Due to Vaj's benevolence I saw the movie and have a few thoughts. (surprise, surprise!)
There are as many ways to view the film as there are perspectives on Maharishi in and out of the movement, but even people who are all in should see it for the filming of Maharishi's funeral alone. Also not to be missed is the scene which caused the biggest fuss, but also showed how the inner movement experienced the changing of the guard on Maharishi's death. (I'll get back to that.) Maybe insiders have all sorts of tapes of how the other half lives in the movement, but I found the footage fascinating. He even has shots of the beautiful place I had my TTC phase III in Seelisberg, looking as oddly abandoned as it was when I as there. Past its World Government prime like one of those old ladies who stands on the ice rink at Rockefeller Center in a pink skating dress with her hands held in the air as if she has just completed the long program (nailed it) and now is ready for her 10's across the board. (Russia gave her an 8 but that was totally political.) The place is decked out in Liberace approved style. But its mountaintop placement is really striking. That was the most visually impressive place I ever lived. (Four months of eye candy.) Back to the movie. It seems honest to me. He goes through stages of mounting concern. He genuinely liked TM. Seeing the initiation day scene really brought me back. What magical fun that all was. I wonder if Guru Dev would step out of the picture and slay me if I initiated someone again? He might use that backwards Nazi symbol as a Chinese throwing star and lop off my head. (Sorry easily distracted today for some reason.) Or maybe he might try to use that staff on me. I think I could take him if he pulled that. Unless he was David feak'n Carridine with that thing, he couldn't swing it fast enough to neutralize my mad Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. (Perhaps I shouldn't try the puja again until my spontaneous fantasy is not grappling with Guru Dev? In my defense it was the Ultimate Fighting Championship mixed martial arts weekend, so I watched a lot of man on man action.) I guess he would zap me with a laser out of his third eye anyway so the world is still safe from me gett'n my Karpora gorum on anytime soon. But my point is that movie made me think of it, the scenes are sweet and nostalgic for me. (Like that is gunna de-blaspehemize the preceding paragraph!) His meeting with Lynch is doomed from the start. David comes off as the opposite of what I thought he would be like from his cool movies. He seems like he has lost all sense of irony and moves his fingers non stop in the itsy bitsy spider motion that really doesn't work for anyone over 4. I am no stranger to how that routine kills for the munchkin set but it doesn't fly for adults. He seems as if he is part stepping into Maharishi TM teacher mentally-disadvantaged simplicity, combined by having his ass kissed in richy rich world for a very long time. It has been a long time since he was not a VIP and his movement adulation has had an unpleasant effect. Or maybe he was always just a dweeb. He comes off as very uncool, very unaware of how fey he comes across. If I had the power I would strip him of his brilliant movie Blue Velvet and give the credit to someone who seems as if they could have created such a sly masterpiece. The scenes of Maharishi's funeral are a must see for anyone. They are just stunning and the best record of the event I have seen. The Purusha guys giddily jumping in the Ganges with his ashes is riveting. That could have been me, I would totally have done that when I was all in. If someone wanted to cut from this section to where he goes to the source of the ganges section they would love the movie, even if they were a hard-liner. He meets with the slightly Jabba the Hut-like Sarooopananda (SP?) who gives the elitist bastard perspective on Maharishi's lack of legitimacy. When he curls his lip describing Maharishi as a bookkeeper in the ashram I kind of want to slug him. Not out of allegiance to Maharishi, but because I am an American dammit and Maharishi's tale in the Hollywood treatment (Not by David) would be all about the scrappy little (Mickey Rooney would be a convincing casting)Baramachari who decided that tradition was not going to hold down his dreams of Golden Domes in his hands as well as those buildings they fly(NOT) in. (We will get to his paws on Golden Domes later with Judith.) So not being a spiritual guy I was struck at how unusual Maharishi was to buck the whole freak'n system. It either speaks to his immense grandiosity or his being a real self assured dude like Clint Eastwood in any of his movies. But one thing for sure, he knew he was flipping the bird to Guru Dev's whole traditional system. I am gunna connect this to Nandkashore later when he makes a scene with the rajas. Maharishi somehow walked out of Joitir Math with a self-confidence that he could do whatever the hell he wanted, with no traditional restrictions. It is kind of amazing really. I am temped to give him more innovator credit than charlatan shame at this point in my life. (Or maybe I should restrict that to this post. I reserve the right to go off on him in the future. He did sell it as a traditional practice connected to the elitist world of Guru Dev, and that seems suspect at best.) But I can't help bu ponder what allowed him to go rogue? Did he see through the Guru Dev deal in the end? He must have thought of him in a very original way to be willing to do what he did. Fascinating! So now we get to the big scene where he is filming the Raja's greeting King Tony as the successor for the first time and that is fantastic. The movement should have been glad he recorded this moment so well. He caught the drama of the changing of the guard. And it is all glowy TM celebration bullshittery till Nandkashore speaks up and it goes over like a fart in church. I met him when he ran the course in Yugoslavia, acting at the time like Maharishi's successor, and then he made us teachers so I got to talk with him some. The story is that he slept outside Maharishi's door for years. He came to the movement very young. He is a bit oddly feminine. His love for Maharishi knows no bounds, and I suspect there were many an adoring foot rub in their relationship. When he came to give into lectures with Purusha guys in DC he talked about the master disciple relationship till they put a lid on him. He couldn't help himself. He was the most adoring guy I ever met. He adored Maharishi like Maharishi claimed he adored Guru Dev, and then he seemed to get passed over in the end tragically. Passed over for Tony! This is the most poignant story within a story. After all those years of doing everything right (other than being socially bizarre) the succession passed him by. No wonder he was a little pissed and wasn't ready to bow to the king. And what he said was so innocuous really. He said he only wanted to do what Maharishi wanted, even now and would only go along with what he believed that was. Give the guy a break Bevan. (insert tasteless fat joke here please I don't have the energy as I feel Nandkashore's pain.) The overreaction to turn off the cameras was really unnecessary IMO. They were so afraid of the movement looking normally human? (As normally human as you can get with a room full of Rajas.) It was no big deal. But once again, in their lust for the presentation of perfection, they reveal that the movement always prefers pretense to reality. So they made a big deal about something which really was something honest. It was a family squabble as Bobby Roth effectively spun it. And who cares if the other people see it? That tendency makes the movement as uncool as David "wiggly fingers" Lynch. They just cannot allow themselves to be seen as humans. They are control freaks. It was a stupid blunder which they compound by asking to have film edit rights on the documentary. Yeah, that could happen, why even ask? So David Lynch launches a lawsuit and makes a fuss for no reason except to look like a dick. It was interesting to see our friend Mark Landau and the famous sandals. Kinda surreal. If anything he makes Maharishi seem more magical than I can relate to, so I don't know why movement types would really care. Taping Judith doing her Indian (American) healing stuff didn't really do her any favors. But she was pretty chipper about her love affair and it reinforces the sense you get from her book about her credibility. Everyone who has ever had a yoga fantasy of going to the source of the Ganges needs to see that part. Complete with my favorite scene with the sadhus he meets on the way who know how to party. ( I wont spoil it, the scene is worth the whole flick.) The scenes of that part of the world are amazing and it is impressive that he made the trek. I've gone on way too long, if you made it this far, thanks for your indulgence. I was just spilling out my thoughts so now I'll try to tighten up a bit for the landing. You gotta see it if you are, or were into TM. David Sieveking delivered the goods on a fascinating moment in movement history. He also plays decent harmonica a bunch in the film. What's not to like?
