'THE GURU PAPERS'
AND SATHYA SAI BABA

Joel Kramer and Diana Alstad published a major work - The Guru Papers and Authoritarian Power - on gurus and their ideologies, which has become recognised as a key study in authoritarian power and human manipulation in various organisations throughout society, especially those of a religious and spiritual kind. Their findings match almost perfectly with what I discovered in the Sathya Sai Baba movement and cult after more than 20 years of involvement, as I have detailed in the following article (click here)

“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." — SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE SUNDAY BOOK REVIEW (complete review)

“Spells out…the dangers of becoming addicted to another's authority” — 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.... authoritarianism is not merely a political phenomenon. It’s part of the way we think.” — THE NEW MEXICAN (complete review)

“An exciting and provocative new concept about the origin and process of addiction. A must read for therapists and addiction counselors.” — Ann McKain, past Pres. American Academy of Psychotherapists

“The potential to shift readers’ minds in a deep way….onto something big—possibly even the root of human error. It can actually change the way one views the world…. Elegantly articulates many of [our]…unformed thoughts” — SYNAPSE (complete review)