India Films #7: The Song of God June 20, 2009

Event: Oddball Films presents “India Films #7: The Song of God”, a screening of rare ethnographic documentary films produced and directed by award-winning filmmakers Irving and Elda Hartley. Films include “Hinduism and the Song of God, a Modern Interpretation of the Bhagavad Gita” (1978) and “India and the Infinite: The Soul of India” (1979), written and narrated by world renown cultural scholar Huston Smith, Hinduism and the. Also featured will be “Benares: Steps to Heaven”, directed by Richard Riddiford. Additional shorts from the India Archive at Oddball Films will also be screened.
Date: Saturday, June 20th at 8:30PM
Venue: Oddball Films, 275 Capp Street, San Francisco.
Admission: $10.00 Limited Seating, RSVPs to: [email protected] or 415.558.8117
Web: http://www.oddballfilm.com/oddballftp/Songs_of_God.pdf

India Films #7
“India: The Song Of God”
Screens at Oddball Films

On Saturday, June 20th at 8:30PM Oddball Films presents the 7th in a series of films about India, “India Films #7: The Song of God”, a screening of seldom-seen documentary films produced and directed by award-winning filmmakers Irving and Elda Hartley including “Hinduism and the Song of God” and “India and the Infinite”. Also screening will be “Benares: Steps to Heaven”, directed by Richard Riddiford. Additional short films from the Oddball India Archives will also be screened. Oddball Films is located at 275 Capp St in San Francisco. Admission is $10.00. Seating is limited and RSVPs are essential. RSVP to: [email protected] or 415-558-8117.

“Hinduism and the Song of God” (Color, 1978)
"The Hartleys have produced their finest work to date - images which are quintessential expressions of the spirit of India - satisfying as both an educational and esthetic experience." - Dr. Bruce Long, Department of Asian Studies, Cornell University

In this inspiring and informative film directed by Elda Hartley, the words of the Bhagavad Gita come alive through the practice of the four Yogas, the law of karma and the four stages of life. “Hinduism and the Song of God” introduces the philosophy and religion of Hinduism, emphasizing the concepts of self-realization as expressed in the Bhagavad Gita.
The film also showcases individuals considered in India to be living saints, takes the viewer to visit sacred shrines there and captures the spirit of self-realization central to the Hindu faith.
In “India and the Infinite” The Soul of a People” (Color, 1979) images gathered from Kashmir to Varanasi to Mumbai combine with the poetic narration of renowned historian Dr. Huston Smith (author of the classic “ Religions of Man”) to underscore how so much in Indian culture, from the most mundane daily ritual to temple ceremonies, carries the promise of spiritual awakening. “India and the Infinite” explores India’s many religions - Islam, Jainism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Christianity and, of course, Hinduism – its love of ritual and what it symbolizes, its great art and architecture, and the extraordinary leap of consciousness that birthed the concept, “You are God.”
Exploring both the paradoxes and extremes, the sensuality and asceticism present in this remarkable culture Smith, one of the most eloquent and accessible writers on the history of religion and culture brilliantly conveys the seemingly impossible task of giving viewers a concept of what India is truly like-from the inside out. Winner of the Cine Golden Eagle, 1979
“Benares: Steps to Heaven” (Color, 1984)
Richard Riddiford’s remarkable profile of Benares (Varanassi, Kashi), the world’s oldest city explores the spiritual forces that have insured the survival of India’s most sacred city for thousands of years. Bathing in the Ganges of Benares gives spiritual cleansing and dying here insures permanent release from reincarnation.

About the Filmmakers

Filmmaker Elda Hartley
Elda Hartley(1911-2000) began producing documentaries on the world’s great spiritual traditions, consciousness research, meditation, world peace, health and healing and death and dying. She has worked with many of the foremost spiritual leaders, consciousness researchers and healers of the late 20th century, including Margaret Mead, Joseph Campbell, Ram Das, John Lilly and Alan Watts.

Huston Smith
Huston Smith is widely regarded as the most eloquent and accessible contemporary authority on the history of religions. His The Religions of Man, first published in 1958, is the most widely used text in introductory religion courses. Called the "world's ambassador to religions everywhere" by Thomas Moore, Smith has learned firsthand from the teachings of priests, rabbis, monks, Zen masters, philosophers, teachers, and believers. In the 1950's, he worked with Timothy Leary on psychedelic drugs comparing drug-induced states of consciousness with the experiences described by mystics.
Professor Smith is a self-described mystic who has tried to understand the world of religion from within. His special skills are making the complex understandable and conveying the sense of religious ecstasy. He has danced with Muslim Sufis and infuses his life with meditation and yoga. In addition, he prays daily towards Mecca, on a prayer rug, goes to church on Sunday, and participates with family members in observing Jewish Sabbath and Seder.
Huston Smith has taught at both Washington University and MIT, and was the Thomas J. Watson Professor of Religion and Distinguished Adjunct Professor of Philosophy, Emeritus, at Syracuse University. Subsequently, he was Visiting Professor of Religious Studies, The University of California, Berkeley. In 1996, Dr. Smith was the subject of a five-part PBS Special, The Wisdom of Faith with Huston Smith: A Bill Moyers Special.

Official Website: http://www.oddballfilm.com/oddballftp/Songs_of_God.pdf