera work. The picture is very concise, but at the same time it amply conveys the main idea of the book of Hesse: “there is no perfect teaching, all the teachings are false, because they cannot convey the secret experience that was their basis. A person must himself seek the truth in his heart. The truth rests before it, it envelops it and penetrates it. Truth and the path are inseparable from the real world, they are this world. And there is nothing more to add to this world. What is, that is. What is not, is not that. Eyes vertical and nose horizontally. That's it. And words are just words. "
This truth is also not original: the Buddha, the Sufi mystics, and Indian yogis spoke about it ... But, nevertheless, people are still trying to find the perfect, only true teaching, which will give answers to their questions.
Siddhartha, the film and the book, express my personal attitude towards Buddhism. For me, the Buddha (as well as Jesus) is more likely an example of the development of outstanding abilities, phenomenal compassion, unearthly love, than the author of a harmonious and logical doctrine of suffering and deliverance from suffering. This is a living example of what absolutely everyone can become. Buddha, and not his teaching (like many other ancient prophets and saints) is the truth and the way. This is more inspiration, motivation, evidence of unprecedented human capabilities, than a set of rules and regulations expressed in the teachings of Buddhism. Buddha is the moon, and his teaching is the finger. One of many.
1st Place - I am God (Naan Kadavul)
Considered tradition: Hinduism / Radical Shaivism (Aghora)
Quotes: "Death is a punishment that I pay to those who do not deserve life! Death is a blessing that I bestow on those who are not able to live!"
I always wondered why Indian films are filled with such bright colors, exaggerated emotions, naive and joyful characters, funny songs and dances. After living in India, I came closer to this understanding. If you walk along the streets of Delhi or Varanasi, you can see that the Indian reality is quite severe for many Indians. On the streets you can see many ugly cripples, dirty beggars, corpses and human bones.
This is the side of reality that is hidden from the Western man by a veil of social purity, social rituals and norms. For a European, death, disease, poverty and human suffering are like a different reality. And for many Indians, this is real life. And the Indian finds rest from this life in the joyful and serene Indian paintings. We can laugh at the naivety of these films in the West, but we need to understand that this is a mirror image of not very happy social realities.
The Indian, more precisely, the Tamil film “Naan Kadaval” (“I am God”) is representative of a completely different trend in Indian cinema. Несмотря на то, что песни и танцы там присутствуют, он отражает суровую и мрачную сторону индийской реальности такой, какая она есть. Я не могу назвать этот фильм очень жестоким, но, тем не менее, если у вас очень чувствительная психика и вы с большим трудом переносите картины человеческого страдания, вид несчастных калек, то просто готовьтесь получить не самые приятные эмоции. Я не говорю "не смотреть", мне кажется, просмотр такого кино может быть полезен. Фильм произвел неизгладимое впечатление на меня, более сильное, чем все остальные картины в этом списке, поэтому я поместил его на первое место.
В основе сюжета лежит история об отце, который давным-давно оставил своего сына в священном Варанаси. Он возвращается в этот город, чтобы повидать уже взрослого сына. Но, к его ужасу, сын стал Агхори. Агхора - это течение радикального шиваизма, ответвление индуизма. Наверное, религия индуизма ассоциируется у многих с жизнерадостными кришнаитами, с развеселыми танцами, с благочестивыми запретами, в том числе, запретом на употребление в пищу мяса. На самом деле - это очень многогранное течение.
Вегетарианство? Агхори не то, что употребляют мясо, они едят сырую человеческую плоть. Благочестие и воздержание? Агхори принимают наркотики в целях духовного роста. А чтобы воздерживаться от секса, они во время обряда посвящения ломают себе половые органы. Веселые танцы? Агхори медитируют на кладбище, сидя верхом на мертвых телах. (Не беспокойтесь, этих сцен в фильме нет).
Но это не черные маги, не злобные жрецы. Они стремятся к свету через тьму и берут на себя очень большую часть человеческих страданий, выполняя свою роль во имя Бога. Об этом, на мой взгляд, фильм «Я - БОГ».
Он рассказывает о том, что разные люди выполняют разную работу Бога. Не всем предначертано судьбой сеять любовь в сердцах людей, кто-то должен выполнять "грязную работу" Бога. И чтобы ее делать, такой человек обязан вселять страх в окружающих, порвать все привязанности, иначе он не сможет выполнять свою миссию.
Когда я начал смотреть этот фильм, я не понимал действий главного героя. Он не походил на обычного, любящего святого. Он жестоко говорил со своими родными, медитировал в каких-то развалинах. Но под конец фильма приходит понимание, что у Бога был свой замысел для него. Он должен был выполнять свою работу. И только он мог ее выполнить, а не какой-нибудь мирный и добрый странствующий монах…
Для тех, кто решит посмотреть, вопрос на засыпку: что случилось с телом торговца нищими из Кералы? Почему тело не смогли найти? Пишите в комментариях=)
…
Мой рейтинг кончился не на самом позитивном фильме. Но это список фильмов для духовного развития. Последнее иногда подразумевает крушение воздушных замков, в которых многие из нас живут, дабы отгородиться от человеческого страдания. Осознание мимолетности человеческой жизни, понимание страданий, как мы знаем из истории, может стать основой для великих духовных перемен.
Я искренне желаю вам получить пользу из просмотра этих фильмов. Многих из вас они заставят задуматься. А кому-то помогут начать менять свою жизнь.
