As many of you know from some of my tweets and facebook updates, for the past week and a half I was in Thailand following my dad and documenting his ordainment into monkhood. What we recorded will make up some part of a larger doc called DEEPAK CHOPRA: SOUL’D OUT (once again, here’s the trailer: www.youtube.com/watch) that I’m hoping to release next year.
Much of the journey was spent, well, tracking the journey as my father traveled from one monastery to the next, met various monks, endured hardships, and finally underwent rituals (getting his head shaved most notably – and eyebrows!) before going into silence, which coincided with my leaving and coming home.
But before and between some of the monastery visits, we also did some interviews in Bangkok, talking about what it is that my father really considers his spiritual quest to be. That’s really the premise of the film, for a guy that much of the world equates with the notion of spirituality, I – as his son – am trying to decode the man to some extent and understand where exactly his spiritual quest will land him. In part, I suppose that may help me better understand my own quest as I transition from one phase of my life – somewhat as a kid myself, to the next where it’s time to raise my kid with a sense and perspective of the world that is aligned with something larger than just our own brief existence(s). I won’t ruin the surprise, not that I have any bold revelations just yet, but something else came up during our conversations that I am still thinking about.
First the context. While to me Bangkok resembles a lot of other eastern cities like Hong Kong, Tokyo, Seoul, Jakarta, Singapore etc with his rapidly growing cityscape, mega-malls, bright lights, and bustle, it also has an underbelly that is impossible not to see. The city’s red light district of Pot Pong may be famous and have a certain tourist-y attractiveness to it, but it’s really just a small speck in an expansive city-scape infested by a darker sex trade. Check that, in Bangkok, much of the sex trade does not seem to have the same stigma that it does elsewhere. Most travel books or websites I flipped or surfed through often described Bangkok’s massage parlours – infamous for being not so subtle fronts for brothels – as iconic features of the city and "must visits" for any visitor. Call me crazy, but when Lonely Planet says getting a hand-job is a cultural experience, it’s kind of strange.
There are of course more extremist outposts of the sex trade, ones that indulge in more fringe activities or even veer into criminal world of underage sex. Still, all packaged together, for me the whole thing felt kind of sordid and rotting. Sex – and I don’t think of myself as a prude – is everywhere in Thailand. Not just the streets and alleyways of the dense city, but even the five star hotels and upscale spas. Especially at night when clusters of scantily clad girls and transvestites line the streets, soliciting patrons to enter various parlours, bars, and hotels for "sexy time," it all wore on me – the dull decay of humanity, exaggerated eroticism to the point where it just felt like a rotting muted version of a Grant Morrison graphic novel.
When I raised this seeming contradiction with the so-called spiritual journey that we were tracking to papa, he thought about it for a while and remarked that he didn’t necessarily see the contradiction. (I’m paraphrasing here) – he resolved the sordid affairs of the sex trade as pieces of a deeper consciousness, a Universe of contrasts constantly expanding and contracting, part of broader Universal evolution. In other words, papa’s thesis is that sinners and saints, sacred and profane, divine and diabolical are expressions of the same singular consciousness. Neither is necessarily more or less spiritual than the other. They exist as part of the same prism, in fact co-create each other and in essence define one another.
Truth is, I get that. Part of me even agrees with it (I think) when I spend enough time untangling it all. But none of it makes me feel any better about what I saw. In fact, it frustrates me, makes me even kind of angry. Because when spirituality loses its practicality, I think it also loses its functionality. I realize that absolutes are taboo in the world of spirituality, but I consider the sex trade a pretty rotten thing. Not because of some sort of moralistic value proposition, but the sex trade is usually plied by the disadvantaged, desperate, and destitute and generally patronized by the opposite. It also is usually accompanied by drugs, disease, violence, and exploitation. To dismiss all of that with a philosophic shrug is alarmingly unsatisfying to me. In fact, it’s infuriating to me to some degree when as part of our own spiritual adventures, we so willingly reconcile the existence of suffering as part of some universal equilibrium.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying my father’s some sort of callous spiritual pilgrim unaware of the suffering of others. In fact, he’s one of the most philanthropic people I know and has really genuinely committed himself at this stage of his life to the service of others. In fact, I even envy his ability to remain so clear headed and committed to not only his own spiritual growth, but also a collective one. He doesn’t seem to get distracted by the sordidness of the streets. And certainly he knows a LOT more about countless spiritual traditions and practices than I do. He can be side by side with those decaying streets, and remain fully resolved and focused on the path in front of him.
I, on the other hand, find myself now a world away – back in the comfy confines of my Santa Monica home – and yet still very much stuck in the confines of those Bangkok streets and alleys unsure just how to make much sense of it all.
Gotham, thank you, the video had me cracking up, you are so lucky to have Deepak for dad, yet I can completely relate to how intriguing it must be, I cannot wait for the documentary
Hi Gotham, thank you for sharing your thoughts.
If I may, I would like to try help you make some sense of this seeming contradiction- between your view and the view you present as your dad's.
It's a matter of perspective. As you are looking from within this movie we call life, your perspective is logical and sound. It is an admirable perspective, it is the perspective of the best and highest in us when looking at the lowest and most despicable.
But… to understand your dad's perspective, you need to get out of this movie called life, tracking the light beam all the way to the projector, and then actually grasp the wholeness of projector, projection and projected, all at once.
That doesn't happen by effort or through some intellectual process, and it doesn't even happen because of efforts to be a really good person who leads a good and compassionate life. It happens when your perspective has matured enough to show you more. It is a maturation of the soul perspective, leading us from the realm of time and contrasts of saintliness and deepest sin to the realm of timelessness and all-inclusion. As you surely know, this is what the spiritual journey is about.
You say that such spirituality looses its practicality and functionality. I understand how you feel, but I assure you that truth is exactly the opposite. ONLY this spiritual journey can truly reconcile opposites so fully that it leads to the healing we all long for. From within the movie of life, we all struggle and fight to make this world a better place. But when the journey to spirit is complete, we arrive at the one and only place from where real healing occurs- unity.
What this means in practical terms is the following: If you, Gotham, try to better the situation you described, you will go about it from a position of judgment and separation from the filth that makes you frustrated and angry. That will lead to no results whatsoever, as you have not adressed the real problem- your own perspective.
A person who has completed the spiritual journey is not going to perceive any separation. He or she will perceive one single field of existence, which includes all extemes. This one field will be sacred- all of it. Yes, including the pimps and hores
The sacredness of everything is permanent, but until our perception matures, we do not see it. When still spiritual "kids", we tend to think that "God" is in the "nice" and "good" only…
The "practicality" of this unified perspective is that when you change the way you look at the "unholy" and see it as equally "holy", then what you look at … does change. Not only as a metaphor, Gotham. It is natural for the movie on the screen to change when the projector is projecting something new…
To solve your dilemma you will have to let go of your thoughts and beliefs about good and evil out there, and look with your heart instead. It takes courage, because it means that you need to look at those monstruous people without blinking. You will need enough courage to look straight into their eyes, and keep looking, beyond ALL your judgments. You will need enough courage to recognize that everything you see is in us all, meaning in you yourself. You will need enough love to heal your pain of not being the way you thought you should be in order to be sacred, loved and beautiful. And then, when everything is included and fully loved … you will discover the freedom, laughter and expansion of God.
Which will allow you to see perfection in every direction- even the Pot Pong. Which, in its turn, will help that region of consciousness to wake up too, and let go of behaviours sprung out of ignorance of their true identity.
It is the only way to heal the world, friend.
Beautiful Aurora, my bows to you …..
Hello Gotham,
You ask how to make sense of it all? That's the problem, one cannot make sense of it. It is non-sensical. Life is non-sensical but our minds need sense, long for sense, do our upmost to create sense and live sense but no matter how much sense our minds make of our life and existence it will remain non-sensical.
How do we wrap our minds around the fact that a child grows to become a child molester or a child is abducted and murdered by a child molester? How do we wrap our minds around the poverty of Haiti when one lives and grows in the abundance of a wealthy US city?
How do we wrap our minds around the fact that women can STILL be stoned to death in some religious traditions considering this is 2010?
Spirituality and functionality do not necessarily go hand in hand in the way our mind needs it to, wants it to, demands it to and this is where compassion comes into play, compassion for ourselves, our humanbeingness, our many tanturms when sense is not being made for the benefit our our comfort.
Gotham:
I'm moved by both your dad's desire for authentic spiritual renewal, and by your gift of expressing your thoughts and feelings with great candor and humanity. Once again, your words reveal your concern over issues of human suffering and justice. It is the rare author who is able to bring the deepest feelings and conflicts of others to awareness. The picture of you blessing your dad by releasing petals over him is one I will treasure for a long time. As the father of four sons, I am always moved by your interaction with your dad.
Love, Greg
Hi Gotham,
I really appreciated reading your post. I, too, went to SE Asia on a spiritual quest about 10 years ago, and was struck by this fierce contrast between temples everywhere and monks running through the streets, and the in-your-face, inescapable sex trade abounding. I even toured the Red Light district just to see what it was about and left feeling sick to my stomach, still those sordid images wander into my mind at times unbidden.
Thank you for sharing your confusion about how to react and what to do. I suppose we can only take action for ourselves, practicing compassion and our own right actions, right morals, etc…. But if you have more thoughts on how to solve this conundrum, please let me know!
Best wishes, MeiMei
Beautiful! Thank you for sharing Gotham; I look forward to your documentary.
Namaste,
Rea
Gotham — This is a wonderful article and thought-journey! Nice to see it here!
It's true that everyone here is an expression of God, our Source, because it could be no other way. And peace can be found in the transcendent view that All That Is comes from and returns to that same Source, so no harm is everlasting. And all that happens here can be Beautiful from that perspective.
At the same time, the contrast that you so eloquently speak of here does exist for a purpose — and a practical one at that, in terms of our Earthly existence.
In a world that is an illusory play of Consciousness, always changing in each moment, we get to decide what we do with this life. And how we create our reality — both personal and larger.
So, when we see or experience such hardships, such manifestations of energy that seem harmful or sordid — and that perception is one that feels the energy of the situation as it is — the question is always, "What are we going to do about it?"
How do we each want to live? What do we want to bring into our world? And how will we help others?
The answers to these questions, if they arise in us, are as diverse as our population. But we can all move to a higher ground, where people are honored and treated well, and where we are all seen as part of the Oneness.
Humanity is always evolving, just as our Earth is. The greater evolutionary movement that's happening now is spiritual in basis. And it addresses exactly these questions and discomforts that you bring up here, as well as many others.
Though this world, as we know it, was certainly created for an expression and experience of duality — separation from God and contrast, to be specific — the very purpose of that duality may well be to lead us back to what we Know eternally.
And that's Knowing that we all are Love itself, we all are worthy, and we all can live honoring each other in harmony. So many of us believe that!
Good to see you questioning, for it's in the questioning that we find, develop, and enact new answers!
Love to you and everyone in your family!
Julie
Nice work on the trailer. You definitely have a natural talent for this type of work. I am anxious to see the entire documentary. I am sure it will be fascinating and well done. You are off to an excellent start.
Thank you Gotham for sharing your dad's journey. From what you say here, it seems as though what I saw in the movie Bangkok Dangerous isn't too far off course although they only showed a small example of the sordidness.
Hmm. I'm interested to know about that surprise. And a little curious.:)
I hope someday I can see that documentary.:)
Hey Gotham,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts,your insights and your dad's quest & journey you are a gift to humanity.
Always love
Ashie
Nice work on the video. It shows a funny side of your dad. Very awesome! I feel your anger with the "status quo" in regards with the situation in Thailand and the inability to improve that with a "spiritual" approach. Once we realize that spirituality is not here to solve our problems, we can do the work to empower the individuals and inspire them to make a difference – like you are doing. Also, unfortunately, many people forget about humanity, compassion and wellbeing of others when their needs are not met. Media, movies and music are the ways to inspire and empower.
Keep rockin!
IFEEL
We shall see
Hi Gotham,
Thank you for your great article..
I have one thought to share about your following phrase and would love your response.
"the sex trade is usually plied by the disadvantaged, desperate, and destitute and generally patronized by the opposite".
I think that the people patronizing the sex trade are also disadvantaged, desperate and destitute. Like attracts like.
For a person whose life is filled with love, joy and inner peace would not want to be involved in the sex trade except to bring enlightened awareness to it, would they?
To me the people involved in the sex trade represent our collective unconscious and until each one of them is healed, then we have plenty of work to do.
Love and blessings,
Pragito Dove http://www.discovermeditation.com
Hi Gotham, thanks for your article. It's so true what you say about the Lonely Planet. I'd never even thought about it like that.
This has to be the best thing I've read today: "Call me crazy, but when Lonely Planet says getting a hand-job is a cultural experience, it's kind of strange."
Excellent article Gotham.
I am angry too.
Just received this e mail from Amnesty International
Support one of our best chances at ending violence against women and girls.
Break through the gridlock in Washington – support the International Violence Against Women Act!
amnestyusa.org
This is the closest the U.S. has ever come to combating violence against women and girls on a global level. However, due to some serious misinformation creeping into the discussion, opposition groups may deter one of the best chances we have at finally confronting human trafficking, rape during conflict, domestic violence and other horrific forms of abuse.
After 4 years of Amnesty activists battling to ensure its passage, the International Violence Against Women Act (IVAWA) is finally progressing though Congress and is on its way to the House and Senate floor for a vote.
This is a very critical time when members of Congress really need to hear from their constituents that women’s rights are worth fighting for. But it’s also a prime time for opposition groups to take aim at this important piece of legislation.
Let your member of Congress hear you – women’s rights are worth fighting for!
Imagine if the U.S. was doing more to help prevent and respond to violence in locations such as these:
Haiti, where 6 months after the earthquake devastated the region, women and girls in camps are still particularly vulnerable to sexual violence.
Democratic Republic of Congo, where widespread conflict has led to what could be described as a "war against women" in which women and girls are being raped by the thousands.
Afghanistan, where acid is hurled in the faces of girls on their way to school.
This violence is not isolated to a few women in a few different places – it is a worldwide epidemic. It’s going to take a coordinated and high-level effort to stop it from spreading.
We’re so close, but we need your help.
Please speak out now for women and girls around the world who are silenced by ongoing violence and abuse.
Thank you,
Daphne Jayasinghe
Advocacy Director, Women's Human Rights
Amnesty International USA
What a awesome 6 hour, thankyou to Dave and all the crew at Roudtuit Caravan park for all the work that went to running this event, well worth marking in the dairy for next year
Zayıflama Lida Fx15 ve Biber Hapı zlfvbh
burmeh yaza lida fx15 biber hapı ile formda girin
Trakya Üniversitesi tabiii en önemliside bize baya bi para getirecek.
burmeh yaza lida fx15 biber hapı ile formda girin his family and particularly the children he had artificially created will be happier and far better off without him, not to mention wealthier.
Trakya Üniversitesi Remember and play his music if you want..it was pretty good but don't for getUcuz Tatil what an absolute failure as man he was. He dies a whiny drug addicted loser.. Save your sorrow for someone worthy