Sechel: the idea that a person can’t get to higher levels on their own without a Rebbe lifting them up in preposterous. It’s one of the main issues I have with chassidus.
Chaim, I agree that the whole idea of Daas Torah is a recent innovation. R’ Bender once bemoaned to me that people were asking their Rabbeim about things that had nothing to do with their Rebbe, and they should have been consulting experts in the field instead. As he said to me, “some people won’t blow their nose without asking their Rebbe first!”
As for R’ Chaim, people should not have been mevatel to him, at least not in every issue.
I only once went to a Rebbe for a bracha, because my Rebbe told me to go see him, and it would benefit me. I visited a different Rebbe once, only because he knew my wife’s family, and my wife asked me to go see him and mention the connection (this was while he was visiting my community once). While I was seeing him, he asked me how many children we have, and I told him 2. He asked me if we considered having more, as it would be a big bracha. I explained that we needed fertility treatments for the 2, and I’d be thrilled to have more. He then offered a bracha to me.