For a year and half in the early ’90s, I lived in an ashram with a guru who was said to be all knowing. She was very popular. Everyone, including celebrities, wanted her time and counsel. I attended a meditation intensive alongside Meg Ryan. I sat on a porch next to William Hurt. Elizabeth Gilbert wrote about one of her ashrams in Eat Pray Love. Other celebrities and people who I didn’t know but seemed important came and went.
When the guru told you to do something, no matter what you thought about it, you did it, because that command was “sacred.” Arguing with the guru, it was said, was a fool’s response, like kicking gold. Because she was believed to be so evolved, no one dared challenge her authority. And she often expressed anger if they did. This caused many of her followers to cower in her presence.
These days I work with leaders in organizations. And sometimes, an organization has a “guru” CEO who believes they are all-knowing and makes sure that everyone else knows it, too. Staff tiptoe around the leader, nodding their heads, doubting their own wisdom, and cringing when they do speak up and get a nasty look or are ignored by their boss. Others jockey for power by signaling that they have a special relationship with the leader. The company gets a reputation for being “toxic.”
