Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Yashodhara

Pema: Yashodhara. Do you know that name? Prince Sidhartha, Gautama, Sakyamani, Buddha, everybody knows those names… but..Yasodhara! Yashodhara was married to Sidhartha. She loved him dearly. One night Sidhartha left her and her son, Rahul.. while they were sleeping... to seek enlightenment... to become Buddha. He did not even say a word to her when he left. Yashodhara had shown compassion for the sick and ailing long before Sidhartha even did.. long before Sidhartha was even aware of suffering! Who can say if he owes his enlightenment to her?

Tashi: Pema!

Pema: Perhaps, Yashodhara wanted to leave Siddhartha and Rahul. How can we ever know if Yashodhara fell victim to anger ..to loneliness or bitterness..after Sidhartha left her? Who ever thought about her?

What must she have said when Rahul, her son asked that eternal question: "Where is my father?" What must she have told him? How could a mother leave her own child in the middle of the night? It is only possible for a man to do. Tashi, only for a man. After that Yashodhara had no choice. She had to live a life of renunciation. She cut off her hair and lived like an ascetic. Oh Tashi, if your thoughts of Dharma were of the same intensity as the love and passion you have shown me, you would become Buddha in this very body, in this very life.

Finally, I have got my own copy of the movie, Samsara. The above is my favourite part.
Tashi, a budhist monk after meditation for three years, returns to the monastery and is being revered for his discipleship. Suddenly, he experiences a profound attraction for a woman called Pema and leaves the monastry for the secular world. He finds that life in Samsara(world) is even more complex and the above happens when he decides to go back to the monastry leaving his wife and son. The question goes:"What is more important:satisfying one thousand desires or conquering just one?"

23 comments:

P said...

I loved the movie too because for the first time I heard my exact thoughts on this subject from someone else.
I always thought Buddha and many other great people neglected their family in the worst way possible in the process of becoming above-ordinary. People rarely talk about how difficult and sad it must be for the poor family.
I am glad I am ordinary and can have fun with my ordinary folks :D

P said...

I'm not sure if my previous comment went multiple times. Blogger did some funny tricks on me. Anyways, sorry if you see whole bunch of identical comments from me.

claytonia vices said...

YAY! I managed to buy a DVD copy of Samsara about a month ago!

Until I saw the movie for the first time did I not even think of things from Yashodhara's point of view... a woman's point of view...

It is almost as if a woman making a sacrifice was taken for granted...

Aqua said...

This conversation between Pema and and Tashi was probably the best and only good part about the movie (excepting the awesome cinematography).

It was a visually appealing film but as a Tibetan this movie was jarring in so many respects. I have blogged about it here

sanguine said...

havent seen the movie , but i will . in fact a while back , i had read a similiar plight of laxman's wife .

and hey , this is late in the day . but as they say better late than never : congratulations !! wishing you a fantafab married life !!!

Beauty and the BEast said...

I havent seen th emovie yet.. but after reading this, I admit, I am soooo tempted to!!

Anonymous said...

hey1 visiting u after ages....Didn't know u got married!!

congratulations!!!

Wish you a lifetime of love and happiness and can't resist adding: welcome to the club :D

AmitL said...

Hi,Arunima-that was a thoughtful extract from Samsara..I didn't know about this movie,but,seeing your review,I would like to see it one of these days.A big wow to the end thought:What is more important:satisfying one thousand desires or conquering just one?"

Toughie!!

And,tks a mil for your comment on my latest post.Yes,I do go through the few blogs I frequent,diligently...especially,since I love writing,and,I love to see the writing talent on all the blogs I visit!

Anonymous said...

WOW .

Cynic in Wonderland said...

...hmmm shall watch.

Unknown said...

Good one!!I like to extract my own crux of the story-"Famous men owe their fame to humble women in their lives."

Lavanya said...

Although I've no clue abt the movie in question, a whole new perspective to a known story...beautifully written post!

Anonymous said...

I wanted to watch the movie ever since it released but was never able to do so. Didn't find in the video library or local stores. dunno how long I will have to wait before I get to see it.

Arunima said...

@tanuj: I think you should try a little harder. It has been nominated for many awards and is easily available.

manuscrypts said...

hmm, that would be an easy one, isnt it, from a logic standpoint? if you learn to conquer one desire, its very possible that you get the hang of it, so you can conquer more, and i guess you'd keep getting better at it.. but if you go after satisfying thousand, you'll get another thousand... but i guess its a very subjective choice, and each one has to make it for him/herself :)

Unknown said...

The eternal question.... The excerpt is beautiful and I will be laying my hands on a genuine DVD of the movie soon... Thank u for the post...

shweta said...

Interesting.. need to get my hands on this one..

btw, had stopped blogging for a bit but have resumed now in a new location..come visit me sometime :)

vivek said...

Interesting post,Arunima

DewdropDream said...

Thank for dropping by my space!! And this post of yours got me thinking... I know what I'll be eagerly looking for the next time I want to watch a movie. On an un related note, do watch this Malayalam movie called 'sancharam' if you get a chance... it has English subtitles so language shouldn't be a problem, it's a wonderfully made movie!

Arunima said...

@dewdropdream: I will try to watch it. I have a lot of malayali friends and I can watch with them even if there are no subtitles.

Unknown said...

Try "Siddhartha" by Herman Hesse. May be the movie is inspired by this one. Best

Arunima said...

@chandrakant: yes, I have read that too. It is based on the same theme though the treatment is different. The ending chnages everything.

Pallavi said...

Watched this movie.. Interesting take.. Am looking forward to watching Love songs now.. Just got it the other day..