Guru Chic

Is it irony, or something else? Indian gurus used to go West. Now, America's slick, stylish gurus are inspiring India. India Today's (registration required) cover story is about the latest trend in spirituality. (By the way, there are two puns here -- the title, 'guru chic' is a play on guru-shishya: guru-disciple. 'Guru cool,' in para 2 below, is a play on gurukul: a traditional method of teaching in which the guru transmits knowledge directly to the shishya):

The stereotype of the saffron-clad sadhu is out. The New Age gurus are trendy, young people dispensing a designer manual for modern living...

Meet the guru cool. In the past five years, a plethora of new gurus has sprung up across the country and unlike the earlier, older masters, they are trendy, urbane and educated. They are bending and blending ancient wisdom and modern techniques to concoct a novel millennial spirituality. For them, wellness is the buzzword and they are more likely to discourse on relationships and career stress than the Upanishads and Vedas. Their practical and personalised approach is attracting hordes of followers...

Leading the pack is Bharat Thakur...

 Bharat Thakur

Jagdeep Kapoor of Samsika Marketing Consultants, Mumbai, puts the national spiritual market at over Rs 25,000 crore with a 30 per cent annual growth. This includes the core like gurus, yoga and meditation classes and the secondary support system made up of books, CDs and television channels...

The new spirituality isn't about pursuing nirvana in the next life but about attaining a mind-body-spirit harmony in this one. Renunciation is for the feeble. The struggle is to find peace in the cacophony of the commonplace. The aim is to combine consumerism with happiness. "Live life godsize," suggests Malkani. "Nobody here is taught to give up duties, jobs, family or sex," he says "The renunciation we teach is the renunciation of negativity."..

What is the world coming to? And, am I turning into my mother?