William Yenner was involved in EnlightenNext between 1988 and 2000 (13 years).  He was a senior member of the community, board member of Moksha (predates EnlightenNext), and a key player in the search, acquisition and renovation of Foxhollow in 1994-1995.  He is also the subject of Cohen’s famous “gag order”, legal document which was entered into in exchange for the return of Yenner’s $80,000 inheritance that he had previously donated to Cohen – a very unusual event, incidentally, for Cohen to return money.  Cohen had denied the existence of the gag order, but it was made public in 2008.

Given the amount of information collected on EnlightenNixt about Cohen’s temper, shaming of students, abuses of power, ethically very dubious financial dealings, failure to respond credibly, and other behavior generally not befitting to a “totally enlightened being” (which is I summarized in my own research article, based on original sources that include Cohen’s writing, EnlightenNixt website, Luna Tarlo’s “Mother of God”, and Andre Van der Brack’s “Enlightenment Blues”), I wasn’t sure that Yenner’s  account would bring anything new.  And while it is true that his story seems quite typical, it contains many fascinating reflections on the narcissistic cult leader phenomenon, insights on Cohen’s attitude towards women, personal conclusions, and questions on EnlightenNext as a social phenonemon and on public endorsements of Cohen’s work.  In this light, it is an original and important contribution to the dialogue around Cohen.

The key question of course – and why this is such a fascinating research topic – is how it’s possible for an individual whose dysfunctional relations with his students have been so fully exposed, to continue to attract not just students, but the support of many leading spiritual and developmental luminaries, including Ken Wilber, Genpo Roshi, Don Beck, and many others.  Cohen’s last 21 day intensive in Florence, Italy (summer 2009) had over 250 students.  The rest of this article covers this question, for the simple reason that our support of, and belief in, charismatic but abusive spiritual leaders reveals key aspects of our humanity, both our dysfunctions and our deep longing for meaning, connection and purpose – while illuminating our infinite capacity for self-deception in the pursuit of these ideals.  My interest is in reviewing the book, but also in reflecting and sharing on this for myself.

Continue reading Review of William Yenner’s “American Guru – A story of Love, Betrayal and Healing – former students of Andrew Cohen speak out”