Review: The Hagiographer and the Avatar: The Life and Works of Narayan Kasturi, by Antonio Rigopoulos

Book Review| November 01 2023 Review: The Hagiographer and the Avatar: The Life and Works of Narayan Kasturi, by Antonio Rigopoulos The Hagiographer and the Avatar: The Life and Works of Narayan Kasturi. By Antonio Rigopoulos. SUNY Press, 2021. 526 pages. $95.00 hardcover; $34.95 softcover; ebook available. Scott Lowe Scott Lowe University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Nova Religio (2023) 27 (2): 116–118. https://doi.org/10.1525/nr.2023.27.2.116 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Scott Lowe; Review: The Hagiographer and the Avatar: The Life and Works of Narayan Kasturi, by Antonio Rigopoulos. Nova Religio 1 November 2023; 27 (2): 116–118. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/nr.2023.27.2.116 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentNova Religio Search Based on the title, one might expect this book to focus on Narayan Kasturi (1897–1987), the hagiographer whose multivolume work Sathyam Sivam Sundaram (translated as Truth Goodness Beauty) provides the template for all later biographies of Sathya Sai Baba. In fact, The Hagiographer, a dense, thoroughly researched, and heavily annotated book, aspires to be more than a biography. Much of the text focuses on the life, teachings, and extraordinary claims of Sathya Sai Baba (born Ratnakaram Sathyanarayana Raju, 1926–2011), with Kasturi’s role as hagiographer/publicist for the avatar a secondary concern. Sathya Sai Baba, the avatar of the book’s title, was a complex character, world famous for his daily “miracles:” materializations of vibhuti (sacred ash), photographs, name-brand watches, jewelry, sacred linga, and religious bling. Over the course of his life he leveraged his reputation as a full embodiment of God to gain global celebrity, while founding numerous schools,... You do not currently have access to this content.