Ron Geaves demonstrates how the convergence of Prem Rawat, formerly known as Guru Maharaj Ji, and Glastonbury Fayre in 1971 was a key event in understanding the jigsaw that came to be known as 'New Age' spirituality. The book charts the discovery of Prem Rawat in India in 1969 by a small number of British and North American 'hippies', and explores how his arrival in Britain in June 1971, as well as his speech from the pyramid stage at the Fayre at just 13 years old, escalated his activities to make him one of the key influencers of 1970s counterculture spirituality. Both Glastonbury and Prem Rawat have gone on to re-emerge in significantly different identities to the ones presented in 1971. The meeting between the two demonstrates how alternative spiritualities were being formed in the 1960s and how some strands went on to develop into the 'New Age' counterculture that eventually permeated mainstream cultures in Britain and the USA.

List of Figures Acknowledgements Note on Quotations and Spellings List of Abbreviations Preface 1. Introduction 2. Theorizing New Age and Contemporary Spiritualities 3. Easternization: Indian Gurus and the West 4. Prem Rawat and Contextualizing Indian Religions in the West 5. Festivals And Music: Counterculture's Religiosity? 6. The Significance of Glastonbury 7. Prem Rawat at Glastonbury: Occulture and Easternization? 8. The Aftermath of Glastonbury Fayre: Prem Rawat and Counterculture 9. Counterculture, Occulture and Easternization Revisited 10. Postscript Notes Bibliography Index