Human Development
Charisma
Description:
Charisma, and the gifts it bestows, or [charismata], may refer to any superhuman power received from contact with supernatural beings, which may include revelation and the power to mediate spiritual grace to others. This is a special inspiration - not, for example, the carrying out of routine priestly functions. Such supernatural powers or [siddhis] were said to have been possessed by the Yogins as a result of extreme ascetic practices. Similarly, in Islam, the term [bakarah], or blessing, connotes the power to work wonders as a special gift from God. Originally denoting an extraordinary "gift of grace", for example the power of healing, in theological terms described as a gift of the [Holy Spirit], the term charisma has been extended, in sociological terms, to denote an extraordinary quality possessed by persons or objects, in particular to evoke an immediate positive response from others. Charisma may be intrinsic to an individual or be derived from the sacred nature of his office; but in either case is frequently the means for change in otherwise rigid or hidebound, authoritarian situations, which authority is challenged by a [charismatic leader].