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Eckankar

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“ECK” (note capitals) redirects here. “Eck” was also a nickname for former pitcher Dennis Eckersley.

Eckankar.

Eckankar is a new religious movement that focuses on spiritual exercises enabling practitioners to "experience the Light and Sound of God." Founded by Paul Twitchell in 1965, Sri Harold Klemp has been the spiritual leader of Eckankar since October 1981.

According to the Eckankar glossary, the term Eckankar means "Co-Worker with God". [1] It is likely drawn from the Sikh term, Ik Onkar. Originally it was called "The Ancient Science of Soul Travel" and has undergone several name changes, specifically: "Eckankar: A Way of Life" and "Eckankar: Religion of the New Age". Eckankar is currently described as “The Religion of the Light and Sound of God”.

Eckankar headquarters are in Chanhassen, Minnesota (southwest of Minneapolis). At this site there are the Eckankar Temple, an outdoor chapel, an administrative building, and the ECK Spiritual Campus. (As a matter of curiosity, the Ecankar property is located adjacent to "Paisley Park" which is the home of the Pop Star Prince.)

Teachings

One of the basic tenets is that soul (awareness or consciousness) can leave the body in full consciousness and travel freely in other planes of reality. Eckankar emphasizes personal spiritual experiences as the most natural way back to God. [2] These are attained via "soul travel", shifting the awareness from the body to the inner planes of existence.

Certain mantras are used to facilitate spiritual growth. One important spiritual exercise of Eckankar is the singing or chanting of hu. The hu has been used in the Sufi traditions and other paths, and is seen to be a “love song to God.” It is pronounced like the name “Hugh” and is sung for about 20 minutes. Eckists sing it alone or in groups for spiritual upliftment. This practice is claimed to allow the student to step back from the overwhelming input of the physical senses and emotions and regain soul’s spiritual viewpoint.

Dreams are regarded as an important teaching tool. Members often keep a dream journal to facilitate study. [3] According to followers of Eckankar, dream travel often serves as the gateway to soul travel[4] or the shifting of one’s consciousness to an ever-higher states of being.

Eckankar teaches that "spiritual liberation" in one’s lifetime is available to all and that it is possible to achieve self-realization (the realization of oneself as soul) and God-realization (the realization of oneself as a spark of God) in one’s lifetime. The membership card for Eckankar states: “The aim and purpose of Eckankar has always been to take soul by its own path back to its divine source.”

The emphasis has shifted in current times away from out of body experiences to expansion of awareness through experiencing God’s love in everyday matters. The final spiritual goal of all Eckists is to become conscious co-workers with God.

Origins

Paul Twitchell founded Eckankar in 1965, although it claims that the basis for the Eckankar teachings date back to the beginning of human life. The Mythical Origin is with the teacher Gecko from Venus. (Shariyat Ki Sugmad—Illuminated Way Press)

Paul Twitchell sourced many modern and ancient religious teachings in his creation of the Eckankar Teaching, though it should be noted that the main sources appear to be Sufism and a little known teaching in India called “The Parent Faith.” (This is where other light and sound teachings such as Sant Mat also derived their roots.) (The Whole Truth—Doug Marman)

Eckankar headquarters were based in Las Vegas, Nevada and then Menlo Park, California until the present Living Eck Master, Sri Harold Klemp, moved the base of operations to Minnesota. Eckankar was founded as a business; however, the Panel of Administrators urged Twitchell to conform to usual standards, and the teaching was registered as a non-profit (for tax reasons). Later, Sri Harold Klemp changed it to a recognized religious institution. Currently, Eckankar is accepted as a religion by the US Army, Boy Scouts, and many other public institutions.

Beliefs

Primary to the teaching is the belief that Man’s consciousness can leave the body at will (soul travel) and explore the inner planes of creation. Also, the doctrine of karma and reincarnation is strongly supported.

Soul is seen as the true self, and it wears a mind, emotions and the physical body in the same way as we might put on layers of clothes. Soul can thus leave the body and return at will, when it learns how. Dreams are seen as very important, with books such as The Art of Spiritual Dreaming forming part of the essential reading for all Eckankar students (Chelas).

The beliefs that each individual is responsible for their own destiny, and that our decisions determine our future, are core subjects. Eckankar students meet in satsang, which means “spiritual meeting,” to discuss books and discourses. Questioning of the stated beliefs is not opposed, and indeed is recommended for new students. In this respect, Eckankar is quite different from other teachings.

Many people report that they are drawn to this belief because it confirms to them the validity of experiences they have had prior to their even having heard about the group. These experiences are generally with either the light or sound, or some of the Eck Masters. Many of these stories are recorded in the numerous books and magazines published by the organization.

A common example is when an adult recalls meeting one of the Eckankar teachers as a child and recalls this when finding a picture of that Master on the wall of an Eckankar center, or at friend's home, or in one of the group's publications.

Eckankar does not proselytize, and as the group it seems to attract membership from those who find confirmation of personal experiences and understandings after reading the books, meeting with an member, or seeing one of the many videos available tot he public.

After membership, adherents claim that the techniques given in the discourses and books of Eckankar provide individuals with the means by which to have direct and clear inner and outer experiences of the Light and Sound and with the Eck Masters. Members commonly speak pf how a dream of inner experience has helped them resolve some issue in their life. Some claim to have learned the art of reading their own past lives and garnering healing or understanding from this. Most report a gradual growth in consciousness that they have experienced through the teachings and initiations. There is a 20-25 year program of discourses provided by the group to members.

Current status

Eckankar claims an active membership base in over one hundred countries throughout the world, including the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia and Africa.[5][6] 26,000 American Eckists were estimated in 2001 (data from interviews with 50,000 Americans) and 36,700 in 2004.[7] Estimates from varying authors [8] varies from 50,000 to 500,000. [9] Eckankar does not publish their own membership figures. Seminars are held worldwide throughout the year, with attendance ranging up to 10,000 participants.[citation needed]

Eckankar’s 50,000-square-foot main “Temple of ECK”[10] was dedicated in Chanhassen, Minnesota on October 22, 1990. As of late 2007, the largest capacity Eckankar Temple was in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria, Africa, with a total capacity of 10,000.

Eckankar has produced dozens of books, videos, CDs, and tapes on a variety of spiritual topics. Membership is based on a suggested donation: members receive discourses, and they are invited to study at home or in the company of other members in Eckankar Satsang classes. Eckankar does not attempt to convert individuals to their religion. They do, however, advertise their presence and distribute literature to interested persons.

Recently, there has been an increase of membership in Africa,[citation needed] and a large temple houses some 10,000 members at their annual gathering. Eckankar centers are located in almost every capital city in the world,[citation needed] and are staffed by volunteer workers.

The Eckankar “EK” symbol appears on the list of Available Emblems of Belief for Placement on Government Headstones and Markers by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.[11]

Ceremonies and Rites

There are few personal requirements to be an Eckist; however, certain spiritual practices are recommended. Chief among these is daily practice of the "spiritual exercises" of ECK for 15-20 minutes a day. The most basic ECK spiritual exercise is singing the word hu. There are no dietary requirements, sexual taboos, or enforced ascetic practices. Eckankar does not require potential members to leave their current faith to join.

There are a number of rituals an Eckist can experience as part of the teaching:

  • ECK Consecration Ceremony : Celebrating the entrance of the young and infant into Eckankar, and new life in the light and sound of God.
  • ECK Rite of Passage : Celebrating the passage from youth into adulthood, usually around thirteen.
  • ECK Wedding Ceremony : Celebrating the marriage bond as two Eckists commit their lives to one another before God.
  • ECK Memorial Service : Honors the journey of soul and welcomes it into the worlds beyond the physical.

Eckists celebrate a spiritual new year on October 22, as well as “Founder’s Day” on September 17.

ECK masters

Main article: ECK master

ECKists believe contact with Divine Spirit, which they call the ECK, [12] can be made via the spiritual exercises of ECK and the guidance of the living ECK master. It is held that the ECK masters are universalists who are here to serve all life irrespective of religious belief.

In the teachings of Eckankar the following masters are among the better known:

  • Kata Daki : An ECK Master in the Ancient Order of Vairagi Adepts. She helps people get back on their feet during hardship.
  • Gopal Das : The Mahanta, the Living ECK Master in Egypt, 3000 B.C., who founded the mystery cults of Osiris and Isis; the guardian of the fourth section of the Shariyat-Ki-Sugmad on the Astral Plane; he teaches at the Temple of Golden Wisdom there. Gopal Das is said to be youthful but mature in appearance, fair-skinned, clean-shaven, and with longish light-colored hair.
  • Rebazar Tarzs : The officially-designated “torchbearer” (for continuity) of Eckankar in the lower worlds; the spiritual teacher of many ECK masters including Peddar Zaskq, or Paul Twitchell, to whom he handed the Rod of ECK Power in 1965. Said to be over five hundred years old, Rebazar Tarzs was Tibetan by birth and lives in a hut in the Hindu Kush mountains. He is said to be about 5 feet 10 inches tall, with an athletic physique, dark skin, closely-cropped black hair and beard, and piercing black eyes. (See the section on Accusations of Plagiarism concerning where words ascribed to Rebazar Tarzs first appeared in print.)
  • Rami Nuri : The ECK Master who is the guardian of the holy book, the Shariyat-Ki-Sugmad, on the Pinda Lok, the physical world, at the House of Moksha, Temple of Golden Wisdom in the spiritual city of Retz on the planet Venus. The letter M appears on his forehead. He also once served as the Mahanta, the Living ECK Master.

Some groups, such as ATOM, and John Roger’s MSIA, appear to have split from the main body of the Eckankar, though Roger denies further connection to Eckankar beyond having once been a student of Paul Twitchell. In the 1970s MSIA became known for distributing free “Smiley” stickers and cards with happy messages to people on the street.

More recently, former Eckist Ford Johnson formed a spiritual organization based on the idea that one does not need a master or spiritual guru to achieve spiritual enlightenment.[13] [14] Other groups created by former Eckists, like Michael Owens’ "The Way of Truth"[15] and Gary Olsen’s "MasterPath",[16] recruit members to apparently Eckankar-like organizations.

The current leader of Eckankar has stated that members should feel free to leave Eckankar unbounded by guilt or fear. But critics contend that, while Eckankar promotes itself as a path to ending karma and reincarnation, Eckankar writings also speak of karma and reincarnation returning to members who leave Eckankar.[17]

Accusations of plagiarism

After Twitchell’s death in 1971, David C. Lane, then a member of the Sant Mat derivative Radha Soami Satsang Beas, charged Eckankar was a Sant Mat derivative, and that many Twitchell books used some passages of other groups’ books without crediting their authors. Twitchell’s The Far Country was said to contain the most plagiarism (of Julian Johnson’s Path of the Masters).

Eckankar has never directly admitted that Twitchell used plagiarized material. The official Eckankar website goes as far to say that “Paul had taken it [the ECKANKAR teachings] and built upon it from many different areas, and he then moved it more than a step further.” (The Writing of Paul Twitchell) [18]

A defence for Twitchell's plagiarism was published in 2007 by a long standing Eckankar High Initiate, Doug Marman [19] He has published a biography of Paul Twitchell The Whole Truth that adheres to most academic standards of research. Accordingly, Marman lists several books that he feels Twitchell used as uncredited sources.

In relation to this book Twitchell’s widow (Gail) has written "... finally, someone got the whole thing right... Paul's work [put in] in the proper perspective."[20]

Twitchell's original biographer, Brad Stieger has also written and commended this work as the most researched and authoritative to date on Paul Twitchell. The Whole Truth

Criticism

Internet communities of ex-members and critics, such as the Usenet newsgroup alt.religion.eckankar, include criticisms dating back over ten years. Eckankar has been labeled a cult by some critics, both former members and Christian writers.[21]

In the introductory level, Eckankar states that spiritual truth is not the possession of a single person or group, and that the many paths all lead to the same goal. However, Eckankar states it is the most direct path to the highest heaven. The Shariyat-Ki-Sugmad, Eckankar’s “Bible,” unambiguously states that Eckankar is the most direct path to God.

Some outspoken ex-Eckists believe it is unethical or “wrong” not to "wake up" current Eckankar adherents to what they claim they are not being told, and some critics cite former leader Twitchell's claimed plagiarism (David C. Lane et al. references) as a reason to leave Eckankar.

See also

References

  1. ^ A Glossary of ECK Terms
  2. ^ [http://www.eckankar.org/SEW/ Eckankar: Spiritual Exercise of the Week
  3. ^ [http://www.eckankar.org/dream.html Dreams: A Source of Inner Truth
  4. ^ [http://www.eckankar.org/soultravel.html Soul Travel
  5. ^ http://www.eckankarnigeria.org
  6. ^ Eckankar around the World
  7. ^ Top Twenty Religions in the United States, 2001
  8. ^ Adherents.com. "43,941 adherent statistic citations: membership and geography data for 4,300+ religions, churches, tribes, etc".
  9. ^ Godwin, John. Occult America; Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, Inc. (1972); pg. 114. “But within the metaphysical world [Twitchell] looms large indeed. With an estimated 500,000 followers worldwide, fifteen centers in the US and four overseas, and a weekly mailbag of some 10,000 letters...”
  10. ^ [http://www.eckankar.com/Temple/index.html Eckankar: The Temple of ECK in Chanhassen, Minnesota, USA
  11. ^ Available Emblems of Belief for Placement on Government Headstones and Markers - Burial & Memorials
  12. ^ A Glossary of ECK Terms
  13. ^ [http://www.thetruth-seeker.com/openletter.asp The Truth Seeker
  14. ^ [http://www.higherconsciousnesssociety.org/aboutHCS.asp Higher Consciousness Society
  15. ^ The Way of Truth :: Path to God Realization
  16. ^ [http://www.masterpath.org/ MasterPath: Light and Sound is the Cutting Edge of Spirituality
  17. ^ http://www.caic.org.au/eastern/eck/subtle.htm
  18. ^ The Writing of Paul Twitchell<
  19. ^ [http://www.littleknownpubs.com spiritualdialogues.com
  20. ^ spiritualdialogues.com
  21. ^ Internet Church of Christ - List of Cults and Religions N-Z

Plagiarism discussion

  • A dialog evolved from plagiarism claims and discussions on alt.religion.eckankar newsgroup. Dialog
  • Dialog in the Age of Criticism. David Lane and Doug Marman discuss plagiarism. Plagiarism
  • The Great ECK Debates. David Lane and Doug Marman discuss plagiarism. Eck Debates
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