The teacher/student relationship

One of the best books on the whole topic of the teacher/student relationships is Prophetic Charisma: The Psychology of Revolutionary Religious Personalities (1997) by Len Oakes, an Australian psychologist.

Dr. Oakes was himself a member of a communal cult for three years in the early 70s, and returned at the invitation of that group’s charismatic leader to study the group at close hand over a period of years. He later studied a number of other charismatic religious and spiritual leaders in Australia and New Zealand, together with their followers, and his inquiry included administering short, standardized psychological tests to both leaders and followers. He has also read extensively about other historical charismatic figures worldwide. His insights based on this experiential and analytical work are quite powerful. Dr. Oakes argues that charismatic "prophetic" figures are different, in a couple of key ways, from most people, and suggests ways in which their narcissism develops differently from that of the average narcissist. Another insight from the book that is missing from most other treatments of the subject is the potential benefits to individuals that become involved with these charismatic figures. The one he suggests that has registered most deeply with me is the potential license followers are often given to experience their own "forgotten" narcissism.

The excerpt taken from Chapter 2, explains the nature of charisma, describes shamans as charismatic figures, and introduces theories on the development of narcissism. The excerpt taken from Chapter 3 explains the early stage of narcissism in the development of charismatic figures, based on the psychoanalytic theories of Kohut.The excerpt taken from Chapter 7 describes the psychology of the follower: why do intelligent people go through such great lengths to follow charismatic figures?