The Guru Papers: Masks of Authoritarian Power (Paperback)

by Joel Kramer (Author), Diana Alstad (Author) "Change has become a rallying cry worldwide..." (more)
Key Phrases: inner authoritarian, authoritarian worldview, hidden dualism, The Authoritarian Roots of Addiction, The Seductions of Surrender, Eastern Oneness (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"A thorough, wide-ranging analysis of the way power has historically been maintained." -- The New Mexican

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

"Don't be deceived by the title. The Guru Papers is about much more than cult groups." -- Liberty

"Easily the most comprehensive, erudite, and timely book in print to explore authoritarianism..." -- 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

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

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 408 pages
• Publisher: Frog Books; 1St Edition edition (May 20, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1883319005
• ISBN-13: 978-1883319007
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #31,661 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #42 in	Books > Nonfiction > Social Sciences > Sociology > Social Theory
  #47 in	Books > Religion & Spirituality > Occult > Spiritualism
  #70 in	Books > Health, Mind & Body > Psychology & Counseling > Cognitive

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

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

By A Customer

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!

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Good Diagnosis of Authoritarianism with a Bad Prescriptive Twist, June 2, 2007

By	David Brown (Boulder, CO) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

For the most part, the authors of The Guru Papers do a masterful job of unmasking authoritarian power. I first read this book about twelve years ago shortly after completing A Course In Miracles (CIM) at a new-age church. After doing the Course, I attended CIM group discussions for several years and I started to attain somewhat of a guru status. I was tempted to accept the power and perks available to a guru, but my conscience told me there was something morally wrong with being worshipped as a spiritual authority. So I turned the gig down and stopped doing the Course.

After reading The Guru Papers, it became clear how adversely authoritarians had affected me throughout my life. Prior to doing A Course In Miracles, I did Werner Erhard's EST Training and his cult-like Seminar Series. And, in my early days, I was raised as a Missionary Baptist where the Christian authorities (with their authoritative Bible) informed me that I was a sinner in need of salvation through belief in Jesus Christ. I came to despise oppressive authoritarians of all kinds and my resistance to them led me to these "personal growth" disciplines. But ultimately I found that there was an ideological authority behind every supposedly "personal" discipline.

The Guru Papers did help me cut through the fog that surrounds authoritarian power. However, when Kramer and Alstad shifted into their prescription mode in the chapter called "Epilogue: Where to Go from Here?" they demonstrated their own brand of authoritarianism. The "paradigm shift" that they advocate is really a masked version of global socialism, which is currently being presented in the guise of environmentalism. Even though environmental socialism is based on secular beliefs, it has all the traits of fundamentalist religion: Predictions of a pending doom due to "our self-destructive nature," salvation for "humanity" and "the planet," and a feeling of moral superiority for the true believers of the environmental "progressive" flock.

I recommend you read The Guru Papers, but pay special attention to the way the authors do a one-hundred-eighty-degree turn and start preaching their version of social justice and environmental religion. If you want to know why it is that people can seem to be enlightened authorities on certain issues and then flip flop when it comes to advocating what "society" should do in the future, then I recommend you read about "constrained" and "unconstrained" worldviews in Dr. Thomas Sowell's book, The Quest for Cosmic Justice.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you belong to ANY church, group or teaching...READ THIS!, May 4, 1999

By A Customer

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!