Yogi Movie of October 2023: I Origins
PRIYA VARMA:
You know a scientist once asked the Dalai Lama, "What would you do if something scientific disproved your religious beliefs?" And he said, after much thought, "I would look at all the papers. I'd take a look at all the research and really try to understand things. And in the end, if it was clear that the scientific evidence disproved my spiritual beliefs, I would change my beliefs."IAN:
That's a good answer.PRIYA VARMA:
Ian... what would you do if something spiritual disproved your scientific beliefs?
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. 3 Movie-Inspired Exercises for Reflection and Inner Wisdom
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
I Origins
Director
Mike Cahill
Genre
Science Fiction, Drama, Romance
Language
English
Length
106 minutes
Rating
R—there’s cursing and some explicit nudity/sex scenes.
Summary
💡 This science-fiction film explores the age-old conflict between logic and spirit, specifically in regards to reincarnation and the soul. When a molecular biologist sets out to discredit the existence of an intelligent creator—God—by charting the evolution of the eye, he finds what he’s looking for. But his beliefs are called into question when he discovers the unique pattern of the iris of someone he knew duplicated in another, suggesting the possibility of metempsychosis: the transmigration at death of the soul from one body to another.
Asks big questions — Do we have souls? Do we have past lives? These are the sorts of questions that draw many of us to the spiritual world, to practices like meditation, pranayama, and yoga asana. This movie asks those questions in a very up-front way, which is refreshing. The asking never feels dry; the questions are dressed up in drama and a love story, making them easy to digest.
Explores a paradigm shift, leading towards a merging of the rational and spiritual belief systems — Does science have to war against religion? Does the proof of evolution support or detract from the idea of a greater existence underlying all things? God, Spirit, the Universal Force, does not have to be diametrically opposed to the world of metrics, materials, science. Science vs. God is an invention of the human mind. It’s about time that we start to do away with that presumption. To do so, we must become learned in both languages—the languages of the scientist and the spiritualist. This movie is far from a scientific documentary or a religious scripture, but it’s dance around the conflict between the two seemingly opposing POVs can be a great precursor to furthering interest in both arenas.
Invites exploration of our own belief systems and tightly-held opinions — What have you stopped thinking twice about? There are so many things that we’ve made up our minds about. It’s natural to then either disregard that which opposes our POVs or to morph it into a supportive perspective. This movie invites us to not only explore our belief systems and the opinions that we just don’t budge about, it asks us to look to the opposite side and wonder why they couldn’t be right. Most importantly, this movie dares to ask us: Why are we so afraid of being wrong?
Has some grounding in scientific reality — While the findings described in the film are (mostly) fictional, the technology for identifying humans by iris pattern recognition isn’t anything new. This technology is called EyeLock, and the philosophical implications of its use and implantation are wide and worth exploring. If you’re interested in learning more, the founder of EyeLock, Jeff Carter, gave a talk at TEDx on ‘Extreme Identity’. You can watch the 13-minute video here.
Asks and doesn't answer the question, Who Am I? — It’s interesting that the movie is called I Origins… and not Eye Origins. Very interesting. Because of course the movie isn’t really about the eye; it’s about the I behind the eye. This movie invites you to ask, Who Am I?; to look at what you believe constitutes your identity. An intriguing aside is our need for something unique to grab onto; in this still-individualist landscape of identity, why is it that we need so badly to have this sense of something (like the iris) that is totally and wholly 100% only you? The movie puts forth the wonderful assertion that perhaps there is nothing that is 100% only you—because you are more than just you. Worth pondering, that’s for sure!
Good introduction into the complexities of reincarnation — I’ve always been a fan of reincarnation, from a point of view of science. I’m not a scientist and I have a hard time grasping the complexities of physics. Still, I’ve had a fascination with the stars and atoms since I was young. I’ve always thought about the fact that in physics and chemistry, the law of the conservation of energy states that the total energy of an isolated system remains constant; that is, energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be transformed or transferred from one form to another. I’ve always felt that this scientific law supported the existence of some form of reincarnation; if energy cannot be created or destroyed, then it has to be recycled from something that came before (which is, more or less, what reincarnation is). This movie offers a good introduction to this topic. Because the movie ends somewhat ambiguously, it invites further exploration on your own time. Reincarnation is a huge subject matter in the yogic traditions and its ties to greater implications about existence and reality are incredibly worthwhile as a method for self-study.
Reminds us that love is the greatest catalyst for transformation and realization. The essence of love—in all of its many forms—is one of the strongest driving forces behind all change and transformation in the world. If you don’t believe me, look at yourself, your life, and any big changes you have undergone. At the beginning of each change you will find the reason for transformation to be either because, in chase of, or in opposition of love; love for another, love for yourself. The story that forms the bedrock of this movie is based upon this age-old immutable reality of love as the catalyst for exploration and realization, the thing that is beyond desire, the force that keeps us coming back to topics and areas of life that we would have otherwise abandoned. There is a lot of food for thought behind the concept of love itself, and this movie, if anything, can be seen as an invitation to revisit our own past relationships, whether they be romantic or otherwise. In this revisiting, the movie asks us to see and offer gratitude for how these relationships have formed and reformed our belief systems—about ourselves and the world around us—challenging us to become the best version of ourselves.
Pick an opinion or POV that you feel strongly about. The more intensely you feel about it, the better. Now argue the opposite POV. For example, if you consider yourself pro-life, argue for pro-choice; if you are vegetarian (or vegan), advocate for being an omnivore. Compile research to back up this opposite perspective. If you can stomach it, write out the argument; or record yourself.
Sit with the unexplainable. Human beings are lovers of patterns and we are very good at recognizing them. In general, our minds tend towards logic, or the desire to explain things; humans are drawn to both the spiritual and scientific sciences for much the same questions, questions about existence and reality. Use this opportunity to identify 1 to 3 questions that make your head hurt. They can be silly questions, questions like “Do we live in the Matrix?”; big questions, questions like, “How does the inevitability of my death make me feel?”; and so on. Close your eyes, set a timer to 5 - 30 minutes, and bring the question to mind. Sit with the question for this duration of time and observe where your mind jumps to. Alternatively, you can journal or audio instead.
Notice and note down synchronicities and coincidences. You run into a friend that you haven’t seen in 12 years at a coffee shop you would never go to (but did, because your sick friend asked you to go there). The clock above you reads 3:33 just as you see a headline on a passing bus or newsstand about the war in the Middle East—and humanity coming together because of it. These kinds of occurrences may mean nothing; they may mean everything; the meaning is not the point. Noticing them and writing them down is a powerful way of nurturing self-awareness. It helps to carry around a little pocket journal (if you’re nostalgic, like I am) to do so; or, you can keep a running note on your phone.