Gabriella, right.
Covid drastically changed Gabriella’s plans to make a film in India. So she seized a different opportunity. But it unfolded in a much deeper way than expected, into a Sanskrit pilgrimage. Read how the 6-part series developed and how the process changed Gabriella. She has been part of the School since childhood.
Sanskrit Pilgrimage
Gabriella Burnel, London
What made you embark on the Sanskrit Pilgrimage?
For a while had been thinking of going to India to make a film series about Sanskrit, from the origins of its sounds, to the practices that are imbued with it today. To begin with I had a flight booked to Nepal to study Sama Veda and research this more in depth. The very day that flight was booked, the world went into lockdown. I had the choice, fly to Nepal and stay for an indefinite amount of time, or stay here in England.
I chose the latter. About one year later, Piloo, who had been attending regularly the chant and chill sessions I had been running either online or in person, was giving me a lift back home, along with Jon who had also been in attendance. We were discussing all things Sanskrit and whether there were connections on these isles, as well as the great sanctity and ancient spiritual practices here where we live. The idea was born to make a film series here on these isles!
How long did it take to make the film?
Throughout 2021 I began collating names of people to contact for interview, places to visit, communities to see, things to investigate, books to read. At the end of 2021 we interviewed our first guest, a former member of the School of Philosophy and Economic Science, Isabelle Glover, but because of Covid it turned out we couldn’t meet her in person, so stood outside her house and logged onto a zoom call with her, which Harvey filmed!
Throughout 2022 we filmed through England, Ireland, Wales and Scotland. Filming continued through to Spring 2023, and then we went into production and editing. Over 200 hours of footage and interviews whittled down to a 6-hour, 6-part series. The final Sanskrit Pilgrimage series was released in Spring 2024.
Did you discover new things about your own country?
I realised that for so many years, perhaps since I was 18, I thought of all the places around the world to travel and explore, and connect with spiritual practices, and learn. I began to experience that all of this is present here. There is a sacredness to the land of my home country, England.
It manifests not just in the trees, plants, in nature, but in the evidence of ancient settlements, monuments, stone circles, ley lines, churches and people. I fell in love with England and of course, Wales, Ireland and Scotland in a way that I had never experienced before. I felt a surge of gratitude to be able to call these isles home.
A pilgrimage is normally a devotional prolonged journey to a destination of significance. Was yours like this?
This pilgrimage differed, in that the journey was through Sanskrit, and the huge expanse of connectivity with this. If anything, the destination was internal. The whole thing really took on the sense of an internal pilgrimage of a quest, if you will. As TS Eliot stated, “What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from.” This resonated beautifully because of the visits to the many sacred stone circle sites.
At the same time, every time we set out to interview someone, that felt like a pilgrimage in itself. Like when we flew to Dublin, hired a car and drove through the windy roads to the chief druid’s house. It was in a green nook surrounded by trees. Every person in themselves carried the sense of ‘templehood’. Every heart I connected with held the sense of that which is to be worshipped. The temples, the churches, all became as though our heart.
Stonehenge pilgrimage
One moment that did feel like a pilgrimage in a more traditional sense, was arriving at Stonehenge to spend the night there for the summer solstice. The traffic was very dense, so in order that we could start filming in time, Harvey and I jumped out of the car. We jumped over the hedge and made our way across the fields to the entrance. Then we stayed by the stones for the next 15 hours! Everyone was held in unison by the presence of the stones. And for some, just touching the stones, eyes closed, in meditation, was what they needed.
Did your Sanskrit pilgrimage change your outlook? Make you a different person? In what ways?
The journey changed slowly and surely and continuously, with every day. Every day brought new realisations, new sensations. With every person we met, every place we visited, I practised being completely open, with no preconceived ideas or notions or beliefs.
This was what changed most, the dropping of beliefs and ideas, and slowly the release of reliance on others for security, and the dawning of self-reliance. While growing up, Mum had always told me a quote from Shri Shantananda Sarasvati, ‘yourself is your best friend’. This began to dawn. In a way this was a pilgrimage for me from girlhood to womanhood. I became a woman.
Did you have obstacles along the way? What were they? How did you overcome them?
There were many obstacles along the way. One of the greatest challenges for me was logistics and planning and scheduling interviews so that we could move seamlessly from one to another. I often underestimated how tiring it could be to move from place to place.
And there were the finances to sort, and accommodations to book for the crew. I did find myself trusting always, that all would be taken care of, and inevitably this was the case. About a third of the budget was sponsored by kind donations, including one lady who donated after coming to our event at the Nehru Centre last year. https://youtu.be/Q8otgcbb6Eg?si=ZyyZKzGoS6qTSO1L
Darling Ma
The other challenge was my darling Ma’s declining health which somehow coincided with the making of this documentary. This became interweaved in the journey. It was letting go on so many levels. And it was also a blessing to be able to concentrate the energies in a positive way. For Mum to see me working, it made her happy. I will always wonder what she might have thought of the completed series!
It was a pilgrimage of love, of tears, of joys and connection.
What was a high point of the journey?
There were many high points of the journey, especially singing and chanting with people along the way, and meeting the children in the St James schools in London and Dublin. But the moment that stands out most, was when we arrived at Uisneach, the central point of Ireland, almost like the belly button, the place of the umbilical chord, and meeting a guide there named Ruth.
I remember distinctly, she somehow had an air of dishevelled-ness about her. Her high vis tour guide jacket was falling off one shoulder, hair unbrushed and greying at the roots, and her teeth sticking out. But at the same time she was so beautiful. I said to Harvey, she will be able to tell us what we need to know! But she was looking after a group of American tourists and we had no idea if she’d agree to an interview. But she did!
Recognised on pilgrimage – thanks to my dog!
Another highlight was in the Orkney Islands in Scotland I was standing by the stones, whilst Harvey had gone off to get some cutaways with Taara following him. (Taara is my white German Shepherd who along with Shambhu the Norfolk terrier accompanied us on much of the pilgrimage) … When they came back they had met a man who asked them, “Is that Gaiea Sanskrit’s dog Taara?!” I couldn’t believe that in this remote location, Taara had been recognised! And the man had been listening at that very same time on his headphones to the Gaiea Sanskrit recordings!
Learning to surf
We witnessed beautiful synchronicities in the way the process flowed and unravelled. After initiating the project, it picked up an energy of its own which propelled it toward completion. This is something I hope always to remember. I imagine it’s like a surfer riding a wave to the end, maintaining balance and trusting, even in the face of fear.
I hope also to have the clarity of mind to see what the next project is and the courage to take the plunge and embark upon it. Then to truly dedicate the work for the good of all and give myself to it with a pure heart. If it isn’t perfect and things could have been done a little differently, or perhaps better, there is always the next project where I can put what I learned into practice!
Watch the series or See more about the series And don’t miss Gabriella on YouTube
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