This article considers the British reception of Meher Baba, an Indian religious figure, who first travelled to Britain in 1931. Following a tradition of Indian religious figures who toured Britain and America in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Baba was removed from organised religion and placed emphasis on self-realisation, and attracted large British followings notably dominated by women. This article argues that the 1930s witnessed a continuing interest in Indian religious figures and adherence to Orientalist stereotypes about Indian religiosity despite changing political dynamics. Exploring a range of public and private responses to Baba, following comparison with his contemporary Jiddu Krishnamurti, and discussing the role of British mediators Paul Brunton and Francis Younghusband, this article explores British impressions of Indian religious figures in the 1930s and how they were informed by notions of race, religiosity, and gender.

中文翻译：

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印度弥赛亚：美赫巴巴在 1930 年代对英国观众的吸引力

本文考虑了英国对 1931 年首​​次前往英国的印度宗教人物美赫巴巴的接待。 按照 19 世纪和 20 世纪印度宗教人物在英国和美国巡回演出的传统，巴巴被从有组织的宗教中移除并被安置在强调自我实现，并吸引了大量英国追随者，尤其是女性。本文认为，尽管政治动态不断变化，但 1930 年代见证了人们对印度宗教人物的持续兴趣以及对印度宗教信仰的东方主义刻板印象。在与同时代的吉杜·克里希那穆提（Jiddu Krishnamurti）进行比较之后，探讨了对巴巴的一系列公开和私人回应，并讨论了英国调解人保罗·布伦顿和弗朗西斯·扬赫斯班德的作用，