The psychology of guruism

The psychology of guruism

MBFM comments on Beyond Guruism

mybrainisafleamarket said,
02.11.09 at 12:07 pm ·
Am convinced that guruism is BDSM power imbalance that is unconsciously enacted, unlike conscious kink in which all parties KNOW what they want, and are capable of sitting down before hand and negotiating expectations, limits, safewords, when a scene begins, and when it ends.

(note) I am not a member of the kink community, but have had some informative conversations with persons who self identify as such.

One of them read an account of what was going on in Cohens community and said, spontaneously, ‘This reads like a BDSM scene that is out of control’

Not only out of control, but unconscious.

But, IMO, my guess is guruism is a sort of spiritually rationalized kink and unconscious kink at that. It romanticises power imbalance, makes the fake intensity of power imbalance seem not only ’spiritual’ but the only way to be ’spiritual’.

Worse, you are forbidden to think or feel consciously about this very important matter. Ever notice that in this seekers scene, any attempt to discuss power is treated as sacrilige?

What I think is nefarious is that the gurus, especially the modern ones, trick you into letting them reformat your mind and emotions so that you relate to the guru and his or her belief system with the pre-modern mindset of a peasant, yet you are taught to retain your ability to earn money, build credit and function in a post modern, money based capitalist economy, which means you are a peasant to the guru but with the earning power of a first world citizen–yet you no longer know how to behave as a citizen in relation to the guru.

You’re behave and feel and think as a feudal peon in relation to the guru, but thats your secret kink, one you cannot even examine consciously.

Meanwhile, between visits to the guru, your body wears a business suit, carries a laptop and mobile phone and makes the right noises so you fit in at work in an office suite.

But this split identity, feudal peasant in relation to the guru, facade of modern worker at the office–is left unexamined. And to me, thats the shittiest outcome of the New Wage scene.

Not all gurus dress in Indian garb. Gurdy pioneered guru kink whilst dressed in Western clothing. But it was the same training in eroticizing the power imbalance and making spiritual kink unconscious so that it could not
be consciously examined and critiqued.

At least the conscious kink people all arrange for everyone to end the scene feeling satisfied–a much higher achievement than most New Age set ups.