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Product Description
In Spiritual Genius, journalist Winifred Gallagher, the acclaimed author of Working on God, asks Rabbi Lawrence Kushner to define holiness. "Standing in the presence of God," he says. "Everyone has it, but some people seem to have more of a knack for accessing it." Like holiness, the gift that Gallagher calls "spiritual genius"--which she defines as "the uniquely human ability to search for and find life’s meaning, then express it in our lives as only each of us can"--is one we all possess but don’t necessarily recognize.
Whether they are called saints, gurus, tzaddiks, or shamans, there have always been people who possess exceptional insight, altruism, and charisma. In this disarmingly inspirational book, Gallagher investigates what ordinary people trying to live decent, meaningful lives can learn from such extraordinary men and women, who are specially attuned to the deepest truths, and who exemplify-and radiate-spiritual genius.
In a clear-eyed, ecumenical approach that's free of dogma and bias and suffused with profound respect, Winifred Gallagher highlights the common wisdom-and down-to-earth good humor-of these religious leaders, revels in their differences, and identifies the capacity for spiritual genius that all of us share with them. On an island in the Arabian Sea, Gallagher visits Mata Amritanandamayi, regarded by devotees as a Hindu goddess, who transmits divine love through hugs and charities. She travels through America's inner cities with Tony Campolo, an Evangelical preacher who counsels national leaders and serves the poor. She learns how Riffat Hassan, a Pakistani theologian, uses the Qur’an to defend the rights of her Muslim sisters. She journeys to a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in the Himalayas to understand how an exiled minority has enchanted the world with their deep, resilient spirituality. In these diverse lives, Gallagher argues, we can glimpse our own potential for spiritual genius writ large. Each story testifies to the profound good in the world, even during a troubled time, and to Gallagher’s groundbreaking theory of a human capacity for finding life’s meaning that is nothing less than genius.
Amazon.com Review
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
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