Are There Any Secret Societies with Esoteric Knowledge?

[Marat]

The mystery religions of the Ancient World all claimed to transmit some secret knowledge of the nature of the universe to their initiates, and in the late 16th and early 17th centuries the interest in secret organizations able to impart esoteric knowledge to their members revived with such groups as the Freemasons and the Rosicrucians.

 

It seems probable to me that estoeric knowledge of any value could not remain secret for long, since some initiates of any group privy to it would seek to profit from using or revealing their knowledge in the public sphere. But I'm just wondering, does anyone know of any secret societies in existence today which in fact do have esoteric knowledge or at least plausibly claim to impart some special information to their members (aside from the Church of Scientology)?

[lemur]

The mystery religions of the Ancient World all claimed to transmit some secret knowledge of the nature of the universe to their initiates, and in the late 16th and early 17th centuries the interest in secret organizations able to impart esoteric knowledge to their members revived with such groups as the Freemasons and the Rosicrucians.

 

It seems probable to me that estoeric knowledge of any value could not remain secret for long, since some initiates of any group privy to it would seek to profit from using or revealing their knowledge in the public sphere. But I'm just wondering, does anyone know of any secret societies in existence today which in fact do have esoteric knowledge or at least plausibly claim to impart some special information to their members (aside from the Church of Scientology)?

I don't think it matters all that much whether the knowledge is kept totally secret. All that matters is that the "members" feel as if they are part of some privileged elite. Think of all the TV ads that claim to be letting you in on some big secret to health, longevity, better cooking, etc. People can figure out that anyone else watching TV is getting let in on the same secret, but they like the feeling of believing a little bit that they're getting included in an elite club. Some people get into this feeling so much, they continuously pursue the end-of-rainbow dream of finding a true secret society that can reveal to them mysteries or privileges unavailable to anyone else. Personally, I recommend Jehovah's Witnesses if you are looking for such a society - though they're not really that secretive imo. Nevertheless their is something special-feeling about knowing the true personal name of God, if you allow yourself to believe. In this way, you can develop a feeling of personal intimacy with "Jehovah" that goes beyond what many other religions offer. I'm not actually promoting religion now - it's just an example.

[JohnB]

does anyone know of any secret societies in existence today which in fact do have esoteric knowledge

 

Two problems with your question. Firstly if there were such a "secret society", why would anyone have heard of it? If its existence is widely known then it isn't a secret, is it?

 

Secondly, if I were part of such a society or had definite knowledge of one, why would tell some nameless person on the interwebs? If I was a member I wouldn't tell and if I had definite knowledge I'd keep my mouth shut anyway.

[the tree]

Supposing we knew the answer to the question posed in the topic, why would we tell you?

[Xittenn]

<.< psst for invite ....

[Marat]

But historically societies which promised secret knowledge to initiates did make themselves publicly available for new candidates to apply. The Freemasons have secrets but they have a website indicating generally what they do and how the process of becomng a member can be begun. When the Rosicrucian sect first appeared, they announced their existence with posters put all over Paris one night and solicited members. The main motivation for Descartes going to Germany was to try to find out how to join up with them. And all the Ancient mystery religions such as Mithraism were 'mysterious' only in the sense that they provided esoteric knowledge to their initiates, not in the sense that their existence or the procedures for joining were anything other than exoteric.

 

So I assume that even today 'secret' societies are secret in the sense that they impart esoteric knowledge to their members, but not secret in the sense that they cannot be contacted and do not have a public face. Even the Skull and Bones Society at Yale has a big grey building on a public street.

[Mr Skeptic]

Does bankers meeting in secret to discuss things like derivatives count? I'm sure that knowledge is very closely guarded and certainly useful. And derivatives are kindof esoteric.