Holy Men & Fools!

kullukid

Has anyone seen or know where i can get a copy of the dvd "Holy Men & Fools" by Mike Yorke.Here's a clip of it on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DWEzVNToZw
But where can i buy it? I've tried the website www.undeadarmy.org but that only brings up the 5min clip but doesn't say where to buy it. Help!! KK

Darmabum

looks fascinating . . . if I find anything I'll let you know . . . (P.S. ordered a Paul Brunton book, the first of the notebooks. Any of your other recommendations has to come from your side of the Atlantic, and is spendy . . . can't wait to read the first one.) Thank you for the recommendations.

__________________
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate; our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure - Marianne Williamson

kullukid

Hi Darma,like i said in the P.M. IMHO his best 2 were "A Search In Secret India" & "The Wisdom Of The Overself" followed by "An Hermit In The Himalayas" Don't want to disappoint you but i've never bothered with "The Notebooks" I think that's exactly what they are a series of notes, observations & musings on Spirituality that he made over the years, but i've never read them so not really for me to comment. Let me know your thoughts once you've read it. KK

P.S. there is another book called "The Hidden Teaching Beyond Yoga" which he said should be read before "The Wisdom Of The Overself" which i did & it was interesting but not essential a lot more basic than "The Wisdom"

Darmabum

I found a paperback copy of Search in Secret India for less than $75 . . .

I will let you know about the Notebook . . . as a writer I'm interested in notes . . .

I've got a week on small boat in Southern California coming up; will be nice to have Brunton with me, as well as an Eknath Easwaran edition of the The Upanishads . . . just hope there's not much surf or the reading may have to wait til I get back to my snowy mountain home. Scott

Trika_yogi

Eknath was a fascinating and wise fella. If you haven't read(which im sure you have) the Shiva Sutras, Spanda Karikas, Vijñanabhairava, etc.. etc.. All great treatise on Monism, and they add onto Vedanta and take it to a higher level.
(All very difficult reads. Not that its difficult to degest, just that there are underlying esoteric meanings to much of it)

kullukid

How much?? it's about RS300 in India.Here's an Hardback for $24.95
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw...Go.x=7&Go.y=10

And here's some copies of the Wisdom from $7.95

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw....x=9&Go.y =11

Trika_yogi

Why did Paul Brunton change his name 3 times?

Darmabum

thank you for the links. Will do some exploring.

I haven't read the Upanishads since college (a lot of water has flowed under the Howrah Bridge since that time) but already am finding Easwaran an interesting read. Can't wait for PB. I'm still prayin' for surf in Southern California, realized I could surf all day, read at night . . .

Trika, I've heard that about Brunton too; best consumed in small doses.

Scott

Trika_yogi

Surf? <cries> I'm a body boarder, but live in Florida. I wish i was in SoCal right now It was about chest high here yesterday, but the water is chilly. I can't wait till its in the 80's again, full suits make me feel like im shackled.

Have fun and hope you get some head high glassy barrels!

Darmabum

I'll be staying on a boat in Santa Barbara Harbor, about a three minute walk from one of the hollowest little waves around . . . (around sunrise small schools of dolphin usually work the surf line for breakfast) . . . breaks on a shallow sandbar . . . a two foot wave can work ya (then there's Brunton and Easwaran at night to ease the pain) . . . I'll get one for you . . . an I will be in a full suit . . . water temps should be in the high 50's . . . low 60's . . . Scott

kullukid

I don't know Trika, do you? i imagined it was because he was an author & authors often use different pen names???? KK

Darmabum

it was because as he grew/changed/evolved he felt the old names no longer fit him/were him . . .

kullukid

When P.B. became a writer he chose the pen name Brunton Paul, but when his publishers saw this they mistakenly read it has Paul Brunton. Here's a link about it. KK
http://www.hinduismtoday.com/archive...91-12-03.shtml

jaat

his real name was raphael hurst right?

kullukid

At long last with much perseverance on my part i managed to track down the director of this film "Holy Men & Fools" & i'm now the proud owner of a copy on DVD.
Anyway with no exaggeration on my part it's probably one of the best films i've seen on the Himalayas & the lives of Sadhus.
Because of my erm... over enthusiasm the producer an English guy called Micheal Yorke sent me lot's of extra still photo's of the filming & a synopsis on the film here are the photos:

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/kulluk...=WYAypgWFY tg

Here's a clip of the film
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DWEzVNToZw

Here's some reviews:
57 WORD SYNOPSIS.
Filmmaker Michael Yorke sets off on a pilgrimage across the high Himalayas in the company
of two Hindu ascetics. His aim is to understand their extraordinary life of devotion and
extreme penance, but the journey forces Michael to confront his own spiritual path. Will he
end up on the side of the wise men or the fools?

137 WORD SYNOPSIS.
Filmmaker Michael Yorke sets off on a pilgrimage across the high Himalayas. His guides are
Uma, a retired Swedish model who has spent 25 years seeking enlightenment, and Vasisht,
a charismatic young Indian holy man. Together they wander the mountains, living in the
caves and huts of reclusive mystics who have sacrificed all on their path to God.
Michael’s aim is to understand this extraordinary life of devotion and extreme penance, but
Uma and Vasisht feel their esoteric secrets should not be divulged to foolish outsiders. As
friendship develops, Michael is forced to confront his own spiritual path; can he trade his
western logic and reason for faith and intuition?
After his rare and intimate glimpse into the hidden world of Hindu asceticism, will Michael
end up on the side of the wise men or the fools?

290-WORD SYNOPSIS.
Award-winning filmmaker Michael Yorke sets off on a life-affirming pilgrimage across the
high Himalayas. His guides are Uma Giri, a 63-year old Swedish ex-model who has spent
25 years seeking enlightenment, and Vasisht Giri, a charismatic young Indian holy man.
Together they go on a pilgrimage of self-discovery into the mountains. They climb to the
source of India’s holiest rivers, and live in the caves and huts of reclusive mystics who have
sacrificed everything on their path to God.
Michael’s aim is to understand this extraordinary life of devotion and extreme penance, but
it’s not straightforward. While Uma is happy to talk about the traumatic history that
brought her to the Himalayas, Vasisht is reluctant to divulge his past. He feels that the
esoteric secrets he has worked so hard to discover should not be shared with foolish
outsiders. Michael has to prove his worth.
The rigours of the journey reveal just how much self-sacrifice and discipline are involved in
this route to enlightenment. Eventually, Vasisht begins to open up, and Michael comes to
understand the inner strength acquired through asceticism.
As the friendship develops, Michael is forced to confront his own spiritual path; is he able to
trade his western logic and reason for faith and intuition?
‘Holy Men and Fools’ is an intimately observed authored documentary. The film provides us
access to the inner experience of one of the most extreme and arduous religious disciplines
in the world. Through Uma and Vasisht, we come to understand the motives and rewards of
those who commit to a life of extreme devotion.
After his rare and intimate glimpse into the hidden world of Hindu asceticism, will Michael
end up on the side of the wise men or the fools?
Holy Men And Fools, Synopses & Notes page 2
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
This is a deeply personal film exploring a subject that I have always found fascinating –
how people satisfy their inner spiritual needs. It is a story of deep faith. It follows the
search for ultimate truth in one of the most radical religious disciplines in the world, and
the rewards that it brings to those capable of submission to the will of God.
As an anthropologist I have spent my life studying Indian culture. I have made
numerous films for television - for the BBC and Channel 4 in the UK, CNN in the USA and
NHK in Japan.
I have won many awards for my films including the Golden Gate Award for best
documentary in 1992, the Royal Television Society Award for Best Team Production in
2002, the BBC Asia Award in 2002, UN Environmental Program Award in 1996 and the
National Geographic Earthwatch Award in 1990.
As an anthropologist I have spent my life studying Indian culture. I have made
numerous films for television broadcast on the BBC, the UK Channel Four, CNN in the
USA and Japan's NHK, among others.
PRODUCTION NOTES
"Shooting with Holy Men"
Hindu holy men live by the sun and the stars, rather than the clock and the calendar. Their life is unruly
and totally in tuitive. They carry no maps and chart no history. At a moment’s whim they will up and go.
They are not an easy subject for the camera, but when they do open up the results are startling.
My previous experience filming with holy men allowed me unique access to their esoteric practices and
traditions, but didn’t prepare me for the rigours of this journey. We slept in caves, begged for our food
and climbed from the boiling heat of the Indian plains into snow-capped peaks at over 14,000 feet in the
Himalayas.
To shoot this film I had to be a one-man team with a Sony PD150, a tripod and a solar battery -charger
strapped over my backpack. For 18 days everything had to be carried by a local porter and myself.. This
way of filming developed an intense intimacy with my travelling partners, and provoked the most
unexpected responses in myself.