Awake: The Life of Yogananda
| Awake: The Life of Yogananda | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Directed by | Paola di Florio Lisa Leeman |
| Produced by | CounterPoint Films - Peter Rader |
| Music by | Vivek Maddala, Michael Mollura |
Release date |
|
Running time | 87 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Awake: The Life of Yogananda is a 2014 documentary about the Indian yogi and guru Paramahansa Yogananda who came to the West in the 1920s to teach yoga and meditation. The film is in English with subtitles in seventeen languages.[1][2][3]
The film, which was commissioned by Yogananda's Self-Realization Fellowship, includes interviews with disciples of Paramahansa Yogananda, as well as with Ravi Shankar, George Harrison, Krishna Das, and others.[4][5] It was filmed over three years with the participation of thirty countries, including on pilgrimages in India, at Harvard Divinity School and its physics labs, the Center for Science and Spirituality at the University of Pennsylvania, and the Chopra Center in Carlsbad, California.[4]
Awards[edit]
- Winner of the Audience Award for Best Film at the Illuminate Film Festival[6]
- Winner Maui Film Festival, Spirit in Cinema Award[4]
- Winner Conscious Life Award, Conscious Life Expo Film Festival[4]
- Official Selection Seattle International Film Festival[4]
- Official Selection Tel Aviv Spirit Film Festival[4]
- Herat International Women's Film Festival, Afghanistan[4]
See also[edit]
- Autobiography of a Yogi, 1946 book
- Arise, awake, and stop not till the goal is reached, Vivekananda
References[edit]
- ^ Gates, Anita. "When Being a Yogi Had an Exotic Air - 'Awake,' About the Life of Paramahansa Yogananda". New York Times. Retrieved 2017-05-13.
- ^ Merry, Stephanie (2014-10-30). "'Awake: The Life of Yogananda' Movie Review". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2017-05-13.
- ^ Vijayan, Naveena (2016-10-18). "Finding Yourself". The Hindu. Retrieved 2017-05-13.
- ^ a b c d e f g Hall, Sandra (2015-06-27). "Awake: the life of a Yoga pioneer". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2017-05-13.
- ^ Linden, Sheri. "Awake: The Life of Yogananda': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
- ^ "2014 Award Winners". Illuminate Film Festival. Retrieved 2017-05-24.
External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Awake: The Life of Yogananda (documentary).
- Awake: The Life of Yogananda at IMDb
- Awake: The Life of Yogananda, Official Website
- Awake: The Life of Yogananda, Official Trailer
- Film Festival Openings
hide
v
t
e
Paramahansa Yogananda
Bibliography
Books
Autobiography of a Yogi (1946)
God Talks with Arjuna: The Bhagavad Gita (1995)
The Second Coming of Christ (2004)
Founded
Yogoda Satsanga Society of India
Self-Realization Fellowship
Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine
World Brotherhood Colonies
Lineage
Mahavatar Babaji
Lahiri Mahasaya
Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri
Direct disciples of Yogananda
Related
Bishnu Charan Ghosh (brother)
Kriya Yoga
"Dear One" (1976 song)
Awake: The Life of Yogananda (2014 documentary)
"Unshaken" (2019 song)
=
==============
Review: 'Awake' shallow biography of Yogananda
Kerry Lengel
The Republic | azcentral.com
Paramahansa Yogananda was born to be a guru. Raised by devout Hindu parents in the shadow of the Himalayas, he claimed his first memories of seeing beyond the physical world came before he left the womb.
In 1920, Yogananda moved from India to the United States on a mission to teach the ancient practice Kriya Yoga as well as a new "science of religion" that would replace dogma and conflict with a universal inward journey to enlightenment and self-realization.
His story is told in a new documentary, "Awake: The Life of Yogananda." Unfortunately, while the swami taught his disciples to explore the depths of their very souls, the film barely scratches the surface of his life and teachings.
Drawing heavily on Yogananda's 1946 book "Autobiography of a Yogi," the film mixes in handsome photography and effusive interviews from former followers as well as the likes of Deepak Chopra and the late Beatles guitarist George Harrison. It follows Yogananda's journey from India to New York to Los Angeles, but it it fails to paint a full portrait of the man or to offer insights into the historical context and legacy of his ministry.
For example, "Awake" intriguingly asserts that new physics of relativity and quantum mechanics provided a new metaphorical language to express ancient spiritual ideas, but it doesn't explore the specifics. Nor does it put his lifelong mission in context of the explosion of spiritualism in the West in the early 20th century.
On the personal side, the film notes that Yogananda and his lifelong friend Dhirinanda had a "falling out" without explaining what led to it.
The result is a gauzy hagiography that lacks the intimate details that would let us see the man who touched so many lives. Yet "Awake" doesn't even work on the level of an infomercial because it includes only a cursory discussion of yogic practice and philosophy.
'Awake: The Life of Yogananda'
2 stars
Directors: Paola di Florio, Lisa Leeman.
Cast: Paramahansa Yogananda, Deepak Chopra, George Harrison.
Rating: PG for thematic elements, some violent images and brief smoking.
Note: At Harkins Valley Art.
