Spiritual Genius: The Mastery of Life's Meaning

Blurb

Journalist Winifred Gallagher leads us on a worldwide tour as she profiles 11 men and women, each of whom she calls a "spiritual genius." We all know them--those fellow humans who act as guiding compasses, always pointing "us toward a reality larger than the ego and the status quo," explains Gallagher. Some of these geniuses are also celebrities: Deepak Chopra, the Dalai Llama, Eckhart Tolle. Fortunately, Gallagher chose to profile lesser-known spiritual heroes, those who are changing lives while barely making a profit. Her geniuses include Dr. Riffat Hassan, a Muslim scholar who crusades against the abuse of women in the name of Islam, and Tenzin Palmo, a Tibetan Buddhist and former hermit who now runs a nunnery in the Himalayan foothills. Other subjects include kabbalah teacher Rabbi Lawrence Kushner and religious scholar Huston Smith. Gallagher (Working on God) is a skilled journalist, and her profiles are filled with vivid scenes in which she follows these people during their daily business. When Gallagher interviews a Christian social reformer and spiritual adviser to former president Bill Clinton, she writes, "Driving around the slums of Camden and Philadelphia with the Reverend Dr. Tony Campolo is like traveling with a hybrid of Mr. Toad and St. Francis Assisi. ... He delights in antics like paying the bridge toll for a stranger in the car behind his." In all of the profiles, Gallagher offers justification for considering these people the spiritual geniuses of our day. Of Huston Smith she writes: "His genius has illuminated the common ground on which people of all faiths can stand and face their common enemy: the daily grind of soulless materialism." Ultimately, Gallagher hopes these spiritual geniuses will light the fire in our bellies. "They compassionately teach us by words or example how to find and develop our own special roles in the great scheme of things. And they inspire us by demonstrating the ultimate expression of human potential." --Gail Hudson