Gurus in America

Gurus in America

Author: Thomas A. Forsthoefel

Publisher: State University of New York Press

Published: 2012-02-01

Total Pages: 246

ISBN-13: 0791482693

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Gurus in America provides an excellent introduction to the guru phenomenon in the United States, with in-depth analyses of nine important Hindu gurus—Adi Da, Ammachi, Mayi Chidvilasananda, Gurani Anjali, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Osho, Ramana Maharshi, Sai Baba, and Swami Bhaktivedanta. All of these gurus have attracted significant followings in the U.S. and nearly all have lived here for considerable periods of time. The book's contributors discuss the characteristics of each guru's teachings, the history of each movement, and the particular construction of Hinduism each guru offers. Contributors also address the religious and cultural interaction, translation, and transplantation that occurs when gurus offer their teachings in America. This is a fascinating guide that will elucidate an important element in America's diverse and ever-changing spiritual landscape.


Book Synopsis Gurus in America by : Thomas A. Forsthoefel

Download or read book Gurus in America written by Thomas A. Forsthoefel and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 2012-02-01 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Gurus in America provides an excellent introduction to the guru phenomenon in the United States, with in-depth analyses of nine important Hindu gurus—Adi Da, Ammachi, Mayi Chidvilasananda, Gurani Anjali, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Osho, Ramana Maharshi, Sai Baba, and Swami Bhaktivedanta. All of these gurus have attracted significant followings in the U.S. and nearly all have lived here for considerable periods of time. The book's contributors discuss the characteristics of each guru's teachings, the history of each movement, and the particular construction of Hinduism each guru offers. Contributors also address the religious and cultural interaction, translation, and transplantation that occurs when gurus offer their teachings in America. This is a fascinating guide that will elucidate an important element in America's diverse and ever-changing spiritual landscape.


The Guru In America

The Guru In America

Author:

Publisher: Lulu.com

Published:

Total Pages: 191

ISBN-13: 1565430972

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Download or read book The Guru In America written by and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on with total page 191 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:


Homegrown Gurus

Homegrown Gurus

Author: Ann Gleig

Publisher: State University of New York Press

Published: 2013-10-29

Total Pages: 248

ISBN-13: 1438447930

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Today, a new stage in the development of Hinduism in America is taking shape. After a century of experimentation during which Americans welcomed Indian gurus who adjusted their teachings to accommodate the New World context, "American Hinduism" can now rightly be called its own tradition rather than an imported religion. Accordingly, this spiritual path is now headed by leaders born in North America. Homegrown Gurus explores this phenomenon in essays about these figures and their networks. A variety of teachers and movements are considered, including Ram Dass, Siddha Yoga, and Amrit Desai and Kripalu Yoga, among others. Two contradictory trends quickly become apparent: an increasing Westernization of Hindu practices and values alongside a renewed interest in traditional forms of Hinduism. These opposed sensibilities—innovation and preservation, radicalism and recovery—are characteristic of postmodernity and denote a new chapter in the American assimilation of Hinduism.


Book Synopsis Homegrown Gurus by : Ann Gleig

Download or read book Homegrown Gurus written by Ann Gleig and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 2013-10-29 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Today, a new stage in the development of Hinduism in America is taking shape. After a century of experimentation during which Americans welcomed Indian gurus who adjusted their teachings to accommodate the New World context, "American Hinduism" can now rightly be called its own tradition rather than an imported religion. Accordingly, this spiritual path is now headed by leaders born in North America. Homegrown Gurus explores this phenomenon in essays about these figures and their networks. A variety of teachers and movements are considered, including Ram Dass, Siddha Yoga, and Amrit Desai and Kripalu Yoga, among others. Two contradictory trends quickly become apparent: an increasing Westernization of Hindu practices and values alongside a renewed interest in traditional forms of Hinduism. These opposed sensibilities—innovation and preservation, radicalism and recovery—are characteristic of postmodernity and denote a new chapter in the American assimilation of Hinduism.


The Guru In America

The Guru In America

Author:

Publisher: Lulu.com

Published:

Total Pages: 191

ISBN-13: 1565430972

DOWNLOAD EBOOK


Book Synopsis The Guru In America by :

Download or read book The Guru In America written by and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on with total page 191 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:


Homegrown Gurus

Homegrown Gurus

Author: Ann Gleig

Publisher:

Published: 2013

Total Pages:

ISBN-13: 9781461951438

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Book Synopsis Homegrown Gurus by : Ann Gleig

Download or read book Homegrown Gurus written by Ann Gleig and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:


American Gurus

American Gurus

Author: Arthur Versluis

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2014-04-01

Total Pages: 321

ISBN-13: 0199368147

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By the early twenty-first century, a phenomenon that once was inconceivable had become nearly commonplace in American society: the public spiritual teacher who neither belongs to, nor is authorized by a major religious tradition. From the Oprah Winfrey-endorsed Eckhart Tolle to figures like Gangaji and Adhyashanti, there are now countless spiritual teachers who claim and teach variants of instant or immediate enlightenment. American Gurus tells the story of how this phenomenon emerged. Through an examination of the broader literary and religious context of the subject, Arthur Versluis shows that a characteristic feature of the Western esoteric tradition is the claim that every person can achieve "spontaneous, direct, unmediated spiritual insight." This claim was articulated with special clarity by the New England Transcendentalists Bronson Alcott and Ralph Waldo Emerson. Versluis explores Transcendentalism, Walt Whitman, the Beat movement, Timothy Leary, and the New Age movement to shed light on the emergence of the contemporary American guru. This insightful study is the first to show how Asian religions and Western mysticism converged to produce the phenomenon of "spontaneously enlightened" American gurus.


Book Synopsis American Gurus by : Arthur Versluis

Download or read book American Gurus written by Arthur Versluis and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2014-04-01 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: By the early twenty-first century, a phenomenon that once was inconceivable had become nearly commonplace in American society: the public spiritual teacher who neither belongs to, nor is authorized by a major religious tradition. From the Oprah Winfrey-endorsed Eckhart Tolle to figures like Gangaji and Adhyashanti, there are now countless spiritual teachers who claim and teach variants of instant or immediate enlightenment. American Gurus tells the story of how this phenomenon emerged. Through an examination of the broader literary and religious context of the subject, Arthur Versluis shows that a characteristic feature of the Western esoteric tradition is the claim that every person can achieve "spontaneous, direct, unmediated spiritual insight." This claim was articulated with special clarity by the New England Transcendentalists Bronson Alcott and Ralph Waldo Emerson. Versluis explores Transcendentalism, Walt Whitman, the Beat movement, Timothy Leary, and the New Age movement to shed light on the emergence of the contemporary American guru. This insightful study is the first to show how Asian religions and Western mysticism converged to produce the phenomenon of "spontaneously enlightened" American gurus.


Wild Wild Guru

Wild Wild Guru

Author: Subhuti Anand Waight

Publisher: Coronet

Published: 2019-09-19

Total Pages: 368

ISBN-13: 1529345472

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This is the story of a Englishman who gave up a job in journalism to spend fourteen years with the controversial Indian mystic Osho, also known as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and frequently referred to as 'the sex guru'. His guru was always controversial with his teachings on sex and spirituality, rumours of orgies and because he owned ninety-three Rolls Royces. Early in 1976, Subhuti travelled to India to meet Rajneesh in his ashram in Pune, became initiated as his disciple and immediately began to have mystical experiences, which he attributed to the powerful energy field surrounding the guru. He stayed for six months, participating in the ashram's notorious Encounter Group and other therapies designed to release suppressed emotions and awaken sexual energy Subhuti would stay to live and work on his master's ashrams for fourteen years, first as his press officer in Pune, India, then as editor of the community's weekly newspaper when Bhagwan and his followers shifted to Oregon, USA, and built a whole new town on the massive Big Muddy Ranch. There Subhuti was a first-hand witness to the scandals and hullabaloo that accompanied the guru, including tales of broken bones in no-holds-barred therapy groups and Tantra groups that encouraged total sexual freedom, and the increasing hostility with the locals which would lead to Bhagwan's attempt to flee America, his arrest and imprisonment. . He was on the Oregon Ranch when Rajneesh's secretary, Ma Anand Sheela, plotted against rival cliques within the ashram as well as a range of murderous crimes against state and federal officials which feature in hit Netflix series Wild Wild Country. Yet, amidst it all, Subhuti could see the profound revolution in spirituality that Bhagwan was creating, leaving a lasting impact on our ideas about society, religion, meditation and personal transformation. According to the author's understanding, it was the controversy itself, plus Bhagwan's refusal to tread the path of a spiritual saint, that became the stepping stone to a new vision of what it means to be a spiritual seeker.


Book Synopsis Wild Wild Guru by : Subhuti Anand Waight

Download or read book Wild Wild Guru written by Subhuti Anand Waight and published by Coronet. This book was released on 2019-09-19 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the story of a Englishman who gave up a job in journalism to spend fourteen years with the controversial Indian mystic Osho, also known as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and frequently referred to as 'the sex guru'. His guru was always controversial with his teachings on sex and spirituality, rumours of orgies and because he owned ninety-three Rolls Royces. Early in 1976, Subhuti travelled to India to meet Rajneesh in his ashram in Pune, became initiated as his disciple and immediately began to have mystical experiences, which he attributed to the powerful energy field surrounding the guru. He stayed for six months, participating in the ashram's notorious Encounter Group and other therapies designed to release suppressed emotions and awaken sexual energy Subhuti would stay to live and work on his master's ashrams for fourteen years, first as his press officer in Pune, India, then as editor of the community's weekly newspaper when Bhagwan and his followers shifted to Oregon, USA, and built a whole new town on the massive Big Muddy Ranch. There Subhuti was a first-hand witness to the scandals and hullabaloo that accompanied the guru, including tales of broken bones in no-holds-barred therapy groups and Tantra groups that encouraged total sexual freedom, and the increasing hostility with the locals which would lead to Bhagwan's attempt to flee America, his arrest and imprisonment. . He was on the Oregon Ranch when Rajneesh's secretary, Ma Anand Sheela, plotted against rival cliques within the ashram as well as a range of murderous crimes against state and federal officials which feature in hit Netflix series Wild Wild Country. Yet, amidst it all, Subhuti could see the profound revolution in spirituality that Bhagwan was creating, leaving a lasting impact on our ideas about society, religion, meditation and personal transformation. According to the author's understanding, it was the controversy itself, plus Bhagwan's refusal to tread the path of a spiritual saint, that became the stepping stone to a new vision of what it means to be a spiritual seeker.


The Guru in America

The Guru in America

Author: Andrea Diem-Lane

Publisher: Mt. San Antonio College

Published: 2015-02-20

Total Pages: 172

ISBN-13: 9781565432871

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The Radhasoami tradition, as founded by Shiv Dayal Singh in Agra in 1861, has been highly influential in the development of several new religions in North America and elsewhere. However, little work has been done in showing how Radhasoami has been transplanted into American soil and the impact it has had on the spiritual marketplace. Utilizing socio- historical/textual analysis, this study begins by exploring the emergence of Radhasoami as a transnational religion, focusing on the development of Radhasoami in America since the early part of this century. The objective is to illustrate its influence on several guru movements in America, paying close attention to how society, in particular, alters the manifestation of religious groups and their respective theology. By charting such lines of influence among religions, we may then begin to get a much keener understanding of how and why religions evolve the way they do. Among the guru movements genealogically and theologically connected to Radha- soami are: Paul Twitchell's Eckankar; John-Roger Hinkins' Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness [MSIA]; and Dr. Bhagat Singh Thind's Sikh Study Groups. In addition, there are numerous smaller groups who have been influenced by Radhasoami which do not have as yet many members. Nonetheless, these "virtual" groups are important not only because they contribute to the plurality of religion in America, but they give us access to study the evolutionary beginnings of a group which may develop into a well known entity or at least serve as a micro-bridge for future movements. Each of these "virtual" groups, Jerry Mulvin's Divine Science of Light and Sound, Gary Olsen's The Master Path, and Michael Turner's The Sonic Spectrum, have developed a unique version of Radhsoami practices and teachings, illustrating the fluidity of religious ideas and how such ideas get incorporated and transformed over very short periods of time and in very limited settings.


Book Synopsis The Guru in America by : Andrea Diem-Lane

Download or read book The Guru in America written by Andrea Diem-Lane and published by Mt. San Antonio College. This book was released on 2015-02-20 with total page 172 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Radhasoami tradition, as founded by Shiv Dayal Singh in Agra in 1861, has been highly influential in the development of several new religions in North America and elsewhere. However, little work has been done in showing how Radhasoami has been transplanted into American soil and the impact it has had on the spiritual marketplace. Utilizing socio- historical/textual analysis, this study begins by exploring the emergence of Radhasoami as a transnational religion, focusing on the development of Radhasoami in America since the early part of this century. The objective is to illustrate its influence on several guru movements in America, paying close attention to how society, in particular, alters the manifestation of religious groups and their respective theology. By charting such lines of influence among religions, we may then begin to get a much keener understanding of how and why religions evolve the way they do. Among the guru movements genealogically and theologically connected to Radha- soami are: Paul Twitchell's Eckankar; John-Roger Hinkins' Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness [MSIA]; and Dr. Bhagat Singh Thind's Sikh Study Groups. In addition, there are numerous smaller groups who have been influenced by Radhasoami which do not have as yet many members. Nonetheless, these "virtual" groups are important not only because they contribute to the plurality of religion in America, but they give us access to study the evolutionary beginnings of a group which may develop into a well known entity or at least serve as a micro-bridge for future movements. Each of these "virtual" groups, Jerry Mulvin's Divine Science of Light and Sound, Gary Olsen's The Master Path, and Michael Turner's The Sonic Spectrum, have developed a unique version of Radhsoami practices and teachings, illustrating the fluidity of religious ideas and how such ideas get incorporated and transformed over very short periods of time and in very limited settings.


How God Found Me

How God Found Me

Author: Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati

Publisher:

Published: 2020-02

Total Pages:

ISBN-13: 9780983822875

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Ma Jaya's memoir leads us through her adventurous childhood in Coney Island, her awakening as a spiritual guru, and her life of fearless love and devotion."With this book, I give you my history, primitive as it is, my history of learning how to live in a world this is filled with so much hate and at the same moment filled with so much beauty and love . I never wanted to teach. I only wanted to share my life. There is a sacred river in India, so brilliant in her love as she continuously flows toward every human being, and everyone that comes toward her is blessed and purified. My wish was that I could always be like that river. Now when there is so much pain in the world, the whole river is in my heart, and the river has overflowed her banks."


Book Synopsis How God Found Me by : Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati

Download or read book How God Found Me written by Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati and published by . This book was released on 2020-02 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ma Jaya's memoir leads us through her adventurous childhood in Coney Island, her awakening as a spiritual guru, and her life of fearless love and devotion."With this book, I give you my history, primitive as it is, my history of learning how to live in a world this is filled with so much hate and at the same moment filled with so much beauty and love . I never wanted to teach. I only wanted to share my life. There is a sacred river in India, so brilliant in her love as she continuously flows toward every human being, and everyone that comes toward her is blessed and purified. My wish was that I could always be like that river. Now when there is so much pain in the world, the whole river is in my heart, and the river has overflowed her banks."


American Guru

American Guru

Author: William Yenner

Publisher: Epigraph Publishing

Published: 2009-08

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780982453056

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American Guru is a multifaceted account of life in the contemporary spiritual community known as EnlightenNext, and the controversial "teaching methods" of its New York-born founder, self-proclaimed "guru" Andrew Cohen. With contributions from several of Cohen's former students, William Yenner recalls the thirteen-year trajectory of his career as a leader and manager in Cohen's community--his early days as an idealistic "seeker," his years of service on EnlightenNext's Board of Directors, his ultimate disillusionment and departure, and his efforts to make sense of his experiences as a once-devoted follower of a "Teacher of Evolutionary Enlightenment." With wit and insight, Yenner and his colleagues have produced a riveting cautionary tale on the dangers of authoritarian spirituality, and an insider'scase study on the promises and pitfalls of postmodern discipleship. "William Yenner's courageous expos , American Guru, is a powerful reminder that all of our tendencies toward idealization of dharma teachers must be carefully examined." -William Morgan, Psy.D., member of the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy, co-author of Mindfulness and Psychotherapy "William Yenner's true, uncensored-and finally ungagged-moving personal story, in combination with the powerful reflections, recollections and contributions of other former community members, makes American Guru an essential source document for the study and understanding of authoritarian spiritual sects." -Hal Blacker, former editor of EnlightenNext magazine "American Guru is not a mean-spirited book. It is, rather, a refreshingly honest one." -David Christopher Lane, Ph.D., Professor of Philosophy, Mt. San Antonio College Check out the book online at www.americanguru.net


Book Synopsis American Guru by : William Yenner

Download or read book American Guru written by William Yenner and published by Epigraph Publishing. This book was released on 2009-08 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: American Guru is a multifaceted account of life in the contemporary spiritual community known as EnlightenNext, and the controversial "teaching methods" of its New York-born founder, self-proclaimed "guru" Andrew Cohen. With contributions from several of Cohen's former students, William Yenner recalls the thirteen-year trajectory of his career as a leader and manager in Cohen's community--his early days as an idealistic "seeker," his years of service on EnlightenNext's Board of Directors, his ultimate disillusionment and departure, and his efforts to make sense of his experiences as a once-devoted follower of a "Teacher of Evolutionary Enlightenment." With wit and insight, Yenner and his colleagues have produced a riveting cautionary tale on the dangers of authoritarian spirituality, and an insider'scase study on the promises and pitfalls of postmodern discipleship. "William Yenner's courageous expos , American Guru, is a powerful reminder that all of our tendencies toward idealization of dharma teachers must be carefully examined." -William Morgan, Psy.D., member of the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy, co-author of Mindfulness and Psychotherapy "William Yenner's true, uncensored-and finally ungagged-moving personal story, in combination with the powerful reflections, recollections and contributions of other former community members, makes American Guru an essential source document for the study and understanding of authoritarian spiritual sects." -Hal Blacker, former editor of EnlightenNext magazine "American Guru is not a mean-spirited book. It is, rather, a refreshingly honest one." -David Christopher Lane, Ph.D., Professor of Philosophy, Mt. San Antonio College Check out the book online at www.americanguru.net