--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Actually there's a very bad trend in some…" description: "\"Actually there's a very bad trend in some cults about how Guru's are supposed to be mean to their students, and there are some who revel in this and ar..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/605/robert-thurman-9409_abusive_actually-there-s-a-very-bad-trend-in-som_790375.jpg" --- # Actually there's a very bad trend in some cults about how… ![“Actually there's a very bad trend in some cults about how Guru's are supposed to be mean to their students, and there are some who revel in this and are abusive.” quote by Robert Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/605/robert-thurman-9409_abusive_actually-there-s-a-very-bad-trend-in-som_790375.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/605/robert-thurman-9409_abusive_actually-there-s-a-very-bad-trend-in-som_790375.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/605/robert-thurman-9409_abusive_actually-there-s-a-very-bad-trend-in-som_790375.jpg) > “Actually there's a very bad trend in some cults about how Guru's are supposed to be mean to their students, and there are some who revel in this and are abusive.” [Robert Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-thurman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Cult leaders sometimes adopt cruelty as a teaching method, which can lead to abuse and harm. **In simple terms:** Abusive guru behavior harms followers. Key Takeaway Recognize and reject harmful authority. Themes authority abuse cult dynamics Mood concerned serious Type warning ethical When to use this quote - spiritual communities - educational settings - online forums - personal relationships Key Concepts psychology power dynamics ethical leadership Questions to Reflect On - How can we differentiate firm guidance from harmful cruelty? - What safeguards protect students from abusive authority? A Different Perspective Not all strict mentors are abusive; context matters. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abusive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abusive/) [Cult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cult/) [Cults](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cults/) [Cults Guru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cults-guru-6071181/) [Guru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guru/) [Guru Supposed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guru-supposed-6071182/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Mean Students](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean-students-3503513/) [Students](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/students/) [Supposed to be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/supposed-to-be/) [Trend Cults](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trend-cults-6071183/) [Trends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trends/) ## Related quotes > [I mean that they (students) should not play life, or study it merely, while the community supports them at this expensive game, but earnestly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-mean-that-they-students-should-not-play-life-or-study-it-merely/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“Religion is the most powerful entity on earth. 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Will no one sound the alarm?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-ravenhill/the-christless-cults-and-deity-dishonoring-mushroom-religions-of-this/) [Leonard Ravenhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-ravenhill/) > [“Cult (totalistic type): a group or movement exhibiting a great or excessive devotion or dedication to some person, idea, or thing and employing unethically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-jolyon-west/cult-totalistic-type-a-group-or-movement-exhibiting-a-great-or/) [Louis Jolyon West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-jolyon-west/) > [“Ritually abusive groups also convince children that something evil has been put inside them. For example, a child is made to believe he or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-miller/ritually-abusive-groups-also-convince-children-that-something-evil/) [Alison Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-miller/) > [“Those of us who work in the field of trauma and abuse, whether psychologists, psychoanalysts, social workers, doctors, counselors, or psychotherapists, have been provided…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valerie-sinason/those-of-us-who-work-in-the-field-of-trauma-and-abuse-whether/) [Valerie Sinason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valerie-sinason/) > [I didn't read about it for school. It was just for myself. I was interested in cults in general but Jonestown was the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danzy-senna/i-didn-t-read-about-it-for-school-it-was-just-for-myself-i-was/) [Danzy Senna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danzy-senna/) > [Cults use our vocabulary, but they don't use our dictionary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-r-swindoll/cults-use-our-vocabulary-but-they-don-t-use-our-dictionary/) [Charles R. Swindoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-r-swindoll/) ## More by Robert Thurman > [Whether or not enlightenment is a plausible goal for us is a vital question for our lives. If it is possible for us to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-thurman/whether-or-not-enlightenment-is-a-plausible-goal-for-us-is-a-vital/) [Robert Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-thurman/) > [You're more responsible ethically for being there with your interconnection to the world, but the you now is an always changing one, and you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-thurman/you-re-more-responsible-ethically-for-being-there-with-your/) [Robert Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-thurman/) > [However, because of your interconnectedness with all things, other beings still have a problem, and when you realize that you have no absolute self…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-thurman/however-because-of-your-interconnectedness-with-all-things-other/) [Robert Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-thurman/) > [If you love your enemy, that means you want your enemy to be happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-thurman/if-you-love-your-enemy-that-means-you-want-your-enemy-to-be-happy/) [Robert Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-thurman/) > [In Buddhist ideology, the conventional self is that which is constructed in a way by the use of the pronoun, and when you realize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-thurman/in-buddhist-ideology-the-conventional-self-is-that-which-is/) [Robert Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-thurman/) > [To become enlightened is not just to slip into some disconnected euphoria, an oceanic feeling of mystic oneness apart from ordinary reality. 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I don't panic over it, even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-thurman/i-think-about-the-trends-at-the-moment-in-the-planet-and-how-it-looks/) [Robert Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-thurman/) > [To finish building the free society dreamed of by Washington, Franklin, and Jefferson, we must draw upon the resources of the enlightened imagination, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-thurman/to-finish-building-the-free-society-dreamed-of-by-washington-franklin/) [Robert Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-thurman/) > [Hate poisons your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-thurman/hate-poisons-your-life/) [Robert Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-thurman/) > [A possession can't make you happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-thurman/a-possession-can-t-make-you-happy/) [Robert Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-thurman/) > [People in Tibet have an expression. When you reach a certain degree of venerableness and age, and people ask, "How are you?," there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-thurman/people-in-tibet-have-an-expression-when-you-reach-a-certain-degree-of/) [Robert Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-thurman/) > [“Anger spoils relationships where there should be great reciprocity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-thurman/anger-spoils-relationships-where-there-should-be-great-reciprocity/) [Robert Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-thurman/) > [It isn't the meaning of love where you somehow desire that one or you want them or want them to love you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-thurman/it-isn-t-the-meaning-of-love-where-you-somehow-desire-that-one-or-you/) [Robert Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-thurman/) > [Thich Nhat Hanh is one of the greatest teachers of our time. He reaches from the heights of insight down to the deepest places…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-thurman/thich-nhat-hanh-is-one-of-the-greatest-teachers-of-our-time-he/) [Robert Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-thurman/) > [I'd like to say is that we shouldn't have an idea that the goal of spiritual practice is to annihilate ones ego, that would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-thurman/i-d-like-to-say-is-that-we-shouldn-t-have-an-idea-that-the-goal-of/) [Robert Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-thurman/) [Explore all 73 Robert Thurman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-thurman/) ## More Abusive quotes > [“God, I was a mess when it came to Derrek. One part relief that I wasn’t still with him. 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It's institutions that keep us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-frum/one-of-the-things-we-re-all-going-to-have-to-discover-establishment/) [David Frum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-frum/) > [“KINGDOM OF THE WOMB From her thighs, she gives you life And how you treat she who gives you life Shows how much you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/kingdom-of-the-womb-from-her-thighs-she-gives-you-life-and-how-you/) [Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/) > [An abusive relationship? A cheating Ex Partner? Family who constantly disrespect you? Those are just a few examples of bridges that should rightly be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/an-abusive-relationship-a-cheating-ex-partner-family-who-constantly/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I have a temper, but I wouldn't call me abusive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tatum-o-neal/i-have-a-temper-but-i-wouldn-t-call-me-abusive/) [Tatum O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tatum-o-neal/) > [I wouldn't mind being in an abusive relationship with you babes only if you would punch me with her tits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/i-wouldn-t-mind-being-in-an-abusive-relationship-with-you-babes-only/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [“The woman knows from living with the abusive man that there are no simple answers. 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