Pari's Blog

A modest film for the spiritual message it conveys. Stigmata is a phenomenon where one becomes so intensely in passion with the object of worship that one takes on its attributes. Specifically it has to do with receiving the wounds of Christ when he was crucified.

In Stigmata, Frankie receives the wounds of Christ. What I really liked about the movie, is the character chosen to receive the stigmata. It makes a point that to connect with God, purity of the mind is required. Frankie’s character shows that you can be into so called “sins” like sex, drugs, and drinking,… but you will see throughout the film, that while she’s into these, she oblivious to considering it as a sin. I think that is what is real purity. The stigmata easily enters her, whereas the Vatican priest is not privileged to receive it.

I wouldn’t even call it innocence, I’d rather call it her openness. Sometimes I feel the word “innocence” is a rotten patronizing word introduced by some religious moral police. Problem with religion is that it applies standards that applied to one sadhu – called Jesus Christ, blindly to everyone else; Christians would be shocked if they were to see Aghoris (or for that matter any of zillion faiths in India) and their approach to God.

The film also takes a stab at the Church (the Vatican), how they suppress teachings of Christ that they consider threatening to the authority of the Church (the subtitle of the film, “The Messenger Must Be Silenced”, gives a hint of that also). “The Kingdom of God is within you and it is outside you. Split a piece of wood and I am there. Lift a rock and you will find me. [Gospel of St. Thomas]“. This message of Christ is more closer in agreement (in actual practice) to Eastern religions than Christianity – that anyone and everyone has the potential to reach divine union with God – and that the “kingdom of heaven” lies within you (it only has to be accessed, through any of many possible paths, all eventually converging on a meditation – “split a piece of wood, or lift a rock, and you will find me / I am there”).

As a side note, the film also shows that when your the mind is not prepared to receive it (i.e. Self/God Realization), it can possibly make you derranged. In Hinduism where spirituality is a science, Hindu sages have stressed the danger of accidentally stumbling onto this spiritual plane without preparation, and that some people (as in Frankie in this film) are already adequately prepared by default – through an openness and faith that makes one meditative and reflective.

In the beginning of the film, there is disharmony between Frankie (the jiva-atman, the self/soul) and the pigeon (symbolizing the Atman, the Self/Soul). The pigeon frightens her in the beginning. As the movie progress they becomes closer, and towards the end the pigeon places itself into her hand (the jiva-atman recognizes its true nature, as the Atman). Also note the use of water throughout the film, symbolizing purification. Water has been used as a symbol of cleansing/purification of the jiva-atman of the accumulated karmas in many traditions – from taking a dip in the Ganga or the ocean to baptism.

[directed by Rupert Wainwright]