Guru: The Spiritual Master in Eastern and Western Traditions--Authority and Charisma Book

Contents: 1. Socrates and the Maieutic enterprise/Michele Botta. 2. Apollonius of Tyana or the spectacle of wisdom/Chiara Cremonesi. 3. Kinds of doctrinal transmission in late ancient Judaism/Piero Capelli. 4. The master-disciple relationship in Christianity: some introductory observations/Franco Macchi. 5. The interior master in the understanding of the first friends/Pier Cesare Bori. 6. Master and disciple in the Islamic Sufi tradition in the writings of ‘Abd al-Qadir-al-Jilani/Angelo Scarabel. 7. Encounters with Khidr: saint-immortal, protector from the water, and guide of the elected ones beyond the confluence of the two oceans/Thomas Dahnhardt. 8. The Guru and death/Gian Giuseppe Filippi. 9. The custodians of truth/Giovanni Torcinovich. 10. Authority, devotion, and trials: teachers and pupils in the Mahabharata/Cinzia Pieruccini. 11. The Guru-gita or "Song of the Master" as incorporated in the Guru-caritra of Sarasvati Gangadhar: observations on its teachings and the Guru institute/Antonio Rigopoulos. 12. The function of the Guru in Tantric traditions/Monia Marchetto. 13. The twenty-four Guru-s of Dattatreya avadhuta/Corrado Puchetti. 14. The jewel of the secret path or the neglected Guru? some remarks on the Guruvada among the bauls of Bengal/Fabrizio Ferrari. 15. The master architect in the corporations of India/Claudia Ramasso. 16. The figure of the Pandita as Guru/Gianni Pellegrini. 17. The subtle teacher. Typologies of Shamanic initiation: trance and dream among the Lanjia Saoras of Orissa/Stefano Beggiora. 18. Teaching and spiritual counselling in Indian Buddhist traditions. Some considerations on the role of the Kalyanamitra/Francesco Sferra. 19. The spiritual teacher in Theravada Buddhism: inner motivations and foundations of mindfulness/Claudio Cicuzza. 20. Tulku, the Guru by birth/Fabian Sanders. 21. Dogen zenji, a Buddhist master in 13 century Japan/Aldo Tollini. 22. Zi yue, "The master said", or didn’t he?/Maurizio scarpari. 23. The paradoxical virtue (de) of the sage in the Laozi/Attilio Andreini. 24. The master in Dan Taosim/Massimo Makarovic. 25. A wordless teaching: native American spiritual masters/Francesco Spagna. 26. The Guru as mediator of healing/Luca Caldironi. 27. Figure and role of the master between east and west/Giangiorgio Pasqualotto. Contributors. Recensioni.

"The book, containing papers presented at a conference held in Venice, Italy, examines the relevance attached to the institution of the Guru with special reference to the religions and philosophies of India. It explores the nature and function of the Guru figure and the master-disciple interaction in religious traditions of the world including those of Hinduism, Buddhism, ancient Greek, Judaism, Islam, Christianity, Confucianism and native American traditions. It delves into the dynamics of the Guru’s influence and Guru-disciple interaction that involves two aspects of power–spiritual power and the  very worldly socio-political and economic interests. It deals with characteristics and Charisma associated with the figure of the spiritual master, his authority, pupils’ devotion for him, trials for a pupil, motivations of a Guru, Pandita as Guru and recognition of the true master. It scrutinizes the difference in the Eastern and Western traditions vis-a-vis the Guru-disciple relationship referring to a variety of sects, thinkers and works: the Mahabharata, Sufism, Tantric traditions, Theravada and Vajrayana Buddhism, and the Guruvada among Bauls of Bengal.

The study meticulously unravels certain fundamental questions like sources of legitimation of religious authority within a religious-spiritual tradition. It shows light on the link between overcoming fear, ritual death and immortality, and the Guru figure in Indian traditions.

The book will interest scholars of religion and philosophy particularly those studying Hindu and Buddhist religious-spiritual traditions." (jacket)