The global manifestation of the Hindu guru phenomenon

Abstract

In modernity, and particularly since the twentieth century, Hindu gurus have expanded beyond the religious field and now actively participate in influential ways in multiple interconnected social, economic, and political domains. The contemporary global guru phenomenon is expansive, intersectional, and multifarious. Charting the historical narrative of the long twentieth century (1893–present), there is gradual expansion of gurus into the West and a peak during the countercultural moment of the late 1960s and 1970s. In the 1980s and 1990s, global gurus refocused on growth in India (and other parts of Asia). From this perspective, the global guru phenomenon can be viewed as a narrative of expansion and retraction, the expansion through proselytization outside of India and the retraction to focus on domestic Hindu nationalism and the growing middle classes within India. Yet many contemporary gurus have become truly global religious actors who traverse multiple geographies simultaneously. As gurus have become increasingly influential in both public and political domains, their global expansion erupts poignantly at the intersections of technological innovation, globalization, and late-capitalist modernity.