It’s A Beautiful World

When I was in grad school a few years ago, I saw a late edit of a film by Richard Beymer called It’s A Beautiful World. It was a sort of Making Of film, following the famous film-maker David Lynch on a tour of India. David was following in the footsteps of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, somewhat like the backstory in the film Awake on Yogananda. But it differs markedly in content.

They begin with the “cave” Maharishi retired to for a couple of years after his master Swami Brahmananda Saraswati (Shankaracharya of the North) had passed in the 1950’s. The cave was a meditation room in the basement of his house alongside the Ganges river. The footage, shown briefly in the below clip, may be among the last footage of the house. It was washed away in a major flood soon after.

From there, Lynch goes to the south as Maharishi did. There, Maharishi was first asked to give talks and thus began what became a half century journey with the TM movement and over 6 million students.

Lynch is still working on his film, evidently adding more segments. Beymer’s film is more about Lynch and his trip. It has now been released on-line. It’s rather a study in contrasts. Big fish out of water. Lynch smoking and drinking coke, then stopping at a holy site and meditating where Maharishi once stayed. Rather than traveling India on foot, they arranged cars, nice hotels, and a jet helicopter. But where were the matches?

Beymer’s film is fascinating in a number of ways and the cost to watch it in HD on-line or download is just $9. If you’re a fan of any of the players or of the book American Veda, it’s a unique take.

Here is a preview:

For more info and to watch or download

I well imagine Lynch’s film will be quite distinct from Awake. While Lynch has done some traditional fare, he does bring a unique perspective to his work. I look forward to it.
Davidya

Last Updated on October 4, 2021 by Davidya