The group is described as an exclusive sisterhood whose members train their bodies and minds through years of physical and mental conditioning to obtain superhuman powers and abilities that can seem magical to outsiders.
A process cannot be understood by stopping it. Understanding must move with the flow of the process, must join it and flow with it. ( Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam)
Acolytes who have acquired the breadth of Bene Gesserit abilities are called Reverend Mothers within the organization’s ranks.
Oppose a religion with another religion only if your proofs (miracles) are irrefutable or if you can mesh in a way that the fanatics accept you as god-inspired.
The Bene Gesserit choose to use indirect methodologies to further their goals, rather than wield overt power themselves.
When God hath ordained a creature to die in a particular place, He causeth that creature’s wants to direct him to that place.
They have noted the Taoist principle that whatever rises must fall; and so rather than taking direct control of the human race, they instead manipulate the social and political order with subtlety and insinuation, often using extraordinarily long-term stratagems spanning generations.
The mystery of life isn’t a problem to solve, but a reality to experience.
The Bene Gesserit avoid appearing too rich or powerful, or revealing the extent of their powers, to prevent being seen as overtly responsible for the rise and fall of governments and empires, and to avoid any organized backlash.
. It’s shocking to find how many people do not believe they can learn, and how many more believe learning to be difficult.
The Bene Gesserit practice “religious engineering” through a faction called the Missionaria Protectiva.
Collectively known as Panoplia Prophetica, these myths, prophecies, and superstitions provide the opportunity for a Bene Gesserit to later cast herself as a guide, protector, or some other figure in fulfillment of a prophecy in order to manipulate the religious subjects for protection or other purposes.
These myths also exploit religion as a powerful force in human society; by controlling the particulars of religion, the Bene Gesserit have a manipulative lever on society in general.
Fanatics (and many are fanatic on one subject or another) must know where you stand, but more important, must recognise who whispers in your ear.” – Missionaria Protectiva, Primary Teaching
Source: DUNE
