Ithaca College

Angela Rudert, lecturer in the philosophy and religion department, has published a chapter titled “Shakti’s New Voice: Anandmurti Gurumaa and Female Empowerment” in Women and Asian Religions, Ed. Zayn Kassam. Praeger, 2017.

From the introduction on pp. xvii-xviii: ‘Angela Rudert goes to Punjab, India, to chart the transformational journey of Gurpreet Grover into the celebrated spiritual guide Anandmurti Gurumaa. Charting the journey to show the awakening of śakti (feminine power) within Gurumaa, and the establishment of her nongovernmental organization Shakti, aimed at addressing the needs of young women, Rudert reveals Gurumaa to have transformed her religious tradition while simultaneously remaining  deeply rooted within it. As an exemplar of women’s empowerment, Gurumaa’s spiritual teachings challenge all forms of oppression, especially masculinist domination of religion and women’s disempowerment, through critiquing such use of tradition, on the one hand, and awakening the shakti or power, within, usually conceptualized as a feminine force, on the other. The latter is most powerfully expressed in her song titled “Suno, Suno” (Listen!), a call for women to unleash the power of transformation from within, which Rudert explores to show its deep roots within the tradition.’

More information about the book can be found here.