Ayurveda: Art of Being (2001) User Reviews

Pathbreaking & Revealing the Profound Knowledge

[jogcr · 9/10 · 8 March 2006]

It was pleasure to watch this film. I applaud the makers of this film for bringing out this wealth of knowledge; making people aware of this ancient science. Such simple film-making and yet so impacting.

It is worthwhile to note that many secrets of Ayurveda and Siddha Yoga are a part of traditional family wealth, hence there are not as many practitioners with the profound knowledge as the Swami in the film.

Calling these practitioners as quack or charlatans is like being steeped in ignorance from this ancient art of living. Make a thorough study of how well aware the ancient people were about the body and its mechanisms at the deepest levels...unless that is done, well... everybody has the right to be ignorant and bound in their concepts and post comments as they wish. !! One should understand these true Ayurvedic doctors (in the film) are those who come from a spiritual foundation and hence their knowledge and practice is based on service to humanity and not building mansions out of the returns (which itself is based on donations in most cases). Real masters of Ayurveda are rare and the ignorance of many about it is abundant (especially those feeling their flavor of science is the only right one) but that does not make this beautiful science any less. In fact it is most open to modern medicine (which is precisely noted in the film). CT scan, PET, MRI are wonderful tools in modern medicine as well as its great surgical techniques. Ayurveda is open to blend these with its innate repository of the most profound knowledge of the human levels of existence (which includes the body). Would anyone say modern medicine is as open to embrace any dimension of Ayurveda !?

Remember, Ayurveda is not just medicine ..it is the art of healthy existence... it needs good marketing...for what ?? for the benefit of humanity !

from the ancient past - the future of health care

[Jimi-Bigbear · 9/10 · 10 December 2006]

It has been awhile since I last watched this film, but I've watched it several times from a standpoint that includes quite a lot of knowledge and direct experience of Ayurveda. Ayus is life and Veda is Knowledge - so Ayurveda is Knowledge or science of life. So called "modern" or "western" medicine is a relative newcomer - having really only been around for the past 150 years or so, while Ayurveda is thousands of years old. Even in the US there is still a LOT of traditional folk medicine, and increasingly Ayurveda is making inroads and being recognized as holistic and preventative and truly a system of health care - as opposed to "modern" medicine's fragmented (just look at the specialties) and disease care approach.

Writer/director, Pan Nalin, did a masterful job of presenting India as the custodian of Ayurveda and covered a lot of ground - both literally and figuratively. Maybe the Indian Errol Morris, Pandya seems to have a good sense of letting the camera roll and his subjects explain what they are doing and why. Like a great shirodhara (warm oil dripped onto one's forehead - very relaxing), Nalin's film is like practical Ayurveda itself - simple, soothing, and economical. The tranquil score evokes another aspect of Vedic knowledge - Ghandharva Veda - the melodies of Nature - maybe the subject of a future Nalin documentary? With "western" medicine - disease care - becoming less affordable everyday, "western" drugs costing so much and having so many harmful side effects, and an epidemic of obesity in the US, this refreshing look at a simpler approach is quietly reassuring and shows us the path to integrating the best of western medicine with the time tested Knowledge of Life - Ayurveda, and hints that the time will come again when the local village doctor - the Vaidya - will be well paid by all the people in the village, but only for keeping them well. In ancient times this was the case. If the people became sick, the Vaidya would not even expect payment - much less ask for it.

Pan Nalin's film is a great introduction to a deep well of knowledge. Help yourself to a refreshing drink of cool, sweet water. - Jimi

Excellent movie

[bhavip79 · 9/10 · 1 December 2011]

I was very impressed by this movie. I thought the narration-free documentary style was charming and allowed us to look through the eyes of patients and practitioners directly. What makes me sad are that some of the reviews don't believe in the power of this medicine and label some of the practitioners "charlatans". Some of the people I know and I have personally been cured of some serious illnesses, including some of those mentioned, by traditional Ayurvedic practitioners. While not all Ayurvedic practitioners are that skilled, there are truly good ones like those shown in the movie who can provide incredible results through this thousands of years old art form as compared with 150 year old Western medicine. That the power of Ayurveda is not well-known may surprise some viewers, who may be skeptical that any of these cures are even possible. They might think that Ayurvedic doctors would be billionaires if it was really true, but the attitude towards the practice may be hard to believe in a capitalistic world. Brahmanand Swamigal summarized it best: "...the Gurus taught us that if science is only followed for money, it is wasted. Wealth earned from medical science is always contaminated as it comes from the suffering of others. Thus, it must be practiced with compassion and humility."

Highly inspiring invitation to discover nature

[wissikul · 10/10 · 18 September 2006]

The film is a subtle gem -it invites you to discover nature and human nature with poetic images of ancient healing system known as AYURVEDA.

I was curious when the film was running in cinema halls for more then a year in Spain; Then I could not hold back when I learnt that AYURVEDA completed record-breaking 20 month long continuous run in one cinema hall in Paris and while write this in September 2006 it still continues to play there...

Thus when I had opportunity in Canada I rushed to see AYURVEDA.

The film is very simple road movie, has no narration and shows straight forward encounter with healers/doctors/people across India, Greece & USA.

The music, original score by Cyril Morin, is soothing and relaxing.

The film is an eye-opener to health in general but also makes you think about the health of earth, water, fire, air... and the universe. Its all linked. What you pollute outside manifests inside your body and mind.

Do not miss this film and try and see it in Cinema hall if you can -it has a meditative quality about it.

Congratulation to the team behind AYURVEDA: ART OF BEING. We NEED more movies like that to make a world better place to live and let live.

Cinematic Cosmologies

[tedg · 2 July 2009]

I suppose there are an infinite number of coherent structures that pockets of men have invented to explain the world to themselves. All of these will be of deep sophistication. All will be constrained by the hard wiring in the human mind and what we can handle conceptually. Each will be further constrained by locally invented methods of abstraction. When one is viewed from the place of the other, it seems curious inept.

All of these, every one, ties itself to matters of birth, sickness and death, and often with physical features of the body. The amazing thing is that most of them work as functional medicine most of the time. It would be obviously patronizing to judge these here from this writers world. But it is worth noting that the effectiveness of these medical treatments is directly related to how much sense they make to the doctor and patient. And this is helped if there is ancient tradition that can be cited.

One such cosmology is the point of this film, a documentary. The actual matter of the documentary consists of small lectures from a guru about the ineffable wisdom that he possesses and which no one else could without his 50 years training. Ancient references are not to be exposed to the public because of their inability to understand, and yet, with each treatment the explanation bends to be simple, clear, obvious. And after a short while, incredibly tedious.

What's interesting about this is the relationship of the cinematic world to what the film is about. The film is about how the order of the universe, when you have the ability to perceive it, can be used to make individuals right. In essence it is about the practice of understanding cosmic order and the place of entities in that order.

Now, the actual words we hear are insipid to me a great wisdom to someone else, but that hardly matters. What matters is how the film appears. Each shot in another such documentary would be made perhaps with a hand-held camera with the therapy or explanation of the moment a focus. All else would be random: backgrounds, framing, color.

But in this case, every shot is perfection. Really, I really mean this. Every shot has the thing in the foreground that we are supposed to be watching. But every shot also has a composition and background that is so ordered, so composed and balanced, so obviously different than what we would see if we were there watching that it makes the point. The world has order. There are great works of art that make that order obvious. We literally see that at work.

And that practitioners can apply that order to individuals. We see that in a sense as well, because the order of the world Nalin presents contains the treatments we see. It is not the same of course, but we subliminally make the connection. This is wonderful film-making, and a deep understanding of the manufactured cosmos.

There's a curious scene in here. This old guy claims that his power is such that he can eat "raw" mercury and treat himself so that nothing untoward happens. He does apparently eat some. He seems unaware that the camera can catch him palming the poison though.

Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.

Brilliant ! Soothing!

[sophie_hll · 10/10 · 28 January 2005]

Being a fan of this unique Indian filmmaker, I could not ignore Ayurveda. I watched it twice in theaters and later at home on DVD. One of the most inspiring and thought provoking work. When the world was hit with recent Tsunami waves this film predicted it. How we are being taken away and further away from nature.

I am struck by its simplicity, we travel, meet people, they talk, they do their things and we watch. No added narration or no attempt to make an 'auteur' work. It is this simplicity and soothing sensation makes us feel good. When I stepped out in the streets of New York, I said wow? what have we become? do not miss it.

tranquility and skepticism

[PIST-OFF · 6/10 · 6 February 2006]

the film much like the alleged cures and treatments in the film is overall on the good side so long as you don't think too hard about any of it. i caught this film the other day while barely coming out of sleep and it's soothing tone was quite nice. but like the medicine in the film, all it does is soothe. When watched through the eyes of the western paradigm of skepticism the medicine in the film is obviously full of holes. The one medicine man in the film seems to have one miracle "cure all" root that he gives out to anybody regardless of what their condition is, and there is never any regard to how well it works, if at all. The tragedy is that if there were any medicinal qualities in any of these techniques and roots and herbs, there's little if any follow up to determine whether they work or not. The movie also makes the quiet assertion that western empirical medicine is a failure, which is quite backwards given the statistics on longevity in India vs The US. Of course all this doesn't say much about the movie which is quite harmless if viewed by a skeptical mind but can be considered dangerous by those easily fooled by the atavistic promises of charlatans. The film does work at getting a good look at how people live and die in the third world and as i said can be a somewhat peaceable film to watch in light of that. One point that i believe was lost in the film but could have been explored is how and why doctors in the west have such fallen status? One revered as healers, the modern doctor is usually regarded with fear more than anything else. IS fear the price we pay for knowledge and practical results??????

Inspiringly beautiful

[theandria · 10/10 · 7 January 2008]

This is a wonderful documentary that not only reveals the differences between the western and eastern medicines, but the mentality, spirit and wisdom rooted in ancients sciences versus the modern, instant gratifying, mechanistic paradigm. Being myself a nurse for more than decade with European and North American experiences, this movie helped me to realize, how barbaric the western medical science can be. Both sides are represented in the movie and the explanations and reasonings are accurate and relevant. I'm actually surprised to see some of the practices revealed in such an open and detailed way. Of course, Ayurveda is not a secret science, but I had the feeling that I'm being initiated into something sacred and very precious. This movie is highly recommended for everyone interested in alternative medicines, devotees of the Indian culture and spirituality and for those who are looking for greater Truth in life.

Wonderful documentary about Ayurveda treatments

[nitha_fiona · 10/10 · 9 April 2006]

I thoroughly enjoyed this video. This is one of the best overviews of Ayurveda that I've seen. This clearly explains the various types of treatments, especially highlighting the cases where allopathy has failed miserably. I would caution the previous reviewer to check the statistics on accidents caused by Allopathic practitioners, before branding any other types of medical practitioners as charlatans. Ayurveda is a vast treatment system with origins thousands of years ago. It is a true treatment based on a holistic approach to health care and the balance and harmony of the energy systems of the body. One of the Ayurvedic doctors did make a point that he would love to use the best of Ayurvedic and allopathic medicine to treat the patients. The ultimate goal is the health of the patient.

Honest

[boiteorange · 4/10 · 16 January 2003]

It's about time we see a movie that stays unbiased towards these old Indian traditions. At times it is clear how most of the 'doctors' are charlatans, even lying about how they don't charge their clients. While they are wearing their gold watches, the 'donation' box is mandatory. Notice that there are only a couple of people who get 'cured' while we see quite a few cases.

Keep in mind while watching that ingesting mercury is not toxic and that the smallest Indian bank note is 5 rupee, while the average salary in India is 1,700 ru/month.

The Ayurveda Health Paradigm

[Ayurveda · 16 June 2007]

The Ayurveda approach to health management is simple. It addresses the whole individual (the Rogi) at physical, mental, and spiritual levels and does not limit itself to the disease (the Roga). It provides a comprehensive model for conduct of your daily life. The basic paradigm is to live life in accordance with your innate, unvarying constitution or nature (Prakrti). Once you understand your prakrti, you have the power and knowledge of the path to attain and maintain your individual prakrti balance - a balance or samam that leads to physical, mental and spiritual health. Ayurveda offers individualized treatments customized to your needs, while healing safely, effectively and completely.

Only sort of interesting

[lutheranchick · 4/10 · 10 January 2006]

This documentary is at its best when it is simply showing the ayurvedic healers' offices and treatment preparation. There is no denying the grinding poverty in India and desperation of even their wealthier clients. However, as an argument for ayurvedic medicine in general, this film fails miserably. Although Indian clients mention having seen "aleopathic" doctors, those doctors are not interviewed, and we have to take the vague statements of their patients at face value-- "the doctor said there was no cure," "the doctor said it was cancer" etc. Well, "no cure" doesn't mean "no treatment," and what type of cancer exactly does the patient have? The film is at its most feeble when showing ayurvedic practice in America. There it is reduced, apparently, to the stunning suggestion that having a high powered Wall Street job can make your stomach hurt.