100 Spiritual Power List by Watkins, 2011

by
with 245 comments
MagazineSpiritual 100

The 100 Most Spiritually Influential Living People (2011)

Current Spiritual 100 List
~UPDATED: We release a new list every year. CLICK HERE TO SEE Spiritual 100 List 2014 ~
We’re delighted to share our début list of the 100 most spiritually influential living people, that was published in the Spring issue #26 of the Watkins Review (now Watkins’ Mind Body Spirit).*  Yes, we’ve taken up the not so simple task of naming the most popular authors and spiritual teachers, whose contribution in spirituality and spreading awareness is affecting us all.

We live in an age of lists – from groceries and obituaries to Facebook friends, resume facts, lists of city capitals and lottery numbers. Of course, lists that classify the past, are easier to compile than lists that attempt to predict the future. With the holy grail of sorting algorithms, the world is sure to be your oyster.

The 100 Spiritual Power List
Cover of the Watkins Review #26

Lists help us organize, explore and perceive our environments. But are so many lists really necessary? It is very much in vogue to publish lists of people: Time Magazine publishes an annual list of the 100 people who most influence the world; Forbes publishes several lists including a Celebrity 100 list, the World’s 100 Most Powerful Women, and a list of 1000 Billionaires; Art Review’s Power 100 is an annual list of the worlds 100 most powerful collectors, artists, gallerists, etc…

The lists of lists of people, just keep going and going. However, the Watkins Review believes that an important list has been long overdue, and we are delighted to share with you our list of the 100 Most Spiritually Influential Living People. Lists of influential people contribute to the discourse and issues that each person represents, and the Watkins Review hopes that our list will nurture the debates surrounding contemporary spirituality.

There are several factors that were taken into account when compiling the list. Listed below are the main three:
1) The person has to be alive
2) The person has to have made a unique and spiritual contribution on a global scale
3) The person is frequently googled, appears in Nielsen Data, and highlighted in throughout the blogosphere
It’s interesting to think about the amount of times that a person is googled; in a sense, being googled is a form of digital voting, and illustrates just how often someone is being sought out.

*The Watkins Review magazine (published by and available from Watkins Books at £4.99 or as a subscription) not only offers reviews of all the latest releases in the Mind, Body, Spirit field, but also features articles and interviews with leading authors. The Review is published three times a year and has a readership of over 30,000 people worldwide.

~UPDATED: We release a new list every year. CLICK HERE TO SEE Spiritual 100 List 2014 ~

List at a glance:
1. Eckhart Tolle 34. Joseph Alois Ratzinger 67. John Bradshaw
2. Dalai Lama 35. Krishna Das 68. Jeff Foster
3. Dr Wayne W. Dyer 36. Drunvalo Melchizedek 69. Patrick Holford
4. Thich Nhat Hanh 37. Sai Baba 70. Andrew Cohen
5. Deepak Chopra 38. Jack Kornfield 71. Vladimir Megre
6. Louise L. Hay 39. Pema Chödrön 72. Thomas Cleary
7. Paulo Coelho 40. T.K.V. Desikachar 73. Daniel Pinchbeck
8. Oprah Winfrey 41. Esther & Jerry Hicks 74. Jonathan Goldman
9. Ken Wilber 42. Dan Brown 75. Sonia Choquette
10. Rhonda Byrne 43. Z’ev Ben Shimon Halevi 76. Seyyed Hossein Nasr
11. James Redfield 44. Diana Cooper 77. Mother Meera
12. Neale Donald Walsch 45. Ram Dass 78. Barefoot Doctor
13. Doreen Virtue 46. Andrew Weil 79. Richard Bandler
14. Alejandro Jodorowsky 47. Satya Narayan Goenka 80. Robert Bly
15. Richard Bach 48. Jon Kabat-Zinn 81. Adyashanti
16. Alex Grey 49. Alan Moore 82. Sogyal Rinpoche
17. Byron Katie 50. Dan Millman 83. Li Hongzhi
18. Masaru Emoto 51. Bruce Lipton 84. Sri Bhagavan
19. Nelson Mandela 52. Peter Kingsley 85. Rupert Sheldrake
20. Bernie Siegel 53. Karen Armstrong 86. John & Caitlín Matthews
21. Caroline Myss 54. Judy Hall 87. Chogyal Namkhai Norbu
22. Brian Weiss 55. Colin Wilson 88. Kenneth Grant*
23. Mantak Chia 56. Joscelyn Godwin 89. Stanislav Grof
24. John Gray 57. James Lovelock 90. James Hillman
25. Gregg Braden 58. Satish Kumar 91. Clarissa Pinkola Estés
26. Stephen R. Covey 59. Shakti Gawain 92. Stephen Levine
27. Marianne Williamson 60. Elaine Pagels 93. Candace Pert
28. Desmond Tutu 61. Kyozan Joshu Sasaki 94. Barbara Ann Brennan
29. Mata Amritanandamayi 62. Gary Zukav 95. Coleman Barks
30. Philip Berg 63. Erich von Däniken 96. Robert Thurman
31. Ervin Laszlo 64. David Deida 97. B.K.S Iyengar
32. Andrew Harvey 65. Oberto Airaudi ‘Falcon’ 98. William Bloom
33. Don Miguel Ruiz 66. Stuart Wilde 99. Lynne McTaggart
(for full details read the 100 List in the Watkins Review #26) 100. Marion Woodman

Interesting statistics:
Male: 76%
Female: 24%
Median age: 67 years
The oldest: 104 years, Kyozan Joshu Sasaki
The youngest: 30 years, Jeff Foster

*88. Kenneth Grant passed away on January 15th, 2011. His extraordinary influence will continue to be felt.

Next: Read current Spiritual 100 List 2014

~Please note, the comments are now closed. CLICK HERE TO SEE Spiritual 100 List 2014 ~

 

245 Responses

  1. Top 10 from the Watkins 100 Spiritual Power List | Esoteric News

    […] About Us « 100 Spiritual Power List by Watkins […]

  2. The World’s 100 Most Spiritual People | Disinformation

    […] Spiritually Influential Living People on the Planet. Did they get it right? Check out the full list here – and to give you a taste, this is the top 10: 1. Eckhart Tolle 2. Dalai Lama 3. Dr Wayne W. […]

  3. Joyce McCallister

    What?! No Sylvia Browne? Really? She’s the one who outed Jesus and Mary Magdalene as husband and wife, among many other things…

    • Etan

      We were going to include Sylvia Browne but when we read about her criminal convictions regarding her gold-mining venture, the editors decided not to add her:

      In 1992, Browne and her estranged husband, Kenzil Dalzell Brown, were indicted on several charges of investment fraud and grand theft. The Superior Court of Santa Clara County, California, found that Browne and her husband had sold securities in a gold-mining venture under false pretenses. In at least one instance, they told a couple their $20,000 investment was to be used for immediate operating costs. Instead, the money was transferred to an account for their Nirvana Foundation for Psychic Research. Browne pleaded no contest to securities fraud and was indicted on grand larceny in Santa Clara County, California on May 26, 1992.
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylvia_browne

    • Breant dyna

      je ne connais pas Joyce McCallister,
      Il y a 31 ans que je passe le message de la vie de Jésus et Marie madeleine et la suite.
      ainsi que beaucoup d’autre choses.Je suis heureuse de savoir que d’autres personnes connaissent et donne ce message de vérité.

    • Shalisa

      She didn’t ‘out’ them. This has been a theory discussed in many circles for almost 2000 years. Get your facts straight.

    • Sina

      This might be a “list” of the most popular or common ones – great persons no doubt, but there are thousands of wonderful spiritual hard working women and men on this planet who have a wonderful influence to other people and our planet without being very common. For me a “list” dont come up with spiritual people.

  6. I. M. Strange

    Number 88. Kenneth Grant is no longer among us. He departed from this world on January 15, 2011.

    I. M. Strange

    • Marianna

      We’ve updated the entry – the list / 26th issue of the magazine went to print before this sad news was made public. His immense contribution will continue to be felt through his books.

  7. Kristian L

    A lot of the people on the list are in my opinion light-weight and a waste of time and money. The most important individuals have been left out. But that’s what happens when you are combining mass market consumerism with spiritual influence.

  8. Thomas Pecora

    After reading over the list I realize that I’ve interviewed about half of them. In my opinion the order is a bit off, but that’s just my opinion. Also, John Bradshaw belongs in the top 5 or 10. Others don’t belong on here at all. And BTW, where’s Jean Houston and Joan Borysenko?

    All in all however, an accurate list.

    Thomas Pecora
    The Thomas Pecora Show

  9. terefe feyssa

    I have seen Your spiritual power list and I want to say this: It is not good idea to pick hundered and leave others. There are so many Spiritual powers if comparison is the issue. This kind of list implies that on the list are more valid than not on the list. It is better to stop this kind of ramification. This is not good spiritual practice.

    • Etan

      Thanks and I understand that this list is controversial, but overall, Watkins Books believes that we are doing a positive service by celebrating 100 living spiritual teachers. Maybe we’ll have a 1000 list next 😉

  10. USAHM Conspiracy News » The World’s 100 Most Spiritual People

    […] Spiritually Influential Living People on the Planet. Did they get it right? Check out the full list here – and to give you a taste, this is the top 10: 1. Eckhart Tolle 2. Dalai Lama 3. Dr Wayne W. […]

  11. Ranjara

    I respectfully suggest Geoffrey & Linda Hoppe. Crimson Circle has offered such fresh sparkles and splashes in the often stagnant spiritual waters.

  12. John Stahl

    Prem Rawat aka: Maharaji travels the planet speaking to millions every year on finding inner peace. The Prem Rawat Foundation www.tprf.org donates 1000’s of dollars to people in need throughout the world. Words of Peace Television show has won numerous awards. www.wopg.org. Prem has spoken about peace at the UN, Italian Parliment, Rotary International and many, many others.

  13. Top 10 - Watkins 100 Spiritual List | Self Improvement Blogs

    […] are the top 10 people from the 100 Spiritual Power List. For the full Spiritual 100, read this post or get a print copy of the Watkins Review, Spring […]

    • Etan

      God sounds pretty good to me. Time Magazine had ‘You’ as number one relating to all of the bloggers and content creators out there!

  16. Amara

    For me the list is missing – Robert Holden (Happiness project) – Miranda Mcpherson and Gangaji – For me also the order is somewhat askew – but that’s just IMHO

    • Etan

      There is more info in the magazine explaining why each person is there (11 pages just for the 100 list 😉
      Oprah has introduced many spiritual teachers to the world, including Eackhart Tolle. The Alchemist is one of the best selling books in history, and holds the guiness book of world records for being translated into the most languages by a living author!

  18. Puffinclaire

    Surprised not to see Daisaku Ikeda considering his work in education and for peace and the abolition of nuclear weapons.

  22. Jeanie

    I agree with the comment of the list being a bit off due to combining mass market consumerism with spiritual influence. In my opinion, someone that really should be at the top of that list that didn’t even make it…Michael Beckwith.

    • Vicki Dahl

      I was looking for his name too! It’s nice you’re the second person to suggest him : )

    • Etan

      Several ppl have been asking for him–he def has a good shot for next year. Admittedly, he wasn’t considered this first time around. We hope to improve the list every year.

  23. Verónica Viglierchio

    I respectfully suggest Bert Hellinger (Familly Constellation). Hope to see him in this list! Best Regards

  25. seemingly

    This list is missing many of the folks at Truth and Transmission Foundation (TAT) who were former Richard Rose students (former because he passed away a few years ago) and now there are many teachers. Unique group in that there is no head leader but rather a round table of seekers seeking truth — and some finding it!

    • Etan

      Yes, but we need a single person that represents the cause well and known globally. Do you have a name in mind?

  26. deb

    Seriously, no Billy Graham? I may not share his views, but surely he has made a “unique and spiritual contribution on a global scale”.

    • Etan

      Interesting. There are many Christians on the list, from James Redfield to the pope, Desmond Tutu, etc… is he really that high up?

  27. Nils Montan

    As crazy as these lists are, this one is really not bad. I also don’t think it’s a good idea to “rank” spiritual teachers. That being said, I think Tolle and the Dalai Lama certainly deserve to be at the top as they have probably had the biggest impact on non-Christians in the last twenty years. Ken Wilber and Andrew Cohen are very big in the evolutionary spirituality movement and Wilber’s books and Cohen’s magazine, EnlighteNext (formerly What is Enlightenment?) would put them on the list. I agree that Michael Beckwith should be on the list as well as Wapnick. I can’t leave this comment without a deep bow to Ram Dass, the guy who probably more than anybody else started the whole thing.

    • Alistair Paterson

      You’re right it is ‘crazy’, as you say – plain silly, and spiritually meaningless. There we should leave it!

    • Etan

      Thx for the positive feedback. The thing about lists, is that even if they aren’t ranked, there’s still a high selection process in filtering which 100 to list. Not ranking is an interesting angle though.

    • Pat

      As to Mother Teresa, she was a spiritul Icon. However the first requirement ist to be alive. Mother Teresa passed away several years ago.
      Neale Donald Walsh is #12.
      I know that I have many favorites that did not make the list. It is interesting to see which ones did. You can’t please everyone nor should you try. These people all speak to our souls and are great teachers. As lists go, not too bad!

  29. pol

    che falta claudio maria dominguez!!!
    jajaja
    no en serio… jodorosky viene despues de oprah —-
    no es serio esto

  30. Susan

    For me, Stephen without Ondrea Levine doesn’t really capture the truth of their teaching…also surprised not to see Angeles Arrien, and Jerry Jampolsky…

  31. Rachelle Lamb

    I would have liked to see Dr. Marshall Rosenberg on this list. His work in communication and conflict resolution (Nonviolent Communication) remains the most powerful approach to conflict and relationship building I have ever come across. He gets very little press and I am quite sure that one day, he will be recognized as one of the greatest contributors in his field.

    • Carmen Falcon

      Thank you! My trust level is way down with this publication when a person like Dr. Marshall Rosenberg does not make the list. For me, his work is the most important as it teaches you how to communicate authentically and remain in the heart. For many years I read many of these authors, and stopped reading when I discovered Dr. Marshall Rosenberg’s work. I needed practical guidance that would help me connect with myself and others as a human being. No matter how much I read, I lived with judgments of others and myself. I would put him at the top of the list.

  34. Ingrid

    Is this not a bit of a contradiction? We are all spiritual beings having a human experience… Why do we always have to do this and rate people. I’m pretty sure that 99% of these individuals would not even approve of this exercise.
    But that’s what happens when you are combining mass market consumerism with spiritual influence.

    • Etan

      Actually, everyone on the list has been informed they have being providing great feedback. Deepak Chopra even tweeted about the list.

  37. Nicole

    I suggest Hale Dwoskin who has taught the Sedona Method for decades. Many people around the world have transformed their lives and achieved real freedom through it. There are people on your list who are Sedona Method graduates.

  38. sholove

    Is JZ Knight and Ester Hicks on this list? If no they should be…bogus list if they were omitted…

    • Etan

      Oprah has done a tremendous amount fighting poverty and AIDS in africa and introducing the world to Eackhart Tolle.

  40. Miranda*

    The #1 most influential person is not known by name (yet) but is God incarnate on Earth, who has been performing Divine Magic and inspiring all of humanity from behind the scenes for many years. This person will soon step forward.

  42. Chris Heiny

    Joyce Meyer? Fairly traditional christian but reaching out extensively throughout the world.

  43. Barbara

    I think people are missing that this is a list of the most influential, not the greatest. I adore David Hawkins and some of the others mentioned; but not that many people have read him. Of course it is heavy on the media darlings. They may not always be heavyweights, but they do influence a lot of people

  45. Northernlight

    To create such a list show me how stuck we are in the “old energies”. The new era we are directed into and what many of those on the spiritual power list are talking about is stepping out of competition, the Law of Jante and the external things that mostly are a substitute for daring to go into those inner things spiritual leaders talks about …

    Do we realy need this list? I ask myself: Is this list making more love to the humanity or is it feeding the selfish fear?

    • Etan

      A good question. So far we’ve gotten a lot more loving feedback than negative, but we certainly hope that the list is a positive force.

    • Etan

      You’re not the only one that has been critical of dan brown. but yes, ppl are very happy about wilber and jodorowsky.
      Dan Brown’s books do promote spiritual discussions and debate.

  48. Awakened

    This list is misleading in one huge way: it’s a list of spiritual leaders popular in the Western world. If you just made a list of top-25 spiritual leaders in India, for example, they would all be on this list for one simple reason: they would each have a larger following than many people on this list. This is one of the reasons why “being googled” is a seriously flawed parameter to measure influence. Perhaps the list should be named: The 100 Most Spiritually Influential Living People for the Western and Internet-Addicted People. I’m not against making such a list, just against calling a list something it’s not. How many Gurus does the West need before it accepts that the West is not the only world and that, in fact, it represents a small portion of the world population (about 1.4 billion against 6.5 billion total)?

    • Etan

      India is certainly a hotbed of spirituality and a very large population. However, this list aims to be global. The top ten include Australia, Brazil, India, Germany, US, etc…
      What parameter would you use rather than being googled? on a side note, the watkins review ipad app (which is FREE) was banned in china because it includes the dalai lama…

    • Etan

      both legit suggestions but not googled at a high enough frequency. they might make it next year depending on how many ppl seek 😉

  50. Dana

    Wayne Dyer, Deepak Chopra Dlai Lama, Paulo Coelho, Eckhart Tolle, Louise Hay, Gregg Braden, Stephen Covey, Byron Katie… This is like the wonder land for spirituality!!!!
    Infinite Love

  52. Maria

    The whole idea of “ranking” spiritual leaders makes me very uncomfortable… how ‘UNspiritual’ !!!

    • Etan

      I disagree, but I do understand your point of view. just as the oscars celebrate actors, why should the spiritual community discuss and celebrate who we find inspirational?

  53. Alistair Paterson

    Why is this important? Sounds very old age to me! Thank God you’re not asking us to vote 🙂

    • Etan

      lol, no voting this year… I think we already have about 200 names suggested just from the comments 😉

  54. Laura

    How did Mike Dooley get left off this list? He is teaching all that Jerry and Esther Hicks teach…who I love by the way, he is just delivering the message through a different lense. I think that it is so wonderful and important that there are so many choices, because each person relates to a different author’s words. Mike is very fun and uplifting! I often recommend Mike Dooley’s work to young people who might find Eckhart Tolle (who I also love) or Abraham-Hicks to be beyond their current understanding. I have been reading books of this nature for over 20 years . As my level of understanding evolved, so did the authors I connected with.

  55. fran

    No Debbie Ford?! 7 (or is it 8?) NY Times’ Bestsellers, pioneer of Shadow work, and transformative teacher. If anyone doesn’t know about Debbie and her life-changing Shadow Process, don’t miss it! She’s phenomenal–and I’ve been to workshops by other people on this list. Debbie is transcendent.

    • Etan

      interesting, but being frequently googled is important and according to google stats, she isn’t sought out that often

  57. Jordan Gruber

    As the CEO of Enlightenment.Com and someone who has interviewed a half dozen or so of the folks on your list, I would say you’ve done a pretty good job, but I’d like to see your criteria. For example, Dr. Emotu is an artist posing as a scientist, and I think we should call what’s bunk “bunk.” Similarly, Dan Brown is a novelist-qua-novelist, i.e., his stuff is interesting, but he really isn’t a spiritual teacher per se or a source of coherent spiritual information or practice as far as I can tell. I agree that Beckwith should be there, and definitely Jean Houston. For an allied list of 50 spiritual websites based on traffic, see http://www.enlightenment.com/scoreboard/index.cfm

    • Etan

      Thx for the positive feedback. Any list is controversial, but we are delighted that you agree with most of the names. In the magazine, we have a full 11 pages explaining why each person is on the list.

  60. Spiritual Leaders with Twitter Accounts | EnSpir8ion

    […] Watkins Review Online released their 100 Spiritual Power List by Watkins. […]

  61. Michele Domingo

    I think this is sooooo cool! It allows everyone to learn even more from teachers that they may not otherwise have been exposed too! However, I would like to make note that 3 people I think would have just made this list light up are James Van Praagh, Colette Baron-Reid and John Holland! They are so dedicated to serving, teaching and are all supremely gifted!!! Something to think about….either way, thank you soooo much!

  70. Kristina Ninni

    Shakti Gawain….

    … I f the world is a hologram… there are way more people that are not working in the public arena that has contributed for enlightment and love…
    For instance a streetchild named Jonathan whom I meet in South Africa… A boy with the soul in his eyes and a wise heart, whom nobody heard of made such an impact in my life. <3
    But many in the list I do allso love 😉

  71. John Heiro Cathar.

    A fair grouping, but it only marks t the beginning. The median age of “67” will drop dramatically in the years of the next decade. New Age souls are populating this planet exponentially. Unconditional Love is the next realm of consciousness. This is the Next Human.

  73. Jill Meyer

    I suggest Bryan Farnum. Bryan is a highly gifted spiritual advisor and messenger. Since 2006, he has hosted a free weekly internet radio program, Blunt.fm Truth Radio, broadcast to 133 countries around the world. Bryan has been given a powerful spiritual gift that enables him to accurately discern truth on a yes, no, and thought basis. Bryan uses his gift to reveal truth in the fields of science, medicine, health, current events, politics, and religion. His weekly messages are given with love, to empower individuals with truth, to help reduce the suffering in the world, and to help mankind move towards peace. No other spiritual, political, or religious leader today is speaking the truth in such a direct, blunt, simple to understand, much needed, and FREE way. Bryan gives of himself unconditionally almost every single week without fail, simply to help humankind. His messages are like no other I’ve heard anywhere. Bryan gives all glory to God, taking none for himself, and I’m certain he would agree with Holly, post #13, who suggested God be #1 on this list. Great idea, Holly!

  74. Paul

    I’d love to know where in the States (Tampa Bay, FL) I might be able to get a copy of this… Any list of retail or online stores I might find it?

    • Marianna

      You can get it online – we ship to the States: http://www.watkinsbooks.com/books/watkins-review-26/watkins-review-issue-26.html

  76. Mike

    Eye opening. Low name recognition for me. No James Dobson, Rick Warren, Francis Chan? Not fans of the first two but I like Chan and they seem very influential. But thanks for presenting me with many new names to check out.

    • Etan

      Thx–the whole point of the list is to introduce ppl to names off ppl that may inspire them.

  78. Robby

    I have to weigh-in. I find it interesting the list is mostly men and mostly white. How is Amma #29? Dr. Michael Beckwith didn’t even make the list, nor did Osho, Iyanla Vanzant…any Native American or Aboriginal elders??

    • Etan

      A quarter are women, but I def hope to see more women in future lists. Note that the ppl have to be alive, which rules out Osho, but beckwith and vanzant are def worthy candidates.

  80. Pjotr

    So Sylvia Browne is not listed, but Gregg Braden is, although the guy has been working for Martin Marietta Defense Systems, a missile and weapon systems producing company? And now he’s talking about visions of peace and growth and stuff? Oh dude.

  81. Astrid

    Excuse me, but something is glaringly askew with this picture–e.i. list. There have been and still are so many more female spiritual/new age leaders. Your percentages just don’t ring true for me. Please don’t make Google God! Nonetheless, there are many deserving names on this list, and I thank you!

  83. Norma

    It’s great to see so many familiar names. What about the “Master Teacher” from A Course in MIracles?

  84. Peter Labeja

    I am surprised I don’t see my Mentor and Mother Joyce Meyer on the list. What happened to her?

  85. Aruna

    I agree with Astrid. This list is glaringly wrong. There are many true living Masters who are not listed. A true spiritually influential person can actually TRANSMIT the EXPERIENCE of GOD as real. I do not think that there is a single person on your list that can do that.

  87. Greg

    It would have been great to see Ra Uru Hu on this list—especially since he past over just this last weekend. Saniel Bonder is another one missing. Also Timothy Freke.

    How many of these folks would still be on this list if it where, “100 People Actually Raising Consciousness on the Planet?”

    • Etan

      Sorry to hear about Ra Uru Hu. Freke was very close but didn’t get quite enough google searches to make the top 100. Saniel Bonder is an interesting suggestion.

  89. Tere

    Thanks for making this list. Still, I don’t understand why the people have to be alive. There are people who are already dead who keep being teachers for all of us no matter what. I think that as many have mentioned above, Osho and Mother Teresa, at least should be in the list. Also, I don’t understand why you have Oprah there, but I don’t know, I don’t even watch her TV Show. I believe that in your list you are definetely missing Geoffrey and Linda Hoppe, Lee Carroll and Steve Rother as well as many others who are working on the awakening of humanity, just to mention the most important ones. You have Eckhart Tolle on number one and the only person I have heard that reads his books is everything but spiritual. Hope this helps to make this list much better. Also, BarbaraAnn Brennan number 94? Wow!

    • Etan

      Thx for the feedback and suggestions. I think that it could be interesting to compile a list that does not include the living. It would have to be a very long list though… Oprah has been criticized but most ppl seem happy with other ppl on the list. In the magazine, we have a full 11 pages that discusses why each person was chosen.

      • Tere

        Thanks for your answer. Well, maybe the first thing we need to do is make a definition of what “spiritual” is and then go from there. I understand that this is a list of the most comercial or probably best sellers, or the most charitable. My opinion is that in this times spiritual is more than that, it is about the people who are helping or guiding others to become better people; to awaken, to heal and to live in compassionate love; to remember who they are and colaborate in the leap to the New Era.

  90. Didnt change my name to sound more spiritual

    How horribly ‘Western’ and 21st Century to even think of compiling a pecking order list of the supposedly most spiritually ‘influental’.
    Most of them false prophets (or should that be profits) listed in order of the success at fame and fortune they have gathered in total contradiction of every real teacher who would have shunned such endeavours; truly awful and Watkins has sunk a great deal in my estimation for doing this.

    • Etan

      Thanks for your criticism. It’s very challenging to list 100 living spiritual teachers, so its true that some may turn out to be false prophets. Nevertheless, I believe that this is a worthy endeavor and am proud to see that so many ppl are taking time to comment and talk about contemporary spirituality.

  91. Ravikiran

    Paramahamsa Nithyananda of India has contributed tremendously in past few years to the humanity with more than 1000 discourses uploaded on you tube & on No 1 spot as most watched spiritual guru on you tube. Should be considered.

  92. amrita

    I suppose one name should have been Sri Sri RaviShankar ji.
    also Osho Siddharth who is living model of Zorba the Buddha.

  93. Hugo Roman

    How about Isha Judd ??!! http://isha.com
    She is transforming thousand of lives, mainly in South America… Enlightened wisdom for the modern world.
    Last movie : “Why walk when you can fly”.

    • Etan

      The list has several teachers that incorporate islamic spiritualisty including Seyyed Hossein Nasr and Sathya Sai Baba. Note that the full details are in the magazine (the list above is just a summary)
      http://www.watkinsbooks.com/watkins-review-issue-26.html

  95. Amjad Baba

    Dear Sir,
    I think there are only 2 or three people that are muslim,in islam the spirituality is the important part of islam. I think two people from Pakistan deserve to be in this list one is Maulana Abdulwahab chairman of tablighi jamat Raiwend and second is Abdulsattar Edhi.

    • Etan

      You’re absolutely right that the list aims to be global, and there are many spiritual islamic teachers. We have about half a dozen teachers currently on the list, but I think that your suggestions are very relevant. I hope to see more islamic spiritual teachers on the next 100 list.

    • Etan

      Watkins Books is also filled with Islamic literature, and we have an entire bay devoted to Sufism!

  96. Gem

    all fine
    i felt more indian names will make up in the list, instead i see indians who are more popular in the west are figured here. what about Sri Sri Ravi shanker, shankaracharya, Robin sharma? and the list is endless in india and yet there is dearth of moral values, that apart.

    • Etan

      thx for the suggestions. several ppl have also mentioned ppl such as ravi. it’s great to see that there are so many spiritual teacher in the world!

  97. stephen sturgess

    Swami Kriyananda and Roy Eugene Davis should be in the top 100 – two American direct disciples of Paramhansa Yogananda, who are doing great work to change the consciousness through kriya meditation.

  98. stephen sturgess

    Kriya yoga meditation is the highest. It has powerful spiritual transformative techniques , a sound spiritual philosophy, and an authentic and pure line of Masters.

  99. Jai

    Interesting list… though I must admit I have not heard of many names in it. But I really trust your site and will definitely check out the names from this list. I would suggest you also check out Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. He has been quite influential in his unique Yoga and spiritual teachings especially for the down trodden of the world. Bill Gates once declared that Sri Sri is the most powerful spiritual person in the world today. You can check out the website link to learn more about Him. I don’t say that he should have been in the list because frankly a list of this kind should not be meant to pass judgement on spirituality (destroys the whole purpose, doesn’t it?) and I am sure that was never the intention here too. The main purpose is to spread as much of spiritual love around the world. So this list is immensely helpful that way. Hence I have mentioned Sri Sri Ravi Shankar here with the intention that more people can benefit with his teachings and Yogic techniques, just like I will benefit from getting to know more spiritually influential people from this list. Thank you for doing a good job.

  102. Chris

    The Big Three that I see are missing from this list are: Jean Houston, Barbara Marx-Hubbard and Michael Beckwith. Jean is a founding leader of the Human Potential and New Thought movement, Barbara is a pioneer in evolutionary consciousness and Michael is… well… Michael; an amazing spiritual light that brings wisdom and love into all his connections.

  103. Philip

    An interesting conversation to invoke..
    a good beginning… Wondering what the criteria were the definition of “Influential” for the list. It seems the number of people reached (i.e. books sold, television audiences, household name etc.) seemed to be an important factor… vs. depth of insight, awareness, breaking new ground, creating lasting change… Fair enough
    for that level of discussion..
    Perhaps this might inspire even more multi-dimensional questions.

    A series of lists might add more to the conversation. Another way to tease out the meaning of influence or importance might be to ask… 1) “Who would you chose to be your own, one personal spiritual advisor for you and your family”
    2) Who would you chose to be the spiritual advisor and curriculum maker
    of your children’s school(s).
    3) Who’s work is so profound and deep
    and ultimately influential that we will be talking about them 500 years from now. (think about those from 500 years ago, and .how might we have wanted to engage with them at that time, and
    how might we chose to see the current ones from that lens)
    4) If Civilization as we know it ended this week, who would you chose to be
    the leader(s) of the spiritual council
    seeding a new humanity.
    now ask… who has done the work toward that end and/or means.. from the current list…
    Namaste

    • Etan

      Great comment. We’ll have to see who stands the test of time. One of the great things about this list, is that it attempts to celebrate living spiritual teachers. Who’d we want to represent humanity is a certainly a lot to think about 😉

  104. Philip

    Also: “Who do you want to be like when you grow up ?” and “”who do you perceive others might want to be like”…

  105. jim bones

    if they knew deepak chopra and what his personal life was like, he would probably not be listed here. probably true for many of these people.

  106. Gillian Martindale

    Dear Watkins. Please research Patriarch Dr. Granville Williams of Barbados. He is the leader and founder of the Sons of God Apostolic Spiritual baptist Faith. I think he should be consisered for the top 100 Spiritual People List.

  109. Press Release, 16 March 2011: Global Spiritual Power List | why holistic

    […] The Foundation for Holistic Spirituality has today issued a new press release regarding the recent publication of the ’100 Most Spiritually Influential Living People’ list, as published by Watkins Books: […]

    • Etan

      Note that the watkins review features a full 11-pages on the list with much more detail for each of the 100 people.

  110. Dana

    Barbara Marx Hubbard and Jean Houston – pioneers in the field of Conscious Evolution. Amazing women!

    • Etan

      Actually she is number 8, but well deserved: it is due to her that the world learnt about Eackhart Tolle. Time and CNN have referred to her as the most influential woman in the world, and her philanthropy has been tremendous. She has also been fighting AIDS and poverty in Africa, and continues to be an global inspiration.

  113. Yves Campagna

    It is surprising to see the Tibetan pope (the Dalai Lama) as no 2 but none of the other religious popes or top leaders.

  114. Bryan

    Joseph Chilton Pearce identified the Cosmic Egg, and cracked that puppy wide open for the rest of us. Still going strong at close to 90

  115. Vi Vessier

    You forgot to include each and every one of us. No one is more important to the spiritual journey than the one who walks it.

  116. foowoof

    I propose a list of fictional, including animated, spiritual characters who live in the imaginations of people, especially children.

    I nominate Po, the Kung Fu Panda, as number 1, and Pi of The Life Of Pi as number 2.

    • Etan

      Good idea. Reminds me a bit of this:
      http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2009/jun/16/reading-books-don-t-exist

  117. Tanya Kudla

    Inspiring list…Thank you so much for all you invested to compile this valuable resource.
    I’m a little surprised not to see Rick Warren on it, though. “The Purpose Driven Life” sold over 30 million copies, making it the bestselling hardback non-fiction book in U.S. publishing history. I think it was #1 on the NY Times Bestseller List for something like 60 weeks.
    I think that’s implies influence, right?

    • Etan

      Tanya,
      Thank you for your positive feedback. Admittedly, Rick Warren was overlooked when compiling the list (he has now been added to our database for future lists 😉
      He is certainly very much alive and influential–even graced the cover of Time magazine.

      • Tanya Kudla

        Thanks for the update. Many blessings to you in your endeavors. Keep raising our consciousness…

  118. Priyank

    i thought (i hope) Indian Guru baba Ramdev(yogaguru) is also includ in ihe list…….thanks

  119. Mary Plaster

    Disappointed not to see Matthew Fox, author of Original Blessing over 25 years ago. He continues to be a true prophet and was a huge influence on many of these people. His latest book on the Pope comes out May 3rd this year. Very sad oversight.

    • Etan

      we’ll have to wait and see how his new book does, as he was very close. if he gets a bit more attention,he should be in next year.

  120. A Pashko

    Alberto Villoldo. I am shocked that people are having a problem with Oprah being on this list.

    • Etan

      Thx for Alberto Villoldo, and it’s good to hear that some ppl recognize Oprah’s contributions 🙂

  121. Richard Townsend

    By not including author/teacher Matthew Fox, you render the rest of your list irrelevant. How in the world could you generate a list of spiritually influential living people and not include one of the most important theologians of our time?

    • Etan

      Fox is great and almost made it (he was around 120th place). He didn’t do that much last year on a global scale, and was not googled very often.

  122. Melissa

    What about David R. Hawkins (Power vs. Force)??? Pretty big miss there, considering how much he has contributed… tho he may not be googled much, he has added something none of the others have… and that is the ability to discern truth from falsehood. Also Sailor Bob Adamson (Advaita). Hale Dwoskin (Sedona Method). Bill Harris (Holosync). So glad you included Alex Grey!

    • Etan

      Glad you enjoy Alex Gray. Finally, he’s getting credit for his amazing body of work. Good suggestions on Bob Adamson (Advaita). Hale Dwoskin (Sedona Method). Bill Harris (Holosync).

  123. Nick

    Thanks for not forgetting about Deida ^^

    One question: can Jed Mckenna be considered a spiritual teacher?
    Nothing to do with the list, just curious.

  126. 100 Spiritual Power List by Watkins | Esoteric News « ILLUMINATING BODIES (Illuminate: to help to clarify and explain; to decorate. Body: the physical structure of a person; a material object)

    […] 100 Spiritual Power List by Watkins | Esoteric News. The freshest in culture. Featured on PopPressed Molo’s Hobo Lantern is a Light and a Bag in One Posted by shubush Filed in books Leave a Comment » LikeBe the first to like this post. […]

  131. John

    Such a great list! Many names are new to me. Glad to see that Stephen Levine is on the list. I came across Levine’s website, http://levinetalks.com after reading A Year to Live and it has been great to learn from his new teachings. Cheers Watkins!

  133. Ken Wilber in the Top Ten | Diane Musho Hamilton

    […] Comments 30 March 2011 Last week I saw a list of the Top 100 Spiritual Teachers published by the Watkins Review. I had never heard of this publication, but I like a good list like […]

  134. Ajna

    I’d have added Grant Morisson for sure. Nice too see Alan Moore on the list so at least one Chaos magician is represented : )

  135. Tricia

    Bradford Keeney – a grand omission IMHO! www.shakingmedicine.com www.thecreativetherapist.com
    www.mojodoctors.com

  136. Eckhart Tolle, Dalai Lama Top List of Spiritual Leaders | California Psychics Blog

    […] (Will SEO be the most important spiritual and ideological battlefield of the 21st century?)Watkins Books reports:We’re delighted to share our début list of the 100 most spiritually influential living people, […]

  137. gaurav shastri

    ‘ll Baba Ramdev & Shri Shri RaviShanker should have made the cut if number of followers is any indication

  139. Bruce

    C’mon! No mention of David Hawkins? Major error of omission. Wayne Dyer in the top 10…nothing original from him IMHO.

    Top 4: Tolle, Hawkins, Wilber, Thay

  140. Chris Esmond

    This is nothing but marketing garbage.
    Whoever created this stupid , meaningless list doesn’t know the difference between ‘spiritual’ and well, perhaps ‘psychic’ might be an appropriate word, or even ‘therapist’.

    Typical so-called ‘New Age’ delusion.

  141. Chris Esmond

    Post number 56 is right on the ball. Well said!

    Including Oprah Winfrey is more than enough to dismiss this nonsense as ignorant twaddle.

  143. Rosanne

    I recently attended a Wayne Dyer lecture and he had a comical view of this list, as seen through his ego. Should he hire someone to bump off Eckhart Tolle so he could move up a spot, etc. Very entertaining!

  145. Ryan

    Esther and Jerry Hicks should be MUCH higher on the list, as Abraham’s work has moved the entire spiritual conversation significantly, more so than any other person on the list, IMHO. Also, SETH should be very high on the list, but technically he isn’t a person, so maybe you should do a “personality” list too!