Darshan - L'étreinte

This is a documentary about a spiritual woman in India, who could be described as a Hindu version of Mother Theresa. She is a practitioner of the path of service, which sees all people and beings as expressions of God.

I'll say here again what I've said about all the spiritual documentaries I have seen about Eastern religions and saints: You have to know what you're watching. Communicating the spiritual life on film is a real challenge, and probably cannot be done. But if you know what you're seeing, such documentaries are real gold. They're not going to convince you one way or the other, but they will show you real spirituality in action, at least what the camera can record.

I was disappointed that the film did not present a more rounded picture of this woman and her work, but that was a judgment call on the part of the director/writer. Perhaps he thought we would be overwhelmed by the goody goody quality of a woman who spends 24/7 hugging, feeding and caring for complete strangers.

At the very least, this film illustrates the vast potential we have as humans, a perspective that is grossly lacking in the American/Western world view.