Short Cut to Nirvana (dvd)

The Kumbh Mela: The biggest Gathering in the History of Humanity
movie: 85 minutes; extra's: 75 minutes
Produced by Maurizio Benazzo and Nick Day

Short Cut to Nirvana is an award-winning documentary about the Kumbh Mela spiritual festival that takes place near Allahabad India, every 12 years.
The Kumbh Mela also happens to be the biggest gathering in history, attracting 70 million pilgrims.
From this incredible event comes a powerful and uplifting message of harmony, unity and peace for all humanity. Yet almost no-one outside India has ever heard of the Kumbh Mela or its message. Until now...

Watch the trailer (3 minutes):
Short Cut to Nirvana

Special features (75 min.): A special address by the Dalai Lama, an interview with the filmmakers with behind the scenes footage, additional conversations with five spiritual teachers at the Kambh Mela offer insight and wisdom on a wide range of subjects, slide show gallery, and theatrical trailer.
In English and Hindi with English subtitles.

"Extraordinary! The glimpses it offers are never less than fascinating…Seventy million pilgrims can't be wrong." New York Times.

Part I. Nisargadatta Maharaj: I Am That I Am
Experience the Teachings of Nisargadatta Maharaj with Stephen Wolinsky (Featuring previously unreleased footage of Maharaj)

Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj was born in 1897. He met his guru Sri Siddharameshwar at the age of 34, and amazingly, three years later 'realized' his true nature. Soon Nisargadatta Maharaj began meeting with seekers.
Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj remained little known until 1974 when the book 'I am that,' which is arguably the most profound spiritual text of a generation, appeared.
Since Nisargadatta's death in the fall of 1981, he has become renowned and studied throughout the world. He is considered by many, along with Ramana Maharshi, to be the strongest voice of Advaita Vedanta to appear in the 20th century.

Stephen Wolinsky is a direct disciple of Maharaj who lived in India for almost six years. He is the founder of Quantum Psychology and Post-Deconstruction.
This DVD contains not only The Complete Teachings of Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, but also 'experiential meditation' to lead the viewer into the I AM, and beyond, into That One Substance from which all phenomena appear to arise. These teachings convey Maharaj's basic premise, 'All you can teach is understanding, the rest comes on it's own.'
The dvd is divided in 12 themes which include: The I Am, The Body, Consciousness, The Nothingness, Realization, Spirituality and Spiritual Paths, The Guru, The Void, Birth and Death, Cause and Effect, That One Substance, The Illusion.
The themes presented by Stephen Wolinsky will take the viewer deeper into his Self through questions and explanations of the key concepts of Nisargadatta Maharaj's teachings.

DVD - Two and a half hours

Bede Griffiths: The Space in the Heart of the Lotus
Bede Griffiths and the Hindu-Christian Contemplative Experience
Dom Bede Griffiths's interest in Eastern philosophy began in England with early readings of the Bhagavad Gita and the Dhammapada. Ordained in 1940 as a Benedictine monk, Bede Griffiths arrived in India in 1955 to start a monastery. After two failed beginnings, he met Abhishiktananda (Dom Henri Le Saux), who had founded an ashram named Shantivanam. In 1968, Abhishiktananda left for a solitary life in the Himalayas and invited Bede Griffiths to take over the ashram. At Shantivanam, Father Bede lived a life of prayer and meditation, blending the contemplative practices of both Christianity and Hinduism. The Space in the Heart of the Lotus captures the heart of the Indian spirit and its sacred traditions. Against beautiful scenes of Indian life in a Christian Hermitage, these personal interviews with Father Bede reveal his deep love, spiritual insight, and reflections on meditative practice.
"Contemplation is not something which we achieve for ourselves; it is something that comes when we let go. We have to abandon everything, all words, thoughts, hopes, fears, all attachment to ourselves; or to any earthly thing, and let the divine mystery take possession of our lives." Bede Griffiths
DVD - 52 minutes

Yukari Hayashi: The Tibetan Book of the Dead (dvd)
Deel 1: Een Levensweg
Deel 2: De Grote Bevrijding
Met commentaar van Leonard Cohen
Het Tibetaanse Dodenboek is een mysterieus geschrift dat in de achtste eeuw werd geschreven door de Indiase boeddhistische leraar Padmasambavha. Eeuwenlang lag dit boek begraven in de Himalaya totdat het in de vijftiende eeuw herontdekt werd. Deel 1 van deze pakkende documentaire beschrijft de reis van de ziel van een overleden man vanaf het moment van overlijden tot en met zijn wedergeboorte, 49 dagen later. In deel 2 volgen we een oude Tibetaanse monnik en zijn leerling nadat zij de begrafenis van een dorpsgenoot hebben bijgewoond. De monnik fungeert als gids voor de ziel van de man die nu aan zijn grootste reis begint. De boodschap van de film is dat de dood niet alleen een bron hoeft te zijn van angst en verdriet, maar ook van vreugde en bevrijding. Op fascinerende wijze in beeld gebracht door Ishu Patel.
2x 46 minuten, Nederlands ondertiteld

Thich Nhat Hanh: Steps of Mindfulness (dvd)

Volg Thich Nhat Hanh, Vietnamees, Zenleraar, Vredesactivist op een reis naar India, waar de wortels van het boeddhisme liggen. Beelden worden afgewisseld met fragmenten van lezingen die Thich Nhat Hanh onderweg heeft gegeven.

Vergezeld door zijn monniken en nonnen bezoekt hij historische plaatsen zoals Bodh Gaya waar de Boeddha de verlichting bereikte. In deze film wordt aangetoond dat we door het beoefenen van 'aandacht ' inzichten kunnen verwerven die ons in staat stellen met onze gedachten en daden vrede te bewerkstelligen.

Regie: Thomas Lüchinger
Nederlands ondertiteld
82 minuten

Gurdjieff: Oriental Suite (book + 4 cd's)

Between 13 and 25 December 1923 the Gurdjieff Institute gave a series of eight public demonstrations of the Sacred Gymnastics and Movements at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris. The music, composed by Gurdjieff to accompany these dances, was orchestrated by Thomas de Hartmann and performed by an orchestra of thirty-five musicians.
In January 1924, Gurdjieff and his pupils sailed to America for a series of public demonstrations in New York, Boston, and Chicago.
At Gurdjieff's request, de Hartmann adapted the full orchestral scores for a smaller ensemble that would accompany the demonstrations there.
The four CDs enclosed with this book contain both the Paris orchestrations and the American versions, all recorded for the first time by the Metropole Orchestra and the Little Orchestra. An addenda section features music intended for Gurdjieff ’s unfinished ballet The Struggle of the Magicians.
In order to complete the reconstruction of the orchestral Gurdjieff de Hartmann music, the Oriental Suite, compiled by de Hartmann in 1956, is included as well.

Total duration 240 minutes
Book + 4 cd's