There appears to be this new religion, a kind of thought experiment, a religion based entirely on thought. Mind-boggling when one comes to observe and discover it in operation… a kind of stillbirth of a new religion.
It uses words to construct a surreal belief system such as believing that the self doesn’t exist (it doesn’t, but that is something that one can only discover when the self is truly gone - when there is the mutation…). In a way, it’s sort of like magical thinking. One has observed/perceived analysis going on for several months, which is all orchestrated by thought (which, of course, is all held together by fear - that cold black emotion). So, it is not surprising that one of it’s high priests (guru, to use another word) would have a reaction of being left cold by one of the posts of his followers, when the follower doesn’t or can’t buy into the same belief. But to see the actual conditioning or the guru, such as the pressure tactics, the strategy, the manipulation, the control of all of the verbal exchanges, makes one understand how all organized religions get their start. Not only organized religions, but political systems as well.
One’s go-to example, always being the big-fat-lie guy, Trump… one has read how he used what he ‘learned’ in Hitler’s ‘Mein Kampf’ as a practice model upon which to hone his speech-making abilities, constantly repeating the lie. And, so the would-be guru is a liar first and foremost - he or she can say anything, do a 180 degree turnaround, at the snap of his or her fingers, saying one thing one moment and the exact opposite the next. The thing is that is not just a question of having misspoken (a slight error). The fact remains that the “guru/leader” would never really own up to, because it would show him or her up for who he or she really is and thereby weaken his or her authority. It would also mean that that he or she would have to drop the fake persona, and demonstrate real vulnerability, that oh so necessary quality that means a person is capable of “love”. That so very few question such authoritarianism only goes to show how the “guru” knows his base !!
All of this is easily shown by how little regard this guru (leader) has for the meaning of words. While the word is not the thing, words being only referents, words do point to certain facts, truths. Of course, this fake leader couldn’t care less about truth. What I am saying is that such a person has never experienced truth. They only care that they have followers to buy into their lies - just like the big fat lie guy.
What I am saying is that this is the reason that such people have so little regard for meaning, for meaningfulness. They neither say what they mean nor mean what they say. They haven’t got a clue, as they are making it all up as they go along. It doesn’t matter to them whether or not they contradict themselves (lie), as long as the conversation continues. Not only that, they couldn’t care less when exposed for their contradictions, which they so easily dismiss as not being part of the party line. It’s not like they are going to have a self-imposed period of reflection. They just go on an on just like that battery…
One could say that such a person lacks integrity, that they are insane. (The very word ‘integer’ means: “whole, sane, rational”, etymologically speaking.) Their entire behaviour reflects a most terrible conditioning. The problem remains that their followers accept such a person as a leader/guru - which also shows the same tragic conditioning, only the other side of the same coin, the coin being ‘follow the leader’, so deeply ingrained.
I would say that such a ‘guru’ always has an agenda, a vested interest, which is always power. Their very lack of transparency betrays this agenda. Moreover, the silent majority is just as culpable for their lack of transparency, because their silence reflects a tacit acceptance of this arrangement. Here, one must really see that this is in no way any kind of real true relationship.
And one can ask why is the majority so silent, eh? Is it the charming comfort and fake friendship that such a guru offers? It’s not like such people have read K when he warned of the danger of those who offer psychological comfort.
Charley understands one thing very well. Were Charley to have a small child under her care, Charley would never allow a guru/leader such as this within arm’s length of such a child.
Personally, one’s most interesting discovery on this site is that of understanding that there are those who use thinking as a part of a skill that enables them to earn a living and fulfil real needs - food, clothing, shelter - (aka practical knowledge), and there are those who develop thinking as a modus operandi for conversation/debate (aka psychological knowledge)…
Please understand that one is not saying that the latter form of thinking is either good or bad, it is just that there are consequences to this approach which exacerbate and reinforce the state of the conditioning - a bigger and better wall, to which one adds one brick (thought) at a time.
EDIT: One is unable to shake another false conclusion that lies at the heart of the false guru, and that is because that person also dismissed the word “patience” as meaningless. This very word lies at the source of compassion [as well as sympathy (aka kindness) and empathy]. The latter 3 words find their source in that very word “patience”. That word itself derives its origin from the root word passio-, which we all know has given rise to the word passion, a word which means love - love for one thing. Originally, patience also implies sorrow, hence compassion implies sorrow with “the other” - love with the other. So, when the fake guru dismissed the word patience, he/she was entirely unaware that they were also dismissing love… It is important to understand that the very language we use and its original meaning give us a clue as to the meaning of words - of what they refer to; and if one is really interested in uncovering, discovering the why of it all, one must respect the origin of words. I would add here that it is impossible to have passion for one thing unless one knows oneself. Nosce te ipsum or temet nosce originally meant know thy measure. So, without knowing one’s own measure which can only be discovered through awareness, it is impossible to discover that which is measureless. In the end, one can only say that thought is the wrong tool, the wrong approach.
As K has quoted: ‘Thought is the child of a barren woman’. And, what K said with Prof. Anderson: ‘So I see thought and its products are the children of barren women.’