A uniting element of many esoteric tenets is the claim of offering ultimate answers to the key questions of humanity. They assert to have knowledge of "higher powers", of past and future of mankind, and promises ascent to higher realms or higher forms of knowledge which are denied to the uninitiated.<ref>Heelas, Paul (1996): The New Age Movement. Oxford.</ref> This restriction of knowledge to insiders is the exact opposite of an important principle in science: Any good idea is accessible to all mankind, and not just to a circle of a chosen few. | A uniting element of many esoteric tenets is the claim of offering ultimate answers to the key questions of humanity. They assert to have knowledge of "higher powers", of past and future of mankind, and promises ascent to higher realms or higher forms of knowledge which are denied to the uninitiated.<ref>Heelas, Paul (1996): The New Age Movement. Oxford.</ref> This restriction of knowledge to insiders is the exact opposite of an important principle in science: Any good idea is accessible to all mankind, and not just to a circle of a chosen few. |