Prem Rawat and Counterculture: Glastonbury and New Spiritualities

Review

“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.” ―George McKay, Research Council (AHRC) Leadership Fellow for Connected Communities, University of East Anglia, UK and editor of The Pop Festival (Bloomsbury, 2015) and author of Senseless Acts of Beauty, Glastonbury: A Very English Fair (2000)

Product Description

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.

About the Author

Ron Geaves is Visiting Professor in the Centre for the Study of Islam in the UK based in the School of History, Archaeology and Religion, Cardiff University, UK.