About this series

Where our historical series traced the figures who carried Indian spirituality abroad a century ago, this one looks at the gurus who lead worldwide, diaspora-spanning movements right now — their reach, their methods, and the controversies that travel with them.

These are living people, and the series treats them as journalism, not promotion: the following and the criticism, every claim sourced. We profile the widely-followed mainstream figures, not those primarily in the news for criminal convictions.