It’s fine. The production is nice and the selected passages are properly inspiring. Chopra is a fine reader and the Indian music is atmospheric. I don’t know much about Hinduism, but I presume this combines best passages out of the Bhagavad Gita and Rig Veda with a dash of explanatory text.

But I can’t shake the feeling that this is just a basic offering. Mix a few ingredients that feel truthy across all cultures, coat it with woo, and sell it to America.

I’d be more charitable if this three hour production was marketed as an introductory taste of Hinduism, but I was put off by its inflated self-importance. I don’t care for a program that dilutes spirituality and sells it as more than a mere starting point.

As a pan-theistic atheist who is skeptical of all forms of systematic formal religious structures, I am the prime target audience. Slap on an ancient spiritual sheen and I’m intrigued. But I also spent my teenage years as a Reformed Baptist steeped in the intellectual cathedral of Calvin. Don’t pretend you got more unless you’re bringing it.

I got sucked into this video while brushing my teeth, before realizing it was 45 minutes long. I went to sleep late that night.

It was fun to watch the guys take ridiculous risks and challenge each other. There’s all the vicarious thrills you’d expect from a Parkour YouTube video.

Beyond the stunts, the charm was in watching the guys enjoy each other’s company. Who knows if the mutual affection is true, but they made it work on camera.

It reminds me of the late 2000’s before UFC transitioned into a mainstream sports league. Back then, the fighters made a show of respect to each other, which created a screen camaraderie that intensified my enjoyment of the matches.

Unfortunately, I might be out of step with popular culture since the UFC’s heel turn with outlandish promotions has made them a billion dollar business. I get how the physical brutality of football or MMA leads to war analogies, but we need to cut that shit out.

When it comes to games, we ought to think of our competitors as “partners”. In joining the challenge, the players are committing to a constrained set of rules striving towards a mutually agreed upon goal. Unlike the endless slog of reality, a game is a measure of marginal advantage with a set end point.

We need to stop mixing the (potentially high stakes) infinite struggle of life with the (relatively meaningless) competition of these finite games.

If we do, maybe we’ll enjoy each others’ company as we play together.

When I moved to Vegas, I attended to the Lohan School of Shaolin for almost a year until my daughter arrived to fundamentally rearrange our lives.

I was primarily studying Tai Chi, but I got to know the Kung Fu guys, even dabbling a bit in sparring.

A couple years ago, I slid into a YouTube rabbit hole and came across several videos that included the Arhats. I had watched their earlier work when they were starting up, and it was impressive to see their progression.

This is the path of Kung Fu (功夫) — to work hard and maybe (or not) succeed.

~

It’s odd watching a video when you know the stunt actors. The dramatic actors are naturally the focus of the film but one’s eye is immediately drawn to the individuals that you know. So I’m rooting for those guys as they get slaughtered by the protagonists. Unsettling.

~

Even though the short only has two actors, the behind the scenes video shows a large team is involved throughout the process. Normally, my mind quietly ignores the background crew, but you can’t when you’re personally acquainted with each person. It’s a good reminder of the massive effort behind each of these productions that are indiscriminately published on YouTube.

~

As I finally publish this post, things are a bit quiet on the social media front, but I ran into one of the Lohan teachers and was told things are going well. The films are flashy, but the foundation is the school and the temple. Everything comes from training the mind, heart, and body.