Mythology

The seminal PBS series on world mythology

"Dazzling and still potently relevant" --San Francisco Chronicle
"Fascinating" --The New York Times
"Compelling" --The Wall Street Journal
"Stirring and elevating" --Los Angeles Times

These stimulating conversations between inspirational scholar Joseph Campbell and veteran journalist Bill Moyers created a national sensation when they first aired on public television. In lively, expansive dialogues, the two men discuss how myths hold the key to understanding human experience. They may vary superficially from culture to culture, but at their deepest level they all reveal the path to self-fulfillment, social integration, and ultimately, transcendence.

Join Campbell and Moyers as they touch on topics as diverse as world religions, marriage, the virgin birth, and pop culture. Filmed at George Lucas’s Skywalker Ranch and New York’s American Museum of Natural History, this series fires the imagination and the intellect.

Joseph Campbell taught for nearly 40 years at Sarah Lawrence College; he authored and edited scores of books and inspired generations of scholars and artists.

Journalist Bill Moyers distinguished himself at Newsday, NBC, CBS, and PBS; his many honors include lifetime achievement Emmy® and Peabody awards.

Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth is essential viewing for anyone old enough to appreciate its vital teachings. One of the greatest interviews ever recorded, this six-part, six-hour encounter between teacher- mythologist Campbell and student-journalist Bill Moyers (recorded in the two years preceding Campbell's death in 1988) covers a galaxy of topics related to Campbell's central themes: Mythology is humanity's universal method of seeking the transcendental, and "follow your bliss" is the timeless formula for spiritual satisfaction. Campbell himself is the embodiment of these themes, an erudite scholar and quintessential storyteller, recalling a wide spectrum of myths from throughout history (Japanese, Native American, Egyptian, Mayan, and many more) to illustrate humankind's eternal quest to grasp the mysteries of creation. Historical artifacts and illustrations bring these timeless stories to life.

An astute interviewer, Moyers is an acolyte in perfect harmony with Campbell-as- mentor, wording questions with penetrating perfection as their intellectual dance reaches exhilarating heights of meaning and fascination. Moyers also finds the perfect hook for a global audience, examining Campbell's admiration of George Lucas's Star Wars saga as a popular tapestry of ancient myths, and Lucas himself is interviewed in a DVD bonus segment ("I'm not creating a new myth," he says, "but telling old myths in a new way"). Campbell's seemingly endless well of knowledge reaches a simple conclusion: we need myths to survive like we need oxygen to breathe, as a life force with which to understand our existence--past, present, and future. --Jeff Shannon

An exhilarating journey into the mind and spirit of a remarkable man, a legendary teacher, and a masterful storyteller, conducted by TV journalist Bill Moyers in the acclaimed PBS series. Includes The Hero's Adventure, The Message of the Myth, The First Storytellers, Sacrifice and Bliss, Love and the Goddess, Masks of Eternity. 360 minutes.

Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth is essential viewing for anyone old enough to appreciate its vital teachings. One of the greatest interviews ever recorded, this six-part, six-hour encounter between teacher- mythologist Campbell and student-journalist Bill Moyers (recorded in the two years preceding Campbell's death in 1988) covers a galaxy of topics related to Campbell's central themes: Mythology is humanity's universal method of seeking the transcendental, and "follow your bliss" is the timeless formula for spiritual satisfaction. Campbell himself is the embodiment of these themes, an erudite scholar and quintessential storyteller, recalling a wide spectrum of myths from throughout history (Japanese, Native American, Egyptian, Mayan, and many more) to illustrate humankind's eternal quest to grasp the mysteries of creation. Historical artifacts and illustrations bring these timeless stories to life.

An astute interviewer, Moyers is an acolyte in perfect harmony with Campbell-as- mentor, wording questions with penetrating perfection as their intellectual dance reaches exhilarating heights of meaning and fascination. Moyers also finds the perfect hook for a global audience, examining Campbell's admiration of George Lucas's Star Wars saga as a popular tapestry of ancient myths, and Lucas himself is interviewed in a DVD bonus segment ("I'm not creating a new myth," he says, "but telling old myths in a new way"). Campbell's seemingly endless well of knowledge reaches a simple conclusion: we need myths to survive like we need oxygen to breathe, as a life force with which to understand our existence--past, present, and future. --Jeff Shannon

Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth is essential viewing for anyone old enough to appreciate its vital teachings. One of the greatest interviews ever recorded, this six-part, six-hour encounter between teacher- mythologist Campbell and student-journalist Bill Moyers (recorded in the two years preceding Campbell's death in 1988) covers a galaxy of topics related to Campbell's central themes: Mythology is humanity's universal method of seeking the transcendental, and "follow your bliss" is the timeless formula for spiritual satisfaction. Campbell himself is the embodiment of these themes, an erudite scholar and quintessential storyteller, recalling a wide spectrum of myths from throughout history (Japanese, Native American, Egyptian, Mayan, and many more) to illustrate humankind's eternal quest to grasp the mysteries of creation. Historical artifacts and illustrations bring these timeless stories to life.

An astute interviewer, Moyers is an acolyte in perfect harmony with Campbell-as- mentor, wording questions with penetrating perfection as their intellectual dance reaches exhilarating heights of meaning and fascination. Moyers also finds the perfect hook for a global audience, examining Campbell's admiration of George Lucas's Star Wars saga as a popular tapestry of ancient myths, and Lucas himself is interviewed in a DVD bonus segment ("I'm not creating a new myth," he says, "but telling old myths in a new way"). Campbell's seemingly endless well of knowledge reaches a simple conclusion: we need myths to survive like we need oxygen to breathe, as a life force with which to understand our existence--past, present, and future. --Jeff Shannon

Joseph Campbell, author of The Hero with a Thousand Faces, a scholar who achieved legendary status as an explicator of myths, is reverently profiled in this documentary that encompasses his long life and career. During his childhood in New York City, Campbell was taken to see "Buffalo Bill" Cody's Wild West Show at Madison Square Garden. Young Campbell was fascinated by the Native Americans in Cody's performing troupe and eventually became obsessed with mythology. As he came to realize that myths worldwide had the same underpinnings, he also discovered his life's work. This documentary mentions Campbell's affinity for the writings of James Joyce and Carl Jung, and there is ample footage of Campbell, casual in flannel shirts, giving lectures salted with references to Buddhism, Christianity, classical mythology, St. Augustine, and the rituals of plains Indians. In later life, Campbell is seen being honored at a banquet at which George Lucas rises to give him credit for helping to inspire the writing of Star Wars. After Campbell's death in 1987, heated controversies arose about his work, but this documentary is an overwhelmingly positive look at his writings, lectures, and personality. --Robert J. McNamara

Journey with the remarkable Joseph Campbell as he explores how myths evolve to reflect changing beliefs about nature, God, and life to his explanation of the shaping of Eastern tradition by examining spirituality through the mythic images of Hinduism and Buddhism. 560 minutes.

Clocking in at 10 hours, Mythos presents the great educator Joseph Campbell's vision of humankind's "One Great Story." Since time immemorial, humans have been passing "life's lessons" from generation to generation through their particular society's theology and folklore, or mythologies. According to Campbell, by examining the world's diverse mythologies you will find therein universal themes that are applicable and speak directly to all humankind. In Mythos, Campbell dissects a wide range of the world's mythologies, particularly Hinduism and Buddhism. Rather than pointing out their superficial differences, he accentuates and embraces their similarities. It doesn't matter whether the myths are Greek, Indian, Egyptian, Native American, Judeo-Christian, or Arthurian in origin. Campbell explains it is their intrinsic themes that share a commonality: the trials of the hero, the cycle of life, death, and rebirth, the path to enlightenment, love, struggle, sacrifice, etc.

Narrated by Susan Sarandon, Mythos is Campbell's final work captured on tape while on an academic lecture circuit in the last years of his life. Campbell looks lively and wonderfully at ease in the familiar classroom setting discussing his life's passion. Those enchanted by what The Power of Myth introduced will be deeply satisfied with the epic, academic content of Mythos. --Rob Bracco

• ? What connection do the symbols of government, religion, royalty and the corporate world have with the constellations and zodiac?
• ? Who was Jesus Christ? What he really the son of God and founder of Christianity?
• ? Why did the orthodox Church suppress the Gnostics, and massacre women for centuries?
• ? Why was astrology and divination really prohibited?
• 3 DVDs. Total Running Time Approximately 8 Hours.

In Program Five, of the "Origins & Oracles" series, we learn about the real origins and meaning of the term - "Holy Spirit," and we learn what humanity must do to secure its survival in the following years. We discover the actual roots of Christianity and find out what religious hierarchs have been hiding for over 2,000 years. Michael Tsarion investigates the suppression of women, the ecocidal tendency and the corruption in high places. Since, as Michael Tsarion says, the world elites have allegiances to hidden cults and secret societies, how can we expect them to honor their professed duties to humanity? In this all-revealing presentation we discover that the modern religions and political ideologies morphed out of seven great cults of power which ruled the world for millennia. The most powerful of these Cults was the "Stellar Cult," dominant for over 10,000 years. Christ and the other Magi were initiates of this Cult, which gave mankind such sciences as astrology, astromancy, and the Tarot. Known as "Serpents," they were the architects of the great temple structures such as the pyramids and the Sphinx. After the great Cults became corrupted they eventually gave rise to the modern exploitative religious and political hierarchies that prey off society today. We are still controlled by the elite bloodlines of these secret orders which continue to lead the world toward ruin and chaos. In this astounding presentation, Michael Tsarion demonstrates how religion and politics work to shape both the events around you, and the thoughts within you. "Astro-Theology" reveals the nature of the psychic and spiritual desecration which covertly operates upon us daily, and unlike the majority of other experts and researchers, Michael offers provocative solutions to our social and psychic predicaments.

• CHILDREN CARTOON

Brief Synopsis : Animated Stories in English *** LORD GANESHA: How Ganesha got the Head of an Elephant: This is the interesting tale that explains how Ganesh came to have the head of an elephant. It is just another example of Ganesh's devotion to his mother and his single-minded determination to follow her orders, which even lead to him losing his head. * How Ganesha Began Travelling On A Mouse: This story tells us why Ganesh travels on a mouse. He crushed the ego of an asura called Gajamukhasura who transformed himself to a mouse and devoted himself to serve Lord Ganesha. So Ganesh decided to travel on his back. ** LORD SHIVA: Birth of Parvathi: When sati ends him life by immersing herself in the yagna fire, she is reborn as parvathi, the daughter of a great king Himavat, ruler of the Himalaya's. Parvathi has a great desire to marry Lord Shiva so she goes to the place where he is meditating and begins to serve him. * Tarakasura: This tale of an assura called tarakasura. Because of his desire to become immortal, he does severe penance and finally Brahma grants him a boon that only Shiva's son will be able to kill him. Rendered almost immortal. Tarakasura begins to wreck havoc and harasses all the devas including Indra. * Shiva And Parvathi: Upon Brahma's advice, indri requests Kama and Rati, the gods of love. To make Shiva fall in love with parvathi. Kama tries to aim his arrow at Shiva but Shiva, in his fury, burns Kama to ashes, finally parvathi herself wins Shiva's heart by doing severe penance. With her fathers, permission Shiva and Parvathi marry. ** LORD HANUMAN: Hanuman meets Ram: In this story, we see the circumstances that led to Hanuman's first encounter with Lord Ram. As soon as he met him, he pledged undying devotion to him and his cause of finding Sita. * Hanuman in search of Sita: This is story of the various obstacles Hanuman encounters on his mission to find Sita and how he overcomes them with valour, strength and presence of mind.