Chasing God - Documentary

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celticgyan

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Chasing God - Documentary

Post10 Apr 2007

Over here in NZ I just saw on the Documentary channel last week a programme called Chasing God. It was a documentary showing various religious people and religious leaders talking of their own experience of God. Who should appear but two Dadis - Dadi Gulzar and Dadi P. I have to say that when I watched it I was surprised by how much coverage the BKs got - it appeared to me as if they had produced it themselves! (though it pretended to be neutral of course - it even showed pictures of BKs meditating on that rock in Madhuban!).

Somewhat suprisingly one explanation for God appeared as 'A point of light' and I nearly fell off my chair! Then of course I thought it had to be a BK movie - it ended showing the forehead of Dadi Gulzar! The production company was called wide-open publications or some such and I found this later. Chasing God - Documentary.

In any case, it is a good documentary and well worth watching. About a decade ago my centre Sister told me that Baba would be on TV near the end - and on Satelite TV at that! Wow - what a prediction but they made it happen themselves.

C.
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joel

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Re: Chasing God - Documentary

Post10 Apr 2007

My response to the review at Chasing God - Documentary (which I emailed, due to problems with Blogger.)
It really may be that they have found God, but (except from their recruiters) there is no guarantee of happiness by giving up alcohol, sexuality, fish, movies, hotels, and devoting yourself fully to God. If this doesn't work for you, they explain that it is the fault of 'bad karma' the accumulated nasties of many births. You were and are, unfortunate, without hope.

Those who have left this group -- the Brahma Kumaris, whose followers produced the film -- have their very own web forum for mutual wound-licking, http://www.brahmakumaris.info/indexbb.html .

Perhaps that was a little bit glib, to say 'mutual wound licking' since we are not dog-victims of some bizarre laboratory experiments. More of a human experiment, and we are mutually supporting each other, not merely commiserating.

celticgyan

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Post10 Apr 2007

Yes, of course, one of the main points of the BK philosophy is to BE HAPPY! There is no point in sacrificing any so-called pleasures if you end up a miserable sod!

I do believe that some people try and buy there way into heaven or at least in thee cases think that by renunciation they can make their way in. When all of the pleasures of life are gone of course and there is little or nothing left it is then and only then that I believe their philosophy comes into its own.

Picture a world where most of modern society has been destroyed - Yogis would be in their element!
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ex-l

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Re: Chasing God - Documentary

Post11 Apr 2007

celticgyan wrote:What a prediction but they made it happen themselves.

And gave themselves top billing!

Yup, nice bit of BK stealth PR/product placement. No mention that the director is a BK ... bit of an undisclosed conflict of interest there. The film is still doing the rounds of BK centers local service programmes.

Image
DIRECTOR/ PRODUCER; LENNY de VRIES comes from a professional Theatre and Performing Arts background. Lenny was the founder, director and producer of Inazuma Performances, touring 4 major works over 6 years to Japan, Holland, U.K., India, Chile, Thailand and Australia. She has taught directing at Melbourne University, The Victorian College of the Arts and La Trobe University in Melbourne and The College of the Arts in Utrecht, Holland. In 1999 Lenny co-ordinated an International Performing Arts Retreat in Melbourne attended by professional performing artists from South America, Africa, India, Europe, New Zealand and Australia. That same year she moved into filmmaking directing and producing the short film A faint Reality released in Melbourne in 1999.

Music by another BK usual suspect, Michael Timothy. I don't know Dylan Burton of New Zealand.
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john

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Re: Chasing God - Documentary

Post11 Apr 2007

In any case, it is a good documentary and well worth watching. About a decade ago my centre Sister told me that Baba would be on TV near the end - and on Satelite TV at that! Wow - what a prediction but they made it happen themselves.

Not wishing to be cynical, but with all the channels now available and community channels, anyone can get on TV these days.

bansy

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Post11 Apr 2007

Wonder if it will be made FREE on the web, such as in google or youtube, since BKs offer free service. It costs GBP12.99 on Amazon UK. :oops:
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joel

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Post11 Apr 2007

bansy wrote:Wonder if it will be made FREE on the web, such as in google or youtube, since BKs offer free service. It costs GBP12.99 on Amazon UK. :oops:

Just waiting for some eager-to-serve BK to liberate :D
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Mr Green

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Post11 Apr 2007

Chasing the dragon more like :lol:.
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joel

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Post11 Apr 2007

Mr Green wrote:Chasing the dragon more like

Heh, heh. Touche'
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bro neo

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Post19 Apr 2007

mr green wrote:Chasing the dragon more like.

Yeah, I went from chasing God in rock and powder form, in lines of sparkly substances to bottoming out, to searching for another God to chase.

The BKWSU said God was there so I, believing them and experiencing the bliss and brainwashing of Gyan, became their personal monkey boy. 10 years latter, all the chasing seems to have lead me to myself and a deeper and more profound understanding of the territory I chase in, but God seems farther away then ever.
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abrahma kumar

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Post19 Apr 2007

bro neo wrote:all the chasing seems to have lead me to myself and a deeper and more profound understanding of the territory I chase in, but God seems farther away then ever.

Could not have said more plainly myself and this i believe is the biggest sin that the BKWSU is shareholder in - the veiling of God while all the time professing that it's aims are quite opposite in nature.

If those Seniors really felt a duty of care towards God (they seem not to feel this towards mortals) then they would stand up and let us know in no uncertain terms that the doers of misdeeds in God's name will not find any shelter in God's house. The Murli is forever wagging a finger at us on the topic of defaming the name of the God's clan, but i wanna know if God's name is exalted by the actions of the Kirplani Klan!
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zhuk

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Post22 Apr 2007

I must admit I have never believed in any kind of "god" at any time in my life ... not the C of E version which I grew up with nor the BK's deity. (For which I am extremely grateful lol)

Last night on ABC TV there was a 'religious' program discussing belief/non-belief and they mentioned the concept of the "god gene", apparently found by scientists. According to this show we all have one of two versions of this gene ... some have the version which leads them to more naturally experience "religious" feelings, and the other version where people are far less inclined to feel anything spiritual at all ...

Er I think I am in that last group :P and always have been :biggrin:
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zhuk

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Post28 Apr 2007

I also find the whole concept of an eternal "soul" pretty suspect too. Seems like wishful thinking on the human animal's part ... the need to be a part of something cosmically greater ... the need to believe you are a wonderful, perfect & separate "soul" which will inhabit a wonderful, perfect "afterlife" ... but only if you follow the right dogma :lol:
The sharpest and most challenging contention of Buddhism, though, is that we don't have a soul. Phrased in more psychological terms, there is no self. This needs to be understood as a consequence of the Buddhist understanding of impermanence. Buddha made the astute observation that everything is impermanent. This is easy to understand from the perspective of contemporary Western science. Even the Himalayas once weren't, until an island continent we know as India today crashed into Eurasia in much the same way Indian thought has smacked into the Western thought beginning the creation of who knows what sort of Himalayas of understanding yet to come. But it will be different.

As apparent as the truth of impermanence is everywhere else, it is a difficult one to accept within the field of personality. We would still like to cling to the belief that there is something of us that is permanent through life.

(Or in any supposed 'afterlife' either).
A compromise may be offered in the understanding of the self as a process. Processes may have identity, at least for convenience. More importantly, from kamma it is understood that one moment conditions the next. There is continuity. I experience guilt when I remember an unskillful action taken by me in the past. Even if I am deluded in believing myself to be my self, there is no denying that the unskillful action was an event occurring in an ongoing process. This process is not determined -- conditioned, perhaps, but there is agency, there are feelings, and there is cognition. This process has all the properties of the trilogy of mind, and satisfies all the criteria of the ethico-legal perspective of personhood (Paranjpe, 1995).

Therefore, while there may be no permanent unchanging self, there is still a person who is eligible for responsibilities and privileges as a participant in human society.

From; Buddhist psychology source. Food for thought?

milanmagan

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Re: Chasing God - Documentary

Post28 May 2007

celticgyan wrote:Over here in NZ I just saw on the Documentary channel last week a programme called Chasing God. It was a documentary showing various religious people and religious leaders talking of their own experience of God. Who should appear but two Dadis - Dadi Gulzar and Dadi P. I have to say that when I watched it I was surprised by how much coverage the BKs got - it appeared to me as if they had produced it themselves! (though it pretended to be neutral of course - it even showed pictures of BKs meditating on that rock in Madhuban!).

Oh damn, I missed that. I will have to wait for a repeat. Love the Documentary Channel!

Bye fellow NZer :wink:

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