10% Happier with Dan Harris Why We Crave Gurus: A Skeptic's Reckoning With Belief, Bitcoin, and Burning Man | Vikram Gandhi
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Jul 17, 2026 Vikram Gandhi, filmmaker known for Kumare and co-directing The Man Will Burn, probes belief, ritual, and cultural spectacle. He unpacks Burning Man’s anti‑consumer roots and surprising growth. He recounts staging Kumare to test spirituality and how that experiment reshaped connection. He also explores Bitcoin as modern myth and why ancient wisdom still matters.
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The Burning Man Wealth Contradiction
- Burning Man's founding anti-consumer ideals coexist with huge wealth and spectacle, creating a persistent cultural contradiction.
- Gandhi notes roughly $400 million of things arrive at the event and private jets and multi-million-dollar camps challenge the gift-economy ethos.
From Camping To Champagne And Paying For Trash
- Gandhi recounts arriving expecting camping but finding friends filling carts with steaks and champagne, revealing the event's messy, human reality.
- On the drive back they paid a reservation to take their garbage, which he calls "the most American thing ever."
How Social Media Changed Burning Man
- Social media and cameras weakened Burning Man's protective 'force field,' changing participant behavior and reducing uninhibited expression.
- Gandhi observes phone reception and outside norms seep in, making the event less free and more performative.
