In vivid and sensuous detail, “Gurukulam” follows a group of students and their teacher as they confront fundamental questions about the nature of reality and self identity at a remote forest ashram in southern India. Daily chores, meditation, ritual and rigorous study are woven together connecting the natural and spiritual worlds in moments of surprising revelation and comic contradiction. Deeply observational and experiential, “Gurukulam” evokes the presence of the place and a tactile sense of the sacred. The richly layered soundscape and the intimate imagery bring us into a place of extraordinary beauty and simplicity.
From Swami Dayananda’s first lesson: ‘Saying is only an expression of what you see,’ “Gurukulam” is a rare invitation to look, listen, and experience a contemplative rhythm of life as old as the Bhagavad Gita and as new as present-day India.
“Gurukulam,” a sensory experiential cinema-verité documentary film, captures this tradition by following an influential monk, Swami Dayananda Saraswati, and his community of students. As one of the few remaining traditional teachers of Vedānta, Dayananda is a rarity. He is sought after not only for his command of Hindu wisdom texts, such as the Upaniṣads and the Bhagavad Gītā, but for his capacity to communicate ancient wisdom into living experience. At eighty-four years old, this may be the last long-term residential course he teaches.
It is produced and co-directed by award winning filmmaker and Yoga teacher, Jillian Elizabeth (“On Coal River,” “Whatever It Takes”) and co-directed by Neil Dalal, professor of Sanskrit and Yoga philosophy and traditional teacher of Vedanta. Mary Lampson is the editor, J.P. Sniadecki is the cinematographer and Ernst Karel is the sound mixer.
“Gurukulam” will have a special screening in NYC at the Rubin Museum of Art on August 22nd, August 23rd and August 24th.
To purchase tickets click here.
“Gurukulam” invites viewers to have a transformative contemplative experience by diving deep into the philosophical teachings of Advaita Vedanta, the ancient Indian wisdom tradition behind Yoga’s concept of “oneness.”
