Gurus with "Significant Following" of American adherents

[ShivaFan]

Namaste

There was a 2005 publication by auhors Christopher Key Chapple, Thomas A. Forsthoefel, Daniel Gold, Tamal Krishna Goswami, Ravi M. Gupta, Cynthia Ann Humes, Jeffrey J. Kripal, Norris W. Palmer, Selva J. Raj, Hugh B. Urban, and Lola Williamson ( "Gurus in America", SUNY Press, ISBN10:*0-7914-6573-X), which had an analysis that listed 9 Gurus gurus who have attracted significant followings in the U.S., and most of whom have lived in the country for extended periods of time.

It was not intended to be the definitive list (e.g. not intended to convey that these 9 are the most popular), obviously the list of such Gurus is much larger and these 9 were examples used for indepth analysis. They were:

Adi Da,
Ammachi,
Mayi Chidvilasananda,
Gurani Anjali,
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi,
Osho,
Ramana Maharshi,
Sai Baba,
Swami Bhaktivedanta

Actually, you can see the vast diversity amoung the perspectives of these Gurus, a couple of which I have met with personally.

I would add the following Gurus to this list who have notable American adherents:

Swami Bodhananda,
Bodhinatha Veylanswami,
Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami,
Swami Chidanand Saraswati,
Swami Dayananda Saraswati,
Amma Sri Karunamayi,
Acharaya Mahamandaleshwar Yug Purush Shri Swami Parmanand Ji Giri Maharaj,
Swami Prabhananda of the Ramakrishna Order and lineage of Vivekananda,
Swami Varadananda of the Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions and Vivekananda Vedanta Society,
Pravrajika Vrajaprana has been a nun at the Sarada Convent of the Vedanta Society of Southern California,
Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji,
Pramukh Swami Maharaj,
Swami Tejomayananda and the lineage of Swami Chinmayananda,
Guru Maharaji (different names over the years),
Shri Aurobindo and the Mother,
Sai Baba,
Sri K. Pattabhi Jois,
Shri Brahmananda Sarasvati

.... and I am curious if members would add others to this list?

So my question is, we see a huge, vast diversity among these examples yet what might be common among them as to why they have been successful with American adherents and Hindus?

What do you think? I have my own idea, but am curious to hear from others...

Also feel free to add to the list!

Om Namah Sivaya

 

[Vinayaka]

I personally don't think it necessarily has anything at all to do with the gurus. I believe it has more to do with where souls get reborn. In the past, because of a lack of knowledge about other parts of the world, reincarnation patterns remained quite sedentary, often in the same village. Because eastern souls felt comfortable in the east, they stayed there. But now, with globalisation, souls can follow family members to the west, or perhaps more likely, desire to be western. Just as the birth as an overdone materialist may be followed by one into poverty, the opposite is also true. So consider a poverty-stricken but religious Indian with desires to be more materialistic. He goes hunting on the astral plane for a western body, and the chance to make it rich. Then at about 20 years of age, and the ability to think again, its "Uh-oh, what the heck have I done?"

Your list, although significant, does not make any suggestion as to %ages of western versus eastern followers. For example, Ammachi has tons of Indian followers, probably around 95% total whereas one like Adi Da as far as I know had none. Others are about 50-50. There is also no mention of the race of the Guru, which I would aslo find significant, or at least interesting.

This could be an interesting thread if nobody goes into guru-bashing.

 

[Viraja]

I would like to add Shri Aurobindo and the Mother to the list. There are lots of Westerners who are followers of Shri Aurobindo both in Pondicherry, Auroville as well as elsewhere in the world.

 

[Maya3]

Sri K. Pattabhi Jois and Shri Brahmananda Sarasvati.

Maya

 

[Sb1995]

Sai Baba :hearts::hearts::hearts::hearts:

 

[ShivaFan]

Namaste

Look! I've added the extra names in the original post...

Namaste MV yes Prabhupad was already there (Bhaktivedanta).

Om Namah Shivaya

So, yes some may have been liked or disliked by others, and many were completely different in teaching and practice, very diverse. For example the original and perhaps controversial liberal social norms of Osho (Rajneesh) compared to the very conservative Swami Chidanand Saraswati, both very different from Prabhupad etc. etc., yet these have all found adherents among Americans, and as Vunayaka said I should give some background on each including gender (though one could argue a couple were genderless) which I will do (U sitting in my car parked right now) when I get a chance.

Yet my question is, they are all so different (yet also the same in many ways), but they all attracted Westerners and this is cedtainly a "short list". I could be wrong, but 90% of them travelled here. Some came with a radically different marga, perhaps one could argue it wasn't even Hindu, others were very conservative, there is one not on the list who is still alive with perhaps a smaller following who was the Guru of Vedic Homas, and the is a woman and very popular Guru not far from where I live who is an American and a Shakti (Devi) sectarian and Tantric that has a growing following (never met her, even though the temple is near), I didn't mention Sant Keshavadas another Indian Guru come to America who is now gone from this world but does have a notable ashram in India and was very successful in America. On and on, I am stressing the differences, ....

... yet there is one thing I see the same for all of them, even for the one's I have notable differences with in practice. Let me hold off on that for now.

Any more?

Om Namah Sivaya

 

[Sb1995]

The most common is definitely Sai Baba correct?

 

[ShivaFan]

Sai Baba devotees are Very common, yes. It is hard to compare in some aspects.

SB devotees share in some ways a gathering that ISKCON Krsna devotees do, meaning not just temples, but gatherings at personal homes where are scheduled and communicated by email.

That is why sometimes for Western Hindus whu live in areas where there are few or no temples but desire association, perhaps bhajans and certainly worship, there are vast networks of such "home gatherings" and often these are held in homes of Indian born practitioners who like Americans or "Westerners" to come. Yes, and also Western Hindus do the same. Guru Bhaktas of such Western Hindus and such gatherings are also very in vogue.

The most interesting of some of these I have attended were in very expensive houses (in very rich neighborhoods), and you have executive types show up, take off shoes, there is a Guru picture, a murti of Kali or Sai Baba or any Devas and Devi, some simple bhajan printed on paper (simple ones such as Jaya Ram Jaya Ram Raghupati Raghava Jaya Ram and such)...

Then there is those wonderful gatherings in the poorest pf apartments, here I typically find Krishna murti, there us someone's wife who cooks up delicious vegan food, bhajans and happy mood.

Oddly, few Tamils have "home gatherings".

But India Shaktas do, such as from Bengal.

Punjabis are the most fun, the entire center of the "home gathering" is the cooking up the food, and devotion to Devas and Devi, and Westerners are very welcome to come.

So those of you Western Hindus whu feel "lonely" because "no temple", do not despair! It won't be easy to find at first, but don't be surprised if there are "home gatherings" near you! You can start one too, and just put a little ad in some health food store board.

Om Namah Sivaya

 

[Maya3]

I have heard of these rich business types who go to these luxurious homes and have gatherings. It's interesting that people who you wouldn't think were very spiritual would find a guru and start a satsanga.

Maya

 

[ShivaFan]

Oh yes Maya.

And I was at one in Silicon Valley, it was a mansion of a millionaire Indian and his family. Westerner business guys showed up.

It has been a while, but I have also attended RSS meetings and such (don't tell Uncle Sam) and which reminds me I was a VHP member but let my membership lag. Via VHP you can also find out about such home gatherings in California fur example.

Also, even thuugh Krishna devotees are very sectarian or devoted tu their adherence, oddly they are often a very good source for getting info on non-Vaishnav or non-ISKCON gatherings. The devotees who go to ISKCON temples do seem tu be liberal in "just to mention" by word uf mouth such gatherings which may not be ISKCON so there is another source.

YOU ARE NOT ALONE

Om Namah Sivaya

 

[Debater Slayer]

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[Kalidas]

woh! what happened?!

 

[Maya3]

Oh yes Maya.

And I was at one in Silicon Valley, it was a mansion of a millionaire Indian and his family. Westerner business guys showed up.

It has been a while, but I have also attended RSS meetings and such (don't tell Uncle Sam) and which reminds me I was a VHP member but let my membership lag. Via VHP you can also find out about such home gatherings in California fur example.

Also, even thuugh Krishna devotees are very sectarian or devoted tu their adherence, oddly they are often a very good source for getting info on non-Vaishnav or non-ISKCON gatherings. The devotees who go to ISKCON temples do seem tu be liberal in "just to mention" by word uf mouth such gatherings which may not be ISKCON so there is another source.

YOU ARE NOT ALONE

Om Namah Sivaya

I have never been to any of these. I almost went to an Amma Satsang once, but then I decided not to.
I have no idea if it was in a luxurious place or not.

Interesting too about Krishna devotees. They sometimes sing at my temple, there is a "six hour kirtan group" that alternates where they sing every week (I think it is every week) and they come to my temple too, so yes they must know of a lot of places that I would never know of if I hadn't heard it from them.

There seem to be off shoots of Krishna devotees too. There is a Bhakti center for example, I'm not sure if they are ISCKON or a group inspired by them?

Maya

 

[ShivaFan]

Namaste Maya3

Yes, there are various "offshoots" I have noticed in the past. Not necessarily initiated devotees, but Krsna devotees who first went to ISKCON, never initiated by an ISKCON Guru, and then later went to other Gaudiya Vaishnava that were more recently established in the US. Oddly, some of these other Gsudiya groups were Prabhupads "god brothers" though I am not sure what all that means, while others had no relation to Prabhupad at all. It seems the post-Prabhupad Gaudiya arrivals to the US seemed to emphasize the "leela" aspects between Radha and Krishna much more than I think Prabhupad would have been comfortable with for public consumption. There were also very early "gopi" type groups formed in the late 1960s which were condemned, these were sort of antinomian in nature and which faded out by the early 70s but some of these may have reappeared with the arrival of later Gaudiya groups. More Gaudiyas arrived also in the 80s there abouts that were conservative and not "love" centered if that is the proper term. But I only reveal this from the perspective of an observer.

Om Namah Sivaya

 

[Yogi1054]

Namaste







I would add the following Gurus to this list who have notable American adherents:


Sri K. Pattabhi Jois,


.... and I am curious if members would add others to this list?

So my question is, we see a huge, vast diversity among these examples yet what might be common among them as to why they have been successful with American adherents and Hindus?

What do you think? I have my own idea, but am curious to hear from others...

Also feel free to add to the list!

Om Namah Sivaya

I think if you are going to include Patabhi Jois - then you need to include BKS Iyengar (even though they had the same teacher both were GREAT rivals) and TKV Desikachar

 

[ShivaFan]

Namaste Yogi

Definitely! We need to add BKS Iyengar and T.K.V. Desikachar both of whom had presence and impact to the West!

And I will add one more, a savant whose works will have historical ambience both in the West and all over the world, Jayaram V.

Unfortunately, I notice the "edit" button isn't there on the original post, so I cannot directly add these three!

Om Namah Sivaya

 

[ShivaFan]

Namaste

So now the question I had: Despite the vast diversity in teachings and methods, and even controversy, of these Gurus, yet what is it that they all shared which we Westerners should be grateful for?

I think that one aspect they all share, which is often overlooked, is their BRAVERY.

Yes, their bravery. The bravery they had to travel to foreign lands and present their message or teaching. Or to disclaim old allegences of their own society, to stand before their own and say "I am a Hindu" and let me tell you why I will now speak to all the world and not just remain in the company and shelter of friends and family. Are you so brave to do the same? And think about the quality of their bravery, many who arrived as “strangers” to those in the West, some without hardly any support or funding, the quality of their bravery which possessing strength yet also strong enough not to try and flaunt it. Bravery in speaking also for the down-trodden or just the common of society instead of just special interests. It is this bravery which inspires the ability to over-come inner ego.

We all recognize and perhaps are familiar with the qualities of renunciation, of self-sacrifice, of wisdom, of devotion, of sharing and openness, of non-discrimination combined with a true discrimination of vision as to what is of true value.

But we often overlook bravery.

No matter how small in frame is some of these Gurus, how sweet (or even low, or scratchy or dead-pan) the tone of voice, or simple the garmet, they wear a special “uniform” of bravery.

It is my opinion, I do not claim it is the teaching of my or anyone else’s tradition, yet it seems part of my spirit, to believe that only the brave person dies a worthy death. These were the bravest among the brave.

Om Namah Sivaya

 

[psychoslice]

The best ever is Osho, he's the man.

 

[George-ananda]

So my question is, we see a huge, vast diversity among these examples yet what might be common among them as to why they have been successful with American adherents and Hindus?

Because the wisdom in the Vedas is greater than anything from the materialist western world. As education and knowledge grows among the masses of western society, the more this is being realized.