Prem Rawat and Counterculture: Glastonbury and New Spiritualities
Ebook
Ron Geaves demonstrates how the convergence of Prem Rawat, formerly known as Guru Maharaj Ji, and Glastonbury Fayre in 1971 was a key event in understanding the jigsaw that came to be known as 'New Age' spirituality. The book charts the discovery of Prem Rawat in India in 1969 by a small number of British and North American 'hippies', and explores how his arrival in Britain in June 1971, as well as his speech from the pyramid stage at the Fayre at just 13 years old, escalated his activities to make him one of the key influencers of 1970s counterculture spirituality.
Both Glastonbury and Prem Rawat have gone on to re-emerge in significantly different identities to the ones presented in 1971. The meeting between the two demonstrates how alternative spiritualities were being formed in the 1960s and how some strands went on to develop into the 'New Age' counterculture that eventually permeated mainstream cultures in Britain and the USA.
Explores two key events that impacted the formation of contemporary spirituality in the 1970s: Glastonbury Fayre, 1971, and the arrival of Guru Maharaj Ji in the West.
Explores an encounter between a major player in the arrival of Indian spirituality in the West and Glastonbury Fayre
Draws on eye-witness accounts and provides new insights relevant to both oral history and ethnography
Engages theoretically with existing knowledge and understanding of the origins of New Age
List of Figures
Acknowledgements
Note on Quotations and Spellings
List of Abbreviations
Preface
1. Introduction
2. Theorizing New Age and Contemporary Spiritualities
3. Easternization: Indian Gurus and the West
4. Prem Rawat and Contextualizing Indian Religions in the West
5. Festivals And Music: Counterculture's Religiosity?
6. The Significance of Glastonbury
7. Prem Rawat at Glastonbury: Occulture and Easternization?
8. The Aftermath of Glastonbury Fayre: Prem Rawat and Counterculture
9. Counterculture, Occulture and Easternization Revisited
10. Postscript
Notes
Bibliography
Index
A fascinating spiritual and countercultural account of the child Guru Maharaj Ji's appearance on the Pyramid Stage at the legendary 1971 Glastonbury Fayre, compellingly interwoven with personal memories from someone who really was there, and sharpened by insights from both religious studies and festival culture. This book invites us critically to re-evaluate Glastonbury's religious resonance and is a significant contribution to our understanding of the history of Glastonbury Festival.
- Title: Prem Rawat and Counterculture: Glastonbury and New Spiritualities
- Author: Ron Geaves
- Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
- Print Publication Date: 2019
- Logos Release Date: 2024
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9781350090897, 9781350265448, 1350265446, 1350090891
- Resource ID: LLS:9781350090897
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2024-04-09T03:15:32Z