Had-Anhad: Journeys with Ram and Kabir
A documentary movie on Kabir. Everybody was
chatting in low voices , I was sitting quietly as I was
new at this place and knew no one particularly. I
was quite excited about the movie but was afraid
too as it could turn out very boring but I was
wondering what others were talking about and not
until the movie finished and some people confessed
, I got to know they were also anticipating that the
movie would spoil their precious summer afternoon
sleep. But guess what? After watching the movie ,
everyone was in an ecstatic state , upon being asked
the experience of the movie , no one even could
express the joy in words.
The movie was- Had Anhad , made by Shabnam
Virmani under a Kabir Project. It begins with a
question - "Where will I find Ram?" And the first
landscape is that of Ayodhya - Ram janm bhumi...
but does she find Ram there? Some shopkeepers are
interviewed by her and it is very realistic to see
what people actually think about the Babri Masjid
Case. It is a war between Ego and Belief. A war on
God's name - to find God or save God- but does God
reside in temple or masjid? Will God be pleased by
such wars? Such questions take her from Ayodhya
to Madhya Pradesh to Rajasthan and finally
Pakistan. Through Kabir she tries to find all these
answers . She meets different people in her journey
who are either local singers (folk singers) of Kabir or
related to Kabir in one or the other way. Finally she
goes to Pakistan where she feels closest to Kabir
and his philosophy.
Who is Kabir by the way ? - An incarnation of Vishnu
? A fakir or saint? A poet of Bhakti movement? A
revolutionary man? Why not go back and see him
first as a man... but something definitely makes him
different from an ordinary man and that's his
knowledge of Self .
Had-Had Karke Sab Gaye,
Per Behad Gayo Na Koi.
Kabir had crossed the limits between Soul and
Brahma. There is one fine example in movie to
describe Kabir's position that one who is in ship
says- "Shore is coming" , One who is on the shore
says - "Land is coming" but for one who is above
both , no one is coming and no one is going - Kabir
was like this.
When one knows himself , his own soul , from this
knowledge one can embark on the journey of
"search of God". And why is Kabir relevant today?
There are various reasons like his dohas and songs
contain the eternal knowledge about "soul" , "god",
"life", "love" but the most prominent voice of his
dohas and songs are - "Humanitarian" which today
in the world threatened by terrorism , existentialism
, depression and loss of faith on God, we need to
understand badly. He teaches us to see everyone as
human and worship one God whom he called "Ram"
- his Ram is not Dashrath's son Ram , an incarnation
of Vishnu but his Ram lives in everyone's heart and if
we love everyone , we are worshiping God.
Sakal Hans Mein Ram Biraje,
Ram Bina Koi Dham Nahi.
Ram resides in every soul,
There is no abode without Ram.
Through the screening of this movie , Pravah
whose motto is - "Me to We" and whose
Focus
is on both "self" and "society" , tries to help us to
see "what we are" , "who we are" , and "What we
can do for our society and humanity?"