Ron Geaves | |
---|---|
Born | 7 June 1948 |
Title | Former professor of the comparative study of religion at Liverpool Hope University |
Academic background | |
Alma mater | University of Leeds (PhD) |
Academic work | |
Discipline | Religion |
Institutions | University of Chichester University of Chester Liverpool Hope University |
Ron Geaves (born 7 June 1948) is a British scholar of religious studies who was professor of the comparative study of religion at Liverpool Hope University in England,retiring in December 2013. He was formerly Programme Leader and Chair in religious studies at the University of Chester in England (2001-2007) and Head of Department at the University of Chichester (1999-2001). He was chair of the Muslims in Britain Research Network (2007-2010) and instrumental in the creation of BRAIS (British Association of Islamic Studies),remaining on their advisory board.[ citation needed ]
His Ph.D. from the University of Leeds was on community formation amongst British Muslims (1990-1994) and he has remained interested in the history of the development of Islamic religious life in Britain throughout his career. He has become known by his expertise in the adaptation and transmigration of religions to the West,especially Islam,but also Sikhism and Hinduism and his academic championing of the study of 'lived' religions. He is the author of several books,including The Sufis of Britain,which explored the manifestations of Islamic mysticism in the UK and The Continuum Glossary of Religious Terminology an extensive glossary of seven major world faiths,The Study of Religion (co-authored with George Chryssides),a key undergraduate text. Probably his most successful work has been Islam in Victorian Britain:The Life and Times of Abdullah Quilliam,generating considerable interest among both Muslims in Britain and the media.[ citation needed ]
Geaves has taught several subjects including Islam,Hinduism,Sikhism,the Sociology and Anthropology of Religion,Judaism,Christianity and ancient religions. His interests lie in the spiritual manifestations of Islam and Indian traditions. [1]
Geaves was one of the earliest Western students of Maharaji (Prem Rawat,known also as Guru Maharaj Ji). [2] Geaves has written a number of papers related to Maharaji and his organizations,such as the Divine Light Mission,and Elan Vital. In July 2006,as he prepared to give an inaugural lecture at the University of Chester to dignitaries and members of the Muslim community in the North West of England,he commented that the 7 July 2005 London bombings were "primarily an extreme form of demonstration" that had to be seen within a long history of protests by British Muslims. He also said that "terrorism is a political word which always seems to be used to demonise people". [3] Various spokespersons expressed strong disagreement with these statements. [4]
Since retirement from full-time University employment,he has continued his research into British Muslim communities and working alongside various Islamic educators,engaged in curriculum reform. He is currently Honorary Visiting Professor in the Centre for the Study of Islam in Britain at Cardiff University.[ citation needed ]
Knowledge is a term used by Shri Hans Ji Maharaj to denote a formulation of four specific techniques that were imparted in a process of initiation. The term continues to be used by two of Shri Hans Ji Maharaj's sons, Satpal Rawat and Prem Rawat.
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.
The Divine Light Mission was an organization founded in 1960 by guru Hans Ji Maharaj for his following in northern India. During the 1970s, the DLM gained prominence in the West under the leadership of his fourth and youngest son. Some scholars noted the influence of the Bhagavad Gita and the Radha Soami tradition, a.k.a. Sant Mat movement, but the western movement was widely seen as a new religious movement, a cult, a charismatic religious sect or an alternative religion. DLM officials said the movement represented a church rather than a religion.
The core of Prem Rawat's teaching is that the individual’s need for fulfillment can be satisfied by turning within to contact a constant source of peace and joy. Rather than a body of dogma, he emphasizes a direct experience of transcendence, which he claims is accessible through the four techniques of meditation which he teaches. He calls these techniques "Knowledge" and says that Knowledge will take "all your senses that have been going outside all your life, turn them around and put them inside to feel and to actually experience you."
William Henry Quilliam, who changed his name to Abdullah Quilliam and later Henri Marcel Leon or Haroun Mustapha Leon, was a 19th-century British convert from Christianity to Islam, noted for founding England's first mosque and Islamic centre, and Britain's oldest Muslim organization, the Association of British Muslims.
John Louis Esposito is an American academic, professor of Middle Eastern and religious studies, and scholar of Islamic studies, who serves as Professor of Religion, International Affairs, and Islamic Studies at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. He is also the founding director of the Prince Alwaleed Center for Muslim–Christian Understanding at Georgetown.
Timothy John Winter, also known as Abdal Hakim Murad, is an English academic, theologian and Islamic scholar who is a proponent of Islamic neo-traditionalism. His work includes publications on Islamic theology, modernity, and Anglo-Muslim relations, and he has translated several Islamic texts.
Elan Vital is the name shared by several organizations that support the work of Prem Rawat, a spiritual leader also known by the title "Maharaji". Independent Elan Vital organizations in several countries raise funds, organize speaking engagements by Prem Rawat and in some cases broadcast his public addresses.
Sant Mat was a spiritual movement on the Indian subcontinent during the 13th–17th centuries CE. The name literally means "teachings of sants", i.e. mystic Hindu saints. Through association and seeking truth by following sants and their teachings, a movement was formed. Theologically, the teachings are distinguished by inward, loving devotion by the individual soul (atma) to the Divine Principal God (Parmatma). Socially, they are mostly ascetics except few householders. Sant Mat is not to be confused with the 19th-century Radha Soami, also known as contemporary "Sant Mat movement".
Islam is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centered on the Quran and the teachings of Muhammad, the religion's founder. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number approximately 1.9 billion worldwide and are the world's second-largest religious population after Christians.
This list is of topics related to Prem Rawat (Maharaji).
Who is Guru Maharaj Ji?, published in 1973 by Bantam Books is a non-fiction book about Guru Maharaj Ji, now known as Prem Rawat. Edited by Charles Cameron, the book claims to be an "authentic authorized story", and was written when Maharaj Ji was aged 15. The initial printing was of 125,000 copies. A Spanish-language edition was also published in 1975, as Quién es Guru Maharaj Ji.
Jane Dammen McAuliffe is an American educator, scholar of Islam and the inaugural director of national and international outreach at the Library of Congress.
Bruce D. Chilton is an American scholar of early Christianity and Judaism, and an Episcopalian priest. He is Bernard Iddings Bell Professor of Religion at Bard College, formerly Lillian Claus Professor of New Testament at Yale University, and Rector of the Church of St John the Evangelist He holds a PhD in New Testament from Cambridge University. He has previously held academic positions at the Universities of Cambridge, Sheffield, and Münster.
Clinton Bennett is a British-American scholar of Religious studies and participant in interfaith dialogue, specializing in Islamic studies and the relations between Islam and other religions. He is also a published author.
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.
The Review of Religions is an English-language comparative religious magazine published monthly by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. Regularly in print since 1902, it is one of the longest running Islamic periodicals in English. It has been described as the main publication of the Ahmadiyya movement in the language and as a valuable source material for information on the geographical expansion of Ahmadi activity. The magazine was launched by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad with the aim of conveying an accurate understanding of Islamic teachings across the English-speaking world and dispelling misconceptions held against the faith. The articles, however, typically comprise distinctly Ahmadi perspectives. In addition to the English edition published from London, the magazine currently publishes separate quarterly editions in German, French and Spanish.
This is a list of encyclopedias as well as encyclopedic and biographical dictionaries published on the subjects of religion and mythology in any language.
Anthony George Baker was an American Protestant clergyman and medical doctor who converted to Islam.