Film Reviews
The World`s Most Enlightening Region a Documentary
by N. S. Xavier, M.d.
Reviewed by Ira Blanchard
In our nation where distrust and suspicion, if not outright paranoia, of one’s fellow citizen who practices a different religion from one’s own, are chronicled daily in the news, be aware of a great exception in the world. There is an actual functioning geographical region where members of different religions — Hinduism, Judaism and Christianity for 2000 years and Islam from the 7th century– have lived in mutual acceptance and respect as this film documents. You see there is hope and a pathway to community harmony for us all!
While attending the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Salt Lake City, Utah in October 2015, I watched Dr. Xavier’s presentation of the documentary and how it moved the audience. Xavier has been practicing psychiatry in Birmingham, Alabama since 1979. He has authored three books respectively: 1) The Two Faces of Religion about the influence of healthy versus unhealthy religion; 2) The Holy Region about the unique religious harmony in a region in Kerala along the southwestern coast of India where the film focuses; 3) Fulfillment Using Real Conscience about fulfilling human needs utilizing one’s real conscience in making choices. He brings together these themes in a beautiful, concise and very artistic way in this film. His writings have received endorsements of Nobel Peace laureates, professors/educators, religious leaders, psychiatrists and other mental health professionals.
Xavier grew up in Kerala not too far from the location of the film. There was an ancient port, Muziris, (around present day Kodungallur) in that region, which was a center for international trade in the first three centuries of the Christian era. It was famous for selling spices especially black pepper. The film attests to the unique interfaith harmony in the region and the peaceful transformation of more or less extremism within each religion. The message is one of hope in action and peace realized; a society stronger by its embraced pluralistic inclusiveness contrary to estranged exclusiveness symptomatic of religious isolation, avoidance and fear.
Xavier chronologically traces the arrival of Jews prior to the time of Jesus, likely avoiding persecution and finding a favorable place to settle. Many believe that Apostle Thomas, a disciple of Jesus, speaking Aramiac, came to this region because he had heard of Jewish people here who also knew Aramiac. After the Roman destruction of Jerusalem, ten thousand Jews reportedly migrated to this region of Kerala. The film offers evidence of Thomas’ mystic tendencies and how his followers blended Indian philosophy and culture with Christianity resulting in an atmosphere of inclusiveness. This integration was so thorough that the Portuguese Catholics, who arrived in the 16th century, were unsuccessful at segregating Christians from their non-Christian neighbors. Muslims had been present in this area since the inception of Islam in the 7th century as commercial activities had motivated their arrival. Their reputation was one of peaceful coexistence.
This region had its center of education, which modeled an inclusive influence among the people and a dynasty of kings, who ruled for 800 years, which was unique in history for supporting Hindus, Jews, Christians and Muslims. The building, used as the first mosque on the Indian subcontinent, was given by one of those kings. Thirteen centuries later, when the President of India, a Muslim, visited the mosque the local Muslim leaders of the worship center arranged for a Hindu descendant of the ancient King to also receive the President, celebrating the centuries of gratitude and harmony.
The film reviews the contributions of seven religious mystics including Apostle Thomas—six who have been identified as mystics and Thomas, who Xavier argues was quite possibly a mystic. The six include three Hindus, two Muslims and one Jew. Such a variety and concentration of mystics in a small region is also impressive. These mystics promoted a spirituality characterized by inclusiveness, goodness, happiness, peace, love and harmony. Xavier notes that such spirituality nurtures conscience.
Conscience uses the guidance of reason and the “Golden Rule”. The symbol of a heart is used for the “inner voice” of conscience. This is in contrast to the ‘superego” or the ‘inner parrot” symbolized by a parrot. The superego or inner parrot consists of unquestioned social influences from childhood and later without using reason or the sense of fairness. Extremism results whena person lives by a superego significantly deviating from conscience.
The narrator presents a connection of religious mystical spirituality with conscience to modern scientific—and yet mystical—worldviews held by six Nobel Prize winning scientists, including Albert Einstein. Interestingly, Leo Tolstoy learned the concept of nonviolence from a book which promoted conscience and was influential in this region from the first century A.D. While the four religions existed in harmony, each of them faced more or less extremism from within. These extremisms were peacefully resolved by leaders stimulating people’s consciences. Like the ocean tides which have ebbed and flowed along the Kerala coastline this film presents the formation and transformation of extremism and the underlying superego and conscience.
Applying psychiatric insights to his historical review of regional events enriched by many interviews and enchanting festival scenes, Xavier gives an inviting narrative of harmonious religious pluralism. You don’t have to go to the region to be enlightened and inspired by The World’s Most Enlightening Region. Just go to www. nsxavier.com and save the air fare!
Rev. Ira Blanchard, M. Div., LPC
