Have Guru Darshan
David Berry Productions. 43 Minutes. $29.97
Jal Vishwa Dist., Route #1, Box 60, Malmo, Nebraska. 68040
This impressionistic video about the late Shri Hairakhan Baba (Babaji) conveys more mood than information. Yet, its message, enriched with exquisite music and photography, is unforgettably potent. Film maker and highly-acclaimed special effects expert David Berry makes the most of limited resources in this home movie. He leads us through compellingly unpredictable fast-forward sequences interposed with still shots and contrasted with inventive time-lapse photography, leaving us with a sense of viewing a series of portraits in motion. We watch Babaji dance, reeling and twirling in bliss to some seemingly irresistible inner force, while at each crucial turn he's caught, poised and suspended in action, allowing us to relish a detail. Then, suddenly, we are whisked to the top of a mountain to watch hours of Storm clouds gather in an instant – all to the exquisite, original and moving music of the accomplished Turkantam. Have Guru Darshan is not narrated but doesn't need to be. It's a moving drama of spiritual feeling. Shot in 1977, 1979 and 1981, this video is accompanied with printed material briefly explaining Babaji's 14-year Saivite Hindu mission (1970-1984). His message was: "Truth, Simplicity, Love."
Kauai's Siva Temple
Himalayan Academy Publications. 45 Minutes. $33.00
Himalayan Academy, P.O. Box 157, Hanamaulu, HI 96715
Kauai's Siva Temple is as entertaining as it is informative, Created to preserve the magic of the moment during Kadavul Hindu Temple's 1985 Kumbhabhishekam (12-year reconsecration and blessing ceremony), this high-quality video is a religious adventure suitable for viewing by Hindus and non-Hindus alike. In fact, it is permeated enough with facts and figures that it serves well as a basic introduction to traditional Hindu temple worship in general. In this film, Hawaii's only Siva Nataraja. Temple looks, feels and sounds like ancient India itself The orthodox preparations for the three-day event were conducted by two Sivachariya priests from India. Professionally filmed: and narrated, Kauai's Siva Temple includes long puja segments, native Hawaiian chants and beautiful scenes and songs from Hawaii's Garden Island. Perhaps the most significant and memorable ingredient of this visual marsala is the darshan and upadesh of His Holiness, Gurudeva, Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, spiritual preceptor of Saiva Siddhanta Church and founder of Kauai's Siva temple.
Article copyright Himalayan Academy.