Spiritual 100 list

Watkins’ Spiritual 100 List for 2016

[dropcap]W[/dropcap]e are delighted to share with you Watkins’ 2016 list of the 100 Most Spiritually Influential Living People – spiritual teachers, activists, authors and thinkers that change the world. Watkins 100 List Spiritual teachers and authorsThe list came out in print in the Spring issue of Watkins Mind Body Spirit magazine (you can get a copy of the current issue or take out a subscription directly from Watkins Books).

Watkins bookshop in London has been encouraging spiritual discovery and providing seekers with esoteric knowledge for over 120 years. In 2011, we started publishing the 100 list with the goal of celebrating the world’s living spiritual teachers. Our special magazine issue features 16 pages dedicated to interesting details, bios, photos and highlights about each person on the list. As you read through this list, we hope that you feel as inspired as we are by each individual’s significant impact.

There are plenty of newcomers on this year’s list including the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, psychologist and author Daniel Goleman, physicist and environmental activist Vandana Shiva and poet and philosopher Mark Nepo (see the interview on page 26 in the Spring issue, no.45).

2016 Spiritual 100 list at a glance:

1 Dalai Lama 35 Thomas S. Monson 68 Ajahn Brahm
2 Pope Francis 36 Gary Snyder 69 Gary Zukav
3 Desmond Tutu 37 Alex Grey 70 Anita Moorjani
4 Eckhart Tolle 38 Pema Chödrön 71 Tony Robbins
5 Deepak Chopra 39 Francis Chan 72 Robert Bly
6 Paulo Coelho 40 Mooji 73 William Bloom
7 Alice Walker 41 Vandana Shiva 74 Michael Bernard
8 Rhonda Byrne 42 Rob Bell Beckwith
9 Alejandro Jodorowsky 43 Amma – Sri Mata 75 James Redfield
10 Oprah Winfrey Amritanandamayi Devi 76 James van Praagh
11 Matthew Fox 44 Iyanla Vanzant 77 Fritjof Capra
12 Louise L. Hay 45 Rowan Williams 78 Tara Brach
13 Jaggi Vasudev 46 Neale Donald Walsch 79 Mark Nepo
14 Graham Hancock 47 Ali al-Sistani 80 Steve Taylor
15 Arianna Huffington 48 Julia Cameron 81 Starhawk
16 Elizabeth Gilbert 49 Byron Katie 82 Huston Smith
17 Ram Dass 50 Robert Thurman 83 Caroline Myss
18 Robin Sharma 51 Bruce Lipton 84 Adyashanti
19 Sri Sri Ravi Shankar 52 Dan Millman 85 Richard Saul Wurman
20 Karen Armstrong 53 Jack Canfield 86 David Frawley
21 Jon Kabat-Zinn 54 Prem Rawat 87 Seyyed Hossein Nasr
22 Marianne Williamson 55 Dadi Janki 88 Thomas Keating
23 Martin Seligman 56 Brian Weiss 89 Richard Gere
24 Rupert Sheldrake 57 Daisaku Ikeda 90 Gangaji
25 Sam Harris 58 Richard Bandler 91 Elaine Pagels
26 Richard Bach 59 Richard Rohr 92 Lee Carroll
27 Thomas Moore 60 Clarissa Pinkola Estés 93 Lynne McTaggart
28 Don Miguel Ruiz 61 Gregg Braden 94 Mantak Chia
29 Esther Hicks 62 David Steindl-Rast 95 Sogyal Rinpoche
30 Justin Welby 63 Stanislav Grof 96 Malala Yousafzai
31 Andrew Weil 64 Doreen Virtue 97 Shakti Gawain
32 James Lovelock 65 Thich Nhat Hanh 98 Michael A. Singer
33 Ken Wilber 66 Jack Kornfield 99 Sharon Salzberg
34 Daniel Goleman 67 David Deida 100 Claudio Naranjo

To discover more about each spiritual teacher, get a copy of issue 45,Spring 2016.

There are several factors that were taken into account when compiling the list. The main three criteria are:

1) The person has to be alive as of January 1st, 2016
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, has a Wikipedia page, and is actively talked about throughout the Internet By taking into account the amount of times that a person is googled or how many times their Wikipedia profile is viewed, the list gains a highly democratic and transparent parameter. Additionally, we were highly selective in creating this list and did our best to remove candidates who spread messages that were hateful or intolerant. Ultimately, this list is meant to celebrate the positive influence of today’s spiritual teachers.

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