BANARAS II ?

I received a mail from Prem, the mystic from Chicago, that I would like to share with all of you. In time, I would try and answer some of the questions Prem has raised.The deapth of his understanding and his being is so visible......Thanks Prem for taking the time to write.


Dear LalG,

Pranams! I just visited your blog after a long time. Your cat Kittu looks beautiful!

I am happy to see that Banaras was screened in Goa. Mr.Steve is right. Just like that number 1 Xmas movie, Banaras will be remembered as one of the best Mystical movies as time passes by. You have given us all mystics a special gift.

I was watching the movie yesterday night. I was going to ask you more about the Music in the movie. I just found some answers in the June 29 blog archive. The title song NamaShivaya still rings in my ears. Pt.Jasraj is my favorite. Honestly I felt some kind of presence of Pt.Jasraj while listening to the songs, the singers’ voices in the movie reaching tremendous depth before reaching the heights and then moving fluidly. I just realized reading in your blog that Mr.Sanjiv Abhankar is a protégé of Pt.Jasraj. How amazing!

I am not familiar with all the musicians and singers. But when I listen to the depth of notes, vitality of the voice, arousing drums, strings, bells, etc the whole gamut of sound universe coming alive, everyone of them I realize truly is a Creator who can turn people on and make people come alive with the magic of Sound. And above all to put together a Team like that shows how much you are attuned to Divine Music.

The movie deals with important Human questions that it transcends all language and cultural boundaries. Even though it is just a passing scene in the beginning, a girl sits devastated by the accident in total shock in front of Shwetambari. Shweta shows her father the red wedding sari, and her Father gives her the bad news he is killed. Krishna playing the flute as they carry the corpse, the corpse burning on the banks, how the broken to pieces Shweta goes through the pain and emerges out of it - the screenplay and the sequences are gripping, you just get glued to the screen. No scene in the movie is an unnecessary scene.

Every scene is tied to the gravity of the significant questions that the movie deals with? Do I have a Teacher like Babaji watching over me and guiding me, or am I alone here? “Satya Kya Hai”?

I am curious and I have similar questions like your friends on the blog. When the bird flies away and Soham’s nerves gets fired up and he experiences the Cosmos – is that your real personal experience? It is so vivid to the detail, the bird flying off before the experience – it is poetically perfect. I can tell it is definitely somebody’s experience, because the Earthquake, the volcano, etc are all signs mentioned in books about kundalini. But the bird cooing and taking off is a special experience.
I feel the presence of Buddha, Shiva, Krishna and Babaji in your Aura. Have you met Babaji sir? I studied Kriya Yoga for 2 years here in Chicago at the Temple of Kriya Yoga in the lineage of Babaji. People in that school love Babaji, they have a special all day celebration for Babaji every year.

In the first scene during the title Setu Creations, a cosmic baby opens its eyes and looks at the Earth. What does that Baby symbolize? I have had a similar vision while meditating in Shirdi Sai Temple where half of the baby’s body is submerged in the water and the other half of the baby is above the Cosmic water. And the baby’s eye is very big. I have always been very curious what that means.

I din’t know you were here in Chicago sir. I would have loved to meet such a spirited fragrant soul attuned to the vibrations of Banaras. Who in the Bollywood would have had the guts to make such a movie like Banaras! Bollywood caters to the lower needs of Man. Banaras caters to the divine thirst in Man. It points out the nature of True Love. I feel your vibration in the Beautiful Souls of Shweta and Soham; what is not in us does not come out in our Creation!

In Most of Bollywood movies woman and men don’t show maturity in relationships or delicate matters of the heart. The character of Shwetambari shows remarkable maturity - how she stands up and expresses her love with such grace, how she carries herself and how considerate and understanding she is to a spiritually evolved Soham. I fell in love with Urmila after seeing Shwetambari. And there is a certain softness and grace in Mr.Ashmit Patel that perfectly fits the character of Soham – a Soul in poise and balance. The Chemistry in the relaionship of Shwetambari and Soham is so lovely, and how they relate with each other is so perfect.

What does the name Shwetambari mean?

In the love songs, Urmila and Amish interact with each other so fluidly without any stiffness. You don’t see any jerky movements releasing nervous energy that you usually see in most Bollywood songs. The movements have a graceful relaxed flow that is fascinating. Well done by the actors, choregraphers and the Director. It shows how well they understood the spirit of the movie.

The Aspirations of Banaras expresses itself beautifully through Shwetambari and Soham, a love play between Shakti and Shiva. The Character of Shwetambari portrays the well developed Psychic Centers and bodies, and in Soham the Spirit Center Body.

MonaLisa is not a real woman, it is the beautiful soul of DaVinci. Banaras is not just another Bollywood movie, it is a painting, it is the spiritual essence of a soul that has dared to pour its delicate and intimate passions on the Big White Screen. That Soul is an instrument and a seat of the Divine. Time will prove Mr.Steve is right.

The last scene between Shwetambari and her Mother asking for forgiveness. I was in tears watching it. And Babaji and Soham standing behind Shwetambari in the end watching over her from the spirit world…..every mystic soul and perhaps all souls will relate with those scenes, it will strike a chord deep inside. Aum NamaShivaya! Aum NamaShivaya!

The movie and the characters and the places and the story – everything is now permanently etched in my memory. For now my dream to go, visit and see Banaras is fulfilled through Banaras movie. Someday hopefully I will be able to make it to the City. Do you have another story to tell about Banaras may be in Banaras 2 movie? Or perhaps a National Geography or Discovery type documentary on history, traditions, practices, etc of Banaras? Smiles!

Simple dialogues profound meanings: “Yeh Banaras hai! Yahan Soham Marate Nahnee!”

With Love and Respect,
Prem.