Kumare (documentary about a fake guru who explored the world of spiritual leaders)

[Xorkoth]

Here is a link to the film's page: http://kumaremovie.com/

My girlfriend watched this on Netflix recently and then told me about it and we watched it together. I found it unbelievably fascinating and heartwarming. Basically this Indian-American guy (grew up in Long Island or something) was disenfranchised from his religion. He asked himself why it is that every spiritual leader he had found and/or followed seemed to be really seeking control over others, and was motivated by the ego. So he went to India to meet some, this is basically when the documentary began. He filmed a lot of these guys to show their true colors. Then, he had an idea to go back to America and pretend to be an Indian guru named Kumare, and make a documentary about it. I think he just kinda thought it would be funny and revealing at first, but he started attracting a core group of followers.

The documentary is narrated by him, so he talks to you about the progression of his feelings and understandings as it goes. There were a lot of really crazy people who would believe anything he told them, but also a lot of genuinely good people who just desperately wanted someone to tell them how to be okay, basically. As the film went on, and his "core followers" started to become more attached to him, he realized he was also attached to them, and he started to feel really bad. But through the process of him grappling with this stuff, he realized he could teach them what he was coming to discover, basically that there is no need to seek externally for spiritual or self validation, there IS no spiritual leader, you are your own spiritual leader. During this process he became so clearly "enlightened", or self-actualized. And so did some of his followers. You just had to fall in love with this guy during the course of the movie.

At the end, he revealed the sham to his followers, because he started to feel too bad about deceiving these people he had grown to love. Also his intention had become to give a final lesson... hey, I'm not some guru, I'm a regular American just like you guys, but look at how things have changed for you, that was you, I just realized how to show you how to change yourself. Of like 15 or 20 followers, only 4 were upset, the rest of them hugged him and they all cried and they were telling him how they're so happy to meet the real him.

Anyway that's a basic plot summary. It was one of the more profound things I've ever watched (also really funny a lot of the time). I was just wondering if anyone else has seen it, and if not, I'm hoping I was able to show you something beautiful that you'll love as much as I did. It's on Netflix at the moment. It's a real documentary, not a "mockumentary", he really did this and I found it so amazing and thought-provoking.

 

[MyDoorsAreOpen]

Excellent documentary, Xorkoth. I saw this a couple years ago on Netflix, and am very happy to see it mentioned here.

I'd sum up the powerful message of Kumare thusly: A good teacher (or guide, coach, master, leader, etc.) cultivates students who will someday no longer need him. A bad teacher cultivates students who forever depend on him. Anyone who tells you "you need me" is probably using you.

I like the fact that Kumare criticizes the whole guru movement without pushing a distinctly anti-spiritual agenda. The main guy basically states upfront that he's an agnostic, but he doesn't beat his audience over the head with scorn for the supernatural, the way a lot of critics of the whole Western-interest-in-Eastern-spirituality thing do. I found that refreshing. The documentary basically takes it as a given that spirituality is a natural and understandable human drive, but warns that there's a right and wrong way to go about it.

 

[Foreigner]

It's an interesting exploration of fake gurus. I find the ends justifies the means speech at the end pretty disingenuous. Realizing that you are your own guide is pretty basic and the first thing any real guru will teach, but because "Kumare" carefully curated his new age audience in Arizona, it made this truth seem more grandiose than it really is. If you set the bar low you're going to look pretty enlightened to your audience.

In any real Hindu yogic community - that is to say, one based on lineage traditions - he would've been spotted as a sham a mile away, or at least labeled a beginner, just like the shams get outed in India. He had no real spiritual insight or wisdom to help people deal with their complex personal problems, which is what a real guru would help them address as part of becoming a clear channel. The wisdom traditions aren't just mumbo jumbo, they are also part psychology, and people spend much of their time detangling their core consciousness from their complicated personal egos.

The new age movement in the west ironically grew as a dialectical solution to atheism/agnosticism. The politics of the religious western institutions have turned many people away and in that vacuum people are trying to invent other methods. Western psychological institutions are still in their infancy. The varied methods that are available here to help people get right with themselves within the universe are still largely new. The new agers are attempting to borrow wisdom from any legit older tradition they can find. The problem of course is that as an infant, you're going to have a hard time telling what is legit or not, and this is what the new age movement suffers from. Kumare takes advantage of this by placing a foreign guru into an otherwise well-intentioned yet ignorant white community. Again... he curated his audience perfectly.

Me personally, I am so sick of "spiritual people". They have never given me real answers, just more diversions and spiritual bypassing. If you want to get real about how you start the path to enlightenment - whatever that means - you have to deal with your core wounds. Most people are seeking because they want to end suffering. You could spend your entire life just doing that. 99% of seekers, if they resolve the wounds and become content, don't seek anymore. And that's legit. A very small number, once the core wounds are resolved, become a clear channel and go on to seek enlightenment. But you can't do step 2 without step 1 because you'll just be projecting your delusions onto everyone and everything, which is what Kumare shows us.

Most of the followers in Kumare's circle are still dealing with their wounds, but as is very common among "spiritual" people, all they're doing is the spiritual bypassing thing. Talking about concepts and engaging in affirmative rituals, also known as temporary pain relief. Yet you can still see the pain in their eyes, and you can see it in Kumare's eyes because let's face it, even if he calls himself agnostic he is a spiritual seeker. The answer yielded truth for him, albeit a basic one. I'm not saying his realization is worthless but it's JUST the beginning of the path, and it's one that reaffirms western individualism. I hope he didn't stop there.

 

[Xorkoth]

Fair criticisms. I feel the most powerful part of it was watching his own progression as a person through the process. His goals with the whole thing completely changed partway through, which was what was so interesting about it. I really found him extremely genuine (ironically since he was faking it). And of course it would only have worked in the western US new age thing... that was the point, or part of it anyway. I'm sick of "spiritual people" as well, which is why I found the documentary fascinating and inspiring. He basically said, hey, I'm not really a "spiritual person", any more than you are. The means to this end was unusual and dishonest, but in the end, I feel it was extremely honest.