why i left eckankar

Thats really what it is for me. I had my two sisters to take care of while my parents were being mixed up. There are ECK Temples, ECK Centers, and reading rooms in cities and towns across the . I dont remember that second story. So Harold said, Hey, why should we make this difficult for people? I ask him how his research into cults has affected his own beliefs. Lane pauses and thinks for a bit. The perplexed beggar was in hog heaven. Their divorce was final in 1960. Eckankar is cult just like Scientology. Darwin Gross. Accompanied by keyboardist and devotee Ron Kurz, Gross begins with Blues in E Flat. The music is great, lethargic and soothing, the kind of music one should listen to in a cocktail lounge with an umbrellaed drink. Rebazar Tarzs. Do people get mad at Ralph Nader for saying that a Pinto blows up? It wasnt like this last time around. Dont miss out. In order to help the reader understand where I'm coming from, I am an active higher initiate in Eckankar who has been on the path since the mid-80's. I first read this book over a decade ago because I knew Ford as an acquaintance and I respected him as a dedicated leader in Eck. Known the world over as the Eckankar mafia because of slippery manoeuvring behind the scenes wrecking marriages friendships livelihoods and demographics where ever they plant themselves. We actually challenge our inner experiences in the name of God, to make sure that theyre not phony, not of the negative world of Kal. I said, 'Where was John-Roger yesterday? The guy turned totally paranoid. Remember, hed been kicked out of Swami Premanandas church in 1955. Tucker Carlson's Great Replacement. I see Eck masters, I see Radhasoami masters, I see Rebazar Tarzs and Sudar Singh. Signed, The Master. Another former Eckist named Gary Olsen started the MasterPath. In days of old the barrier [sic] of bad news to the King was done away with. 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? In her Golden-Tongued Wisdom, Rosanne continues to sing, A cold hard rain comes pouring down. I would ask a question and get an answer, and I would jot it down. When I called to sign up, they told me that I never had to go to a class if I didnt want to. Gross actually received the mantle on the inner planes when he was handed, not a flower, but the Rod of Power. On October 22, 1965, Twitchell claimed to have received the Rod of Power from Rebazar Tarzs, becoming the 971st Living Eck Master. I dont remember it looking this way, he says pensively. My hobbit-like suburban existence was agitated by these chemicals of consciousness, and like any powerful initiatory . When they find out youre talking to me, I guarantee that their lawyers will write. Eckists are all over the world, and in different walks of life, and from different political orientations, different socioeconomic levels. and is being financed by them to do his dirty research. After dinner, she confides, I walked along the beach and sat down beneath a tree to do a contemplation. 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. We have a tendency to want to inflate our lives with spiritual meaning, and skepticism is not much fun. Late one afternoon, I visit transpersonal psychologist Charles Richards at his office in Del Mar. As I stroll toward the ocean, through a lush, affluent neighborhood, disappointment creeps over me like the tide. As late as December 1993, Gross sent out a memo to all his readers defending Paul Twitchell and the corporation he started against Lanes attacks. The spiritual exercises are a form of prayer. Lane smiles to himself as if he were envisioning Paul Twitchell hunched over some Radhasoami text, scribbling away. I said to myself, I bet this is where Twitchell got the name Rebazar Tarzs! Xeroxed, self-published book with a weird cover. Within three weeks of its publication, The Making of a Spiritual Movement sold out. He also gave full accounts to the San Diego Sheriff s Department and to numerous news agencies. The mastership of Darwin Gross is a black cloud in Eckankar history, a history that Eckankar wants to erase. Youre right, every world religion has got its problems. Its basically, check your brains at the door when you join a religion.". In October 1981, Eckists were again floored when Gross announced his resignation as the Living Eck Master, but not without first signing a contract that gave him a salary of $65,000 for life, full medical and dental coverage, use of a company car, and entertainment expenses. Lanes research into Eckankar is meticulously documented. Youre not going to say, Well, Im a dumbshit. Through daily spiritual exercises, one can shift ones awareness from the physical world and soul travel to these higher planes. People were wearing rich, colorful clothing. Followers of Eckankar believe that beyond the physical world there are many other realms existing at higher vibratory rates. Buying a used car you at least look underneath the hood, hit the tires, maybe take it to a mechanic to check it out. And in my unknowingness, I like to explore how much more I dont know., Talking to these Eckists, the conscious, rational, jaded Dodie faded out, and this other little Dodie inside me was starting to feel an incredible seduction. In 1978, after five years of study, he was initiated into Radhasoami in India by the late Maharaj Charan Singh. But the stuff that Lane goes after has nothing to do, for me, with the validity of the teachings., When I was in Eckankar, one of the things that I really liked about it was its respect for other faiths and that there was no pressure to get anybody to join., Richards responds, Sri Harold Klemp has taken a special effort to make it clear that we accept the value and the need for all different paths and religions, because people operate at different states of consciousness. I had heard about this ability to get out of the body, where one can have an internal spiritual experience. Some left the movement. 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. A lot of people have. One interesting guy I met was Jerry Mulvin. Collectively, this means that right-handed humans might be more protected from a deadly strike. Eckankar is against psychic . The Living Eck Master acts as the organizational head and as a guide to the aspirants spiritual journey. If we were to rely on books as the source of our knowledge and our truth, wed be really hurting, because wed be all going in different directions. I vacantly stare at Lanes tanned hairy legs, nostalgic for the boyfriends who played this song for me. I did my spiritual exercises daily as much as probably anyone in eckankar. 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. Here's something you might be interested in. Driving the news: " As the only person to serve as both National Security Advisor and Domestic Policy Advisor, Susan's record of public service makes history," Biden said of the former UN ambassador and national . I kind of [thought he was a fraud, but at the time he was being nice to me so I wasnt in the mood to expose him. We see that all the time.. Eckankar, the Ancient Science of Soul Travel, was officially founded. Harold Klemp. One of the reasons he may have relinquished his spiritual role to Harold is that it didnt jibe with him. The skies themselves seem to be weeping with loss. Previously, my understanding of reality was contoured along the lines of the cultural landscape I was born into. Recently I have had a spiritual crisis where I stopped believing in the concept of the Abrahamic God. They sent letters about me claiming I was the negative force, that I. We were suddenly in a marketplace with lots of bright burgundy-colored carpets. Eckankar teaches that the soul is eternal, it exists because God loves it, and it is journeying to self-realization and God realization. My only regrets were that I sold all my rock albums to pay for my membership. In 68 he was a convener, which means he held Eck satsangs [classes) in his home in Rosemead, California. Off my granddaughter sprints down the driveway, giving herself a head start, the front gate our finish line. Those answers were so far-reaching in their depth and breadth, they still help me today, nine years later. Among those two explanations, Occams Razor points to the simpler one, I overslept. Eckankar took off like wildfire, growing from three students to thousands in less than three years. One of the disciplines that we employ is the law of discrimination. According to Lane, all three letters are printed in the same typeface with the same malfunctioning capital A. Eckankar is one of the New Age religions, started in 1965 by journalist Paul Twitchell. After giving lectures and teaching Eckankar classes for ten years, I already knew them well. See! she exclaims. Sex. Eckankar teaches that it is possible to experience the Light and Sound through the proper use of spiritual exercises. I would just close my eyes and he would be there, and I would be there with him too. Lane can be such a card. Its going to be interesting to see how this information gets back to me. Lane then quotes these same passages as they were later reproduced, usually word for word, in Eckankar books, with the names changed to the o Eck Masters Sudar Singh, Fubbi Quantz, Rebazar Tarzs, Lai Tsi, j and Gopal Das. Various Eckists say they witnessed the ceremony. This is not the type of individual who was looking for riches he didnt dress well, he didnt have a lot of possessions or anything. Eckankar took off like wildfire, growing from three students to thousands in less than three years. Two years ago you were living at your girlfriends aunts house, not making much money on the pro-bowling scene, and now youre God., Lane rolls his eyes. Thats one explanation. 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. box that John-Roger had personally paid for. May the Force be with you.). He was obsessed. In Youth Ask A Modern Prophet, Harold Klemp writes, "The deep relationship between man and woman is a sacred token of human love. He was kind of dark complexioned. in his book, and on every single page I just had to make my own notes. As Yelman laughs, her stiff, angular body quivers with excitement. Im worried about getting lost, he says, exasperated. You got it. Id really start believing Id had a spiritual experience, Id wake up feeling like, Wow! Eckankar works because it doesnt make you have experiences that are impossible to have., What about soul travel, visiting higher planes of existence? Lane swallows his pizza. Lane drives me back to Hillcrest. Then, Lane says excitedly, John-Roger committed the biggest mistake. You can explain it in a lot of different ways. He read thousands and thousands of books, and he was a spiritually hungry man. Weve had people who have recognized Harold Klemp prior to his becoming the Living Eck Master; he kept coming to them into their dreams. Although the Hindi/Punjabi term Ek Onkar (literally "One God/Power") was most likely derived from Guru N nak's Japj (the first set of hymns in the Sikh holy book, Gur Granth S hib), Twitchell altered its original phonetic spelling and definition, claiming that "Eckankar" was a Tibetan . Bettina Yelman received her dreamstate while at an Eck seminar in Hawaii. I figure Lane knows plenty about this. . I think of Rumi, the great Persian poet, who said, with all these false coins abounding, theres got to be something genuine in the midst of it.. I'm a former member of this cult, in America. Through a process that Lane himself does not completely understand, someone photocopied this manuscript and circulated it around the country. His new title was President of Eckankar. Recently I have had a spiritual crisis where I stopped believing in the concept of the Abrahamic God. When Driggs gets to the line away above the chimney tops, thats where youll find me, I focus on Grosss bulbous belly and red suspenders. Theyve made an open-eyed decision. Theres contradictions and scandals in every religion, Christianity included. Finally, he agrees to come to the house, but Im doubtful that he will really appear. Maybe it was just some neurons firing in the right part of your brain or maybe you had too much dopamine in the frontal lobes or maybe you took an Excedrin four hours ago. We dont want that kind of explanation., Its a beautiful, sunny day. ECKANKAR was founded by Paul Twitchell (1909 - 1971) in California in the mid-1960s. Gail Atkinson, who has long since broken with Eckankar, is said to live in wealthy seclusion in Palm Springs. His disciples told me he would pick a guy every night out of the staff and claim that they needed to have sex with him in order to increase their aura or they needed, pardon my language, a rectal innerphase in order to burn off karma., He has thus thing called aura innerphasing, where you do aura balancing, soul balancing, etheric balancing. Twitchell told his second wife, Gail, that he was born in the early 20s. Indeed, as Lane, Melton, and others have pointed out, most of Paul Twitchell's writings are derived from two Radhasoami publications, With a Great . How wonderful after Eckankar, when I was able to experience the exquisiteness of other musicians and various teachers and realize fully: "This is it. Cautiously I bring up David Lane. They say, the message works for me, the contemplation works for me. Whenever I saw Gross and Atkinson, I would be seated in an auditorium, surrounded by thousands of avid followers, each hoping at some point to receive the darshan, the Masters gaze. I left Eckankar because I was able to prove the concepts of Soul Travel to myself. Clearly Lane is not a blind follower. Im a mystical agnostic materialist. . On the Marie Vega [TV] show in Los Angeles, I said, John-Roger Hinkins robbed my house. He threatened to sue the TV station for a million dollars if they ever ran the program again. Understandably, he changed the names of his sources, because he didnt want people to know about his past. Hes touring the Southwest, as we speak. There was music and noise and clamor, and I turned to look at my friend. The guys like an idiot, right? (Such a quake did occur in 1812.) I would raise my head to the stage in rapt silence, devouring every word the Grosses spoke. It affects those who have an unrealistic goal in ECK; those who want to Soul Travel or reach Self-and God-realization with practically no effort. 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. Some letters contained threats against me and my informants. I was excited 20 years old, in the moment of discovering something new. Incredibly, I was awake, but still in my inner world at the same time. ET. Im sure of it. He taps his finger on the table. This guys pretty smart, because he knows that if he pays attention to me, thats a good way of buying me off, so he can spin-doctor my research. The experiential aspect to Eckankar really interested me, and thats how it started.. I looked like a little kid. You only here it from those shills promoting the book or on Ford's sites. It has its positive aspects, a sense of community, a sense of focusing on the individual and his or her experiences of the divine. The loss of my old loves and Grosss loss of status become merged in an ineffable sadness. Lane and his friends playfully call one another by the names " of Eck Masters. When she begins her next selection, My Funny Valentine, I lose all objectivity*. That same week, Hinkins wrote to Lane assuring him that he wanted to be friends again and that he had nothing to do with the robbery. No. 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. My family is full of attorneys. He basically took Eckankars money, while saying it was really for Eckankar purposes. Excommunicated from Eckankar, his lifetime agreement terminated, Gross was suddenly penniless. I noticed in Baja a highway sign that said Rebasar. I said to myself, I bet this is where Twitchell got the name Rebazar Tarzs! Twitchell was living in Point Loma in 1965 when he started teaching workshops and selling booklets on how to leave your body. The next day Channel 8 news came out and did as their lead story Cult Researcher Robbed. They took a copy of my article The J.R. Controversy. But they didnt name John-Roger.. A skeptic goes to an Eckankar meeting, or anybodys meditation meeting, and says, Well, now wait a second, are you sure you saw the astral body of Rami Nuri? He looks professional but not stuffy in his blue suit jacket, gray shirt, and black boots. They say you can never damage the Eck spirit, because its life. His previous associations were tainted. To come up with original material takes time, and time is money. It was exciting, someplace to go! Susan Rice, the director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, is stepping down from her post, President Biden announced Monday. Clearly he is more comfortable with the fluid topography of waves, of meditation, of philosophical inquiry. According to Lane, members of various cults have threatened lawsuits, written him letters with skeletons on them, broken into his apartment, made death threats, and generally harassed him. We have a different focus and intent, thats all. When you look at what we do relative to other religions, it basically is no different, we just have a different doctrine and somewhat different beliefs. Richards flashes me his dimples. Pine Avenue, right next to where I was living when I was doing my books in the 80s. During their first six months of membership, new Eckists usually receive what is known as their first initiation in the dreamstate. WHY I LEFT THE MASTER. When I woke up in the morning, I had an opportunity to ask questions. And the sex though Eckankar in no way encourages sexual contact among its members with that degree of trust and the sense of two souls meeting, the sex was great. And just explain that Twitchell covered up his life. The upshot of it was, they didnt do anything.. I called John-Roger immediately. When I ask him what Eckankars position is on Lanes research, Richards, whos been in Eckankar for 20 years, says he doesnt know. 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. I keep discovering more and more offshoots, in India as well as here its like a virus, it keeps reproducing itself., You know the ins and outs of how religions are organized, and you're a charismatic person. I dont go into Eck centers and walk around and say, Here, read my book. All Im saying is that Twitchell was lying to his constituency. Here it is. I asked what happened to my friend, my childhood master. About four weeks later Lanes guru in India, Charan Singh, received a letter, supposedly from another follower in San Diego, criticizing Lane and quoting from his wifes stolen diaries. Gross continues to work as a spiritual master, with a small group of devoted followers, many of them former Eckists. Eckankar is not affiliated with any other religious group. The 69-year-old joined the broadcaster in 2008 after 22 years in football management. Hes told me he surfs, and in his knee-length khaki shorts, plum-colored T-shirt, and sandals, he looks like a surfer. Many Eckists regard this death with the same mixture of awe and curiosity with which we regard the death of JFK. The lover has lied to you, but the lover is oh so seductive and satisfying, and submission is so thrilling. Im not interested in all this other dialogue that David Lane is so focused on. Sri Harold Klemp has immense financial resources available to guide the spiritual lives of his tens of thousands of believers. The Kal is similar to Satan, representing everything that is materialistic and evil, a being of vileness, wrath, and vengeance. The following evening, when the airport shuttle drops me off in front of my apartment, five guys are smoking crack beside a dumpster. Lane tells me that former Living Eck Master Darwin Gross is appearing February 11 at the Best Western Hanalei Hotel. His earlier writings didnt really talk about Rebazar Tarzs. (The 500-year-old bearded Tibetan monk Rebazar Tarzs wears a maroon robe, carries in his powerful right hand a huge walking staff, and speaks with a musical voice. Now what do you do when your group is charging money and does not follow any of the restrictions of this Indian group it evolved out of, one whose teachings are free? Founded in 1965 by Paul Twitchell, one-time disciple of Swami Premananda, Kirpal Singh, and L. Ron Hubbard, Eckankar owes much of its theology to Radhasoami. As we wander aimlessly back and forth between the second and third levels of the garage, I smile at my surfer companions inability to negotiate this concrete urban maze. The air is cool as I listen to the soft lapping of waves. McMahon, who was raised Catholic in New York City and on Long Island, has always been interested in spirituality. An example: I claim the reason I missed our appointment last night was because Elvis was on Venus and sucked me up into a space capsule. 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. I had huge phone bills, because I had called this professor or this person. As he fetches me a glass of juice, I sit in his cozy living room, which is decorated with family photos, relics from Thailand, and McMahons own paintings, imaginary landscapes with lots of vivid blue. When I leave Richardss office its dusk. But some wont let you let em go. Its raining. We dont do that in Eckankar. Hes unimpressed on both counts. 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. His quest for knowledge and experience of God is without question. Dropping out, of a religion, one in which one attempts to focus ones every thought, every action on those teachings, is a horrible experience. Friday afternoon I visit 22-year veteran of Eckankar Kevin McMahon in his Cardiff home. If you left Eckankar because of the lies of the founders and their actions, don't spread garbage about totally unrelated things that were largely debunked after the 1980s "Satanic Panic". The former members of Eckankar make a mistake in here thinking procedure. So I do. Was I a fool to want Eckankar? I dont mean just an idea or a thought, Im talking about the reproduction of grammatical mistakes, semicolon misuse. 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. In Texas, she says, a disembodied being began visiting her. And there was a big note on a box that said, NO MORE. No jewelry was gone only research stuff, including materials for my doctoral dissertation., He took my wifes personal diaries, a camera which he must have thought had film in it, videotapes, an address book, and my recipe file containing my favorite recipe for Del Mar lentil loaf. Instead, Twitchell wrote about Kirpal Singh and Swami Premananda. I anticipate our talk with a mixture of excitement and anxiety. Another man named Sri Michael Turner, in Tucson, claims to be the 974th Living Master of the Midnight Sun. The only. My personality is I want to do, ( not sit ) in a Satsang and discuss. In January, it rains for 26 days. Peter Skelskey 195 views 10 months ago Talk probes a statement made by many in the Eckankar organisation, that their group is 'uplifting'. On the wall to my right is a framed print of the yin-yang symbol with a feather fixed to it. Eckankar has members in over 120 countries around the world, and its teachings have been translated into more than twenty-five languages. But if I belonged to an organization that did. I met a guy from Vietnam whose whole family traveled here to San Diego by boat, guided by Rebazar Tarzs, whos one of the Eck Masters thats written about in the books. The teachings of Eckankar are presented to the public through books, free brochures, advertised meetings and lectures, and, of course, word of mouth. I left eckankar because it simply didn't work for me and I didn't realize that for a very long time. I dont believe anything until its proven to me. , Im sure they said that about Jim Jones; Im sure they said that in David Koreshs group. You can get in a debate over whether one paragraph in one of Paul Twitchells writings looks like a paragraph in somebody elses writings, but that has nothing to do with your spiritual experiences and the confirmation you get personally through the teachings and your work with the inner master. Sitting at our outside table, high above Camino Del Mar, surrounded by sky and ocean, I feel as if were gods feasting on petty human concerns.
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