LA Fridays with Bob and Tom: Bhagavad-gita Museum
LA Fridays with Bob and Tom
Week 12: Bhagavad-gita Museum
Bob and I traveled to the Bhagavad-Gita Diorama Museum,
at 3764 Watseka Avenue, Culver City, for a spiritual awakening that explains
the story of Krishna, a major Deity in Hinduism. Krishna is the Hindu god of compassion,
tenderness and love. The Bhagavad –Gita
(the Song of God) is universally regarded as the jewel of India’s spiritual
wisdom. The Gita (short for Bhagavad-Gita) provides a definitive guide to the
science of self-realization. The Gita is
set in a narrative framework of a dialogue between Pandava prince Arjuna and
his guide and charioteer Lord Krishna.
The museum is meant to educate, inspire, and give visitors a better understanding of the Bhagavad-Gita, the Indian literary classic that remains sacred to over six million people. The Museum is a walking tour through dioramas that move, light up, and have subtle special effects. There are eleven dioramas and numerous animatronics that lead visitors through the story. In each diorama, talking clay robots give their unique perspective on the Bhagavad-Gita. Audio plays along with the dioramas and guides you through the stories. The story concludes in the final diorama, which is filled with dancing, pipe playing, and melodic chanting. The self-guided tour takes about 45 minutes to walk through. Beatle George Harrison, after visiting the museum, commented that the sculpted dioramas look great, and the music is nice. It gives people a real feel for what the Kingdom of God must be like, and shows exactly how the body is different from the soul, and how the soul’s the important thing.
There is a limited amount of free parking, the museum tour opens at 11:00 AM, and there is a vegetarian Indian buffet served next door.
This is an unusual experience and we highly
recommend it.
lafridayswithbobandtom@gmail.com
ROBERT BLAUNSTEIN, PhD BIO
Robert (Bob) is a PhD physicist whose career has spanned academia, government and private industry. As a faculty member of the Department of Physics at the University of Tennessee, a Branch Chief at the United States Department of Energy and Vice President of an American International Group Company, his scientific endeavors include radiation physics, environmental research, environmental insurance and nanotechnology.
Originally from the East Coast, Bob was seduced by his sons and their families (and the California weather) to leave Washington, DC after retiring in 2010. While recovering from culture shock, Bob found many outlets to reconcile his eclectic interests. As a member of Senior Scholars for over six years he continues to take courses in a myriad of subjects ranging from film to art history to brain science and finds great intellectual and social rewards in Senior Scholars and the Plato Society.
As a latent artist, he sketches scenes about town once a week with an artist friend from his college days and is attempting to learn to play the electric guitar.
On moving to Los Angeles, he found Tom Jacobson, another recent transplant. They became great friends and decided to explore their new town together leading to over 113 sites in our city. Dubbed “LA Fridays with Bob and Tom” they are happy to share their experiences with others.
Bob lives in Brentwood with Phyllis, his wife of 56 years, an education policy executive. They have two sons and four grandchildren, one of whom plays a guitar a lot better than Bob.
THOMAS JACOBSON BIO
Thomas (Tom) is an attorney who practiced trial and constitutional law in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Born in 1938 in Bamberg Germany, he was one of the youngest passengers on the ill-fated voyage of the Damned, the SS St. Louis, turned away from Cuba in 1939.
Tom represented local civil rights activists and Dick Gregory and twice argued cases successfully in the United States Supreme Court. In 1970 he was the Democratic candidate for Wisconsin Attorney General.
Retiring in 2008, he and wife, Peggy, moved to California to join their two sons and four grandchildren, and enjoy the warm weather.
Tom has kept busy as a member of Senior Scholars and Plato for the last six years keeping his brain stimulated and active. Yoga and swimming have kept his body in shape.
