The Dark Side of Esotericism: Recognizing Manipulative Leaders

Over the decades, on two continents, I’ve met a lot of esoteric spiritual practitioners, including leaders of various groups, lodges, circles, and Orders.

The esoteric practitioners I know, and remain in contact with, are incredible people—kind, generous, thoughtful, and well-read, they are always working to improve themselves and to deepen their understanding of their practices or philosophy of life.

This article is absolutely not about them or esoteric spiritual practitioners who are like them. It’s about those who abuse their influence.

Spiritual Abuse

Unfortunately, I’ve encountered, and heard about, other esoteric “masters” who have no interest in other people’s boundaries.

Some years ago, I came across an occult Tantric teacher. In public, he advocated total self-control. (I respect that message.) After a while, however, I started hearing accusations of him sexually harassing women.

All of these complaints came from men who knew the women making the allegations. I never heard any allegations first-hand myself. Nevertheless, I heard them from men up and down the country. Most of them did not know each other, so the likelihood of the accusations being fabricated is, in my opinion, very low.

More recently, an initiate of an esoteric Order (which presents itself as very wholesome, publically) told me that the Order’s head had sexually harassed his wife, who was also a member of the lodge.

To reiterate, we’re not talking about behavior between consenting adults. We’re talking about abuses of power and trust to obtain sexual gratification.

We tend to think of the scandals of the Catholic Church when we think of sexual abuse. But spiritual seekers should realize that sexual abuse has occurred in other traditions: including in Buddhist sanghas and at the hands of “enlightened” Yoga teachers and those claiming to initiate people into esoteric Mysteries.

Degrees and titles are no guarantee of an enlightened mind or decent behavior. Indeed, it is likely that sneaky and self-serving individuals will seek out as many degrees and titles as possible, to appear more advanced than everyone else in the eyes of potential followers (i.e., potential victims).

Esotericism & the Pose of Moral Enlightenment

If the aforementioned type of spiritual leader is aggressive (behind closed doors) to get what he wants at the expense of other people, other such “masters” seem to lack the will to put themselves forward in the world: Think perennially unemployed.

More typical, however, is the esoteric “teacher” who exhibits a passive, politically correct attitude. This is undoubtedly often a mark of a lack of a certain libido, but it is also a pose used for social climbing.

Hence the “Rosicrucians” (to name only one faintly Christian-type of esotericist) who present themselves as Martin Luther King “Mini Mes,” and want to turn their Mystery school into a social justice movement. Rather than doing the “Great Work” of alchemy, they talk of social justice, economics, environmentalism, and other subjects that they have no real understanding of.

This is the same ilk of “esotericists” who tell us “we are all one” and that any “separation” between us is an illusion. “I am you, and you are me.”

It’s a beautiful sentiment. It sounds enlightened.

But as soon as they get home, these same spiritual masters lock their door like everyone else. (If we’re all one and “separation” is an illusion, who are they trying to keep out? Why do they want to separate themselves (even from criminals, who must also be them if we are all one) in their private lives?)

In reality, the worldview of the “we are all one” type of “esotericst” is shaped not by mystical enlightenment but by a fusion of Buddhism (without Buddha), Christianity (without Christ), and progressive, Western politics.

Esotericists and Libidos

Every movement or organization that gains any degree of popularity will attract people who aren’t genuinely interested in it—social climbers, people who are out for themselves, and those who want to attain a position of status to take advantage of others.

We need to ask ourselves the following:

Are two kinds of people attracted to the esoteric: (1) Those with a high libido (to use a Freudian term) and (2) those with a low libido?

I think so.

Those with a high libido desire magical “power” and, if they are sincere, they also want to undergo some transformative, totalizing experience: To be consumed by an intensity that, in life, is experienced only fleetingly. Hence the mystical experiences of St. Teresa.

Magical power and the transformative experience might be compared to sex and love.

Some want one; some want both. The abusive individual who sneaks into the world of esotericism, gaining status, wants the power and—almost without exception—the sex. He’ll talk about the transformative experience only so far as it facilitates getting those things. Insecure and narcissistic, he might even been incapable of experiencing something truly transformative. Clearly, no matter what tradition he may practice or have invented, it has not changed him for the better.

Indeed, like the violent alcoholic consuming too much alcohol, esotericism brings out the worst side of some people’s character. Typically, this occurs when the practitioner or leader believes that he or she has the absolute truth—and other people need to be taught it.

The high-libido but genuine esotericist wants both the transformative experience and the power. He wants to be powerful in the world but he also wants to experience, and even to be consumed by, the Divine. And he wants the Divine to flood into, and to inform, his actions in the world so they might do good (or, at least, do no harm).

Others—mystics such as St. Teresa—want the transformative experience and are content to do without power. Yet, notably, such experiences still often have a sexual undertone.

Yet, it may be that those with a low libido use esotericism as a kind of spiritual security blanket; to convince themselves that monsters don’t exist. Well, sorry, they do.

Like a second-rate Eckhart Tolle, these we-are-all-one-type of spiritual masters tend to speak in overly placid tones. They seem to have no edge. There appears to be nothing dangerous about them. They are “too nice.” We can’t imagine them saying anything “controversial,” to someone’s face, at least. We can’t imagine them speaking with passion. We can’t imagine them fighting for what, or who, they want.

We’re Not “All One”

Since we have mentioned abuses, we must recognize that if, as is claimed by certain “spiritual” people, “we are all one,” then there is no such thing as crime. By definition, the criminal and victim must be one (and we are all one with them).

I reject the belief that “we are all one” not merely as merely New Age nonsense but as inherently evil. Beautiful sentiments often have terrible real-world implications.

It might be claimed that I’m misunderstanding this belief and that to realize that “we are all one” requires us to see things from the Eyes of God or to experience a mystical state of non-duality. My response: No sh-t.

Of course, we can experience non-duality in meditation or in a state of mystical ecstasy. And, of course, from afar, everything appears to be—and might even be—one.

But we live in the world, and we have to distinguish between people and between good and bad—even good and evil—actions. Indeed, if it makes no practical difference to the lives of those who claim that “we are all one,” what is the claim other than deception?

Should You Seek Esoteric Initiation?

There are genuine esoteric traditions and teachers out there. Most of them don’t advertise or try to get people involved with them. If anything, they try to put people off joining them. They’ve seen, or at least heard of, the kinds of manipulative and abusive behavior that we’ve been talking about. And they want to keep it away from them.

Being asked to join a “highly advanced” or “secret” esoteric Order or Mystery tradition after meeting someone a few times should be a warning sign that something’s not quite right. These aren’t supposed to be proselytizing religions, seeking converts or numbers.

If an esoteric “master,” “adept,” or “hierophant,” etc., flatters you, love-bombs you, or agrees with everything you say, take it as a sign that, eventually, he or she will denounce you, smear you, and gossip and lie about you behind your back. Flattering behavior is designed to get you to lower your guard. It’s not meant to establish a meaningful connection with you.

Many people have joined esoteric lodges and circles only to find that they were in a mini fundamentalist religion with an unquestioning dogma, all kinds of unspoken prohibitions, and a leader who always knows more (even when he knows less).

Esotericism is not the answer to life’s problems. You have to do the necessary work in the world: Forge relationships with people of intelligence, honor, and character. Work out. Eat healthily. Develop your skills. Read widely. Think deeply.

More often than not, we learn the profoundest lessons from those we respect, outside of any formal esoteric initiation. If you can’t find a reputable initiatory tradition, you can still find people worth connecting to, and engaging, with. Everything takes patience. Don’t be fooled.