Background on Neelkanth
Lead Character in Mystic India, Opening at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science Friday, September 23
Mystic India: An Incredible Journey of Inspiration, a new large-format film opening at Phipps IMAX® Theater on Friday, September 23, was created to honor and share the essence of India, using the story of Neelkanth, a child yogi, as a connecting thread. As explained in the film, yogis are special individuals who undertake a journey to attain a deep understanding of the existence of life. In the process, they develop amazing powers of body and mind through the means of yoga, meditation and self-discipline.
Neelkanth was a real figure in Indian history. Mystic India begins with the story of Neelkanth’s life on June 29, 1792, a pivotal day when the 11-year-old yogi set off on his journey of spiritual awakening. Having resolved to embrace the challenges of nature, Neelkanth left his home and walked alone into the cold, stormy night carrying nothing—no maps, no money, no food. Neelkanth’s walk lasted seven years and covered 8,000 miles. In the film, his footsteps map the length and breadth of India, taking him through its dense jungles, fertile plains, majestic mountains, mighty rivers and peaceful coastlines.
Along the way, Neelkanth took part in rituals and celebrations, and visited some of India’s most revered temples. But by far the most arduous portion of his journey was through the Himalayas. For six months, in freezing temperatures with no shelter, Neelkanth trekked barefoot through snow and ice, and bathed in ice-covered water. Neelkanth’s survival may have been due in part to a system of meditation known as Tum-mo or “inner fire,” which has been shown to raise a person’s temperature as much as 17 degrees, according to a study by Harvard Medical School.
Eventually, Neelkanth reached Muktinath at 12,500 feet, where an ancient temple of Lord Vishnu stands, circled by 108 waterspouts. For the next five years, Neelkanth would remain there, meditating and performing the severe austerities of a yogi, and gaining insights into the nature of life.
Having grown older and wiser, Neelkanth departed the temple, and traveled deeper into India for the next two years, passing through the rainforests of Assam, the jungles of Sunderbans, to the shores of Jagannath Puri and through the villages of Kerala. He ended his journey in the village of Loj in Gujarat, where a local saint and teacher, Ramanand Swami, persuaded Neelkanth to become his successor. He was renamed Bhagwan Swaminarayan.
For the remainder of his life, Neelkanth devoted his efforts to social reform, equality and nonviolence. He dug wells and ponds for the poor and personally distributed food to the needy. He urged people to treat women with respect and ended the practice of female infanticide, a practice in which newborn baby girls were drowned in pots of milk. Neelkanth also constructed six beautiful temples before dying in 1830.
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