Carousel

Carousel: The attraction of this short film was immediate. I recognized the honest devotional spirit of the artisan/narrator, and it struck chords with me, perhaps because in it I saw many parallels with my own spiritual life.

The narrator is obviously well-immersed in his Christian life and has learned the art of 'walking the walk' in his daily work, not just 'talking the talk' on a Sunday. This practical spirituality appealed to me. He compared his scraping away the layers of old paint on the chariot horses with his experiences of the cleansing, redemptive powers of God. I enjoyed his analogies. The art of analogy helps clarify something that may otherwise be unclear. My pleasure increased as the film continued. I recognized more feelings intrinsic to my own discipline. Elemental to my Bhakti (devotional) Yoga path is the daily chanting of mantras, or holy prayerful supplications to God. In this heartfelt mood, the layers of forgetfulness of God, like that old paintwork on the carousel horses, are removed.

It is said in Sanskrit 'Cheto darpana marjanam' - remembering the holy names of God cleanses the dust from the heart, and thus reveal the original clean, pure identity within. This is just like the original paintwork of those horses that our artisan speaks of, and how it has been covered by grime for many years. The exquisite workmanship of the artisan is a thing of beauty. Such works can certainly be dedicated to God. They are works in devotion, like the labours of ancient craftsmen who toiled tirelessly to build and decorate cathedrals, temples and mosques.

Especially poignant were the narrator’s honest recollections of those cold mornings when coming to work was less than appealing. It brought me back to my days as a monk, when rising early in the temple was a challenge. Yet when I entered the temple and begun my service, I immediately became fresh and awake. The sound of the narrator’s voice lifts slightly as he describes with almost tangible pleasure the upliftment from sleepiness to wakefulness upon seeing the beauty of the eagle and chariot, his current sacred work-in-progress.

All this talk of horses and chariots rung more bells with me; I recalled what I learned from the primeval scripture Bhagavad-gita; While poised for battle many thousands of years ago, Arjuna, the ancient Bhakti-yogi warrior and chariot driver of Krishna, was taught by God about this art of devotional work: "Therefore, Arjuna, you should always think of Me and at the same time continue your prescribed duty of fighting. With your activities dedicated to Me and your mind and intelligence fixed on Me, you will attain Me without doubt."

Remembering the Lord while working for him in daily life lifts one from the mundane to the spiritual. It is the art of all work. And it seems to be an art our carousel artist has learned well.

Carousel: This interesting short is rich in visual and spiritual metaphor. The narrator, who is never clearly identified, recounts how his strong faith helps him to persevere at the painstaking tasks required to restore weathered float horses, and other beasts, on an ageing carousel. The images that accompany this message are beautifully shot and document the different stages of the restoration process; they cause one to look again at the magnificence of these cultural artefacts.

At its heart, the film discusses the constant need to scrape away at our own hubris and self-importance to attain spiritual purity, neatly parallelling the fascinating restoration process documented in images. The message is simple; with constant effort and unwavering faith we may all attain the glowing magnificence of the eagle chariot shown in one of the final scenes in the film. If only all work was as rewarding as this!

While it was interesting to hear how this man’s faith helps him to renew his daily efforts in the workplace, the same message could be told of any worker battling against the daily grind. To me, faith is just one way of enduring the trials that come with the need to work. In the place of faith, others might call upon creativity, money, power, responsibility, even survival.

This film was well done. The cinematography and commentary were excellent. The theme itself is an old theme, namely how God works in us to change us and to sanctify us.

What spoilt this film was the text which was chosen, "Some trust in chariots and some in horses ...". It was not relevant. Perhaps something along the lines of, "if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation etc" would have been better.

And perhaps the title of the film could have been changed to something like "The Restorer".

Lovingly restoring a fairground carousel – see the beauty of the human being under the layers of flaking paint – this is what Christ has done for me. A beautifully made 3 minutes of restoration. I enjoyed the imagery, the music and the core message, but cringe at the particularity of what is evidently such a universal message.