The fall of the guru
In this technological age through the advent of mediums such as social media and Google we now have access to information in ways never available to us before. For those like me, who have been seekers our entire lives, this easy access to information and those providing it has been a way of feeding our insatiable yearning for the truth. But there’s a hidden cost which every single one of us is at risk of falling prey to at one point or another: the teacher who abuses their power.
In recent years numerous stories and allegations of abuse, coercion, manipulation, and misconduct have surfaced from within almost every inch of the yoga and spiritual community leaving barely any tradition untouched. Some of these are household names, some less well known. Some are musicians within the spiritual scene, and some are women. Yes. Not all abusers are men, although it’s fair to say that the vast majority have proven to be so far.
What is it about these people, aside from their charisma or their profound knowledge, that we deem so alluring to the point we find ourselves submerged in the dangerous territory of idolatry? Well I can only assuredly speak for myself here, but I’m willing to bet that this is the same for some of you too: we’ve never believed that we’re enough on our own merit, and when we don’t believe that we’re enough as we are, its easy to fall prey to those who claim to be able to ‘show us the way’.
In the spirit of transparency I need to tread carefully here because my work too is revolved around showing people ‘the way’, but I don’t want clients that will hang off my every word and perpetually be in session or on courses with me. My ethos is based on helping others find their true source of wisdom: themselves, and then empowering them to go on and share that with everyone else in their lives. I have no desire to be placed in a position of authority in anyone’s life. The thought terrifies me, and for good reason. Teachers who are placed high upon pedestals have the longest distance to fall. And they are falling.
I’ve not been unscathed when it comes to teachers who abuse their power in one way or another. From a Reiki master who was sleeping with a student, to a shamanic teacher who said inappropriate things during a private session, a long-term female teacher and mentor who ghosted me when I chose to no longer follow the path she was taking, to the head of a yoga training school, which was already tainted by sexual abuse allegations against its founder, who was having an affair with a student, and finally, to the self-proclaimed ‘liberated’ teacher who also didn’t understand the boundaries and ethics of a teacher/student relationship, among other things.
When I re-read that paragraph I can’t help but see the irony in how this universe works. Time and time again I’d placed others in a position of power above me, only for them all to fail in one way or another. After years of searching the message was finally loud and clear - I am what I’d been searching for all along. And after so many let downs and disappointments, I really don’t have any other choice now but to believe it.
It’s interesting to watch how the power dynamic is changing. Many women I speak to are turning off and away from the ‘guru’ and dogmatic structures, and looking to the earth based traditions that women practiced many millennia ago. Intuition is taking precedence over the words of another and we’re slowly beginning to trust that we, and we alone, hold the answers to our deepest and most profound questions.
We are gathering in circles and red tents, sharing knowledge and creating communities. We’re teaching one another in how we show up in our own lived spirituality through authenticity and integrity.
We are standing naked in the woods whilst feeling the pull of the cyclical nature of the earth as it informs our own innate feminine cycles.
We’re awakening to the embodied wisdom and power of the menstrual and feminine cycles and learning how to navigate our lives from this empowered vantage point.
And we are listening, deeply, to our own internal rhythm and are dancing, some quite literally, to the beat of our own drum.
There is still much work to be done but I believe we are standing on the precipice of a whole new era of women’s spirituality. This is an exciting time for us as the cycle comes full circle. I dig my bare feet in the soil and look to the moon as I feel the tide of change upon us.
May we all rise in power.