Yesterday, a famous spiritual guru, Sathya Sai Baba, typically known as simply Sai Baba (pronounced "Sa-E" Baba), died in Puttaparthi, India at the age of 84. He was quite well-known in India and abroad, especially by Hindus, and he had many devotees. I went to Wikipedia and saw him mentioned on the front page, so I took a look at his profile. They said he was listed as one of the 100 most influential spiritual leaders in the world on a list prepared by the Watkins Review.
I took a look at the list and noticed something strange. Out of the 100 people on the list, the pope was nowhere to be found. I searched it several different ways, and sure enough, he wasn't there. This strikes me as awfully odd and I would like to know the explanation. I imagined he would be number one. Look at the news. No other religious or spiritual leader is broadcast as much as the pope, not even close. If he says something deemed "controversial", it gets picked up by thousands of news outlets. I would venture to guess that most Westerners have not even heard of Sai Baba, yet he's listed as number 37. Others on the list include Oprah Winfrey and Eckhart Tolle.
A cursory look through the list seems to reveal that most of the names represent advocates of Eastern or New Age spirituality. Few, if any of the names, represent traditional Christian views. It seems this list is simply very biased and unreliable.
100 Spiritual Power List by Watkins | Esoteric News
I would just like to issue a quick correction. I said Pope Benedict was not on the list, which is true in a sense, but in another sense it is not. He is listed as Joseph Alois Ratzinger. I'm not sure what point they are trying to make by listing him as such. It's a 2011 list and he has been pope since 2006. Perhaps they are saying he is influential as a theologian.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know #1 Eckhart Tolle was so popular/influential. Similarily to what Tolle talks about, Krishnamurti would make the list if he were alive today.
ReplyDeleteSadhguru Jaggi vasudev is missing.
ReplyDeleteEastern is not new age. Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism were founded much before Christianity and Judaism.
ReplyDeleteOne cannot complain about the list if he or she is unaware of a fact come across by many researchers who have worked on the issue and prepared the same. Sai baba is known across the world and revered by people form all religious backgrounds, He requires no special introduction that too in this age of advanced technology.
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