Th Philosopher Has Escaped-Piatagorski

I recently heard of a Latvian film entitled 'A Philosopher has Escaped' which received top award at an International Film Festival...well, the festival was in the Russian outpost Anapa... but still, the documentary film, "Filozofs Izbedzis" (A Philosopher has Escaped) from the "Lokomotive" film studio and directed by Uldis Tirons, was awarded first prize in the CIS and Baltic Film Festival.

The film is about my crazy professor of Indian philosophy Alexandr Piatagorski who I referred to in the Hungarian Csoma de Kőrösi blog from a few weeks back. 'A Philosopher has Escaped documents the eccentric and paradoxical life of the Russian Piatagorski, a specialist in Buddhist and ancient Indian philosophy, who was a legendary figure in Russian intellectual circles.

In trying to track down the film, which I have not so if anyone can help please send me information, I came across his most recent book, 'Who's Afraid of the Freemasons'. Check it out.In the eighteenth century, Freemasonry was seen to be a force of enlightenment, yet it has come to be regarded as a sinister influence in public life. This definitive study reveals more about Masonry and the way it functions than any other work. Professor Piatigorsky considers the institution from the points of view of both Masons and their critics. In the first section, he gives an outline of Masonic history, from the foundation of the Grand Lodge in London's Covent Garden in 1717, through the extraordinary role of Masonry in Enlightenment Europe and the American Revolution, to the present day. In the second part, he describes Freemasonry's rituals and symbolism, within which all Masonic religious ideas find their place. It is here that Piatigorsky's wide knowledge of the world's religions comes into its own.