Product Details

• Actors: Dr.Andrew Weil, H.H Dalai Lama, Yogi Pilot Baba, Baba Rampuri
• Directors: Nadeem Uddin
• Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: Unrated
• Studio: Samsara Films
• DVD Release Date: February 1, 2005
• Run Time: 60 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0007ZAEB8
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #53,657 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Oasis TV-Los Angeles
"Woodstock for the spirit."

Robert Schnitzer-Oasis TV,Los Angeles

Product Description
The Kumbh Mela is the "Festival of the Urn" that pours out the nectar of immortality. It is a great roving festival that has moved around India for more than four thousand years, erecting temporary cities along the Ganges River where millions of Hindu faithful gather to wash away their sins in the holy waters. The 2001 Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, India was the largest gathering of humanity in recorded history. It was not just the final Kumbh Mela in a 12-year cycle of festivals. It was the final festival of 12 cycles - the conclusion of a giant 144-year cycle, making it "Maha" Kumbh Mela, the Great Festival. This 144-year buildup of spiritual meaning made it a powerfully auspicious time for pilgrims to bathe in the Ganges. Even the planets and stars joined in, providing heavenly alignments not seen for 144 years. East joined West with the coinciding advent of the 21st Century in 2001. Thus, roughly 70 million people came from all over the globe to pray for peace and rebirth for self and the world, truly a meeting of ancient and future in a remarkable moment.

This beautiful documentary captures the landmark event and spiritual essence of the historic celebration. Featuring H.H Dalai Lama, Pilot Baba Dr. Andrew Weil, Sir Mark Tully and more. ?

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wow!, May 20, 2005

By	S. Normandin (Silicon Valley, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Who knew? We hear about the Haj at Mecca which draws a couple of million pilgrims, but who knew that the Kumbh Mela in India drew 70 million?!! Seventy million Hindu pilgrims! Not to mention thousands of naked holymen doing all sorts of bizarre penances to God! The film is a visual journey and a feast for the imagination. Brilliant, colorful cinematography depicting a strange gathering in a strange land. A must have for anyone interested in cultural anthropology, India, or spirituality. Might have been made better with more documentary information (for example I found out this religious gathering has been going on--its held every 12 years-- since 3464 BC!) and possibly the integration of some still images on which to linger a bit in mid-marvel. All in all a wonderful and fascinating experience. (By the way I found a wonderfully informative and funny story about the Kumbh on a web mag called theArtichoke.org.)

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Expressions Of The One Truth" ~ Disneyland Of The Divine , October 1, 2005

By	Brian E. Erland "Rainbow Sphinx" (Brea, CA - USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Travel with filmmaker Nadeem Uddin to Mother India on his journey to Allahabad located at the confluence of two sacred rivers, the Ganges and Jamuna. You are on a spiritual pilgrimage to the final mela in a series of festivals that occurs only once every 144 years. Walk amongst the estimated 70 million pilgrims in the sweltering heat as they descend upon their appointed destination.

Open your mind and heart and take a deep breath before you dare enter into a realm of the spirit quite foreign to Occidental sensibilities. It's here amidst the noise and smoke, the pungent fragrances and endless chanting that the visual and olfactory assault will soon begin. Nude ascetics will surround you on all sides and strange, exotic smells will confront your nostrils. In some quarters of the festival bizarre and disturbing exhibitions of self-mutilation will be exhibited while a female avatar dances with cobras and a prospective guru is buried underground for three days in a state of samadi as an offering for universal harmony. Situations very unnerving for the uninitiated traveler.

Congratulations you have arrived at the largest gathering of humanity in the history of the world! It's the 2001 'Maha Kumbh Mela' let the purification begin!

This is an amazing and beautiful spiritual documentary and an essential addition to the DVD library of anyone fascinated by the diverse and sometimes unfathomable nature of faith in all its various modes of expression. Definitely not for the closed minded.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Vibrantly beautiful!, July 6, 2005

By	Monica S. Wilson (Seattle, Washington) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This wonderful film immerses the viewer in the experience of Kumbh Mela. There is no unnecessary narrative telling you what you are seeing or what you are supposed to think about the incredible events occurring here. I appreciated that the viewer is allowed to form their own thoughts and ideas as the documentary unfolds. I am also delighted that this film will bring this ancient festival into the homes and hearts of people around the world who can now share in the wonder of this tradition. It is especially encouraging to know that the largest gathering of people in recorded history, visible from space, was inspired by a deep and abiding love and spiritual belief.