Karmageddon (free viewing for Substackers)

Friends! It’s time to take ‘Karmageddon’ out of hiding for those who want to watch it. It’s been up for free on Tubi for some time, but not available outside of North America. For those who haven’t had a chance to see it yet, I will keep it public for the next ten days, or so.

If it calls to you, wear a tin foil hat :) or some such thing. It’s intense. It’s triggering. It’s bewildering. It’s wild. But it’s also genuine. Liberating. Resolutional. Brilliant, in its own odd way. It’s rare that such a collection of unique, polyphrenic souls gather together for a journey-in-process documentary like this: Ram Dass, Alan Ginsberg (music), Wah!, Durga Das (aka David Newman, who sadly passed away not long ago), Seane Corn, Robert Gass, Deva Premal & Miten, T. Bresgi, SophieCat, YuMee Chung, Kali Ma (in statue form), Bhagavan Das (aka Kermit Michael Riggs), The Levine family, David Life (of Jivamukti fame), Toronto (before it became worrisome), Biggles McBauble, someone whose name I can’t remember, and me. The end of an era, really.

Ten individuals had attempted to make a film about Bhagavan Das. They all retreated. And then two masochistic Jews showed up (Biggles and myself) who have a tendency to finish everything they start. Despite the fact that neither of us knew a thing about making a film, we tortured ourselves for 8 years getting this baby ready for the world. When we finally did, we submitted it to a horde of film festivals. We got into like six. There were two noteworthy highlights. First, we won the Audience Choice Award at the Costa Rica International Film Festival held in Montezuma. I had been to Montezuma (playfully called Monte-doom-a) long before, and I was too afraid to return. But we won, and that was something even though we have no idea how many people watched our film. I imagine hundreds, but it may have just been eight. Second, we were selected to show at the renowned (according to them) Hoboken Film Festival, which was actually held in a somewhat seedy mall miles from Hoboken. We made the big flight from Toronto, and went out for a lavish dinner to prepare for our big moment. Because I was highlighted in the film, I was especially nervous about the New York Times film critics. What would they say about our rustic attempt at movie-making? Luckily, Biggles agreed to handle the more difficult questions. That was a relief.

We made our way over to the mall. Nobody around. Maybe we got the time wrong. Nope, right time. We found our way to the movie complex, where we were greeted by the festival director: “Loved that movie!” Promising beginning! He showed us to our theatre. Frankly, it was a tad small. Actually, small isn’t the word. It felt like a large broom closet with chairs. But that’s okay. You got to start somewhere! Nobody was there yet, but there was time! Twenty minutes passed, and somebody finally entered the space. A friend from Facebook had driven long time to come to the show. God bless her. And then, one of the film techs came in and sat down. Word had clearly spread! No NY Times Film critics yet, but I figured they’d arrive when it suited them. The film began, and about two hours later, the film ended. The four of us enjoyed it immensely. I cannot tell you what a relief it was to not have to answer any questions.

All (bad) humor aside, the film journey was quite remarkable. I had been a psychology guy for years, and knew very little about what humans had been calling spirituality. As the film demonstrates, I was smitten with it for a time, and then my grounded sensibility emerged. It wasn’t that I had an issue with spirituality—it was that so much of what I was witnessing seemed to be something akin to self-avoidance masquerading as enlightenment. In other words, not spiritual at all. I often think of this filmmaking journey as the place where many of the terms that I later coined (i.e. The New Cage Movement, Enrealment) came to life. And where I got to see the truth behind the veils of the guru game.

One of the other highlights was my relationship with Ram Dass. Although we only used a few minutes of footage in the film, I actually interviewed him over parts of two days. We talked through my issues with making sense of the various sides of Bhagavan Das (BD), and we also spent time helping Ram Dass make sense of his relationship with him. In many ways, his feelings of bewilderment and rejection with BD were similar to the experience I wrote about in An Uncommon Bond. We discussed those parallels, and found comfort in our shared confusion. By the time we were done filming, he said that he had made real progress with respect to healing his BD wound. Soon thereafter, he did something similar for me. Right when I was about to retreat from writing my first book in order to help a challenged relative, he gave me perspective and got me back on the path. In many ways, I feel he is responsible for my sticking with my calling to write.

After the film came out, I was verbally attacked by a small number of BD’s avid followers. I also received various emails from his then-girlfriend to the effect that the film misrepresented him. If it did, it was not in the way she meant it. It was actually a mild version of the footage. Included in her vicarious complaint was that I shouldn’t have used footage that we shot while he and I were stoned. What he seemed to have forgotten is that he said somewhere in the film that he had been clean and sober for a lengthy period of time. And, that I don’t drink or do drugs. Other than his usual triple latte, he was clean as a whistle during those walks and interviews.

After all was said and done, I was left with something curious. Despite all the issues I had with BD, I could not deny that he had some kind of magic that made inexplicable things happen. He really did. When I share various events with others, they often reference them as “black magic,” but they didn’t always seem malevolent in their intentions. Sometimes an energetic portal opened up that actually made it easier to connect with the unity consciousness field. Perhaps one day I will share them here, and you can let me know what you think.

Since I have yet to have my NY Times film critic moment, feel free to make any comment or ask any questions if you choose to watch the film. I can take it. And, I have one question for you: All salaciousness aside, is there something of value inherent in the chaotic spiritual teacher? Bhagavan Das is but one in a long line of the wild ones. Do they serve an essential purpose for those on a spiritual path, or is that just a convenient fiction that camouflages their malevolence? When does their rejection of cultural norms embolden us? When does it obstruct our awakening?

Treasure yourself,

Jeff

P.S. For anyone who still collects DVD’s, we do have a number still in stock at movie website.