Rupert Mackie

Thesis Supervisor: Sowparnika Balaswaminathan

Thesis Title: Leaving it All Behind: Spiritual Tourism and Transmigration in Tamil Nadu

Rupert Mackie is a first-year graduate student, currently pursuing his M.A. in Religions and Cultures. In 2022, he completed his B.A. in Psychology at Concordia University, and has a profound interest in Jungian psychology. Rupert's research focuses on the bridge between personal mysticism and the need to contextualize such experiences within a larger group or institution. Focusing on narratives of radical inner transformation, Rupert is interested in how individuals navigate the contemporary spiritual and religious marketplaces that characterize life in our globalized world. In this light, his ethnographic thesis project shall investigate the advent of non-Indians renouncing life in their homeland in favour of moving permanently to live in ashrams in Tamil Nadu. Informed both by historical dialogues aimed at bridging the gap between 'East' and 'West' as well as more recent cultural developments, Rupert seeks to answer the question: 'why do so many spiritually-inclined foreigners continue to permanently move to Tamil Nadu?'.