Indian Gurus remain an important issue in the contemporary world and affect politics, culture and commerce alike. This spiritual/economic figure has become a worldwide phenomenon, signalling that syncretism is taking place on a global scale. At the same time, the concept of the guru will remain a constant challenge to ideas of enlightenment and democracy. The present book focusses on this challenge presenting contributions from an interdisciplinary perspective. German, Indian and American scholars have explored guruism in tradition, economy and Jungian psychology as well as in contemporary literature, travel writing and film. Individual studies of gurus such as Ramana Maharshi or Osho/Bhagvan, but also Gandhi and Tolstoi furthermore illustrate the spiritual globalization that has been taking place over the last century.

Anyone on the spiritual path knows it's rare that the illumined lives of yogis and gurus are laid before us. We have but a handful: Autobiography of a Yogi; Milarepa: Tibet's Great Yogi; Ramakrishna and His Disciples and a few of others. Now comes an amazing book, The Guru Chronicles, filled with the magical and highly mystical stories of Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, his Sri Lankan guru Siva Yogaswami and five preceding masters, who all held truth in the palm of their hand and inspired slumbering souls to "Know thy Self."

One of “the most comprehensive, erudite, and timely” explorations of power dynamics and authoritarianism in religions, institutions, relationships and even personal struggles (San Francisco Chronicle Book Review) Authoritarian control, which once held societies together, is now at the core of personal, social, and planetary problems, and thus a key factor in social disintegration. Authoritarianism is embedded in the way people think—hiding in culture, values, daily life, and in the very morality people try to live by. In The Guru Papers, authors Joel Kramer and Diana Alstad unmask authoritarianism in areas such as relationships, cults, 12-step groups, religion, and contemporary morality. Chapters on addiction and love show the insidious nature of authoritarian values and ideologies in the most intimate corners of life, offering new frameworks for understanding why people get addicted and why intimacy is laden with conflict. By exposing the inner authoritarian that people use to control themselves and others, the authors show why people give up their power, and how others get and maintain it.

A clear-headed and relatable guidebook for navigating the student-teacher relationship by one of the first female Buddhist teachers in the West. All major forms of Buddhism stress the need for a teacher. However, the importance of having a guide or guru is sometimes a source of cultural and spiritual confusion as Buddhism expands in the West. A clear understanding of the Buddhist view of the guru is essential for the student-teacher relationship to be beneficial for one's spiritual growth. Collecting over fifty years of personal experiences as both a student and a teacher, Shenpen Hookham writes candidly of the opportunities and challenges facing modern Dharma students in the West who wish to study with a teacher. Traditional texts often do not reflect how the student-teacher relationship manifests in practice, which leaves many pressing questions and a great deal of confusion in communities taking root in the West. With honesty and clarity, Hookham discusses the roles of the teacher, practices related to the guru, and commonly asked questions she receives as a teacher. This handbook is the first of its kind, breaking down in a pragmatic and relatable way everything you need to know to enter a student-teacher relationship with open eyes and an open heart.

An enlightening, accessible, and highly entertaining guide to the guru-disciple relationship, the heart of Tibetan Buddhism The humility and compassionate activity of the Dalai Lama is something many people can connect with, but how can one understand the stories about some other Buddhist teachers’ unorthodox behavior? The centrality of and reliance on a guru is one of most misunderstood elements of Tibetan Buddhism—and one that is most often veiled in mystery. Because the guru can and will use whatever means it takes to wake us up, this relationship may require us to drop our most deeply held beliefs and expectations. Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse addresses some of the most misunderstood aspects of this powerful relationship and gives practical advice on making the most of this precious opportunity for transformation. Through stories and classical examples, he shows how to walk the path with eyes wide open, with critical-thinking skills sharpened and equipped to analyze the guru, before taking the leap.

An important modern exponent of Asian dance, Pandit Chitresh Das brought kathak to the United States in 1970. The North Indian classical dance has since become an important art form within the greater Indian diaspora. Yet its adoption outside of India raises questions about what happens to artistic practices when we separate them from their broader cultural contexts. A Guru's Journey provides an ethnographic study of the dance form in the San Francisco Bay Area community formed by Das. Sarah Morelli, a kathak dancer and one of Das's former students, investigates issues in teaching, learning, and performance that developed around Das during his time in the United States. In modifying kathak's form and teaching for Western students, Das negotiates questions of Indianness and non-Indianness, gender, identity, and race. Morelli lays out these issues for readers with the goal of deepening their knowledge of kathak aesthetics, technique, and theory. She also shares the intricacies of footwork, facial expression in storytelling, and other aspects of kathak while tying them to the cultural issues that inform the dance.

Brings to light the evolution of Sikh art from the eighteenth to the twentieth century. Breaking fresh ground in the study of Sikh art, after the pioneering contributions of W.H. McLeod and B.N. Goswamy, this book on Sikh art evolution is centred on portraits of Sikh Gurus from the eighteenth to the twentieth century. It examines around two hundred and fifty texts of art, of various mediums, scattered across museums and private collections the world over. Ikeda artfully proves how Guru Nanak's portraiture catered to the spiritual and cultural needs not only of ordinary Sikhs, but also satisfied the expectations of the newly formed urban middle class. Including critical review of Harjot Oberoi's study and emphasizing the significant role of Sikh art in the formation of a distinct Sikh community's identity, the author takes note of how the Singh Sabha Movement (1873-1909) and the Akali Movement of 1920 onwards popularized devotional portraits of Guru Nanak even though idolatry is forbidden in the sacred text Guru Granth Sahib. It underlines how there was a paradigm shift in the mentality of Sikh society under the colonial impact of the British Raj. This highly illustrated volume will not only be appreciated by students of visual arts, researchers and academics, but also by the universities across the world in which Sikh Studies are taught. Atsushi Ikeda, a historian of South Asian art, specialising in Sikh art and visual culture, holds an MFA from Kyoto City University of Arts, an M.Res. from Kyoto University and a doctorate from SOAS University of London. Having worked as an art director in a Japanese company, he currently serves as the Chief Director of the Japanese Organisation for the Promotion of Indian Art and Culture (JOPIAC).