Religious Authority in South Asia: Generating the Guru

by Istvan Keul (Editor), Srilata Raman (Editor)

This book focuses on genealogies of religious authority in South Asia, examining the figure of the guru in narrative texts, polemical tracts, hagiographies, histories, in contemporary devotional communities, New Age spiritual movements and global guru organizations.

Experts in the field present reflections on historically specific contexts in which a guru comes into being, becomes part of a community, is venerated, challenged or repudiated, generates a new canon, remains unique with no clear succession or establishes a succession in which charisma is routinized. The guru emerges and is sustained and routinized from the nexus of guruship, narratives, performances and community. The contributors to the book examine this nexus at specific historical moments with all their elements of change and contingency.

The book will be of interest to scholars in the field of South Asian studies, the study of religions and cultural studies.

291 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 30, 2022

About the author

Dr. Istvàn Keul, Ph.D. (University of Tübingen, 2000), is a professor in the Faculty of Humanities within the Department of Archaeology, History, Cultural Studies and Religion at the University of Bergen, Norway.