'On the Plateau of the Peak' book review: The art of gurudom

A book by a sibling can scarcely be expected to be objective; one that is commissioned by a commercial publisher even less so

As a child growing up in the 1990s in a Tamil Brahmin maternal family, there was a natural affinity to religion in all walks of life. This was also the time the fad of spiritual gurus was slowly gathering momentum, and today, where there’s a Jaggi Vasudev for Indian elite classes, there’s a Radhe Maa for families from lower income groups. The Art of Living Foundation and its “guru” Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, occupy the elite spiritual ecosystem in India, attracting English-speaking, peace-loving upper middle-income families, not to forget the deeply superstitious business and entrepreneurial class, into its fold. 

It