Through daily spiritual exercises, one can shift ones awareness from the physical world and soul travel to these higher planes. I left eckankar because it simply didn't work for me and I didn't realize that for a very long time. Because that was my condition if I could just study in the closet, then I would join. The idea that people are leaving Eckankar based on what they read in a single book is IMO an advertizing tactic to sell more copies. Lifes kind of sad. Friday afternoon I visit 22-year veteran of Eckankar Kevin McMahon in his Cardiff home. So I came upon this theory called genealogical dissociation. Rebazar Tarzs, yeah, that Rebazar Tarzs. So I sent my term paper to Eckankar, and then they turned around two months later and said they were going to sue me if I published it. They looked just like the Rod of Power! Around the same time, the Spiritual Counterfeits Project published its own journal, Eckankar, a Hard Look at a New Religion, based largely on lines manuscript, which they distributed to nearly every Eck center i in the world. I always have been. It controls their minds using sophisticated thought control systems, and demand absolute obedience to Klemp and to the cult. It seems to me Im doing a huge favor to the Eckists, because now they can know what theyre joining, and if theyve read my book, theyve done all the research, and if they still think this is for me, then fine. ", The following year Lane wrote a second paper, The Making of a Spiritual Movement: The Untold Story of Paul Twitchell and Eckankar. I was obsessed, Lane admits. Just when I thought the story was over, a new development pops up, like the arm jutting from the grave at the end of Carrie. For one, they're saddled with . Eckankar is the most direct path to becoming a coworker with the Sugmad. Initiations link Soul to the Eck (Holy Spirit), which can be seen as light and heard as sound. Eckankar is still very much open to and supportive of whatever religion a person belongs to. They say, the message works for me, the contemplation works for me. Source: mallsofamerica.blogspot.com. I have nice feelings toward Eckankar. I ask him how his research into cults has affected his own beliefs. In her Golden-Tongued Wisdom, Rosanne continues to sing, A cold hard rain comes pouring down. Lane imagines himself driving, Let me see, I turned left here, now right, then I drove straight for a bit. Using this gyroscopic homing pigeon technique, he leads me straight to his little white Nissan. Lane smiles to himself as if he were envisioning Paul Twitchell hunched over some Radhasoami text, scribbling away. Answer. Incredibly, I was awake, but still in my inner world at the same time. But Eckists are such sweet people, I insist. Soul, being a spark of God, is on a journey to find its way home to God, or the Sugmad. or call 1-888-L0VE-GOD (recorded message) 952-380-2200 (Eckankar Spiritual Center) You may write us at: ECKANKAR PO Box . Hinkins also wrote to Charan Singh asking him to use his influence to get lane to stop doing research on him. He offshooted from Eckankar and founded this religion called the Divine Science of Light and Sound. Yet it has a sweetness to it. Lane leans down to better peer through his window. For free downloadable books, check out our Web site at www.Eckankar.org. It gets tiresome., For ten years I was a member of Eckankar,one of the groups Lane has written about most extensively. Eckankar does not help people find God. So I may Ik damaging the organization, but the real essence of Eckankar is not the organization, its the Eck, that inner spirit., They read my book. Members receive a monthly discourse, which they have the option of studying alone or in classes. I want Eckankar in some weird universe to keep going, because its fun for me. As we shake hands I notice hes wearing a gold ring with an embossed EK logo. I used to be in Eckankar, I tell him. I need it. Gross was in the habit of wearing light-blue leisure suits, and men throughout the audience mimicked his attire. . This is where Ive got to be careful. On the desk behind him sits a teddy bear. People sit on park benches, push baby carriages along paths, jog beside the water. At the time I didnt know who he was. David Lanes critiques of Eckankar may be well documented and rational, but religious devotion is not about rationality. Lanes no longer an easy man to find. Del Mar Press agreed to change the cover on future editions. I cant understand why he would be doing this, because the Eckists have never gone out of their way to hurt him; but he claims that they did, I think, in one regard. Clearly Lane is not a blind follower. As I stroll toward the ocean, through a lush, affluent neighborhood, disappointment creeps over me like the tide. Those who become disheartened quit ECK for other paths that seem to require less drive and responsibility of them. Connie Cook Smith (formerly Constance Robertson) How I Quit My Whole Way of Life, Without a Sense of Loss. Scientology is worse but that is a difference in degree and magnitude. With all this information you have, you could start your own thing. I go, Jerry, I cant do that third-eye patch, turban, the flowing robe I cant do it.. During the 30s and 40s, Twitchell was a prolific writer. He had to make it seem like its his own creation, because if he linked the two hed lose his potential clientele., It was to hide these past connections. Signed, The Master. Another former Eckist named Gary Olsen started the MasterPath. The Kal is similar to Satan, representing everything that is materialistic and evil, a being of vileness, wrath, and vengeance. It is mainly because eckankar systematically schools the follower to be dependent on the person of the living eck master and his organization as the only "reliable" source of information and to suppress a mature and less naively subjectivistic view on his own experiences, with suggestions of severe repercussions and spiritual loss in case he acts Operating, as I do now, in a professional arts world in which people want a rsum before deciding whether to talk to you, I miss the support of the Eckankar community. The term God no longer had use for me. That is, people have to find meaning in their lives, regardless. Rosanne Cash sings, Some dreams die with dignity. I told him I didnt plan to write about him, but letters [started going] around the country saying that I was a gay FBI agent in San Diego, that I had researchers working for me that I wasnt paying. Theres no calm center to this storm. And it continues to rain. He is Shamus-i-Tabriz (a living Eck Master of 400 years ago who now teaches on the Causal Plane at the Sakapori Temple of Golden Wisdom in the city of Honu). Mother Teresas group. The lover has lied to you, but the lover is oh so seductive and satisfying, and submission is so thrilling. I like you and Im enjoying our talk, but nothing youre saying is very seductive. In the past, we thought that this was our little private esoteric religion. Rather, hes tried to make the teachings more accessible to the average person whos interested in religion or spirituality but may not be familiar with a lot of the terms that weve used in the past., What alternative terms have been developed?, Instead of talking about contemplations or the nurat or the surat technique for the light and sound, we just say we do spiritual exercises. He said, 'Some of us live the spiritual life, others intellectualize it. I was one of the those stooges for decades until I came down with a pathological. Why is one faith trying to knock somebody traveling the same path to God? Lane places his hand to his face like a phone receiver, Hi, Fubbi, this is Gakko. I choke down the last gulp of my Green Garden vegetable cocktail and ask,. Plagiarism charges fall on deaf ears with Eckists because weve had experiences outside of book learning. A job as a correspondent for Our Navy took him to Washington, D.C. in 1945. I think they expected somebody who was more academic looking. My family is full of attorneys. Now, Jagat is actually the first name of a Radhasoami guru named Jagat Singh. At this stage, Peter McWilliams, the guy who later wrote Life 102, was still pro-John-Roger, so he was putting his hands on the camera, that kind of scene, when they tried to interview John-Roger. Every thriller these days has a false ending and then a real ending, to the point that when I watch a pre-Carrie film, I am disappointed at how easily chaos is defeated. Peter Skelskey What I found was so obvious that anybody could have discovered it. The two students shared notes. Lane can be such a card. Once we get to Del Mar, Lane pulls to the side of the road and examines a copy of Twitchells death certificate to get the exact address. Youre not going to say, Well, Im a dumbshit. After a year or so, he branched off and started his own group, MSIA, claiming that in 1963 he had a kidney stone operation and that after nine days of being in a coma he had been commissioned to be the Mystical Traveler Consciousness. At first Hinkins thought it was the legendary Rebazar Tarzs who came to him on the inner planes and passed on the keys to the Kingdom, but later, after seeing a photo of Radhasoami guru Sawan Singh, Hinkins decided that it was really Sawan Singh who had given him the mantle. I said, 'Where was John-Roger yesterday? The guy turned totally paranoid. I dont mean just an idea or a thought, Im talking about the reproduction of grammatical mistakes, semicolon misuse. Be very careful with Eckankar. He came up with the name Sudar Singh from the name Sudarshan Singh he just cut off the shan part of it and put Sudar. Usually he mixes Indian names with Chinese names [from] popular Tibetan or Taoist books, and hell conflate the two. Eckankar is one of the New Age religions, started in 1965 by journalist Paul Twitchell. WHY I LEFT THE MASTER. Nobody wins, so we just let it sit there. Aside from the fact that Eckankar has techniques and tools that are incredible and not really matched by other groups, I think the freedom that is allowed to the members is a wonderful thing.". If theyre going to sue you about a 120-page term paper when youre 20 years old, you know somethings up. Eckists have said that detractors (critics of Eckankar) are people who quit Eckankar because it didn't work for them, or because they failed at the path, and thus can't be taken seriously. In 68 he was a convener, which means he held Eck satsangs [classes) in his home in Rosemead, California. He tells me hes currently working on a second book about Eckankar, entitled Gakko Came from Venus: Exploring the Hidden World of Eckankar, an Unauthorized Expedition. Though Eckankar does not try to coerce disillusioned members to remain on the path, Eckists are warned that when they drop out, their spiritual growth stops, and they are at the mercy of the Kal, the negative force of the universe. Yelmans studies at UCSD brought her to San Diego in 1974. I really enjoyed the music, but it was kind of sad. I ask, ever so casually, Is it true that you have some friends who are Eckists?, How do they justify that you are doing things that might damage the group?, They differentiate the message from the medium. But the woman I remember was mousy, with a broad smile; no Bond girl was she. And they looked at me like, Whats this geek doing? We sat down, and they were really uptight, because they knew the impact of my research. There he and his first wife, Camille, joined the Self-Revelation Church of Absolute Monism, a system of yoga founded by Swami Premananda. I had huge phone bills, because I had called this professor or this person. Dr. Bluth, Twitchells personal doctor and vice president of Eckankar at the time, has confirmed that he gave Twitchell books from the Radhasoami library. His critique was instrumental in my dropping out of Eckankar in the early 80s. Curated stories, fun places to hang out and top events. If I were any of you. Im a mystical agnostic materialist. Paul Twitchell. So I said, 'You guys can get out of this simply, just explain that Twitchell plagiarized. Second, everybody has to dream at night, or most people dream at night, and Eckists dream about Fubbi Quantz or Rebazar Tarzs or Paul Twitchell. The walls are covered with Andrea Zuills dramatically lit oil paintings of monstrous chalky-fleshed zombies. This is God's love and intelligence, and it is EVERYWHERE." Susan Rice, the director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, is stepping down from her post, President Biden announced Monday. But its just a few blocks off University.. The way to get more income is to have new material, speculates Lane. Home study discourses and musical tapes are also available. Two different analysts verified they were all written by John-Roger Hinkins. All rights reserved. But in buying a religion, youre supposed to wear these narrow blinders, so that if anybody disagrees you can block it out. Here's something you might be interested in. If you were going to visit a new city, wouldnt you want a guide, wouldnt you want to stay away from the places where the prostitutes are, from the dark streets and the hoodlums? As I walked through the hotel lobby, I couldnt see to the other side of the room there was so much smoke, and Im very sensitive to smoke yet I felt totally spiritualized. Though wary of groups, Yelman decided to give Eckankar a try. After giving lectures and teaching Eckankar classes for ten years, I already knew them well. Eckankar is a classic case in point. "We use more discriminating intelligence when we buy a used car than when we buy a religion, says philosophy professor and cult-buster David Christopher Lane. Moreover, people within John-Rogers group have confirmed that on the day of the robbery he was in San Diego., Lane didnt sue Hinkins, but he did go public with his story. Sri Harold Klemp has immense financial resources available to guide the spiritual lives of his tens of thousands of believers. Hired at the height of the Covid pandemic, Parkway softball coach Eva Burley has left her position to return to Texas to care for her father, who has been diagnosed with ALS. McMahon generously drives me to my interview with holistic health practitioner Bettina Yelman, whose Del Mar office is just down the hall from Richardss. For a hundred bucks per year he gives you the divine connection. Lane leans across the cafe table, excitedly tapping his straw. It doesnt make sense. And all the people kind of looked at me as if to say, Well, jeez, he doesnt look evil. Lane came up and he talked to me and thanked me for coming. Do you think it would be an easy thing to do?". He and Gross have been sparring since 1977. He resigned in June 1993 following a direct threat to kill from another member, Ebenezer Egunjobi, and a series of violent and disorientating mind control attacks emanating from the leader, Harold Klemp. The loss of my old loves and Grosss loss of status become merged in an ineffable sadness. May the Force be with you.). So I do. As Eckankar filled my life, I felt like I was entering Shangri-la; a new glistening world of love, of possibility opened before me. When he finishes the song, he takes off his shoes to be closer to the keys. The atmosphere in the room is homey and protective. I turn on the stereo and stare out the window. We close our eyes and chant Hu together for several minutes. Lane and his friends playfully call one another by the names " of Eck Masters. The reason I turned my back on Eckankar for good was discovering the plagiarism in their bible, which other Eckists told me was divinely inspired. All, I have been an official member of Eckankar for 10 years. Then he took the Ho, and he put the two words together. I found all this fun, interesting stuff. The mastership of Darwin Gross is a black cloud in Eckankar history, a history that Eckankar wants to erase. Its membership today is primarily in North America, Europe, Asia and Africa. Lane looks like hes swallowed a mouse, grinning and biting his finger. He probably thought my recipe file was written in code and had secret information, or something like that. The Far Country, Lane claims to have found more than 400 plagiarized paragraphs. Two years later I got a letter from a guy in Canada saying hed discovered a genuine guru. I lean and whisper to him, You are so opaque. I am surprised by my cruelty. JN Sykes was a member of the Eckankar cult ('the cult') from February 1980 to June 1993.
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