Concept of the Egregore & its Relevance to the ex-BK

Concept of the Egregore & its Relevance to the ex-BK - posted by: gyaniwas on August 18, 2004

I first came across this term “egregore” in my search for a non-sectarian form of meditation to sustain my spirituality. I tried to find the word in a dictionary but couldn’t, so I used a very effective search machine and found it a very interesting concept.

To begin with, the word seems to have two spellings one “egregore”, the other “egregor”. The difference has been researched and included in a presentatio by L. S. Bernstein in her scholarly article entitled Egregor - by L.S. Bernstein. She adopts the spelling “egregor” based on an Intermediate Greek- English Lexicon after failing to find the spelling “egregore during her initial research. I use both spellings, perhaps because at this stage I associate “egregore” with the “group mind influence” and “egregor” with the “entity” meaning. You might appreciate this more clearly if you check the Egregore Definition Compilation which attempts to present a range of meaning to the concept.

Briefly, there is one which describes it as “a kind of group mind which is created when people consciously come together for a common purpose.” You can see from this initial definition that it can be very simply defined but can have great potential power when used. The same definition continue to explain that “…unless an attempt is made to maintain it deliberately it will dissipate rather quickly.

However if the people wish to maintain it and know the techniques of how to do so, the egregore will continue to grow in strength and can last for centuries.” Another definition refers to “egregors” as “watchers, thought-form entities created by visualization, ritual and such. They come in collective groups They are somewhat like angels, except that they are relatively mindless and quite willing to follow orders. Some UFOs may be egregores”. Here we see a more magical form of definition alluding to the creation of things from thought power.

At the end of Bernstein’s article and elsewhere, I have seen described a relationship between the concept of the egregore and a concept termed “meme” (pronounced ‘meem’) in the field of psychology. Bernstein compares the two meanings in a “post scriptum (2004 A.D.)”:

1. Meme - Cultural idea, social practice, concept or action that becomes a norm and begins to repeat itself consciously in a society (term coined by Richard Dawkins in his book The Selfish Gene 1976) (Babylon English English translator software).

2. Meme - A thought that spreads through society taking a life of its own (rhymed with cream) - The Condensed Net Glossary (Babylon software).

3. Meme - meem / n.[coined by analogy with ‘gene’, by Richard Dawkins] an idea considered as a replicator, especially with the connotation that memes parasitize people into propagating them much as viruses do. Used especially in the phrase ‘meme complex’ denoting a group of mutually supporting memes that form a generalized belief system such as a religion.

The concepts of egregore and meme are not confined to the religious sphere and I have seen an article referring to The Corporate Egregore alluding to the power of a corporation’s group ethos. I refer you to a striking article entitled “The Egregore of a School”, written by W.E. Butler in 1970. I will quote an excerpt for brief comments:

“From the inner point of view we may see it as a composite thought -form charged with emotional energy. This energy is evoked from all those who are linked with the thought-form and, if there are those in the group who know something of the psychic mechanism involved, it can be directed upon any chosen target. It is obvious that such energy can be used for good or evil purposes, the intention of those who manipulate the energy within the collective thought -form determining the way it is directed.

As a general rule the thought-form is built around some person or group of persons, and as the numbers admitted increase, so the power and range of the Egregore increases, and a peculiar reciprocal action takes place. Each member of the group pours energy into the collective thought-form but, equally, into each member there also passes the influence of the group as a whole. This reverse action brings to light certain problems.

It is increasingly apparent to those outside the group that any member of it is being influenced to some degree by the pressure of the collective thinking of all linked with it, and unless care is taken, the power of independent thought may be reduced. For many people this is something they actually seek, they may feel inadequate in the everyday world and feel that by being linked in this way, they are protected from against what they see as aggressive tendencies from other people. Or again they may feel inadequate to deal with new ideas and situations and feel that the Group mind will do their thinking for them, and they will not be in danger of wrong thinking.” (End of quote)

From the first paragraph you can recognize why there is a strong emotional attachment to any group to which we belong – and this is natural since as humans we are naturally gregarious. What is interesting here, though, is the moral choice we make in using that group power. In the BK movement, you may recall, we used to practice World Meditation Sunday where we’d focus our energies on a particular power for world service through the mind. There are other organizations that practice this. I once knew of one that would focus on a specific world leader with a specific thought to influence him or her in specific direction thought to be appropriate for World Peace etc. Other organizations or groups might choose to use that power for less altruistic reasons. The point is that the power by itself is morally neutral in character but universal in its nature and application.

An interesting observation in the second paragraph is the reciprocal nature of egregore energy and the mention of potential problems that can arise from this. The third paragraph elaborates on two such problems: first, the reduction of independent thought - a point intensely discussed in various forums of this site – and second, the resulting dependence and complacency that leads to a restriction of intellectual growth.

It is these two problems that confront us the most and unsettle us in the BK milieu but, more important, they are sustained because they are subtly and inextricably interwoven in the egregore of the BKs. Still, we may ask, why is this power so strong so that – as you observe with reference to Kevin and Isabel – its power is fearful and hypnotic? In my opinion this has to with the power of faith, sincerity and the best of ourselves that we initially invest in the Yagya. We bring with us our purest emotions to know God, to develop a meaningful relationship with Him/Her (the Mother/Father experience or concept) and willingness to serve that Supreme Being. It is a natural, human imperative that is awakened in us at some point in our lives. That pure energy resides in every human being; where or how we invest it in what determines our salvation.

The problem is that once it is invested in a chosen egregore we stand the chance of becoming victims if we are not vigilant in maintaining our basic human right to individual growth through independent assessment of the path we choose. This is why the retention of our critical faculties becomes important and why we must each, ultimately, assume personal responsibility for the choices we make. If we choose to hide under the umbrella of the organization’s egregore and “surrender our intellects” unconditionally, a we are advised to do, then we pay a price for that complacency: we are caught between our active inner selves seeking independent growth and evolution and an unsettling sense of stagnation despite our best efforts to “inculcate knowledge.”

But we are afraid to depart because we have become addicted to the organization’s egregore which we ourselves have fed with the best in us. Thus we feel that we are, in a way, trying to destroy an essential part of ourselves the existence of which has become inextricable interwoven with the egregore of the organization. We therefore labour under the illusion that there is no existence or life outside of the organization. The tremendous power of the egregore has gripped us; but it is an awareness of it that can free us. This brings me to your third point of its relevance to post Raja Yoga life.

It is clear from the above that we cannot escape the influence of egregores as long as we live in society and even on the astral and higher planes of existence egregores exist as fields of energy. When we pray to God or a deity we are participating in a field of energy. Or, from the little that I understand of the ‘holographic’ term, everything is interconnected in fields of energy. What matters then is the choice we make in attuning our energies and in associating them.

I am learning that one way can be to recognize that there is a field of cosmic energy where the best and highest of human thoughts are projected. It is the field where we take our thoughts in prayer or meditation or wherever we try to reach God and experience that profound sweet silence and enlightenment. For me, at this point, it is not so much place as an experience of “sweet silence” with a sense of reverence beyond the mundane world. Each of us can choose how we wish to attune to this universal field of energy and imbue it with the best in us so that, in terms of the egregore, we can experience a sense of reciprocation.

Or, to borrow a quotation from the Muslims: “if you take one step towards Allah He will take a thousand to meet you”.