Feet of Clay: Study of Gurus - Hardcover

Storr, Anthony

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0002555638 ISBN 13: 9780002555630

Publisher: HarperCollins, 1996

Synopsis

Scarcely a year goes by without reports of strange and generally dangerous cults which enthral their followers and lead them to cut themselves off from the world. Invariably led by gurus or "spiritual leaders", these cults often end in mass suicide or harm to innocent people. This book is an examination of those gurus and of their followers. It takes as examples some of those we consider modern gurus - James Jones, David Koresh, the Bhangwan Sunree Ranjeesh, Gurdjieff and others, some of them apparently mad and some more genuine, and establishes what each of them has in common. The book then examines what each of these people shares with other gurus whose teachings we accept or at least respect - Jung, Freud, Ignatius Loyola, and Jesus Christ. The comparison finds more startling continuities than we might realize.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

There are said to be at least six hundred New Religious Movements in Britain, and many more in other parts of the world. They range from benign, charitable organisations to corrupt, dangerous cults which may end in murder or mass suicide. Since cults have a special appeal to the young, anxious parents have prompted a good deal of research into who joins cults and why. Less has been written about the gurus who institute and lead such movements.

Gurus are extraordinary individuals who cast doubt upon current psychiatric distinctions between sanity and madness. A guru convinces others that he knows – a persuasive capacity which can bring illumination but which may also and in disaster.

Anthony Storr’s new book is a study of some of the best-known gurus, ranging from monsters such as Jim Jones or David Koresh, to saints such as Ignatius of Loyola. It includes both Freud and Jung because, as Storr demonstrates, what ostensibly began as a scientific investigation became, in each case, a secular path to salvation.

'Feet of Clay' is one of Anthony Storr’s most original and illuminating books. It demonstrates that most of us harbour irrational beliefs, and discusses how the human wish for certainty in an insecure world leads to confusing delusion with truth. No-one knows, in the sense that gurus claim that they know. Maturity requires us to be able to tolerate doubt. The book ends with reflections upon why human beings need gurus at all, and indicates how those in need of guidance can distinguish the false and dangerous from the genuine and good.

About the Author:

The editor, Anthony Storr, is a doctor, psychiatrist and analyst (trained in the school of C.G.) and author of ‘Jung’ (a Fontana Modern Master,1973) amongst many others.

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0002555638
• ISBN 13: 9780002555630
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 288