Yogi Movie of July 2023: Spirited Away
“If you completely forget your name, you’ll never find your way home.”
— Haku
Why Yogi Movie of the Month?
Yogi Movie of the Month was born in the hopes of making Jnana Yoga (the Path of Knowledge) more accessible.
Few of us have the luxury of access to living gurus or the attention span/ability to unpack the dense yogic scriptures on our own. Thankfully, gurus are many, gurus do not have to (necessarily) be alive, and knowledge that leads to sincere contemplation and self-realization can be found in stories and movies imbued with profound meanings. Here at 7YGH, we endeavor to present you with various sources of such knowledge on a monthly basis.
To provide some instruction on how to best digest this source of knowledge, you will find a general explanation of Jnana Yoga in Jnana Yoga 101 followed by tips on how to apply Jnana Yoga while you watch in How to Watch This Movie. If you are informed and/or would like to skip to the meat of the movie review itself, use the Table of Contents below to navigate to your desired section.
Table of Contents
i. Jnana Yoga 101
ii. How to Watch This Movie
iii. About This Movie
iv. Why You Should Watch This Movie
v. Trailer
The Path of Knowledge
Traditionally, the path of Jnana Yoga refers to 3 processes. The main goal of these 3 processes is to answer the Big Question: Who Am I? By answering this question, smaller critical questions such as “Why Am I Here?” and “What Do I Do With What I Have Been Given?” are automatically answered.
These 3 processes are as follows:
(1) Sravana, or wholeheartedly (open mind, open heart) listening to yogic scriptures (Sruti) from the mouth of a verifiable source (Guru)
(2) Manana, or constant reflection upon what was heard, application of that which was heard to one’s own life and lived experiences, as well as the integration of that knowledge into daily action
(3) Nididhyasana, otherwise known as the culmination of sravana and manana, is a type of meditative and transcendent awareness that happens spontaneously on its own accord. It is a deep understanding and subsequent embodiment of the Truth gleaned from the process of listening deeply with one’s heart, contemplating, and living the knowledge.
Why Should You Practice Jnana Yoga?
The systematic processes of Jnana Yoga should be undertaken frequently to nurture the soul, put things in perspective, and loosen the bonds of strong attachments. Jnana Yoga directly nourishes our inner world by teaching us the skill of maintaining distance, of separating the “I am” from what follows. At its subtlest levels, the practice of Jnana Yoga allows us to mold reality with our right perception.
By regularly analyzing the nature of life, existence and the identity of the “I am” through the practice of Jnana Yoga, we are able to maintain peace of mind and more quickly come back to a place of balance during emotional upheaval, crisis, and the inevitable stresses of the world.
In its early stages, the practice helps us build endurance to the pain of opposites—heat, cold, love, loss, thirst, hunger, desire, repulsion, etc.
In later stages, the practice culminates in a transcendence of the pain of opposites, a state wherein we are able to truly bear witness to our bodies and minds, as well as the bodies and minds of others, without attachment or judgment. In so doing, Jnana Yoga allows us to live our lives to the utmost; by helping us understand the true nature of reality, Jnana Yoga results in the loss of attachments, and in the loss of attachments we are relieved of expectations. Freed of the bondage of expectations, we can truly and fully enjoy the world.
Keep an open mind before, during, and after watching the movie. If you aren’t open to learning, if you aren’t striving for betterment, and if you aren’t willing to be wrong (!), even the highest knowledge won’t be effective/can’t help you. Half the work of self-realization comes from effort on our parts to retain open minds and open hearts with a complete awareness of our nature’s tendency to do the opposite (to judge, close off, guard). The goal is not to stop these processes of judgment, etc., but to always be aware of them and to persevere to push past them when they flare up.
Treat this movie as you would a more traditional transmission of knowledge (i.e. a living Guru or Teacher). Treat the movie with reverence and respect; this is the first step to taking the knowledge contained within seriously, and the most important step to opening up your heart to receive and understand this knowledge. Make sure you can watch the movie uninterrupted; mute or silence your phone. Give your full attention to the movie during the entirety of its duration; avoid snacking and other unconscious behaviors.
Take time after the end of the movie to digest the knowledge. Journal, record your immediate reflections on an audio note, or simply sit and ponder. We recommend setting a timer for at least 15-30+ minutes post-movie for this process. Set a calendar reminder for a couple days or a week later to spend another 15-30+ minutes returning to your reflections/adding to them.
Outline the lessons learned and apply them to your daily life. Make a list of the lessons learned from the movie. Try to distill the lessons to a couple of words/a sentence for each lesson, e.g. “Lesson #1: Be kind”. Put this list somewhere visible—on your fridge, taped to your bathroom mirror, or anywhere you will see it daily. Go the extra mile by checking in with yourself at night to go through the day’s events and mentally (or via journal) noting down where you (for example) were kind, where you weren’t, where you could’ve or should’ve been kinder.
Title
Spirited Away
Director
Hayao Miyazaki
Genre
Animation, Fantasy/Adventure
Language
Japanese (with English subtitles)
Length
2 hr 5 minutes
Rating
Rated PG for some scary moments.
Summary
💡 Spirited Away is an animated fantasy/adventure that follows Chihiro, a 10-year-old girl that enters the world of kami (Japanese spirits) to save her parents after they are turned into pigs.
When her parents are turned into pigs, 10-year-old Chihiro crosses over into the spirit world, taking a job at a bathhouse to save them. On her journey, she must give up (and reclaim) her name, fulfill a contract with the witch Yubaba, and traverse the workplace politics of the spirit world’s bathhouse. Before returning to the human world, Chihiro uncovers the importance of friendship, the beauty of the past, and the purpose of the present.
A lesson in karma — Chihiro’s parents turn into pigs after acting like pigs, offering an instant lesson on the basics of karma: for every action, there’s a suitable reaction. What’s interesting is that karma or action never occurs in a vacuum but ripples outwards to affect other souls (we are interconnected, after all); by their action of greed, Chihiro’s parents turn into pigs, and by the action of their transformation, Chihiro is forced to undertake labor at a spiritual bath house to free them (and herself). This gives us pause to examine our own actions in the world—and how they may be affecting those around us.
Chihiro’s journey serves as a larger metaphor for the journey we all must undergo on the spiritual path—Chihiro’s goal is to save herself and her parents and to return to the physical (material) world. But to do so she must give up her name and serve spirits at a bath house. There are powerful parallels here between Chihiro’s work and karma yoga as well as initiation into spiritual lineages (which typically entails taking on a new name) that are worth pondering over.
An analysis of choice on the spiritual path (or lack thereof) — the spiritual path is the only path in life (everything is spiritual); what most of us refer to as the undertaking of the spiritual path refers to the act of becoming conscious of that fact. Often that becoming is painful and volatile and the nature of choice on the path is questionable. Even though Chihiro chooses to work at the bath house (a metaphor for undertaking the spiritual path), what choice does she really have after her parents have been turned into pigs? Still, a choice is a choice, and the movie’s scenario offers keen insights into the qualities of strength and courage that are prerequisites for spiritual seekers and the path.
The importance of friendship and companionship on the spiritual path— the spiritual path plunges one into a realm of the unknown, where the things we thought we knew, like working, become opportunity for spiritual growth (in this case, a whittling or transcending of the ego). In this realm one has no choice but to turn to anyone friendly enough to help. The various bonds Chihiro forms highlight the importance of keeping an open heart, reserving judgment, cultivating friendships, and most importantly accepting help as we tread the spiritual path.
The work of karma yoga and transcending the ego — Chihiro’s work at the bath house can be seen through the lens of a karma yogi. Even though as karma yogis we enter into the contracts of selfless service willingly, we cannot help but constantly display resistance as we go. There is a pivotal scene where Chihiro embraces the spirit of service and her transformation up to this point is quite moving and reassuring for our own journeys.
We undertake the spiritual path for liberation AND the betterment of our material lives — compare the opening and ending scenes and recognize the difference in Chihiro’s maturity as well as the shift in her perspective ON life (versus IN life). This is the real, practical benefit of the spiritual path; it shows us the world for what it truly is: a place of joy and vitality.
The key to freedom is remembering who we are — the theme of names is inherent from the beginning. But what’s in a name? Is it the name that has power over us… or our identification with it? Chihiro’s and Haru’s journeys in losing and regaining their names give us good reason to examine our own relationships with our names and the things we allow to determine our identity.