Cultural Cross-Pollination

American Gurus with Arthur Versluis

New Thinking AllowedOct 5, 2026

Religious studies professor Arthur Versluis joins Jeffrey Mishlove to explore his book American Gurus and his concept of 'immediatism', the claim of instant enlightenment with little or no spiritual preparation. Versluis traces this distinctly American impulse from Emerson and the Transcendentalists through William James, the Beats, the psychedelic revolution, Esalen, and modern Neo-Advaita teachers. Along the way they examine antinomian gurus who broke society's rules, such as Adi Da, Frithjof Schuon, and Rajneesh, alongside quieter mystics like Bernadette Roberts and Franklin Merrell-Wolff.