Related Research Articles
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi was the creator of Transcendental Meditation (TM) and leader of the worldwide organization that has been characterized in multiple ways, including as a new religious movement and as non-religious. He became known as Maharishi and Yogi as an adult.
Ram Dass, also known as Baba Ram Dass, was an American spiritual teacher, guru of modern yoga, psychologist, and writer. His best-selling 1971 book Be Here Now, which has been described by multiple reviewers as "seminal", helped popularize Eastern spirituality and yoga in the West. He authored or co-authored twelve more books on spirituality over the next four decades, including Grist for the Mill (1977), How Can I Help? (1985), and Polishing the Mirror (2013).
Chinmoy Kumar Ghose, better known as Sri Chinmoy, was an Indian spiritual leader who taught meditation in the United States after moving to New York City in 1964. Chinmoy established his first meditation center in Queens, New York, and eventually had 7,000 students in 60 countries. He was an author, artist, poet, and musician; he also held public events such as concerts and meditations on the theme of inner peace. Chinmoy advocated a spiritual path to God through prayer and meditation. He advocated athleticism including distance running, swimming, and weightlifting. He organized marathons and other races, and was an active runner and, following a knee injury, weightlifter. Some ex-members have accused Chinmoy of running a cult.
Prem Pal Singh Rawat, formerly known as Maharaji, is an Indian international speaker and author. His teachings include a meditation practice he calls "Knowledge", and peace education based on the discovery of personal resources such as inner strength, choice, appreciation and hope.
Hans Rām Singh Rawat, called Shrī Hans Jī Mahārāj and by various other honorifics, was an Indian religious leader.
Kirpal Singh was a spiritual master (satguru) in the tradition of Radha Soami.
Andrew Cohen is an American spiritual teacher. He is an author, former editor of What Is Enlightenment? magazine, and founder of the global spiritual community EnlightenNext, which dissolved in 2013.
Radha Soami is a spiritual tradition or faith founded by Shiv Dayal Singh in 1861 on Basant Panchami Day in Agra, India.
The Rajneesh movement is a religious movement inspired by the Indian mystic Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (1931–1990), also known as Osho. They used to be known as Rajneeshees or "Orange People" because of the orange they used from 1970 until 1985. Members of the movement are sometimes called Oshoites in the Indian press.
Pramukh Swami Maharaj was the guru and Pramukh, or president, of the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), a major branch of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya, a Hindu denomination. BAPS regards him as the fifth spiritual successor of Swaminarayan, following Gunatitanand Swami, Bhagatji Maharaj, Shastriji Maharaj, and Yogiji Maharaj. He was believed by his followers to be in constant communion with Swaminarayan, and ontologically, the manifestation of Akshar, the eternal abode of Swaminarayan.
Godman is a colloquial unisex term used in India for a type of charismatic guru that is often raised to a demigod-like figure by their cult following. They usually have a high-profile presence, and are capable of attracting attention and support from large sections of the society. Godmen also sometimes claim to possess paranormal powers, such as the ability to heal, the ability to see or influence future events, and the ability to read minds.
Bangaru Adigalar was an Indian spiritual guru and the president of the Adiparasakthi Charitable Medical Educational and Cultural Trust. He was called "Amma", meaning mother in Tamil, by his followers and devotees of the Adhiparasakthi temple.
James Arthur Ray is an American self-help businessman, motivational speaker, author and convicted felon who was found guilty in 2011 of causing three deaths through negligent homicide.
Bibliography of Prem Rawat and related organizations lists bibliographical material regarding Prem Rawat and organizations like Divine Light Mission, Elan Vital and the Prem Rawat Foundation.
My Life in Orange: Growing Up with the Guru is an account of a child growing up in the Rajneesh movement led by Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. The book is a firsthand account, written by Tim Guest at the age of 27, years after his experiences. The book was published in 2004 by Granta Books. The book's title is a reference to the term "the orange people", which was used to refer to members of the Rajneesh movement due to the color they dyed their clothes.
Clark Strand is an American author and lecturer on spirituality and religion. A former Zen Buddhist monk, he was the first Senior Editor of Tricycle: The Buddhist Review. He left that position in 1996 and moved to Woodstock, New York, to write and teach full-time.
Imre George Vallyon is a Hungarian-New Zealand writer, and spiritual influencer. In 1998 he was found guilty on several accounts of sexual child molestation of a girl who had come to him to seek spiritual guidance about a dead relative. Vallyon was sentenced to three years imprisonment.
Kūmāré is a 2011 documentary film directed by and starring American filmmaker Vikram Gandhi, who posed for a time as an Indian guru in Phoenix, Arizona, to satirize the American New Age movement.
Sexual abuse by yoga gurus is the exploitation of the position of trust occupied by a master of any branch of yoga for personal sexual pleasure. Allegations of such abuse have been made against modern yoga gurus such as Bikram Choudhury, Kausthub Desikachar, Yogi Bhajan, Amrit Desai, and K. Pattabhi Jois. There have been some criminal convictions and lawsuits for civil damages.
Adi Da Samraj was an American-born spiritual teacher, writer and artist. He was the founder of a new religious movement known as Adidam.
References
- ↑ Richter, Anke (3 August 2019). "Meet guru hunter Be Scofield, scourge of cult leaders around the world". The Spinoff . Retrieved 4 August 2022.
- 1 2 3 4 Hyde, Jesse (19 February 2019). "When spirituality goes viral". Playboy . Retrieved 3 August 2022.
- 1 2 Waite, Thom (23 February 2022). "Spiritual guru or creepy cult leader? The strange story of Bentinho Massaro". Dazed . Retrieved 3 August 2022.
- 1 2 3 4 Schwartz, Oscar (9 January 2020). "My journey into the dark, hypnotic world of a millennial guru". The Guardian . Retrieved 3 August 2022.
- ↑ Woods, Alden (9 May 2018). "Cults increasingly gain followers on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube". The Arizona Republic . Retrieved 4 August 2022.
- ↑ Woods, Alden (9 May 2018). "Bentinho Massaro's Sedona Experiment: How the search for enlightenment led to a digital cult". The Arizona Republic . Retrieved 3 August 2022.
- 1 2 Woerden, Ivo van (25 February 2022). "'Massaro's organisatie is een dekmantel om hem alles te geven waar hij naar verlangt: macht, geld en vrouwen'" ['Massaro's organisation is a cover to give him everything he craves: power, money and women']. de Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 4 August 2022.