The Guru Papers: Masks of Authoritarian Power [Paperback]

Joel Kramer (Author), Diana Alstad (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 20, 1993

The Guru Papers demonstrates with uncompromising clarity that authoritarian control, which once held societies together, is now at the core of personal, social, and planetary problems, and thus a key factor in social disintegration. It illustrates how authoritarianism is embedded in the way people think, hiding in culture, values, daily life, and in the very morality people try to live by. The book unmasks authoritarianism in such areas as relationships, cults, 12-step groups, religion, and contemporary morality. Chapters on addiction and love show the insidious nature of authoritarian values and ideologies in the most intimate corners of life, offering new frameworks for understanding why people get addicted and why intimacy is laden with conflict. By exposing the inner authoritarian that people use to control themselves and others, the authors show why people give up their power, and how others get and maintain it.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Easily the most comprehensive, erudite, and timely book in print to explore authoritarianism in religion, institutions, power, the family, intimacy and sexual relations, and personal problems such as addiction....Argue[s] persuasively that any system of values that places tradition and the past above the imperative to question the present is destined to become increasingly lethal."
—Keith Thompson of The San Francisco Chronicle Book Review

"Spells out at length the dangers of becoming addicted to another's authority in any sphere of life."
—London Times Literary Supplement

"A thorough, wide-ranging analysis of the way power has historically been maintained...Purports to be no less than a diagnosis of what's wrong with the world and how, not merely to fix it, but to save it. Its thesis is elegant and nearly unlimited in its ramifications...[Shows that] authoritarianism is not merely a political phenomenon. It's part of the way we think."
—The New Mexican

"Discusses how authoritarian leaders manipulate followers and why people surrender to them."
—Publishers Weekly

"Provocative and thorough....Unmask[s] the countless manifestations of authoritarianism in our contemporary culture. Cover[s] vast territory...rais[es] all the vitally important questions...It should definitely be placed in the hands of anyone who has been, or is, or contemplates becoming involved with a guru or cult."
—Yoga Journal

"Don't be deceived by the title. The Guru Papers is about much more than cult groups. A profoundly important critique of the covert authoritarianism of most religions...and of such cultural values as unconditional love, addiction, and twelve-step programs...Thought-provoking and radically important...Extraordinarily rich and complex...[It]can make an important contribution to [changing the old paradigms] if enough people...take it to heart and mind."
—Liberty

About the Author

Joel Kramer and Diana Alstad are co-authors of The Guru Papers: Masks of Authoritarian Power. They have written and taught together since 1974 on evolution, spirituality, relationships, values, awareness, yoga, and social issues. Their Web site is www.joeldiana.com.

Joel Kramer, the author of The Passionate Mind, did post-graduate work in philosophy and psychology and was a resident teacher at Esalen Institute (1968-1970). He is a pioneer and legend of modern American yoga whose evolutionary vision of yoga freed it from its authoritarian roots, re-visioning it for the West.

Diana Alstad, a Woodrow Wilson Fellow, received a doctorate from Yale University in 1971. She taught in the humanities and initiated and taught the first Women's Studies courses at Yale and Duke. She envisioned the Yoga of Relationship and developed it with Kramer.

Product Details

• Paperback: 408 pages
• Publisher: Frog Books; 1st edition (May 20, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1883319005
• ISBN-13: 978-1883319007
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 1 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #349,485 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Probably my favorite book!, October 8, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Guru Papers: Masks of Authoritarian Power (Paperback)

In this logical and stunningly common-sense work, the authors examine human beliefs systems from the perspective of language and authoriatarian hierarchies. 12-step, Satanism, Fundamentalist Christianity, Course-in-Miracles, the systems of "enlightened" eastern gurus... without mercy, Kramer and Alstaad break EACH ONE DOWN to its ROOTS and show that ALL human belief systems are the result of a subtle conceptual dualism in which a behavior or viewpoint is taken as a spectrum, polarized, and then one side is valued over the other. A must read for anyone who suspects they might have been brainwashed, very popular among ex-cultists and guaranteed to make a hardline skeptic of you. "The Guru Papers" is probably my favorite book!

38 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the most important books for the 21st century,, March 31, 2005

By 

Mr. Ford Greene Esq (US) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Guru Papers: Masks of Authoritarian Power (Paperback)

God. The God of Science, The God of Papal Infallibility, The God of National Security, The God of Family Values, The God of Buddhist Selflessness, The God of Unconditional Love. What are they good for? Absolutely nothing.
The Guru Papers elegantly identifies the masks that power uses to hide its abuse of others. Authoritarianism is the exercise of authority which, presuming an unquestioning obedience, can tolerate neither question nor challenge, meeting either with disregard or punishment. Assiduously distinguishing the everyday exercise of authority - living life and making choices amongst the propositions it presents - from the bullying domination intrinsic to the type of power unwilling to recognize an equal, the authors carefully dissect the threads which, woven together, comprise the cloth of abuse. Whence abusiveness flows, certain features are invariably present.
When a "leader" sets up an ideological standard of perfection or purity that no human being can attain, and our consequent failure of such attainment becomes the raison d'etre for a double standard of treatment whereby the leader gives orders and we obey them, we have lost our freedom, particularly if we believe it is for our own good.
Whenever one pole of a duality is identified as essential to good living and the other pole leads to evil, behind that mask an authoritarian moralist weaves his tale positing that which he believes is most important, that which he says is God. Gurus and religions, politicians and governments, educators and schools, parents and families, and lovers and spouses frequently equate evil with selfishness and goodness with selflessness and sacrifice. They say if I am sufficiently sincere and pure of heart, I will sacrifice what I want for what they tell me is best. Thus, I will be a better man.
There is little difference between the cult leader who demands allegiance to the unproven presumption of his godliness, and the lover who, crying "let me be myself," claims his imperfections should be accepted without limit in the name of unconditional love. When a moral demand for sacrifice is made in the name of something sacred, be it the Immaculate Conception or an Idealized Lover, one best be brave and ask one's questions. If such courage is met with punishment or disregard, one better run. If one does not, one's conduct will communicate that there is something wrong, and it's not with the other guy.
The essence of authoritarianism attacks the inner certainty of individuals by claiming that it knows a superior, more moral path. It not only condemns an individual's assertion of self as selfish and wrong, but also is unwilling to engage in dialogue which does not adopt an unquestioning regard for that which it deems sacred. If an individual adopts this moral dichotomy, he can only mistrust himself as inferior. This, Alstad/Kramer say, is the purpose of authoritarian control: to generate internal self-mistrust which makes the individual available to imposition of control by an external authority.
They correctly expose the deception that such externally imposed control is benevolent. According to Kramer/Alstad, authoritarian persons are never benevolent because such persons use others for their own selfish purposes while lying about it, saying they are not, if they are saying anything at all. "Do as I say, not as I do; and if you dare question what I do, you are questioning what all good people know is beyond reproach. You, too, would have respect if only you were a good person. Since you are not, you must do as I say. It is for your own good." Such is the circle of authoritarian ideology.
The language of authoritarianism is the language that Orwell named double-speak. There's no Orwellian double-speak in this book, just hard-hitting practical logic that rips the guts out of sacred cows that have fed too long in pastures provided by a naive and idealistic population. Such a populace, wanting to be good, denies that someone who directs their focus on great and beautiful-sounding ideals could be ripping them off, as was one of Hitler's more notable tricks.
Thus, the book shows how both the willingness to psychologically dominate, and to surrender to such, are embedded in one another. The dominating and the dominated persons both believe in an unattainable and essential purity which requires extreme sacrifices, both in its name, as well as for its attainment. One person makes the sacrifice, after the other has convinced him he must, erstwhile he would be morally condemned as selfish and self-centered for having disobeyed the other who claims to know best.
The Guru Papers recognizes that both self-centeredness and selflessness exist - you cannot purge the self of selfishness - and must work together in oneself in balance. It forcefully argues why intelligent negotiation is life-affirming whereas dumb submission invites death. It meticulously dissects the myriad protean tricks authoritarianism employs to maneuver its subjects into place and keep them there. Access to information and accountability for one's conduct are essential for the brave new world that might emerge if the reptant strain of authoritarianism in humankind does not destroy this world first in the name of knowing better.
The book says listen to yourself and if you are degraded or expelled for asking questions, recognize that the inadequacy lies with the authoritarian character, not with you. The Guru Papers makes the authoritarian predicates accountable and exposes them when they are not. It's about time!

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the most amazing books I have ever read, November 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Guru Papers: Masks of Authoritarian Power (Paperback)

This book has completely changed my life and way of thinking. I can't say enough about it. I'm reading it for about the fifth or sixth time now. This book contains the seeds of a real awakening for some people. If you have an interest in spirituality, gurus, etc., as I have, then you may be surprised by what you find here! I am forever grateful for having accidentally found this book!