Introduction
In 2011, the American public was introduced to the documentary Kumare, directed by Vikram Gandhi. Film study is essential for understanding the origins of several modern new religions. Moreover, to understand some of the region’s irrationality, it is crucial to keep an eye on the work of American filmmaker Vikram Gandhi. Gandhi intended to go to Arizona, where he could convince people from all walks of life while pretending to be an Indian guru. His experiment provided a realistic portrayal of the current state of religion.
The film aimed to illustrate the absurdity of blind faith in religion. By watching the movie, one can discover how Gandhi’s opinions changed over time and into the twenty-first century. If Kumare could amass such a sizable following, this shows how people generally see religion and faith. Religion, both in the past and present, is not based solely on faith in God and His teachings, but on the relationship between the individual and the guru and other followers, which fosters a sense of belonging and community.
Historical Analysis
The movie can be analyzed from two different but interconnected perspectives: a historical approach and a topic-based analysis (narrative approach). From a historical viewpoint, it is essential to consider the references to various religious beliefs presented in the movie. Religions usually emphasize that an individual relies on someone else through rites of passage, like getting body functions tattooed or sacrifices like participating in a lethal ritual battle. Smith asserts that humans have consistently characterized religion as something foreign or poorly understood by other civilizations (Smith et al. 300).
However, from a historical perspective, religion is not a discrete activity, but rather a universal component of culture. The limits of human understanding lead to an appreciation of the importance of religion, particularly among those who practice it. Religious studies are distinct from other fields of study, such as economics, politics, or laws governing human behavior, as they focus primarily on the moral aspects of behavior. Religion holds that moral consequences for people make an action ethical, not because it is stipulated in a system of rules.
In the movie, Kumar presents religion as ludicrous since it leads people to seek out and admire authoritative figures rather than achieve genuine spiritual enlightenment. This could be a movie star, a billionaire, a bearded guru, the Pope, or the Buddha himself. Kumare was only seeking to highlight how simple it is to get sucked into spirituality since a young filmmaker from Jersey with some Indian ancestry could quickly establish a religious culture without real-life experience.
Vikram Gandhi explores his spirituality while seeking to demonstrate that anyone can make changes in their life without adhering to a recognized religion. He addresses his followers at the documentary’s end and says, “You do not need somebody outside of yourself to make you happy; the guru you seek is already within you” (Kumare). Gandhi demonstrates that people’s beliefs and methods of seeking solutions are often irrational, and that the “mirror philosophy” holds the most significance, compelling individuals to look within.
Topic-Based Analysis
From a topic-based perspective, it is necessary to consider what elements of the religion are depicted and the tools used for this purpose. In the film, Kumare advises his followers to identify their true inner guru and convinces them to seek guidance inward rather than outside. He argued that no prophet or guru was more accurate than another and that some only repeated their falsehoods. Therefore, one could be curious as to what causes intelligent, frequently thinking individuals to join organizations like Kumare’s and even more mainstream religious organizations, on the one hand, and possibly hazardous “cults” on the other.
The gurus who run these organizations also promote their philosophy or religion. Similar to how a salesperson selling a used automobile may win over their client, most gurus insist on saying the right things to win over their followers. That clarifies why it could be a terrible idea by definition if those who adhere to the behaviors and ideologies of their gurus are permanently injured by the methods used to win them over. Numerous religious believers have unknowingly followed phony gurus (Otjes 20). They ultimately pay the price for their foolish faith.
The film depicts religion as a discipline that can be formed through deception. Through deception, Vikram Gandhi conducted a spiritual experiment that challenged the moral foundation of religious gurus worldwide to gain a following and persuade followers that he is a phony and that they do not need him. In the movie, nearly everyone Vikram interacts with thinks he is sincere. They thought so, not just because Vikram looked like one of them, but also because he gave off the impression of a highly reflective and genuine person.
Many people mistakenly thought he was Indian and had no doubts about his opinions because of his fake Indian appearance and accent. He also knew his only strategy for gaining fans was to pass himself off as someone else. Therefore, he had to perform it flawlessly to avoid being immediately noticed by others. Apart from other individuals who professed to be gurus, most of his followers who fell for his ruse needed assistance at some point.
Kumare used strange yoga poses and made-up symbols to build a religion that people took to heart and used to change their lives. When Kumare revealed himself as a young man from New Jersey at the conclusion, although this prompted many of his friends and followers to doubt him, most recognized that they were all gurus and that Gandhi had shown how exceptional each person was. Throughout the movie, Kumare says, “You create in your mind which route you will take” (Kumare). Kumare demonstrated to the world that everyone could achieve and experience pleasure if they put their hearts into it and believed in themselves.
Kumare portrays religion in the movie as a belief in which people turn to a higher power and numerous routes to personal growth. In Kumar’s opinion, worshiping an icon denigrates the worshiper in front of their chosen symbol. However, finding comforting spiritual peace within oneself may have many positive effects.
Vikram follows the adage, “If you meet the Buddha, murder him,” from early Zen philosophy (Smith et al. 250). Even Buddha should not be a figure to be overly adored, but a mirror of spiritual inspiration. As Kumaré, Vikram constantly encourages his followers to examine themselves rather than showering the idols around them with adoration. He clarifies that he is a fraud, and they have no reason to believe him, yet they nevertheless adhere to him and refer to him as if he were some holy prophet. Vikram sensitively reveals his identity in his last reveal. He subtly addresses this blind faith and false authority to demonstrate that he is not the significant idol his followers believed they required.
In the Kumare documentary, Vikram gathered a group of individuals and collaborated with them to design an ideology they could use to interpret and comprehend the world and themselves. This demonstrates how religion is socially formed. Kumare captures a reality frequently summed up in three words: “Act as if.”
An individual can behave in a way that makes something appear factual while still being false (Smith et al. 301). It is unimportant whether a teacher’s spiritual teachings have any foundation. Whether or not the paranormal is real is irrelevant. The movie seems to depict that it does not matter whether a religion’s teachings are accurate. Instead, it concerns what a person thinks they are.
The movie became intriguing when Gandhi could be seen starting to realize how much his metamorphosis was affecting him. At first, he struggled to divulge his true identity to his followers. The conflict proved that everything he said was a deception that needed to be planned out before speaking to his followers. His statements contained numerous falsehoods as well as a few truths.
Viewers can question if he was so engaged that he started believing his lies or if his initial concept overcame him. Regardless of the answers to such questions, his experiment was a wake-up call that might inspire more research and study into the phenomena of religious deception (Otjes 18). The movie Kumare ended with the viewer seemingly having more questions than answers, yet it did not take away from its incredibly magnetic elements.
The recorded accounts of religious sentiments, ideas, and beliefs made up the history of religion. The beginning of this era of religious history coincides with the development of writing around 5,200 years ago (Smith et al. 302). The investigation of spiritual practices that predated the invention of written records is known as the prehistory of religion.
Through a timeline of religion, an individual may also explore comparative religious chronology. Writing was crucial in harmonizing religious texts across time and space and facilitating memorizing prayers and heavenly directives. The Bible was composed partly by combining oral traditions passed down through the ages.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the idea of religion was developed. Scriptures like the Bible, the Quran, and others did not mention religion in their original languages, the authors’ contemporaries, or the communities in which they were created. Before colonization, the term “religion,” used in the twenty-first century, was not easily understandable in non-European languages.
The film displays today’s religion as one in which individuals do not believe in attending churches but are spiritual. Non-religious people never require faith in what they pretend to want from their so-called spirituality. It could suggest that those highly susceptible to being persuaded by somebody like Kumare seek spirituality rather than religion.
Most of the participants in Gandhi’s experiment, who largely influenced Kumare, desired solutions to various problems. Therefore, Kumare needed to be a “therapist” who could listen and respond with his pleasant words, although they were pretty chaotic and illogical. His remarks held no significance for his followers; all that mattered was that they were relieved to have someone to talk to about the issues constantly plaguing them.
Through rituals, everything was consolidated and made to seem more significant. Kumare’s rituals’ content was equally unimportant to them as his words were to them, which is to say neither was essential. They may follow a routine to get into the correct frame of mind for some reflective thoughts and focus on what is most important to them.
The degree of structure and dependence on certain supernatural assumptions distinguish religion from spirituality, which are the fundamental differences. Since many faiths constantly put their confidence in a deity or gods and pray, they rely on explanations that seem to be supernatural. On the other hand, spirituality may have a few components similar to those found in religion, yet this does not automatically qualify it as spiritual (Smith et al. 300). Instead of merely existing and depending on the viewpoints of one person’s thinking, religion is always more organized and has many organizations with leaders and hierarchies. Though Kumare’s case was strictly spiritual and not religious, there are times when such circumstances invariably transform into religious ones.
The movie argues that emotional instability can make people incredibly susceptible. These people are prone to being indoctrinated and joining cults and false faiths. It is a problem that arises in contemporary communities, and consideration must be given to it.
The message Gandhi wanted to convey with his film might not be understood by viewers who strain to learn the specifics of whether they might turn to higher forces. His main goal was to amuse his audience, so those who go too far into trying to figure out how their own lives connect to the incidents in the movie might not find it amusing. Viewers may wonder if it made a difference that the movie’s depiction of reality was a complete fabrication. They might wish to find out if the replies in the film represent those who purport to practice “genuine” religions or beliefs. Gandhi was confident that the responses did not accurately reflect the social realities.
As shown in the film, religious beliefs are not based on people’s faith in God, but on sometimes blind and irrational trust in a preacher or guru and a sense of community with other followers. The characters in the film were exceptionally easily duped into believing anything Kumare told them.
Therefore, the real value of religion and spirituality in contemporary society has been to provide individuals with a simple means of forming close relationships. They come up with the idea of finding someone with whom they can discuss their issues. Due to these issues, they could become hopeless and vulnerable to manipulation. As a result, some genuine gurus take advantage of this and attract a large following to form cults in the community.
Conclusion
Overall, Gandhi shed light on a subject that many people have long considered compassionate—religion. In addition, he experimented in the least intrusive and most effective way possible. It is realistic to anticipate that other research in the future will aim to reveal the same concepts as Gandhi’s experiment.
An American of Indian descent, doubtful of his capacity to convince his fans, is investigating this nature. When speaking with an Indian accent, wearing Eastern attire, and repeating many propounding sounds filled with meaningless syllables, he was unsure of his ability to persuade people that he was a genuine guru, but he eventually succeeded. He attracted a large following that immediately formed bonds with him due to his made-up gibberish.
As a result, not all religions are founded by true gurus; some could be, like Kumare. After watching this movie, a viewer could find it challenging to define what it means to practice religion or be spiritual. They could also ponder why so many people value spirituality.
Works Cited
Kumare. Directed by Vikram Gandhi, performances by Bryan Carmel; Brendan Colthurst, kino lobter, 2011.
Otjes, Simon. “Between ‘Eradicate All False Religion’ and ‘Love the Stranger as Yourself’: How Immigration Attitudes Divide Voters of Religious Parties.” Politics and Religion, Feb. 2020, pp. 1–26.
Smith, David, et al. “Bad Religion as False Religion: An Empirical Study of UK Religious Education Teachers’ Essentialist Religious Discourse.” Religions, vol. 9, no. 11, Nov. 2018, p. 361.