REVIEW OF “THE ANSWER” / POWERFUL STORY OF JAMES DONALD WALTERS AND PARAMHANSA YOGANANDA (VICTOR BANERJEE, LEONIDAS GULAPTIS) |AD|

“The Answer,” is the powerful story of James Donald Walters and Paramhansa Yogananda.

Warning, may contain spoilers.

An award-winning narrative feature film, 26 international film festivals, 48 official award nominations, and the winner of 17 major awards.

Spirituality is but the blessing where the tunnel has two entries, one is your inner spirit and the other is divine enlightenment. When you have awakened spiritually, you have found the divine enlightenment.

-Ann Marie Ruby

It was a cold freezing winter night within the foothills of Mount Rainier. White peaceful blankets of snow upon the mountains and the foothills, made my log cottage look peaceful and serene. Peace and devotion of a devoted soul, I but am as I find my serenity within nature. The first morning blessing for me, is dawn as she comes upon my door. I always welcome the first sight of dusk as I wait for dawn. Throughout my life, I always seek for divine signs as inspirations and blessings from the beyond. A yogini, I had become for my love of humanity and all of the humans.  

That night, I had a dream.

I had seen baby Lord Krishna on my lap. He had been crying as something was in his throat. I had placed my hands in his throat and brought the ball out. I gave it to him as it was a small globe ball. He was so happy as he finally had his ball and played with it.

As I had awakened at dawn, I found myself forgetting all about my dream. I got busy with my upcoming book. I opened my email and found myself looking at an email I would have just ignored as junk mail. As I opened it, I was surprised to have been approached by the PR team of “The Answer,” an award-winning movie. I wondered, if this is again another miracle from the beyond. 

Why would I get a knock upon my door from a yogi, through the sacred producer, directors, and actors of a spiritual movie? When this world is producing only for money and fame, why would this producer want to give back to the world some spiritual inspiration?

I wondered about the yogi Paramhansa Yogananda. He had taught yoga to historical figures like Mahatma Gandhi and described meeting Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore. Yet, who is this yogi, admired by all the yogis and spiritually awakened souls throughout this world?

I feel there is a connection between the positive vibes we the humans spread throughout this world.

There is no time or religious differences between the positive vibes and spirituality. Through this great teacher, Paramhansa Yogananda, his disciple James Donald Walters (later Swami Kriyananda), and their leftover positive vibes, this producer has reached me and you the human awakening today to humanity. The blessed hands of a positive vibe cross land and religion as they teach even from the beyond through the hands of this sacred movie.

The movie is based on the lives of Paramhansa Yogananda – the great Indian master and author of Autobiography of a Yogi, and his disciple – an American born in Romania, named James Donald Walters (later known as Swami Kriyananda). The movie is about the blessed journey of a human in search of inner peace and his journey to freedom as he finds spiritual awakening. You have everything, yet feel something but keeps you a prisoner within your own soul. The mountains and the green grass or the blue skies are but the backdrop of your scenery, yet are invisible to your eyes for you search for something else. Life around you is but a blessed miracle, yet you search for the miracle within your inner spirits. Only a miracle can satisfy the unquenchable thirst.

After battling the dark nights, we search for dawn. We search near and far as our footprints but get wiped away by all the other travelers of life. We still search for what? For the spiritual enlightenment and the blessings of the eternal peace which all sacred souls are but seeking. From the past, to the present, through the future, we were, are, and shall always search for this miracle door of enlightenment.

We ask, seek, and knock for what?

The answers are entwined within this sacred spiritual movie that but is an awakening spiritual enlightenment even for spiritual souls like me. What an uplifting spiritual journey through the big screens! Today, as we the citizens of this world try to find ourselves, we have upon our doors, “The Answer.”

Walk with Swami Kriyananda as he fights his own personal demons to awaken spiritually. I believe this movie is a blessing to our world on this day, when we are trying to find and awaken ourselves first and then our neighbors.

Today, you the seeker of spirituality, you the yogi who devotes your mind, body, and soul to yoga, and you the meditative soul who but meditates for peace and serenity, take a few hours out of your day and walk with the amazing teachers of the past. There is an amazing meditative session through the movie. I felt awakened and evermore in peace. I know peace still vibrates through the souls of citizens worldwide and reaches our homes, through blessed movies like this. “The Answer” had knocked upon my doors as an answer to my asked questions. My mind had wondered, have the humans forgotten the sacred blessings of spirituality? The creators of this movie told me no, as they spread positive vibes through this movie.

What would a yogi, a guru teach the human population? 

Through this movie, I watched how a teacher taught through his life lived. He taught his disciple, yet his disciple teaches us. Even from the beyond, to this day, we are being taught. I admired how Paramhansa Yogananda had talked about Jesus Christ and spoke about his visions of Christ.

Paramhansa Yogananda had taught his disciple Swami Kriyanada. Through the lessons within this movie, we learn these amazing lessons of life. A scene which had touched me is when Paramhansa Yoganda attempts to place a spoon in the glass, showing Swami Kriyanada that you should keep attempting until you reach your goal. Within my spiritual awakening, I always talk through the pen and paper and teach everyone that the dark nights end at dawn. Never give up for hope is there.

How could a guru teach throughout eternity? The lessons left by the past and the life lived are but lessons for us the present generation and this movie shall be there for you the future generations. This movie with its simplicity, touches upon the basic values of life. I was amazed by the questions asked by Paramhansa Yogananda to Swami Kriyanada about his control and temptation of wine, money, and sex. The answers were so truthful and amazing as he had said what he had no problem in controlling and where he still was a student trying to control.

What would a normal human being get from this movie?

Life is a blessing when and where we find the blessings upon our soul. We could travel near and far and have everything on this world, yet blessings are found when blessings are but given. Through the lives of these amazing teachers, we learn to live within this world and know how we are but the answers to our own questions. What an amazing epic journey through the big screen to achieve peace and inspiration!

Love – the eternal blessings and the eternal wisdom, is but what?

Love is the epic question all of the students and the teacher have in common through the personal awakening of the mind, the body, and the soul. A yogi awakens to the divine love of his Creator. Nothing in between. Within this movie, we see how a spiritual teacher teaches a spiritual student what love is and how to find divine love through awakening yourself first. For a spiritual seeker, it is to find the connection between the soul and the divine. I was amazed at the sacred journey of a student to a swami who learned and taught us in the midst. Also, I have been traveling through this path as a yogini myself. I know one needs not to give up everything, yet achieve everything through love. “What is love?” and “What is it that you want?” are the questions.

The movie had so much depth to its sound, scenic views, and action, I felt I lived within the time period of the great yogis. The movie’s PR team sent me facts regarding the movie. I realized real monks had participated within this movie. All the monks were real monks, except one! You could touch the positive vibes through the screen. What an amazing journey for my yogini soul.

Do we find all the answers?

Life in itself is a question and the answers are but found after the journey has but been complete. The answers to the minds of the teacher and the disciple within this movie, were answered through their lives lived. They answer our questions from the beyond as they left behind their footsteps. Yet, remember your life is still in the present and as you take upon your life the gifts from this movie, you must choose to live it your own way. That is my personal view of what this movie teaches. Learn from the past, live in the present within your found peace, and leave behind your personal learned lessons for the future.

Does the movie touch upon the spiritual enlightenment we the humans but seek?

For my personal mind, body, and soul, this was amazingly inspirational. I learned I need not go around this world for peace, but must find peace within myself and go around this world to spread peace through my life journey. I knew I had awakened spiritually, and these amazing yogis have come from the beyond to let me know I only need to accept myself first as then it does not matter who does and who but does not.

How does a teacher teach his student and throughout the lessons also teach the future student?

Through the lessons taught, a teacher lives on within his students. As long as there are spiritual humans awakened within this world, these gurus shall live within them as positive vibes. I am blessed to know the complete team and crew of this epic movie have devoted their inner devotion to this amazing movie. When and where humans only seek fortune and fame, this group but seeks peace, joy, and harmony for you.

What lessons were learned through the movie?

For me personally, it touched upon being a vegetarian yet justifying how taking the life of an insect to save yourself is okay. Also, this movie did not criticize the others yet showed how you are the one you need to change first. They touch on meditation, yoga, and spirituality. I loved a scene where Swami Kriyananda tells a person he does not hate anyone but loves all equally. This is an amazing lesson to touch upon at this stage of our life. Also, an amazing lesson was on temptations and how the monks are able to cope or what they do to tackle this beast within themselves.

This movie had chosen a few aspects from the lives of the yogis, one was the parents and the child. Here, we saw how the parents had dealt with a great swami who had sought his journey through life. We saw what the parents had done to either support or not. Today, we have amongst us this question, where the parents have a hand in either supporting good or bad by being there for the children. Walk within this movie. See how an amazing journey through spiritual awakening guides us today and even tomorrow within the future.

Why should you see this movie?

Movies are a big moneymaking industry where we find a few hours of peace, joy, and love. Sometimes, we just want to forget everything. We want to laugh with strangers as we walk into a different world. So, producers try to get their money out of it, while trying to please our inner spirits. Here, I felt the producer actually had a very sacred message to spread amongst the current generation. The message is worth the money spent. For it is not the material aspect, but the spiritual journey. 

Today, we the humans have found ourselves within the quest of material aspects of this world. Yet, there deep within all of our inner soul, we seek peace and serenity. We go and meditate, try to do yoga and all the other spiritual aspects of life. I have devoted my life journey within spiritual inspirational findings. Within this movie, I know you might not find the answers to your personal queries; however, you shall find the inspiration to spiritual awakening. Through another life lived, we walk through history as these gurus have spiritually awakened so many throughout this globe and they are still trying to awaken you through this amazing spiritual movie.

“The Answer” is a great job completely done by the whole crew. 

As I sat and watched this movie, I felt like I was sitting in the classroom of monks. In that time period and era, it was an amazing feeling. The film begins with the birth of Swami Kriyananda in Romania, and continues through his life journey through Switzerland, North Carolina, New York, and California. The film also has peeks of India representing where Paramhansa Yogananda once lived. The settings, costume, and atmosphere were as if we were living in the time period and location of Swami Kriyananda.

For the complete spiritual enlightening feeling, I give this movie 5/5 stars. 

I wish I could show the blessings of the twinkling stars of the skies above for this amazing journey.

If today, you have time to meditate or go for yoga, then I urge you to take a few minutes to walk into the theaters. See this amazing journey of a disciple and his teacher.

I am a spiritual person who would only accept spiritual collaborations. This movie was sent to me for private viewing and I am blessed to have been approached. I believe the sacred gurus from the beyond had approached me through the sacred doors of the PR group.

For me, between darkness and dawn, there is hope. Between the tempting sins and blessings, there is love for the divine Creator. That is why, I call myself a yogini. I believe this inspirational movie was meant to be sent to me spiritually by Paramhansa Yogananda and Swami Kriyananda. Two yogis left this as a sign for this yogini who lives within the humans with all of humanity but carrying the blessings of all.

Let us in union, learn from this blessed movie which will take her place in history as a sacred epic spiritual movie of all time. Come join me, as we enter the movie theaters to seek our answers through the epic movie, justly given her name, “The Answer.”

THE CAST

Victor Banerjee as Paramhansa Yogananda has done justice to the character. He is an amazing person and awakens the character in front of you. One forgets who he is and only remembers him as the character he has portrayed.

Leonidas Gulaptis as Donald Walters/Swami Kriyananda has done such an amazing job awakening and traveling through the footsteps of Swami Kriyananda. I could feel the inner depth of a person seeking peace.

I must again give my personal blessings to the producer, the director, and the complete crew for going beyond their personal needs and giving all of us the humans, this epic movie. Throughout time, this movie shall be watched by yogis and humans who but seek the spiritual journey. This movie shall be a friendly hand guiding all the spiritual souls to another world of spiritual enlightenment. Blessed be the souls, as they gift us this blessed movie.

FOLLOW “THE ANSWER” ON SOCIAL MEDIA

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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/movietheanswer/

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How can you watch the movie?

The movie will have its official USA theater release on February 27th, 2019 in Los Angeles, California, and run across theaters in the USA. Get your tickets as soon as possible! You can find some of the viewings right here. For my international readers, if you have any questions, please send them over to me and I will try to get back to you! Read more about the movie right here. 

For the seekers seeking spiritual enlightenment, the path is there and so are the travelers. Let us in union find, “The Answer.”

-Ann Marie Ruby

VIEW THE OFFICIAL TRAILER FOR “THE ANSWER”

Blessings be with you from Seattle, Washington,

DISCLAIMER: I was gifted a free private viewing of “The Answer.” As always, however, any view mentioned is honest and 100% mine. For more information on the movie, and if you have any questions please visit the official website and social media page for the movie. This blog post indicates no endorsement toward any public figure nor religious belief. I believe in all race, color, and religion, and this blog post is simply a review of the movie. The pictures and videos used in this blog post are owned by the movie and were sent to me by their PR team.

Want to know more about me? Read my blog posts, about my books, and more on my website!