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SAC presents: Lola Williamson

341 Eggers Hall

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Hindu Gurus in an American Context Hinduism entered America in two ways: through immigrant Hindus and through missionary gurus. The Hinduism created by the first group is family-centered and attempts to preserve traditional values and practices; the latter form of Hinduism breaks with tradition to create something appealing to a western clientele. Yet even with these innovations, American followers of Hindu gurus inherit aspects of Hinduism that are inimical to a modern western lifestyle. They find themselves caught in an irreconcilable tension between asceticism and worldly goals; between ideals of submission to a guru and a western emphasis on self-reliance; between the value of equanimity and an imperative to express their feelings. This presentation examines how American disciples of Hindu gurus reconcile this tension and speculates about an emerging wave of Hindu practice that might be called American Tantra.   

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Exterior of Maxwell in black and white when there was no Eggers building

We’re Turning 100!


To mark our centennial in the fall of 2024, the Maxwell School will hold special events and engagement opportunities to celebrate the many ways—across disciplines and borders—our community ever strives to, as the Oath says, “transmit this city not only not less, but greater, better and more beautiful than it was transmitted to us.”

Throughout the year leading up to the centennial, engagement opportunities will be held for our diverse, highly accomplished community that now boasts more than 38,500 alumni across the globe.