AWAKE: The Life of Yogananda

Showings

Mary D. Fisher Theatre Fri, Nov 7, 2014 4:00 PM
Mary D. Fisher Theatre Fri, Nov 7, 2014 7:00 PM
Mary D. Fisher Theatre Fri, Nov 7, 2014 9:00 PM
Mary D. Fisher Theatre Thu, Nov 19, 2015 4:00 PM
Mary D. Fisher Theatre Thu, Nov 19, 2015 7:00 PM
Film Info
Event Type:Film
Release Year:2014
Run Time:87 minutes
Rating:PG
Production Country:United States
Original Language:English
Trailer:youtu.be/MdnrP1fMn7I
Cast/Crew Info
Director:Paola di Florio
Lisa Leeman

Description

“AWAKE: The Life of Yogananda” is an unconventional biography about the Hindu Swami who brought yoga and meditation to the West in the 1920s. Paramahansa Yogananda authored the spiritual classic “Autobiography of a Yogi,” which has sold millions of copies worldwide and is a go-to book for seekers, philosophers and yoga enthusiasts today. By personalizing his own quest for enlightenment and sharing his struggles along the path, Yogananda made ancient Vedic teachings accessible to a modern audience, attracting many followers and inspiring the millions who practice yoga today.

Filmed over three years with the participation of 30 countries around the world, the documentary examines the world of yoga, modern and ancient, east and west and explores why millions today have turned their attention inwards, bucking the limitations of the material world in pursuit of self-realization.

Archival material from the life of Yogananda (who died in 1952) creates a spine for the narrative, but the film stretches the dimensions of a standard biography. The footage includes stylized interviews, metaphoric imagery and recreations, taking us from holy pilgrimages in India to Harvard’s Divinity School and its cutting-edge physics labs, from the Center for Science and Spirituality at the University of Pennsylvania to the Chopra Center in Carlsbad, California. By evoking the journey of the soul as it pushes its way through the oppression of the human ego and delusion of the material world, the film creates an experiential immersion into the unseen realms. “AWAKE” is ultimately the story of humanity itself: the universal struggle of all beings to free themselves from suffering and to seek lasting happiness.

“Compelling… enough to make a modern soul look inwards."  — The New York Times

“The film tapped into Yogananda's humanity in a way that was profoundly moving and inspiring to me." — Ram Dass

“Beautifully made… so rich and full of light" — Mariel Hemingway

“Yogananda was truly one of the great spiritual masters. He shone a light that continues to bless millions of us living on the earth today." — Marianne Williamson