Customer Reviews

The Guru Papers: Masks of Authoritarian Power

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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!

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!

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!

while this book is written so intelligently and with such a global vision, it seems inapproprate to refer to it as a self-help book. but this book did help to save my life and it therefore is, for me, a self-help book. this is one of the books that helped me the most when i was trying to deprogram myself after freshly exiting myself from a cult. it was given to me when i was in crisis by a beautiful man who had grown up within a strict mormon community. he had been greatly helped by this book as well. i was also helped by the link the kramers make between religious and political cultic tyrannies...such a liberating book--i could not recommend anything more highly--for anyone and everyone everywhere. we are all affected by the pernicious control patterns this book so beautifully explores. i was further impressed when i discovered that kramer has been viciously attacked in print by andrew cohen (cult leader) and cohen's 'what is enlightenment?' crew...so great when the real enlightened ones do stand up. they always speak quietly and are humble.

Since the authors are against people living divided lives, they would likely be concerned that I feel divided about their book. On the good side, there is a lot of insight into how authority can be used illegitimately by both ourselves and others for manipulative ends on both ourselves and others. As they have been involved in authoritarian groups teaching various Eastern views, they make quite a few points about the totalitarian nature that can be bred by both the gurus and worldview that emanates from that source; points I have seen others make, as well. Having been hurt by some alleged friends over the past few years, I felt personally helped and enlightened by their chapter on how love can be used as an abusive tool. Overall, the work is for someone who wants to think at length about the relationship between self-guidance and authority over a wide range of issues, and is well worth reading.

On the other hand, there are some real problems here. Kramer & Alstad dont document a single thing they say, other than to refer to their other equally undocumented essays. Thus, ironically, this screed against authoritarianism must be accepted as the raw authoritarian assertion of the authors views. It functions just like the type of revelation they condemn. One also wonders what in the world they would build after tearing everything down? The impression is left that, despite throwing a bone to recognized authorities in specific fields, one should be free to do whatever one wants and not feel guilty about it, as long as no one gets hurt and the human race is assured of survival. They seem to bank heavily on the belief that once humans are fed the proper data they will adjust themselves into rational, humanistic oriented beings who are willing to allow no one gets hurt and the survival of the human race to stand as their authoritarian guides to conduct. Given the number of people who already dont seem to care who gets hurt or if humans are around after their own death, I dont seem to be able to raise much faith in this. Also, Im not convinced they understand the inner spiritual and moral dynamics of either Buddhism or Christianity as well as they try to make themselves appear to. Knowing people in both communities, I felt that at many points Kramer and Alstad were dealing in the fantasies of their own stereotypes and straw persons about these beliefs. They dont seem as widely read as they claim, or you would think they would have run into prominent authors, like John Piper, who advocate a self-needs aware compassion that seems to echo what they call for from a tradition they seem to think could never generate it. In fact, their entire understanding of what they call Christianity seems to really be Moralism, a view many, if not most, Christians would also reject.

This book is a series of excerpts from a larger promised work, called Control, which, going on ten years later, is yet to appear. Hal Blacker has posted online his meeting with the authors a few years after this work was published. Look it up. You might feel like I did: I wouldnt want the authoritarian people described in this book in control of my life, but, know what? I dont think Id want people like Kramer and Alstad running things, either.

The guru papers are well written.The authors who were gurus and spiritual leaders explain the trap of all religions and their danger points.This is invaluable for faith leaders and followers of ALL faiths.It is not an easy read but it could save you years of trouble.It makes leaders missions clear and is invaluable advice.

I do think this is a wonderful book. What other readers haven't mentioned is that it offers a lot of help to anyone who is a sincere spiritual teacher or administrator of a spiritual center. Dear friends, it's difficult for a teacher to keep on the straight & narrow, despite real & deep spiritual attainment & a true desire to help others. The Guru Papers could be a handy guide to see whether you are fooling yourself -- as a teacher. Listen you guys & girls who are out there teaching: Let your students grow up. That's what you're here for.

This book is a must-read for anyone and everyone who has ANY spiritual belief system. The authors succeed in removing the scales from the eyes of all of us who follow or have followed ministers, spiritual teachers or gurus who are stealing our money or power ... with our unwitting permission! The bottom line is that NO spiritual teaching requires a teacher, minister or guru, only a personal devotion to our chosen belief system and/or scriptural texts, and our own relationship with and understanding of our deity. Get that guru out of your head and out of your wallet! He's a middleman who is more than likely robbing you blind while playing games ... with your life!

I found this book useful when I was attempting to understand how I had gotten myself involved in a cult-like group. The authors are very thorough in their deconstruction of the dynamics of authoritarian relationships both in spiritual groups and in society as a whole. In reading it, I gained a great deal of insight as to my own relationship to those tendencies.

I have to add one caveat, however. The authors make it clear that they do not consider any transcendental experience to be valid, but merely evidence of a manipulated psychological state. I can't agree with them on this; I think they are throwing the baby out with the bathwater. That said, I still feel that they have some very valuable things to say about the bathwater.

This book freed my mind. Many things happen in our subconscious -- often undesirable actions result. The Guru Papers exposed how I (and others) have a tendency to act impulsively and unconsciously, and why and how we do so. And a tendency to succumb to ideologies that are neither in harmony with oneself nor in balance with the reality that we as humans all share -- this world.
I now act and think in more true accord with my own feelings and ability, and in ways that are more beneficial for myself and others. I owe the authors much gratitude for expanding my mind's abilities to think abstractly, thoroughly, and more objectively and creatively. The Guru Papers unlocked my bias view of this world.

Thank you Joel and Diana for changing my life.