The Guru in South Asia

Copeman, Jacob; Ikegame, Aya

doi:10.4324/9780203116258

Cited by 85 publications

(20 citation statements)

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“…Characterized by an ethical negation of instrumentalist “power” politics, the rhetoric of anti-politics, through the ascetic mode of power, endorses a leadership model that claims to give voice to the moral indignation of the people against political corruption by the established elites and social decay while, at the same time, propagating an imagination of the “people” as a pure and righteous entity (Hansen 2008), undivided by sectarian affiliations. Following decades of state-led industrial development under the Nehruvian discourse of scientific temper (Arnold 2013; Mahanti 2016; Nandy 1990) in postindependence India, the succeeding decades witnessed a proliferation of culturally and politically influential “gurus” (religious teachers) (Copeman and Ikegame 2014) whose emergence marked what has been identified as a wave of New Spirituality (Gooptu 2016), preoccupied with the concerns of spiritual self-development, indigenization, and collective social service. The rise of New Spirituality has been concomitant with the retreat of the state and the ascent of the neoliberal mode of governance.…”

Section: Political Asceticismmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Political Asceticism of Mamata Banerjee: Female Populist Leadership in Contemporary India

Chaudhury

2021

Pol & Gen

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Operating within the androcentric premises that support idealized models of populist leadership, self-representations cultivated by female populist leaders often involve precarious balancing acts, compelling them to appropriate contextualized traditionalist discourses and modes of power to qualify for conventional leadership models. This article engages with the stylistic performance of populist leadership by Mamata Banerjee of the All India Trinamool Congress in the state of West Bengal, India, focusing on her adoption of the discursive mode of political asceticism, nativist rhetoric, and religious iconography. Through an interpretive analysis of selected party documents, autobiography, and semistructured interviews with Banerjee's followers and critics, the article delineates Banerjee's populist self-fashioning as a political ascetic and explores perceptions of her leadership. The article argues that while the self-makings of female populist leaders remain fraught and contested, they contribute substantially toward redrawing the boundaries of both conventional leadership models and the broader political landscapes they inhabit.

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Section: Political Asceticismmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Political Asceticism of Mamata Banerjee: Female Populist Leadership in Contemporary India

Chaudhury

2021

Pol & Gen

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“…In a recent paper entitled ‘Guru Logics’ as well as in an edited book The Guru in South Asia , Jacob Copeman and Aya Ikegame (2012a, 2012b) talk about guru governmentality, not just as another agency of devolved governance in an era of economic liberalization but as the retooling of the radical asymmetry of the guru–devotee relationship in order to produce humanitarian or developmental effects. Copeman and Ikegame (2012b: 19) further say that the avatar-guru is doubly magnified: first, they contain their former incarnations, and second, in respect of others, they appear as the collective image of their followers. This, they say, has implications for the gurus’ relationship with democracy.…”

Section: Guru-led Movements and Governmentalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Governmentality and guru-led movements in India

Pandya

2015

European Journal of Social Theory

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The concept of governmentality has a textual and philosophical basis as well as being concerned with what might be called the practices of government. This article discusses and develops the governmentality argument with respect to the guru-led movements. It outlines the basics of Michel Foucault’s concept of governmentality, its analytical frame, the fact that governmentality moves beyond only the practices of the state and its nuances in a neoliberal frame of reference, drawing on Zygmunt Bauman and others. It then discusses the governmentality of guru-led movements through: (1) the political acts and powers of the gurus; (2) the supplementary and complementary efforts to aid the state by the guru-led movements; (3) instances of resistance and taking on the state, and (4) the flipside of governmentality, which manifests as hegemony, Hindutva politics and Hindu nationalism. Through the governmentality argument, aspects of the surveillance, discipline, control, interactivity and competition of the guru-led movements emerge. What is discussed is a post-disciplinary model of governance which devolves power downwards from crumbling state institutions to new agencies of control, in this case, the gurus and their institutions. This devolution, however, is not without its tensions and the article also argues that guru governmentality betrays traces of hybridity and non-linearity.

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“…In pan-Indian traditions, guru is someone more than a teacher, traditionally a reverential figure to the student, who moulds values, shares experiential and literal knowledge and enables the spiritual evolution of the student (Forsthoefel and Humes 2005; Lowitz 2004: 85). has shown itself to be one of the most enigmatic features of the Hindu religious world, originating from the South Asian context. Recent literature places them in the context of their multiple roles in South Asian society, more generally (Copeman and Ikegame 2012a, 2012b; Pechilis 2012). The focus is on the domaining effects and the expansibility of the gurus, a discourse which has further been enhanced by their diaspora presence.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Spending on medical, educational and other charitable projects is a convenient means of achieving this, and has the added benefit of garnering favourable publicity. One could say that such activities are at once emblematic and a furtherance of the guru’s multiple societal entanglements (Copeman and Ikegame 2012a, 2012b).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Guru’ Culture in South Asia: The Case of Chinmaya Mission in India

Pandya

2016

Society and Culture in South Asia

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Guru culture is a prominent phenomenon in contemporary South Asia. The guru is a charismatic figure and the bedrock of the concerned institution, which very often assumes the form of a movement. Recognition of the power of that charisma is the central aspect in the social and psychological dynamics of guru-led movements. They attract a large number of followers and social service engagements are a part of their common repertoire, reflecting and furthering the guru’s multiple societal entanglements. In this article, I focus on a prominent guru movement which originated in India, the Chinmaya Mission (CM), specifically with respect to its basic character and its interface with the Indian sociocultural fabric through compelling praxis, which I schematise through dimensions of its unique philosophical repertoire, sociality and habitus. Sociality in practice for CM is its mandate of social service. Social service is justified through the faith ideals. Habitus is generated by the Mission’s associates as an unconscious formation. Both sociality and habitus of the CM movement make a case for the resurgence of religion and the postsecular in Indian public discourse.

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The Guru in South Asia

Cited by 85 publications

References 0 publications

The Political Asceticism of Mamata Banerjee: Female Populist Leadership in Contemporary India

The Political Asceticism of Mamata Banerjee: Female Populist Leadership in Contemporary India

Governmentality and guru-led movements in India

‘Guru’ Culture in South Asia: The Case of Chinmaya Mission in India

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