Theos-Talk Archives (October 1997 Message tl00017)

Nicole asks a big question, an important one, about where
elitism comes from.  (Yes, "spiritual elitism" is an oxymoron,
but that doesn't stop it from being an epidemic.)  In
Theosophical context, I would say that a hierarchical view of the
cosmos tends to trickle down to a hierarchical view of
everything in it.  The Masters are of course the main focus of
reverence for hierarchy in the Theosophical movement; most of
you know my conclusion that HPB's sponsors were in reality no
hierarchy at all but a loose network.  But she was saturated in
the hierarchical mindset of esoteric Freemasonry,
Rosicrucianism, etc. from childhood.  And her disciples wanted
to hear about a grand unified universal brotherhood of wise
men, not about a bunch of mentors she acquired and often
dropped along a circuitous life path.  If the central
authority behind our sacred scriptures is a hierarchy, that
implies that we can all measure ourselves and one another by
how high we are on a ladder to adeptship.  That's still the
raison d'etre of the ES.

That's half the problem with Theosophical elitism, IMO.  The
other half is the whole idea of occultism/esotericism.  To the
extent that some "knowledge" has been kept secret for the
favored few and concealed from the unworthy masses, elitism is
part and parcel of the allure of esoterica.  Which means that
the people attracted to these ideas are predisposed to want to
be an elite.  That goes back a long way, since Gnosticism for
example reeks of it.

As for where spiritual elitism in general comes from-- that's
harder.  I have noted before that 95% of the things people say
in arguments about religion on the Net boils down to "Mine's
better than yours."  People are competitive because it was an
evolutionary advantage in terms of physical survival.  But the
results are grotesque when the drive for oneupsmanship
translates itself into the so-called spiritual realm.

So I blame that old debbil biology for the drive to outrun,
outshine, etc. the other guy; and blame the cultural traditions
of esotericism and belief in hierarchy for the way it has
manifested in the Theosophical movement.

What do you think?