I consider myself extremely privileged to have received an opportunity to view the most magnificent and heart wrenching classic movies of all times, "The Passion of Joan of Arc".
Although the movie is now available on Youtube for everyone to watch, it is best experienced in "Plato's cave" where you are confined and watch it without any distractions.
This movie gave me goose bumps because I witnessed the highest level of spiritual strength in Joan of Arc. This movie clearly drew a distinction between religion and spirituality. Often people tend to equate both of them. But they are actually completely different from each other. Religion is very hollow and shallow if not understood with a spiritual base. The clergy of the church followed a very hollow religion. Their ego and vanity overpowered their mind. They believed that ‘God’ only showers blessings on people who follow the church. But did they know the true meaning of “God’? It was only Joan who actually understood and was clearly aware of what is the true identity of ‘God’. For her, God is personal. He is not a supreme entity sitting in an ivory tower and dictating rules to the world. God is within her soul, her inner voice. Each person in this world can be connected to their own God personally just like every little child can run into his mother’s lap and cry. There are no rules and regulations governing this acquaintance.
Joan of Arc was in a constant state of spiritual bliss because she was always connected to ‘her God’. The church cannot exercise ownership on ‘her God’. They have ‘their own God’ whom they try to ‘market’ to the world as a product. But if all the people in the world realize that even they have ‘their own God’ within themselves just like Joan of Arc, then nobody would ‘buy’ the ‘church’s God’. This threatened the church and hence they decided to break the spirit of Joan. Her spiritual strength surpassed all barriers, including the attachment to one’s own body! Among all the people in the movie, she was the only person who had a peaceful soul, even though her body was in chaotic pain. Everyone else around her had peaceful bodies that carried souls in chaotic pain.
This movie gave me goose bumps because I witnessed the highest level of spiritual strength in Joan of Arc. This movie clearly drew a distinction between religion and spirituality. Often people tend to equate both of them. But they are actually completely different from each other. Religion is very hollow and shallow if not understood with a spiritual base. The clergy of the church followed a very hollow religion. Their ego and vanity overpowered their mind. They believed that ‘God’ only showers blessings on people who follow the church. But did they know the true meaning of “God’? It was only Joan who actually understood and was clearly aware of what is the true identity of ‘God’. For her, God is personal. He is not a supreme entity sitting in an ivory tower and dictating rules to the world. God is within her soul, her inner voice. Each person in this world can be connected to their own God personally just like every little child can run into his mother’s lap and cry. There are no rules and regulations governing this acquaintance.
Joan of Arc was in a constant state of spiritual bliss because she was always connected to ‘her God’. The church cannot exercise ownership on ‘her God’. They have ‘their own God’ whom they try to ‘market’ to the world as a product. But if all the people in the world realize that even they have ‘their own God’ within themselves just like Joan of Arc, then nobody would ‘buy’ the ‘church’s God’. This threatened the church and hence they decided to break the spirit of Joan. Her spiritual strength surpassed all barriers, including the attachment to one’s own body! Among all the people in the movie, she was the only person who had a peaceful soul, even though her body was in chaotic pain. Everyone else around her had peaceful bodies that carried souls in chaotic pain.
