Anandmurti Gurumaa is a multi-lingual teacher of meditation and \"spirituality\" situated at the intersection of Hindu, Buddhist, Sufi and Sikh mystical traditions. This dissertation, employing inter-disciplinary methodology, provides an in-depth study of Gurumaa and her rapidly developing, disciple-driven transnational spiritual movement. I introduce Gurumaa and her circle of devotees within the cultural context of globetrotting Indian gurus and examine issues of tradition and innovation in her mission. Through ethnographic writing, I specifically turn to examples of Gurumaa's pluralism, gender activism and embrace of new media to discuss continuity and change within the tradition of guru-bhakti (devotion to the guru). Because Gurumaa embraces rhetoric of \"female empowerment,\" and points to her own \"enlightened\" female body as evidence that women can and do reach the highest spiritual states, her leadership offers an ideal context in which to consider emerging gendered re-interpretations of \"tradition\" in the new global religious milieu.
","abstract_html":"<p>Anandmurti Gurumaa is a multi-lingual teacher of meditation and "spirituality" situated at the intersection of Hindu, Buddhist, Sufi and Sikh mystical traditions. This dissertation, employing inter-disciplinary methodology, provides an in-depth study of Gurumaa and her rapidly developing, disciple-driven transnational spiritual movement. I introduce Gurumaa and her circle of devotees within the cultural context of globetrotting Indian gurus and examine issues of tradition and innovation in her mission. Through ethnographic writing, I specifically turn to examples of Gurumaa's pluralism, gender activism and embrace of new media to discuss continuity and change within the tradition of guru-bhakti (devotion to the guru). Because Gurumaa embraces rhetoric of "female empowerment," and points to her own "enlightened" female body as evidence that women can and do reach the highest spiritual states, her leadership offers an ideal context in which to consider emerging gendered re-interpretations of "tradition" in the new global religious milieu.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Rudert, Angela Carol"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Religion","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Joanne Punzo Waghorne","Ann Grodzins Gold"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2012,"date_issued":"2012-05-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2012-05-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:54:17Z","subjects":["gurus","Hinduism","India","Saints","spirituality","women","Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies","Religion"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://surface.syr.edu/rel_etd/84","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Joanne Punzo Waghorne","Ann Grodzins Gold"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Rudert, Angela Carol"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Religion"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["gurus","Hinduism","India","Saints","spirituality","women","Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies","Religion"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://surface.syr.edu/rel_etd/84"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Anandmurti Gurumaa is a multi-lingual teacher of meditation and \"spirituality\" situated at the intersection of Hindu, Buddhist, Sufi and Sikh mystical traditions. This dissertation, employing inter-disciplinary methodology, provides an in-depth study of Gurumaa and her rapidly developing, disciple-driven transnational spiritual movement. I introduce Gurumaa and her circle of devotees within the cultural context of globetrotting Indian gurus and examine issues of tradition and innovation in her mission. Through ethnographic writing, I specifically turn to examples of Gurumaa's pluralism, gender activism and embrace of new media to discuss continuity and change within the tradition of guru-bhakti (devotion to the guru). Because Gurumaa embraces rhetoric of \"female empowerment,\" and points to her own \"enlightened\" female body as evidence that women can and do reach the highest spiritual states, her leadership offers an ideal context in which to consider emerging gendered re-interpretations of \"tradition\" in the new global religious milieu.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["\"She's an All-in-One Guru\": Devotion to a 21st century Mystic"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Joanne Punzo Waghorne","Ann Grodzins Gold"],"dc:creator":["Rudert, Angela Carol"],"dc:description.abstract":["Anandmurti Gurumaa is a multi-lingual teacher of meditation and \"spirituality\" situated at the intersection of Hindu, Buddhist, Sufi and Sikh mystical traditions. This dissertation, employing inter-disciplinary methodology, provides an in-depth study of Gurumaa and her rapidly developing, disciple-driven transnational spiritual movement. I introduce Gurumaa and her circle of devotees within the cultural context of globetrotting Indian gurus and examine issues of tradition and innovation in her mission. Through ethnographic writing, I specifically turn to examples of Gurumaa's pluralism, gender activism and embrace of new media to discuss continuity and change within the tradition of guru-bhakti (devotion to the guru). Because Gurumaa embraces rhetoric of \"female empowerment,\" and points to her own \"enlightened\" female body as evidence that women can and do reach the highest spiritual states, her leadership offers an ideal context in which to consider emerging gendered re-interpretations of \"tradition\" in the new global religious milieu.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://surface.syr.edu/rel_etd/84"],"dc:subject":["gurus","Hinduism","India","Saints","spirituality","women","Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies","Religion"],"dc:title":["\"She's an All-in-One Guru\": Devotion to a 21st century Mystic"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Religion"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:54:17Z"}