Movies, Actors and Maya: Jaya Kishori and AiR Atman in Ravi on Learnings

Bollywood glam icon Malaika Arora realized that she was not a princess, but a goddess, when she recently embarked on a spiritual quest in a podcast with spiritual mentor and noted author AiR-Atman in Ravi. The two discussed crucial issues like whether one should hold on to the happiness and the commandments of detached attachment, and the conversation around spirituality is now taken forward in AiR’s latest podcast featuring popular motivational speaker Jaya Kishori, which has been walking on this path since she was just a school-going child.

Even as this podcast did not feature a Bollywood diva like Malaika, it did touch upon the glamorous world of movies, actors and Maya. During a discussion around how Maya or illusion impacts us as an individual, the spiritual icons deliberated as to how this world itself is a stage, and what exactly we need to learn from the experience we get from movies and especially actors.

“When you go for a movie, you get sad when you watch a sad scene and become happy to see a happy scene and of course laugh on a comedy scene. But that state of feeling cannot be constant as we all know that it is a movie and it is all temporary. It is important to understand that life is a movie. Just like an actor who plays a role, he laughs, he cries, lives that scene, we too live through different emotions. In our lives, different actors have been given different roles, and the stage is set. You are supposed to perform your Leela on this stage. But be aware that what's going on is a movie, it is not the truth. We will need to return home which is up there in heaven, after the picture is over. This life is Maya, an illusion, but we must perform our role so well that people should say that picture is super hit,” said Jaya Kishori.

AiR-Atman in Ravi, who also happens to be a prolific TedX speaker, affirmed to the same, adding, “You have rightly called this life Maya, but still we are stuck in it.” This led Jaya to revert with, “We are stuck because we do not acknowledge life as Maya. You do not have to be a robot, perform all your roles well. Being detached doesn't mean you go in such 'vairagya' that you do not feel others' pain. I can choose a family life, I will live, I will do my work, I will have my relationship, I will have my family. But at the back of the mind, you need to know that this is not the real truth. This will enable you to not get shattered when you face a difficult situation. With affirmations like ‘This is a play, I am being tested. My role is being tested. My acting capabilities are being tested’ we can all sail through the most difficult phases in life.”

“What we are doing today is also Maya, at the end we too have to meet the same fate. But that does not mean we don't do our work well. Whether we are a speaker, a writer, a professional, we all have to focus on our works,” said Jaya Kishori. To gain more insight on the likening of life to Movies, actors and Maya and finding the purpose to life, tune in to the podcast on AiR-Atman in Ravi’s official YouTube channel.