THE ANTI GURU is a selection of some of the greatest talks ever given by U.G. Krishnamurti, the famed anti-guru who refused to be a guru and shot down all attempts by his followers to deify him. While he has no relation to the famous Jiddu Krishnamurti, who merely shares the same name, he spoke with the other Krishnamurti extensively, and you'll find much commentary U.G. made about him within this book. The first chapter is the full text of a very unique early talk given by U.G. very soon after he experienced his "calamity", the transformation that many have likened to enlightenment. The words are incredibly powerful and direct, and pierce to the heart of his philosophy. This book was published to make U.G. more accessible to the general public. His revolutionary ideas have largely been ignored by our society. The low price of this book shows the editor's desire to make U.G.'s material easier to access for a wider range of audiences. Unfortunately, his books are very hard to find in public library catalogs. Hopefully this will change.
American Guru is a multifaceted account of life in the contemporary spiritual community known as EnlightenNext, and the controversial "teaching methods" of its New York-born founder, self-proclaimed "guru" Andrew Cohen. With contributions from several of Cohen's former students, William Yenner recalls the thirteen-year trajectory of his career as a leader and manager in Cohen's community--his early days as an idealistic "seeker," his years of service on EnlightenNext's Board of Directors, his ultimate disillusionment and departure, and his efforts to make sense of his experiences as a once-devoted follower of a "Teacher of Evolutionary Enlightenment." With wit and insight, Yenner and his colleagues have produced a riveting cautionary tale on the dangers of authoritarian spirituality, and an insider'scase study on the promises and pitfalls of postmodern discipleship. "William Yenner's courageous expos , American Guru, is a powerful reminder that all of our tendencies toward idealization of dharma teachers must be carefully examined." -William Morgan, Psy.D., member of the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy, co-author of Mindfulness and Psychotherapy "William Yenner's true, uncensored-and finally ungagged-moving personal story, in combination with the powerful reflections, recollections and contributions of other former community members, makes American Guru an essential source document for the study and understanding of authoritarian spiritual sects." -Hal Blacker, former editor of EnlightenNext magazine "American Guru is not a mean-spirited book. It is, rather, a refreshingly honest one." -David Christopher Lane, Ph.D., Professor of Philosophy, Mt. San Antonio College Check out the book online at www.americanguru.net
"Armed with wit, insight, and truly astonishing research, Falk utterly demolishes the notion of the enlightened guru who can lead devotees to nirvana.--John Horgan, author of "Rational Mysticism."
U.G. Krishnamurti famously described enlightenment as a neurobiological state of being with no religious, psychological or mystical implications. He did not lecture, did not set up organizations, held no gatherings and professed to have no message for mankind. Known as the ‘anti-guru’, the ‘raging sage’ and the ‘thinker who shuns thought’, U.G. spent his life destroying accepted beliefs in science, god, mind, soul, religion, love and relationships—all the props man uses to live life. Having taken away all support systems from those who came to him, he refused to replace them with those of his own; always insisting that each must find his own truth. And when U.G. knew that it was time for him go, he refused all attempts to prolong life with medical help. He let nature, and his body, take their course. On the afternoon of 22 March 2007, U.G. Krishnamurti passed away in Vallecrosia, Italy.
Indian Gurus remain an important issue in the contemporary world and affect politics, culture and commerce alike. This spiritual/economic figure has become a worldwide phenomenon, signalling that syncretism is taking place on a global scale. At the same time, the concept of the guru will remain a constant challenge to ideas of enlightenment and democracy. The present book focusses on this challenge presenting contributions from an interdisciplinary perspective. German, Indian and American scholars have explored guruism in tradition, economy and Jungian psychology as well as in contemporary literature, travel writing and film. Individual studies of gurus such as Ramana Maharshi or Osho/Bhagvan, but also Gandhi and Tolstoi furthermore illustrate the spiritual globalization that has been taking place over the last century.
This book provides a set of fresh and compelling interdisciplinary approaches to the enduring phenomenon of the guru in South Asia. Moving across different gurus and kinds of gurus, and between past and present, the chapters call attention to the extraordinary scope and richness of the social lives and roles of South Asian gurus. Prevailing scholarship has rightly considered the guru to be a source of religious and philosophical knowledge and mystical bodily practices. This book goes further and considers the social engagements and entanglements of these spiritual leaders, not just on their own (narrowly denominational) terms, but in terms of their diverse, complex, rapidly evolving engagements with 'society' broadly conceived. The book explores and illuminates the significance of female gurus, gurus from the perspective of Islam, imbrications of guru-ship and slavery in pre-modern India, connections between gurus and power, governance and economic liberalization in modern and contemporary India, vexed questions of sexuality and guru-ship, gurus' charitable endeavours, the cosmopolitanism of gurus in contexts of spiritual tourism, and the mediation of gurus via technologies of electronic communication. Bringing together internationally renowned scholars from religious studies, political science, history, sociology and anthropology, The Guru in South Asia provides exciting and original new insights into South Asian guru-ship. The Open Access version of this book, available at http: //www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.
One of “the most comprehensive, erudite, and timely” explorations of power dynamics and authoritarianism in religions, institutions, relationships and even personal struggles (San Francisco Chronicle Book Review) Authoritarian control, which once held societies together, is now at the core of personal, social, and planetary problems, and thus a key factor in social disintegration. Authoritarianism is embedded in the way people think—hiding in culture, values, daily life, and in the very morality people try to live by. In The Guru Papers, authors Joel Kramer and Diana Alstad unmask authoritarianism in areas such as relationships, cults, 12-step groups, religion, and contemporary morality. Chapters on addiction and love show the insidious nature of authoritarian values and ideologies in the most intimate corners of life, offering new frameworks for understanding why people get addicted and why intimacy is laden with conflict. By exposing the inner authoritarian that people use to control themselves and others, the authors show why people give up their power, and how others get and maintain it.
one lonely, abused schoolgirl 'occupies' herself.. and happens to set off an explosive social and economic revolution.. http://thefreeonline.wordpress.com/te... ''It is the most detailed fictional treatment of the movement from a world recognizably like our own to an anarchist society that I have read. More importantly, it is imagined strongly enough to allow readers to believe that events could happen this way''. Dr Daniel P. Jaeckle, author of 'Embodied Anarchy in Ursula K. Le Guin's The Dispossessed' Adventure/Thriller.. Maxie rebels and runs away, with the anarcha-feminists, occupiers and gays.. Set during the collapse of capitalism, amid climate chaos, we live out the social and permaculture revolution, and the dawn of a money-free world Accompany Linda through her hilarious, terrible day, as she:-escapes her useless school and abusive daddy,-changes her name to Maxie and falls in with the anarcha feminists, squatters and gays. The State is going bottoms up, the Climate is going crazy, we're living the collapse of capitalism, blow by blow, with a rainbow.Maxie and her new friends get free of their traumas,and get into dealing subversive death blows, to a skinhead gang,a bankrupt school and the testerical special police. Next thing they flee to Ragwort CoOp Pool,in a big safe occupied working class area. We play the adventure live through their eyes, laughing and lamenting… inventing social revolution.The PIF soldiers eventually arrive, to restore capitalist chaos, Macker and Maxie are missing, the hunt begins, while the spaced out invaders get subverted, corrupted, swallowed and (burp) digested. Our odd family puzzles with the pieces.. finding a fun lifestyle,a coppice farm, and bright ideas for saving The Planet, but keep your hankies ready, folks.. click on your giant wings, for the fantastic FLYING finale! Thanks everyone for your help with this project.. Read or Free Download on the blog click: http://thefreeonline.wordpress.com/also available on Google Books, Scribd, Issuu, Anarchist Library . The printed ‘dead tree’ book is available here: https://www.createspace.com/3702134 costs 10€, or $14. I'm promoting The Free on the Wordpress blog, posting stuff on the themes of the book: feminism, anarchism, social revolution, squatting, permaculture.... it's fun and I enjoy 'gimping images'... by now it has 3,170 'Fiends on Farcebook' and over 227,000 views of the blog! Twice reached no.7 on Authonomy. some comments... ONLY THE GOOD ONES 'This book is a gas, terrific writing,a wonderful and likely prophetic story for the near future' .. Jim Mac. 'It creates poetry out the strange internal rhythms and logic of the main character, full of off-beat rhythms and lyrical leitmotifs'...Rob Stewart “The Free. An unbelievably exciting book, not because of its stupendous pace and action filled plot, but because of the depth of character holding us breathless as we explore one after another of these amazing people.’’ Gerry McCullough- 'Yahoo! It is in acts, has skin and is feminist, what more can one want .Truly supported'. A Zoomer 'This book is truly unique. The characters and plot flow like water, and are tasty like chocolate'. A.A. 'It's sexy and wonderful and just pure joy... a breathless celebration of life... Gold in its purest literary form'. Bec Thanks again everyone for your help and support with this project.
A legend of improvisational theater, Del Close is best known for discovering and cultivating the talents of John Belushi, Chris Farley, Bill Murray, Mike Meyers, and countless other comedy giants. He was resident director of Chicago's famed Second City and "house metaphysician" for "Saturday Night Live," a talent in his own right, and one of the brightest and wackiest theater gurus ever. Jeff Griggs was a student of Close's at the ImprovOlympic in Chicago when he was asked to help the aging mentor (often in ill health) by driving him around the city on his weekly errands. The two developed a volatile friendship that shocked, angered, and amused both of them—and produced this hilarious and ultimately endearing chronicle of Close's last years. With all the elements of a picaresque novel, Guru captures Close at his zaniest but also shows him in theatrical situations that confirm his genius in conceptualizing and directing improvisational theater. Between comic episodes, Jeff Griggs gives the reader the essentials of Close's biography: his childhood in Kansas, early years as an actor, countercultural exploits in the 1960s (he toured with Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters and designed light shows for the Grateful Dead), years with the Compass Players and then with Second City, and continuing experimentation with every drug imaginable, which pretty much cost him his health and ultimately his life. He was comedian, director, teacher, writer, actor, poet, fire-eater, junkie, and philosopher. "Being a really good actor does not necessarily guarantee that you will be a very good improviser," Close liked to say. "Being an actual, complete, hopeless, wretched geek in real life doesn't disqualify you from being a solid improviser, either." He approached improv the same way he conducted his life—in bizarre, dark, and dangerous fashion. Guru captures it.
