Caught in the monk’s gaze, time lost all meaning. And just as suddenly, the monk turned the question around: “Are ‘you’ enlightened?”
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On the sacred occasion of Buddha Purnima, legendary filmmaker Shekhar Kapur did more than just mark the day—he took us on a journey.
Not a cinematic one this time, but something far more intimate and soul-stirring. The director behind iconic films like ‘Bandit Queen’ and ‘Elizabeth’ shared a personal story on social media that’s less about religion and more about awakening.
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And no, it’s not preachy. It’s Shekhar Kapur doing what he does best—telling a story that lingers.
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Shekhar Kapur recalled a trek through the Himalayas—just him and the mountains. Along the way, he stumbled upon a monk meditating in a cave. The air was biting cold, and the monk wore barely anything.
“It was like a strong ‘Do not disturb’ sign,” Kapur joked. But curiosity got the better of him. “Aren’t you feeling cold?” he asked the monk.
What followed was not the response he expected.
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“I was not aware of the cold,” the monk laughed. “But now that you’ve asked me, yes, it is cold.” A simple, almost childlike answer. The monk smiled and closed his eyes again, as if he was answering not just the question but the noise behind it—the human need to fill silence.
That small exchange was just the beginning.
Kapur found himself diving deeper. He asked, perhaps with more courage than clarity, “Are you enlightened?” That’s when things took a surreal turn. The monk opened his eyes, and Kapur could feel the moment stretch. “His eyes seemed to change colour,” he wrote. “The sun had set, and the stars were out… or was I just imagining it?”
Caught in the monk’s gaze, time lost all meaning. And just as suddenly, the monk turned the question around: “Are ‘you’ enlightened?”
Thrown off balance, Kapur admitted he didn’t even know what the word truly meant. What came next was less advice and more of a quiet revelation.
The monk told him: “Go back to where you came from. Open your heart to love. When you find love everywhere you look, you’ll know that love came from your heart. Let it flow outwards. When it flows back inwards, that’s when pain and desire take over.”
And with that, the monk closed his eyes.
Kapur was left sitting there, a little shaken, deeply moved—and freezing. “I suddenly realised how cold it was. I suddenly realised it really was night. How was I going to find my way back? My journey began…”
The celebrated director, recently honoured with the Padma Bhushan, is also keeping things busy on the work front. He’s currently working on ‘Masoom 2’, the much-anticipated sequel to his classic debut.
The film is bringing back veterans Shabana Azmi and Naseeruddin Shah, while also introducing his daughter, Kaveri Kapur, in a key role.
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