If you get a chance,see this

gtam · January 24, 2001

Hi,

I am sure many have already seen but just to remind many who might have missed it,you must watch this movie"little Buddha".Its very well taken and certainly beeen a window for seeing the lifestyles of people around Buddha's time.

There is this other movie which many might disagree because it does have adult language etc but some of the core concepts are well shaped in the movie.The name of the movie is "The holyman".

I can tell you some of the topics in the above movies are very relevant to our discussions.

Bye

Thanks

rajesh · January 24, 2001

HARE KRISHNA

DEAR GTAM,

IT'S NICE THAT U WANT EVERY BODY TO KNOW ABOUT THOSE MOVIES BUT I WOULD LIKE U TO KNOW THAT THESE MOVIES R MADE BY THE ONES WHO R AFTER THEIR SENSE GRATIFICATION,THERE MIGHT NOT BE ANY TRUTH IN WHAT THEY SHOW B'COS THEIR ULTIMATE GOAL IS TO EARN MONEY AND THEY SHOW ONLY THOSE THINGS WHICH CAN ATTRACT PEOPLE.

SO I'M SORRY TO SAY THAT ATLEAST I'M NOT GOING TO WATCH THOSE MOVIES.

HARE KRISHNA,

A FALLEN SOUL,

RAJESH

sushil_kanoria · January 25, 2001

Hare Krishna Rajesh,

To some extent I agree with you but not fully, Don't you think it's better to watch a spiritual movie rather than watching other useless movies..

For example you might have seen so many spiritual serials coming on the Televisons like Ramayana, Mahabharata, Sri Krishna, & now Vishnu Purana, Mahabharat was made by Sippy brothers, There aim is just to earn money but still we watch their serials (Mahabharat) Am I right??

See rajesh something is better than nothing so let's encourage others to watch such type of movies.

Hari Bol,

Sushil

gtam · January 25, 2001

Hi

I did see some of the episodes of Vishnupuran,SriKrishna,Ramayana,Mahabharatha etc and they were exceptionally well taken in showing the Lord's pastimes.The complete effort in depicting the Lord's compassion to his devotees is very appreciable and we must watch more of these episodes to understand our philosophy and uplift our spiritual thinking.

Infact the movies I mentioned are'nt completely up to the mark but if we had to do mundane activities and still not deviate from our spiritual quest then these movies would'nt let us stray away very far.

Actually its nice that they are taking more of episodes like Mahabharat etc with subtitles in other languages so people in other countries can follow them.Sometimes it is nice to see how our culture is experienced by westerners more because of their situations of life being very different from ours.Its more like how the gopis in the absence of Lord Krishna looks at creatures and nature around and remind themselves of their association with the Lord when he had his pastimes at Vrindavana.

Again it definitely bothers us if moviemakers etc don't interpret it in the right way but a step taken is better than not taken.

I heard that there is this another one coming called "Gitarahasya" and am eager to watch it.

Thanks

Bhakta Shakta · January 25, 2001

"HARE KRISHNA

DEAR GTAM,

IT'S NICE THAT U WANT EVERY BODY TO KNOW ABOUT THOSE MOVIES BUT I WOULD LIKE U TO KNOW THAT THESE MOVIES R MADE BY THE ONES WHO R AFTER THEIR SENSE GRATIFICATION,THERE MIGHT NOT BE ANY TRUTH IN WHAT THEY SHOW B'COS THEIR ULTIMATE GOAL IS TO EARN MONEY AND THEY SHOW ONLY THOSE THINGS WHICH CAN ATTRACT PEOPLE.

SO I'M SORRY TO SAY THAT ATLEAST I'M NOT GOING TO WATCH THOSE MOVIES.

HARE KRISHNA,

A FALLEN SOUL,

RAJESH"

Thanks Rajesh.

If you watch too many of these movies your consciousness will be polluted and you will be forced to take birth in a lower species.

The question is:

Do you want to be a monkey in your next life?

If you don't, then follow His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada's example, and make sure you chant 16 rounds per day.

shvu · January 25, 2001

Hi Bhakta Shakta,

I have watched so many movies that I wonder how low I will be born in my next life ?

I wonder what will happen to people like Client eastwood and Amitabh Bachchan who have not only watched several movies, but acted in them too ?

Oh boy !

Cheers

gtam · January 25, 2001

Hi

Thats very nice, I have not been able to complete 16 rounds.May be I should do it and I've seen when I do sixteen rounds thats completly another feeling.(its undescribale joy)

I definitely agree that these things makes us loose focus but when you have decided to lead a household life worshipping of the Lord should be syncranised withthe daily activities.Certainly watching movies is not going to contribute to any service to the Lord.

The gopi's maintained a secret relationship with the Lord and so we don't want to show our relationship withthe Lord to everyone in our household life.We can go with their rhythm but pursue our interests of serving the Lord is what I intended to say.

Revered Vyasa in his several works has clearly mentioned how the Lord has appeared and explained the divine truth according to the times and trends relevent then.We can continue to use modern technology and its means to serve the Lord and remember his sweet pastimes.The gopi's had to cook,churn yogurt,dress up,take care of babies,husband,family but they did all this with the Lord in mind.

We have to continue our duties to the family and society we are living with but like you mentioned do the chanting( the prescribed path for Kaliyuga)or yes!again like you said another birth where even the aspect of serving Lord would not be even remembered by us.

Thanks

Bhakta Shakta · February 1, 2001

Previously posted b shvu:

"I have watched so many movies that I wonder how low I will be born in my next life ?"

I don't know. Maybe you'll take birth as a potato! We should all strictly follow the 4-regs and surrender to His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada who as given us eternal life after death.

But if you are going to watch a movie, watch a transcendental movie, The Matrix. I've seen it once on DVD. It was incredible from a material and spiritual standpoint. They're no sex-scenes in it, luckily for pure devotee peoples like me and Rajesh Prabhuji! I am going to rent it again whenever I get the chance.

It does not give credit to the Vedanta but it is so obvious it is completely based off Vedanta.

Hare Krishna.

Here's the parallel:

"The Matrix

They say that life imitates art, right? What this means, I think, is that artists are generally one step ahead of the rest of us, in figuring out what’s really going on.

With that in mind, have you seen the movie, The Matrix? If you haven't, I highly recommend that you go see it.

In this movie, Keanu Reeves plays a character called Neo. Neo is a 21st century computer hacker, who suspects that reality, as we know it, is nothing more than a software program.

In this movie, this software program is called the Matrix.

The fundamental premise here is that once you learn how this software program works, you in essence learn how to modify physical reality. A more familiar way of saying this is to say that once you learn the truth, the truth will set you free.

Of course, movies, like life itself, wouldn't be complete without the bad guys. In this case, the bad guys will go to any extreme to keep the existence of this matrix a secret. They can’t let anyone discover how the matrix works, because once that happens, they loose their source of power.

The movie was extremely popular, almost a cult phenomenon. It was one of those movies that people would go to see five or six times. So the question is obviously, why? A lot of the movie’s appeal was attributed to the special effects, and there is no question about it, the action scenes were great.

But as I watched those action scenes, I had to wonder something. Was it just the quality of the special effects that made this movie so popular? Or was there something more going on here? Were we somehow responding on a deeper level? In other words, was there something about the effect of the special effects?

Well, I think that’s the case. I think that one of the reasons the action scenes were so compelling was because they actually gave us the impression that, with the right information (i.e. with the right philosophy), we really can tap into, and modify, this matrix. We really can alter the underlying fabric of time and space.

And so what we experience here, is a world where we’re no longer limited by the laws of physics. We are simply limited by our understanding of them.

This movie really hit home for me, because, I have spent the past ten years of my life exploring just such a possibility. And I have come to the conclusion that it’s true. I believe there really is a software program that underlies physical reality. And it’s very similar to the Matrix. Although, I’ve given it a different name. I call it the Universal Operating System.

And I also believe that there is a part of us that, when activated, can access and modify this software. In other words, we really can alter physical reality. And we can do so in ways far beyond what most of us have ever imagined, or even dreamed, is possible.

And I also believe that once you understand how this software works, you’ll agree with me. You will see that it’s not only possible to alter time and space, but that it’s possible to transform our lives in such a way, so that our dreams, so that all of our dreams, really can come true.

- Chris"

animesh · February 2, 2001

Hi Bhakta Shakta,

It seems the writer of Matrix was very much inspired by Copenhagen Interpretation of Quantum Physics.

animesh · February 2, 2001

>I don't know. Maybe you'll take birth as a potato!

Then, I'll make his curry. :-)

shvu · February 2, 2001

Hi Bhakta Shakta,

I guess I am on my way towards becoming a potato.

Because when I tried to watch Matrix, I could not watch it for more than 25 mins. It turned me off. Then I watched the 'World is not enough' [007] and that cheered me up. I am more of the Gladiator and James Bond, kind of person.

Cheers

Bhakta Shakta · February 8, 2001

"Hi Bhakta Shakta,

It seems the writer of Matrix was very much inspired by Copenhagen Interpretation of Quantum Physics."

I don't think so. There are so many paralells that I don't see how it can't be based off Vedanta.

There are detective-agents, agents of Kali in our philsophy, who try to stop Keanu Reeves from realizing The Matrix. THe Matrix is a gigantice software program that creates and runs reality. The Matrix would be Brahman in our philosophy.

There are electronic devices injected in people to keep them in illusion (Maya).

At one point in the movie, Keanu has a choice between 2 pills. He can choose the red pill and happily go on living his life and never remembered a thing. Or he can chose the blue pill and take a chance to realize The Matrix (Brahman). There is no gurantee in success in the latter.

So many other things, which i've forgot because i haven't seen it in a long time.