Where East Meets West,
Heart Meets Mind
One of the greatest mystics and thinkers of the 20th century — Oxford-educated Benedictine monk who spent the last 37 years of his life in Southern India, developing a spiritual and scientific understanding that transcended all dogma. An intimate documentary portrait of Father Bede Griffiths, a pioneer in the exploration of interspirituality.
Father Bede talks about his education at Oxford where he developed an interest in philosophy and literature, his experiment with communal living in the English countryside, his decision to become a priest, and his attempt to create a meeting place for East and West at an ashram in southern India.
Three deeply moving mystical experiences animated this holy man's spiritual journey. For Father Bede there are no boundaries, only new horizons — a drama about bringing together within one person the opposites of East and West, intuition and reason, heart and mind, female and male.
"John Swindells' film is essential because it captures what the books cannot: Bede's living, burning presence. You see a man who has moved beyond the 'rational mind' into a mystically embellished state."
— Andrew Harvey, Author & Mystic
"The documentary serves as a visceral reminder of the atmosphere at Shantivanam — an environment that catalyzed a new vision of reality for so many of us."
— Rupert Sheldrake, Biologist & Author
"He is a man in search of that which is fundamental to all religions: the search for the absolute and that which transcends all human limitations. He is a mystic in touch with absolute love and beauty."
— Cardinal Hume, Archbishop of Westminster
"His vision has guided him to open the hearts and minds of mankind to gain understanding and acceptance of all the major religions with respect and dignity, to gain a sense of peace and unity to further the cause and good will of all people."
— His Holiness, the Dalai Lama
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