Dalai Lama second among 100 most influential spiritual leaders

Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama is the second most influential spiritual leader of the world, according to London-based magazine Watkins Review.

The list of the 100 most influential spiritual leaders of the world published by Watkins Review has chosen the Dalai Lama as the second most spiritually influential living person, said the Dalai Lama's office here today.

The Spiritual 100 list that ranks spiritual leaders and authors has best selling author Eckhart Tolle at the number 1 place. Spiritual guru Deepak Chopra has been ranked 5, Nelson Mandela at number 19 and Pope John Paul II at the 34th place.

Several factors were taken into account while compiling the list, the important ones being that the the person has to be alive, she/he has to have made a unique and spiritual contribution on a global scale and the person is frequently goggled, appears in Nielsen Data, and highlighted throughout the photosphere, said an official of the central Tibetan administration.

The oldest person in the list is Kyozan Joshu Sasaki, aged 104 years and the youngest is 30-years-old Jeff Foster.

The spring issue of Watkins Review features a full eleven pages highlighting each of these inspirational individuals.

The Watkins Review is sold and published by Watkins Books, England's oldest spiritual bookshop that has been trading for 118 years.

The magazine is also available on the Apple App store world wide, except in China where it has been banned due to its praise for the Dalai Lama, Morningstar.com reported.

The Watkins Review dates back to 1893, when John Watkins published his first volume of the Book-Notes, which included book reviews, occult news and excerpts from recommended books.