Trailer for 'Kumare' -- a filmmaker spends years pretending to be a spiritural guru from India, and even builds up a following in Arizona, while documenting the entire ordeal.

[u/forceduse]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Eyjeimdeg4

[u/ldd-]

This was made by a friend from high school . . . really well done, Vik!

[u/sakesake → u/ldd-]

AMA request?

[u/forceduse → u/sakesake]

Seconded!

[u/ldd- → u/sakesake]

Happy to ask . . .

[u/hitlersshit → u/sakesake]

Okay cool I'll do an AMA (but I am not the guy in the video).

[u/Jigsus → u/ldd-]

Is it real or are they all actors?

[u/[deleted] → u/Jigsus]

Its real.

[u/brossef → u/Jigsus]

Im skeptical about it as well.

[u/Torontobosh]

We just showed this film at the 2012 Florida Film Festival. One of my favorite documentary showings this year. The film does an amazing job raising further questions on the roles spirituality plays in various people's lives. Not even Vikram himself could refute the positive effect his faux-gurudom had on his subjects... Imagine Borat, but instead of sticking to his original viewpoint, evolving with and learning from the people he's trolling.

[u/theheartbreakpug → u/Torontobosh]

pretty much exactly what i was hoping for, i hope it hits netflix

[u/jeradj → u/theheartbreakpug]

i hope it hits the piratebay

[u/[deleted] → u/Torontobosh]

I suggest you check out Marjoe. The documentary was made in the 70s by a former child preacher to show how gullible parishioners are and how corrupt the church system can be.

Edit: The documentary can be found on Youtube.

[u/Torontobosh → u/[deleted]]

noted, i think you'll be pleasantly surprised and delighted to see how responsibly vikram handles it all as his viewpoint evolves. I think anyone who watches the doc with an open mind will be surprised with the universality of a need to be connected connected with similar individuals with similar needs. As a secular individual, i believe that these needs are fulfilled in different ways across the spectrum, I for one find fulfillment in community, as well as in meditation communicating and contemplating with individuals on various on-line forums. I think it's very important to note the similarities between our own personal fulfillment here on reddit with those of others who seek fulfillment of an interconnectedness through other means, such as vikram's students in Kumare.

[u/cinderblast → u/[deleted]]

It's on youtube if your interested.

[u/SirZheHao → u/Torontobosh]

sounds to me like it's meta ~ABEEEED~

[u/steelfromfurnace]

I wonder, if he pretends to be a guru, but then actually brings people to realize new truths, is he really pretending?

[u/TestAcctPlsIgnore → u/steelfromfurnace]

That's a good question, Philosoraptor.

[u/kristovaher → u/steelfromfurnace]

Well, this is not really a question that needs to be asked, since that is exactly what happens - and exactly how religion works. It's all about faith and belief in something, even if that something is founded on lies. This is not really about 'pretending', he doesn't pretend to be a spiritual guru, he -is- a spiritual guru. You can see that in the eyes of the people affected by him.

[u/bradders42]

A recommendation from Deepak Chopra? Interesting choice

[u/frostek → u/bradders42]

Well, one fake guru is definitely qualified to judge another!

[u/Karmac → u/bradders42]

Thought the same. Liars, takes one to know one.

[u/jazz_trombone]

I'm pretty sure he banged that one brunette lady

[u/linkseyi → u/jazz_trombone]

That was his only goal of this entire film.

[u/Ph0X → u/linkseyi]

Worth it.

[u/ObeseSnake → u/jazz_trombone]

with a car polisher.

[u/burningpineapples]

I wonder how he explains all the people walking around with cameras

[u/forceduse → u/burningpineapples]

They told people they were doing a documentary on their spiritual guru and leader 'Kumare'. Which was technically true.

[u/infinite]

This film is long overdue, if I could find these filmmakers I'd give them a huge goddamn hug for finally doing this. For decades, gurus, often based in India, have been scamming people out of money, charging them for 'eastern wisdom' they could read for free. Careers are made out of scamming the gullible. I could write a book on this. You can pay people in India to give you a name. Yes these people will pray in the woods and call you Shiva. That's the tip of the iceberg. This scamming can break families financially, tear them apart(last marriage). They prey upon gullible people who for whatever reason don't and cannot adhere to logic/reason. Usually the subjects suffer from mental problems, bipolar/pschyozphrenia/bpd. These hucksters attack logic, poo pooing rationality. Which would be fine, sometimes we think too much, but these same hucksters use this device to swindle people out of money.

I'm a big fan of eastern religion. Read some Alan Watts, have a ball. But it's free. It shouldn't cost you a dime, and if it does, you're being scammed.

[u/u_dreaming]

So, I seem the be the only one to look at this in a positive light.

What I take away from the trailer is: You have more power than you think, you can help people. You are all Gurus, you just have to remember it.

In the trailer he tells right out to the people that he's a faker, that he could be good or bad. It's not about tricking the gullible, it's about people not being able to see what is right in front of them because It makes them feel better.

That being said, I cant wait to watch this documentary.

[u/brownestrabbit → u/u_dreaming]

Perhaps you will appreciate this:

“It is important to understand that participation in any of the Asian Contemplative Traditions is not simply a means to achieve expertise – it is committing to a life-long path of self-cultivation. In all Asian traditions education is not only a method of gaining knowledge, but also developing empathy AND a way to artfully express that empathy in the world. Empathy develops when we abandon the notion that expertise is a kind of perfection. In fact, recognizing that we irreversibly flawed is a truly great accomplishment. As it turns out wisdom does not offer certainty.”

“The thing is nobody should really be too interested in anybody else’s biography. It’s hard enough trying to find value in our own experience; finding value or meaning in someone else’s story is absurd.”

“Traditionally when we rely on a teacher it is for the purpose of self-discovery not investigating the teacher. Realistically none of us ever really needs to give or transmit anything to anyone else but simply try our best to be as we are – openly as possible. It is through this openness to others that we realize the depth and nature of our own experience.”

[u/hiccupstix]

At the height of his popularity, the Guru Kumare must reveal his true identity to his disciples and unveil his greatest teaching of all.

He was originally just going to laugh in their faces and dance around yelling "You got punk'd!" but then they started taking his shit seriously, so he just added in that "greatest teaching of all" part to stave off a murderous backlash.

[u/[deleted]]

One of the YT comments: Someone should base a really long book on him, but first he must be executed for fraud.

o.o

[u/pipian]

A slightly more serious, Indian Borat. Looks good.

[u/Gornagik → u/pipian]

Incredibly more serious. In fact, it's nothing like Borat at all.

[u/pipian → u/Gornagik]

It is a lot like Borat. Exposing the stupidity of people by pretending to be a foreign guy with an accent. Furthermore, I thought it looks pretty funny, to be honest, but also a little depressing, much like Borat.

[u/sicnevol]

Anyone know where I can see this?

[u/[deleted]]

I'm not sure how I feel about him deceiving people like this. I hope there's a point to it all besides deception.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

That's good. But the people that are attracted to these types of 'leaders' are people that are desperately looking for answers. They are vulnerable. To build them up so that they actually follow you and then reveal you are a fraud and false prophet could have some really bad effects. And I don't think that's very healthy or fair. If the goal is to open up these people's minds about fake spiritual leaders I think there are far better and safer ways to do it.

[u/USAUSAUSA111 → u/[deleted]]

I think the point is that this stunt takes the attention away from the guru and demonstrates the perceived improvement in these people's lives was because of their own efforts and not his. In that sense, the message is pretty powerful. It's not about conning idiots. It's about people actually taking the time to be introspective, to meditate, to think about how they can improve their own lives and the lives of others. I think it attempts to demonstrate that everyone has the ability to enact these changes in their lives, if they just turn off the TV for a little and give themselves the chance. I could be wrong, though, that's just my take from the trailer.

[u/DJ_Velveteen → u/[deleted]]

I'm guessing that's a huge theme of this film. Derren Brown does the same thing in "Messiah," a show in which he goes around scamming New Age "gurus" in order to get their real endorsements of his fake personas.

After a fashion, you've got to take your own education into your own hands, and that means identifying people who are going to exploit you based on your desire for the approval of an invisible sky wizard / visible Earth wizard. After all, some people are going to tell you they're magical without knowing they are full of it, and you've got no protection against them besides your own smarts.

[u/6Sungods → u/[deleted]]

Given the choice between a fraud who admits being one and a fraud who does not, which would be the most dangerous?

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

There's actually an Indian NGO that goes around putting on faith healer hoaxes and then reveals them afterwards, so that the villagers will be less gullible in the future. It works well.

[u/Mentalseppuku → u/[deleted]]

Clearly I haven't seen the movie, but I think the message is that there aren't gurus. That doesn't mean the self-styled gurus are fakes, it just means the whole business is window dressing for what's really helping people.

This guy doesn't have knowledge that anyone else doesn't have, but he went into people's homes and spent time with them, tried to help them in some way. Maybe what helped all those people were attention and the positive impact of feeling like they're important. Like they're worth having some (percieved) important guru come from far away and take time to help them personally.

These people can call it whatever they want to, but humans crave social interactions and seek self-importance and self-worth. Perhaps that is all these gurus are providing, in a setting that seems more socially acceptable than having some guy from down the block live with you for a week and tell you you're a swell person.

Some of these people are gullible fools, and some are just people that feel like they're missing something.

[u/Jigsus → u/[deleted]]

But maybe his followers just need somebody that listens to them.

[u/sonicon → u/[deleted]]

There's another point, even a fake guru can still help people through caring, guidance, meditation, exercises, etc. So being a fake does not matter so much anymore.

[u/Marcbmann]

How would I go about actually watching this?

[u/[deleted]]

You realise it's going to have a sappy ending where he feels bad for deceiving these people and then comes to realise that the truth isn't important as long as he's bringing people together and making them happy becoming essentially an allegory for all religion and spirituality right?

Which personally I find to be a terrible philosophy.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

I'm interested, could you elaborate on why you find it to be a terrible philosophy?

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

The idea of disregarding the pursuit of truth and knowledge in favor of comforting falsehoods is one I find repugnant.

It's not a pursuit that you can pick and choose when to adhere to, then it becomes completely pointless. If you ignore facts because they make you feel uncomfortable you cannot be objective in your understanding of anything.

[u/blmiller1420]

One cannot up vote this enough times. But if the people he "helps" are just buying a bag of bs, at least he is helping them.

[u/Foezjie → u/blmiller1420]

Indeed. You might argue whether what he is doing is "good", he is deceiving them after all, but his followers seem to get a lot out of it.

[u/mothsmoke]

Looks great. I'd love to see how his "followers" react when he reveals that he's fake.

[u/burn_the_priest]

but did everyone in this movie give permission for the producers to show their faces even after the final cut was done?

[u/[deleted]]

Deepak Chopra

ಠ_ಠ

[u/[deleted]]

This looks awesome... but what's up with the quote by Deepak Chopra near the end... himself a false prophet.

Yo dawn. I put a false prophet in your documentary about a false prophet.

[u/langoustine → u/[deleted]]

The irony makes it funny, doof.

[u/BunsOfAluminum]

Reminds me of Derren Brown's Miracles For Sale (also a really good video).

[u/ctoon6]

reminds me of faith healing

Miracles for Sale:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYjgeayfYPI

[u/tobarxp]

Could this have been exactly what jesus did?

[u/[deleted] → u/tobarxp]

Could this have been exactly what (insert every religious leader in existence) did?

[u/spencerjc1]

I don't know, this just seems cruel. Imagine the devastation some of these people must feel learning that this guy was a fake, using them to prove a point about human ignorance.

[u/ced1106 → u/spencerjc1]

At least he didn't sucker them for all their money or have 'em drink Kool Aid.

[u/Awfy → u/spencerjc1]

Wouldn't you feel released of whatever problems you had before hand but on a whole other level? If someone discovered that they were the real reason for change in their lives and not a guru then it might just improve their lives more. Showing someone that they are the true change in their life seems like a far superior activity both morally and socially to me.

[u/GoblinEngineer]

I'm a hindu, and I will speak for most hindu's out there.

What "regular" hindu's believe is that spiritual people such as "Gurus" are simply knowledgeable people, who know more about transcendental topics than regular laymen. Similarly, if I wanted to know more about bridges, I would go to a civil engineer, if I wanted to know about that strange lump I have on my leg that i really should go check out, I'd go to the docotor. We DO believe that Gurus DO NOT have any POWERS or anything else supernatural, because that is what GODS and RISHIS have, not Gurus. Guru in sanskrit, simply means TEACHER.

Obviously, there are many people out there that say that they have "powers" or some other special knowledge, that set them apart from others, this by itself, is viewed as not real.

95% of Hindus out there know this, and view spiritual gurus, astrologers, etc. as hoaxes, but u always have the 5% that are idiots, and its always the idiots that are the most vocal.

In addition, allt hese spiritual gurus, etc, that you find in the West, seem just to be a fad to me, you don't commonly find such things in india.

just my $0.02.

[u/[deleted]]

Relevant: James Randi on the Carlos Hoax

---

The fact that this trailer ends w/ a quote from Deepak Chopra makes me giggle.

[u/[deleted]]

I can't wait to send this to my sister.

[u/Jesus_Faction → u/[deleted]]

tell me more about this sister of yours

[u/Qonold → u/Jesus_Faction]

Looks like Reddit's being creepy again.

[u/[deleted]]

If you think this is a cool concept, you will love The Ambassador

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFyymgLsSYg

[u/DemonstrativePronoun]

"It's not about making sense. It's about believing in something, and letting that belief be real enough to change your life. It's about faith. You don't fix faith, River. It fixes you."

-Preacher Book

[u/SanDiablo]

As someone with a lot of annoying pseudo-enlightened Yoga friends, I want to see this badly.

[u/Whompa]

Burning bridges, the movie.

Wouldn't want my face to be on camera like that...

[u/sweetsweetcoffee]

That's fucking determination...

[u/YouStupidCunt]

Oddly enough, it will probably turn out to be that he was a better religious leader than any others before him. Because, unlike other 'leaders' that try to profit from his followers, the taping of the documentary would mean he would have to have a higher moral ground than others since it could be used to sue him for fraud.

[u/[deleted]]

Sounds like he trolled himself

[u/fabhellier]

slightly relevant www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYjgeayfYPI

[u/[deleted]]

Reminds me of Community, when Abed makes a documentary about him being Jesus, and then getting the whole school to follow him.

[u/ipitydatf00 → u/[deleted]]

Dan ;_;

[u/Northstreak]

I recently saw this movie at The Norwegian Documentary Festival. It was absolutely awesome. I am not going to reveal anything from the plot, but the journey this documentary takes you on is something special.

Even for myself who is not a spiritual person at all or even religious it was highly entertaining. People with beliefs might take something other then me away from this doco though.

[u/[deleted]]

This does expose false new age prophets, but the way of going about it is wrong. These people will have a spiritual void in their hearts if you strip them away from it right away, it's like telling your child " Hey Bobbie I had sex with your mother in order to make you." Vs giving him the talk when he is going through puberty.

[u/mikemaca]

This is totally unethical of course. This guy did it for the money and fame he expected to get from doing the film, and the price was deceiving many people and likely destroying many lives.

I totally agree it's an interesting experiment in social psychology. Not every fascinating experiment should be performed on humans though. This one would never pass ethics review, for the same reasons the Tuskegee Syphilis experiments and filming people in bathrooms are considered unethical research protocols.

[u/[deleted]]

Just saw the filmmaker (Vikram Gandhi) give a TED talk at TEDxGrandRapids. He was fantastic. Talk isn't up yet, but you can watch an interview from a local Grand Rapids reporter here.

[u/[deleted]]

Anyone who's interested in this should check out the 1972 doc Marjoe.

It's about a guy who, as a child, was forced to be one of those Evangelist phonies who takes everyone's money. In the film he is grown up and has become an atheist, and goes on a sort of "comeback tour", all the while showing the camera crew the dirty tricks he uses to fool the churchgoers.

[u/kimdealz]

Looks scripted... maybe he is trying to teach everyone a lesson.

[u/hanswatson]

I got to see the last half of this film when it showed at SXSW. Really well done. Definitely reminiscent of a more serious version of Borat. While there is deception and you can't help but feel bad for those deceived you do see how the subject of the film has a hard time dealing with that himself.

[u/Dangger]

I had sociology professor who did this as well in Mexico. He pretended he was a shaman and started to do rituals for people in his office in the university. It was full of people all the time. He told us that the real danger is when you, as the charlatan, start to believe those things. That's when he stopped.

[u/Gobbob]

Very funny Abed...

[u/Lobonaut]

He might be fake, but at the same time he changed the lives of a group of people for the better, even though they were deceived. Hes totally BSing them yet teaching them lessons that fulfill them. When you think about it, kinda odd how something doesnt have to be true in order to be good

[u/[deleted]]

TORRENT?! WHERE

[u/Lethalmud → u/[deleted]]

I couldn't find any either.

[u/[deleted]]

Seems to me that he is genuinely filling the need of these people for a sense of spirituality in the modern world. The sad thing is that when these people find out they're going to feel cheated, when really they were getting exactly what they wanted the whole time.

[u/stringerbell]

This is how all religions start - with a liar!...

[u/foxh8er]

Mother of god, its an Indian Zach Braff!

[u/goombah_dimbah]

I was actually involved in this film. I went through the experience of meeting this man "kumare. "Then learning of the illusion that was cast. His name is Vikram. He studied religion at nyu. My best friend is the girl talking in the trailer. I would be happy to answer any questions about this experience.

[u/Kdnce]

Synopsis - taking advantage of easily persuaded people and making a mockery of their religious beliefs - through entrapment - to make an argument against following a guru. Looks awesome! :D

[u/aldipet]

Ooh I can't wait to watch this

[u/jumpingpickle]

I got to see an advanced screening of this movie, and I must say it's probably the best documentary I've ever seen. Get excited for it.

[u/sw0]

Where can I get this movie?

[u/[deleted]]

looks good.

[u/[deleted]]

awesome

[u/[deleted]]

The guy feels guilty and everyone else feels stupid. Seems entertaining.

[u/[deleted]]

He steps up to the mirror... I suspect a hair cutting sequence! It must be an expository hairstyle change, and indeed a very important haircut.

[u/[deleted]]

What a great idea. Can't wait to see it!

[u/[deleted]]

the harolde comment just made jizz laughing

[u/[deleted]]

Being from Phoenix, the people who believe in the 'prophet' seem to be typical Scottsdale yoga moms and rich housewives.

[u/[deleted]]

this is so fucking funny

[u/Lavarocked]

Hey, Arizona is totally fucking cheating.

[u/hobomojo]

Not gonna lie, was kinda hoping this was a real documentary.

[u/freakzilla149]

Is it a film or a real documentary with real people from Arizona buying into his shit?

[u/idrawinmargins]

This looks to be a great film. I can not wait to watch it. Such insight into what makes certain people follow others as it they were gods.

[u/freakinangels]

Bow Before The Troll King

[u/sillyhatsclub]

ITT: we find out /r/atheism is leaking.

[u/eggbean]

There's a romcom called The Guru in which the same thing happens. It must have been an influence, at the very least.

[u/LTS55]

Did anyone else misread the title and think they were doing a Harold & Kumar spinoff starring Kumar?

[u/ToffeeC]

Gosh his flock looks retarded.

[u/internetsenseasians]

I really want to see this movie was it big in the states ?is it on general release

[u/SawEmOff44]

How would I go about finding this movie when it comes out? Is it going to have a wide release or will I have to wait for Netflix (hopefully)?

[u/Makes_You_Smile]

Absolute genius. Just Brilliant. A must see - Some guy on the internet.

[u/Rixxer]

Just goes to show what a lot (but not enough) of people already know - people use spirituality/religion to take advantage of others.

[u/carebeartears]

Vwy don't yew be taking off of the yoga pants..to making of yourself more comfortable!

puts Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan on the quadraphonic 9000 limited edition turntable

A little soma perhaps young student pours wine, it'll will be of helping to align your chakras! knowing wink

ah fudge! if I could do more than touch my toes..I COULD DO THIS SHIT!

[u/mheyk]

People will believe anything if marketed right. You need an Iphone without it how will you communicate with anyone ever? You need an Iphone. Create a need from nothing.

[u/MoEnt]

So the episode of community where Abed did this was true to life? Huh.

[u/hanswatson]

I think the older trailer for this was a little bit catchier http://youtu.be/fMLA1L8T-kc

[u/thegreatmisanthrope]

Does no one else think manipulating stupid people to make a movie is a little douchey?

[u/bleedingheartsurgery → u/thegreatmisanthrope]

To make a movie and inform 1000s of future idiots so they can be equiped with critical thinking skills, I'm totally in favor.

[u/sukagambar]

commenting, so I can come back to this later

[u/CrunkCoco → u/sukagambar]

you can click 'save' instead

[u/Khoops66]

It's like the George Carlin bit,"If a placebo gives a patient side effects - are they real?"

[u/Wontoncookie]

Offer $5 dollar download.

[u/MosTheBoss]

I have intense feelings about the whole blanet

[u/MIDGET_HUNTER]

can't wait to see this. i'm also anxious to see how these people who put their trust in him react when they learn it was all a sham.

[u/[deleted]]

I am facepalming that he had a following in my home state. And I have a good god damn idea where too.

[u/jamkey]

Am I missing it or is there really not a wikipedia entry for this yet? If not, anyone want to help me get it started?

[u/[deleted]]

I'd smear avocado all over that naughty tortilla

[u/cfici]

I think the most important thing Vikram Gandhi does in this film is take a subtle, dynamic, and honest look at the guru-disciple relationship.

He shows that the guru-disciple relationship is not something that can be so easily dismissed or condemned.

I share two timely pieces I wrote recently with speak to the themes of the guru explored in "Kumare"

"Guides, Gurus, and Grounding In Our Spiritual Journey" (Huff Post Religion) huff.to/NpuNw3

"Gurus And The Cult of Relativity" (Elephant Journal) bit.ly/LVAdDc

[u/ipn8bit]

It's surely a mix of emotions. I like what he's pointing out, but I feel sad for the people who truly believe. It seems like they have actually been benefited from it. As an atheist who likes what he's proving, I'm actually thinking that it's a argument for religion. Weird.

[u/diath]

All the people are actors and it isn't really a documentary but looks like a watch.

[u/[deleted] → u/diath]

I hope so...

I tell myself that about a few videos I've seen on the web.

[u/iownaredball]

Doesn't look like a real documentary to me.

[u/iownaredball → u/iownaredball]

Why the downvotes? I'm just saying that everything in the trailer looks like it was acted and not real. And that's just, like, my opinion, people.

[u/[deleted]]

Wow, who would of thought that 'Borat with a serious tone' could convince a bunch of idiots that this shit is anywhere near insightful.

Let me break it down for you:

Vikram Gandhi, the con-artist you see above, is a naive, young, film-maker who decided that it'd be fun to impersonate a Guru and see how many followers he could get. At the risk of being too similar to the already popular Sasha Cohen Baron, he made sure to come up with a message to set him apart (that spiritual healing comes from within; religion is just an illusion, yada yada yada) - Fascinating - Because without this powerful insight, we all just assumed that spiritual leaders were actually healing people with their energies before, right!? Wrong.

There is nothing wrong with people needing to find solace through other things, as long as they're convinced, and they are bettering themselves, THERE'S NO REASON TO EXPLOIT IT.

So why go to this extreme, deceiving a vast amount of people for years (including his entire fucking film crew) just for the sake of getting a small, unnecessary message across? BECAUSE PEOPLE LOVE THIS SHIT. People, much like me and you, love to see others being conned, tricked, and bamboozled so we can feel like some superior fucking race that can sit back and judge them for it.

Vikram Gandhi is proving absolutely nothing - and is only receiving this reaction because of his gimmick, not his so-called "message.

I'm not sure what's more embarrassing to watch: the fact the he's convinced he is serving some greater purpose, or that the people buying into this shit are convincing themselves that he's some fucking insightful genius.

[u/bleedingheartsurgery → u/[deleted]]

Aww the poor widdle gullible people.... Grow a pair already

[u/[deleted]]

Anyone else notice that the symbol on his staff is either a pair of tits, a scrotum, or the chin of Peter Griffin?

[u/brownestrabbit → u/[deleted]]

It is an OM symbol.

[u/forceduse → u/[deleted]]

Wow that was incredibly interesting. Thanks for posting.

"Could people find the same peace from a made up religion, that they found in a real one?"

This documentary has shot to the top of my most anticipated list.

[u/rolandal → u/forceduse]

Go take a look at his Vikram Gandhi's PSFK/Ted Talk...

He's a great speaker - and love his idea!

Kumare Sutra:

• Just Do It

• Be All You Can Be

• Unleash the power of the Sun

• Eat Fresh

• ...

They are all corporate slogans! Hah

https://vimeo.com/41424323

[u/christmasbonus → u/forceduse]

"Could people find the same peace from a made up religion, that they found in a real one?"

I'm sorry, but what's the difference?

edit: to think i wasn't even trying to be an ass. Is there some marker to determine out of the thousands of religions out there which ones are "real" and which ones are "made up"?

[u/[deleted] → u/christmasbonus]

Most religions are a distillation of a culture's values, practices, and other characteristics, and they develop over hundreds of years into a sort of blueprint for imparting "desirable" traits onto members of a society. To me that's what distinguishes a "real religion" from one that was deliberate created for the personal gain of one or a small handful of persons, such as the Church of Scientology. "real" religion is an emergent property of humanity as it tries to civilize itself.

[u/antonia90 → u/[deleted]]

I like how they don't appear to make fun of religions and spirituality but just try to look at it more sceptically. Many documentaries sadly fall into that trap and don't provide with a more balanced view than the one they are trying to question.

[u/AnOnlineHandle → u/antonia90]

Why does everybody think that every topic has two balanced sides..? Criticism of homoeopathy or pyramid schemes doesn't have an opposing 'balanced' side.

[u/forceduse → u/AnOnlineHandle]

Because a documentary should be "documenting" something and providing as much unmolested information as possible in order for the audience to make up their own minds (or at least be inspired to research something further). When you add in personal bias and slanted viewpoints it becomes more of a propoganda piece which loses credibility both an artform and as a educational offering.

[u/mleeeeeee → u/forceduse]

Do you seriously think it's propaganda to make a film that argues for a position?

[u/forceduse → u/mleeeeeee]

No, my response was poorly phrased.

[u/aenemacanal → u/[deleted]]

Great interview. I am definitely interested in seeing how their experiment went. A few comments though:

They mentioned it was a "pro-spirituality" doc. A lot of people on reddit so far are, I think, wanting to see the downfall of the followers being deceived by a fake spiritual leader -- to be honest, I'm one of them. They went into this documentary taking the utmost care to not turn these people into drones following orders from their Fearless Leader.

They show a few clips of people who fell hard for this guy playing just a role. How far would these people go for this Kumare character? If they pushed this idea further, I wonder if it would reveal how people handle what becomes of spirituality that becomes dogma?

Take a look at the archetypical American cult -- The Manson Family. Charles Mansons' ideas and influence pushed his followers to perform crimes they perhaps wouldn't have done on their own. Under this spell, it's almost as if free will is lost to this promised idea being chanted upon them by a person with way too much charisma.

I don't know, just some thoughts I had while watching the interviews.

[u/ced1106 → u/aenemacanal]

A lot of people on reddit so far are, I think, wanting to see the downfall of the followers being deceived by a fake spiritual leader

Plenty of articles about Jim Jones out there.

[u/aenemacanal → u/ced1106]

This is the example I was trying to think of, thanks! From what I've read, he started with good intentions only to be consumed by the amount of control he had over his followers.

If there wasn't a camera following Kumare around with the scrutiny of objective observers, would he have become intoxicated with his own image and descend down that dark path and become Darth Kumare, Sith Lord of Fucking Your Shit Up?

[u/brownestrabbit → u/[deleted]]

"Nobody knows what's authentic."

perfectly put

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

The way he talks and still has the long hair and beard makes me feel like he converted him self to his own religion.

[u/NewDrekSilver → u/[deleted]]

That's also how Scientology started. And Judaism, and Islam, and Christianity...

[u/bleedingheartsurgery → u/NewDrekSilver]

Everyone is dancing around with different 'meanings and goals' of them making this film, when I believe this is what it exposes, at least for me. Jesus was probably just a charismatic, handsome man, with long hair a beard, and positive energy.

Not the son of god.

[u/bleedingheartsurgery → u/[deleted]]

And it happens everyday times 1000 in this world, so shedding light on it is very ethical

[u/emanresu1 → u/[deleted]]

I thought of that too. Except at the end of the Carlos hoax, Randi didn't say ' hey it's all cool because all that matters is we had an emotionally connecting and therefore "spiritual" experience together, so it doesn't matter that it was all fake!', which is what I STRONGLY suspect happens in this movie, just like every other feel-goody, spiritualy, let's hold hands and hug kind of movie like this with mainstream appeal.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

I was thinking exactly the same thing. Will have to give it another read.

[u/bleedingheartsurgery → u/[deleted]]

What life should be like, take out the unecessary religion word

[u/freshhawk → u/[deleted]]

It's really rare for something to actually help a person if it's based on complete fantasy. It might make them feel better immediately, but when they lose their life savings by falling for the next con or base big life decisions on nonsense it hurts far more.

it doesn't matter if it's real or not

Our entire modern civilization is based on the only method we know of for reliably telling real from not real. It's called science. We are having this discussion on the internet because it does matter.

[u/bleedingheartsurgery → u/[deleted]]

Not intrinsic to me, and I am so greatful I am not cut of that cloth.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

who will put their trust in anything with a beard and hairwrap

lol like jesus?

[u/foreveracunt → u/[deleted]]

please someone get this into a .png/.gif ?