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Integral Yoga film and Discussion

Integral Yoga: Sri Aurobindo and the Mother's vision of Supramental Consciousness and how Haridas Chaudhuri brought it to the West

Documentary film to be shown by its producer Alan Bais with a discussion to follow

8:00pm on 13 February 2008 at the Auroville Multi-Media Center, Town Hall

The film is about integral yoga, the man who brought it to the west, and how it has evolved over more than fifty years. It features one
of India’s greatest sages – Sri Aurobindo – and one of the least known – Haridas Chaudhuri: professor of philosophy, yogi in a business suit,
and founder of both CIF and CIIS. It is a rich journey into a deep philosophy that integrates east and west and synthesizes profound insights
into the nature of man and the universe.

The film unfolds in three parts. Part One is a history that follows the arc of Dr. Chaudhuri’s life and times – from origins in India to
the American Academy, the Cultural Integration Fellowship and CIAS/CIIS. It features seminal figures like Ramakrishna, Sri Aurobindo and the
Mother; colleagues like Fredric Spiegelberg and Alan Watts; and many recollections of Dr. Chaudhuri himself and his wife Bina. Part Two explores
the essential ideas of integral yoga – in the words of Dr. Chaudhuri as well as many students, followers and friends. Profound insights like
supramental transformation and conscious evolution will be explained. Part Three looks at what has become of the integral vision, its evolution,
relevance and future. The film promises to be one of the most compelling presentations yet of the integral tradition – which deserves to be better
known.

Twenty interviews have been filmed – with Bina Chaudhuri; Michael Murphy; Hilary Anderson; Michael Toms; Aster Patel and others from India;
Jim Ryan, Bahman Shirazi, Brant Cortright and others from CIIS; friends like Rama Jyoti Vernon and Debashish Banerji; and more – an insightful
and entertaining group. It promises to be a splendid film.

This film is a grass roots effort initiated by alumni of CIF and CIIS because they want to preserve the legacy of Dr. Chaudhuri and spread
the word about integral yoga. We believe there will be a big audience for this film – integral yoga circles; students at CIIS and elsewhere;
and new generations interested in finding out what integral is all about. We hope to build a broadcast version that will air on public TV – but
that is speculation for the future. Now we plan to distribute this version to schools, groups and individuals. We will enter it in film
festivals and arrange non-theatrical screenings. We’d like to create a website where the film can be viewed and downloaded by everyone. It’s
time to start building a movement.