New spiritual documentary: Short Cut to Nirvana

Patrick let me know about a new film called Short Cut to Nirvana. My favorite part of the trailer is when the Dali Lama gets to play with a Sadhu's meditation drum, and then laughs.

Visit the film's website for all the details such as when it is playing in your neighborhood.

SYNOPSIS
The Kumbh Mela is the biggest gathering of people in the history of humanity – although few in the West have ever heard of it. More than 70 million pilgrims attend this extraordinary spiritual festival, which has been held every 12 years near Allahabad, India, for over two millennia. A vast tent city is established to accommodate the masses, and many of India’s greatest gurus and spiritual leaders set up camp to give discourses to their devotees. On certain auspicious days everyone takes a holy dip at the confluence of two actual rivers - the Ganges and Yamuna - and a mythical river, the Saraswati. On the main bathing day, more than 25 million people bathe in the sacred waters. This single act of faith is believed to cleanse the sins of a thousand lifetimes and secure release from the endless cycle of rebirth – literally a short cut to the state of purest bliss… nirvana.

Short Cut to Nirvana: Kumbh Mela takes us on
a voyage of discovery through this vivid and vibrant world,
accompanied by an irrepressible young Hindu monk,
Swami Krishnanand, and several Westerners, each on
their own spiritual quest. With Swamiji we encounter
some of the Kumbh Mela's wisest and most fascinating
characters, including an ascetic sadhu who has held
his arm in the air for over 20 years, another who sits
on a throne of nails, a Japanese devotee who is buried
in a pit for three days, and a guru who proposes that
Americans would do well to start meditating for three
hours each day. We also spend time in the company of
an honored guest, the Dalai Lama, as senior leaders of
Hinduism and Buddhism join together in an historic
moment of unity.

More than a simple account of the Kumbh Mela, this
film is a sensory experience of an ancient, grand
occasion, a swirl of color and motion, song and
cacophony, the sacred and the surreal -- spiritual
India exactly as anyone would hope to find it. And
from this ancient culture comes a powerful and
uplifting message of harmony, unity, and peace for all
humanity.