Many of these secret societies, especially if they have something to hide, use the technique of disinformation. Sometimes what we hear or read about a particular secret society may not necessarily be true, so we may be hearing a fabrication that hides some information or activity that they don’t want anyone else to find out about.

in his book The Encyclopedia of Secret Societies ElementsJohn Michael Greer reports: “One of the basic methods of concealment used by secret societies is disinformation, the deliberate spread of false information. Mere concealment is rarely enough to keep a secret safe, as the absence of information arouses By inventing a false ‘secret’ and putting it into circulation, however, and the secret is doubly protected – those who think they know a secret rarely keep trying to find out, and those who think they have secret knowledge They are often emotionally attached to that belief, and clinging to the misinformation they have received even in the face of evidence to the contrary.”

This being the case, it makes you wonder exactly what some of these secret societies are hiding. Are they deep, dark conspiracy secrets? Plans for a New World Order? Or are these secrets set for your own protection and safety? They most likely feel that what they have is nobody’s business but their own, which is sensible.

It usually involves protection from outsiders, to protect its own members, for what could be anything from tampering with signs of recognition and secret handshakes or passwords, to forged documents and embellished histories of the various secret schools. In other words, if an insider posing as a member gives the wrong password or handshake, the real member knows right away that this person is actually a stranger. Sometimes copies of religious rituals were radically altered in case they fell into the wrong hands, while the original books of rituals were kept secret and hidden by adherents of that particular group.

However, going back a couple hundred years and even thousands of years, the usual reason for concealment and secrecy was to keep their esoteric teachings and rituals hidden, otherwise the major religions or churches or governments of the time would accuse their beliefs and practices as heretical. and satanic in nature, and vile persecution would ensue. In the Middle Ages, the Inquisition of the Roman Catholic Church was notorious for persecuting and even torturing heretics, especially early Gnostics whose beliefs were quite contrary to Church doctrine.

Although criticism of these mysterious groups still persists today, it is not as severe as in the past. However, these secret societies continue to keep secrets, mainly because they don’t want to “throw pearls to swine.” They feel that the world is not ready for the centuries old wisdom to be released. They feel that the unenlightened masses have little understanding or even desire to understand what they could offer. On the other hand, there are some progressive groups who believe that it is time for the higher teachings to be revealed.

Today it seems that many of these large groups that are a few hundred years old, like the Freemasons and the Rosicrucians and other groups, feel they must maintain a particular historical claim, which hides the reality that they are not as old as they seem.

In his book, John Michael Greer also says: “Secret societies have good reason to appear older, bigger and more powerful than they are, as this helps attract and retain members. Misinformation plays a central role in this process”. Further on, the author says, “Secret societies, like many other organizations, benefit from making themselves look bigger and more important than they really are, and claims of glorious history are a proven way to do this. The fabrication of stories of origin combines with the equally common practice of retrospective recruitment to provide secret societies with a borrowed history more glamorous than their actual origins.” And he finally says: “Such considerations have made it easy for some recently founded secret societies to claim roots going back hundreds or even thousands of years.”

Doesn’t this kind of pretentious practice seem dishonest? When the new members discover that the group’s history is a total fabrication, won’t they question the group they just joined? You’d think most people who joined a popular mystical group holding the “ancient wisdom teachings” would be upset when they find out they’ve succumbed to creating false stories that supposedly date back thousands of years. The main examples of this practice are schools such as Freemasonry and several of the Rosicrucian schools, especially the AMORC (Ancient Mystical Order Rosae Crucis, founded in 1925) of which I was once a member.

Such practices can seem plainly despicable, especially if it is simply for the purpose of recruiting members, which sounds like something many fundamentalist Christian groups do in their proselytizing drives when they strive to convert people to their church if they want to avoid going to church. hell. Perhaps these popular secret societies are not as honorable and perfect as they are supposed to be.

There is nothing wrong with having a more humble attitude, saying that your group does not have much time, and perhaps its members are few, but at least they are sincerely searching for the truth, or if they have found it, they will give it freely. to others. Because, after all, the truth will set you free. And when certain groups cling to the truth, hide it, keep it a secret from the masses and keep it to themselves, they are not doing themselves any good and are not helping to liberate anyone else. They are standing at the door and not letting others in.

In conclusion, be careful if you are looking for esoteric teachings or ancient wisdom from some of these popular secret societies or mystery schools. They may or may not have something worthwhile, but you have to learn to discern where the truth is. Often these groups get caught up in the politics of their elaborate hierarchies, with many of the members or senior leaders becoming arrogant and conceited. I know this from first hand experience. Some people choose to become solitary seekers, seeking truth for themselves, contemplating and meditating on the nature of reality and truth in their own way, whether in the privacy of their prayer room, amidst the beauty of nature. , maybe in some church or temple, or wherever. But if a searcher is under the influence of a large religious group with many restrictions and heavy-handed rules, this might not make their search so easy. On the other hand, some people feel the need for a support structure to help them on their inner journey. They prefer to go with the flow of the whole herd in their mystical quest, and that’s perfectly fine if it suits them. Ultimately, it is up to each person to decide which path to take, the path of a groupie or the path of a loner.

But then there is a third classification: the debunker, the one who only wants to judge and ridicule and condemn these mystical groups and secret societies, proclaiming false accusations about them. There is also a lot of misinformation circulating, if not outright lies.

Last word: Instead of blindly accepting whatever comes your way, learn to discern the truth. Meditation is the key.

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Reference:

The Encyclopedia of Secret Societies Elements by John Michael Greer