For those of you who have never heard of it, Eckankar is a cult-like religion that is based on a 19th century Indian tradition known as Sant Mat which is centered on surat shabd yoga or "yoga of the sound current." It promotes the worship of ECK, a Divine Spirit or "Current" of life that allegedly flows through all living things. Referred to as the Light and Sound of God, ECK is also called the Holy Spirit, which may lead some Christians into believing the group worships God.
Eckankar was founded by Paul Twitchell, an ex-Scientologist who concocted it from a variety of teachings such as Scientology, Ruhani Satsung (the teachings of an Indian guru named Kirpal Singh) shabd yoga and teachings from several other religious and occult groups. Twitchell appointed himself the "Living ECK Master" in 1965, claiming he would only serve for five years. But when those five years were up, he refused to step down and created a story about a child who was in-training to succeed him but wouldn't be ready for another 15 years. During that time Twitchell died (or translated, as they say in ECKland) and his wife named Darwin Gross as the next "Living ECK Master." Gross ended up in a lawsuit with the next contender to the "throne", Harold Klemp (more about him later).
Eckankar is considered to be a religion because it has its own ceremonies such as the "Consecration Ceremony" which is similar to baptism and is administered to infants and those who are entering Eckankar. Their "Wedding Ceremony" is used to marry two ECKists and a "Memorial Service" marks the soul's passage into other worlds.
According to its website, the group believes God speaks to a person through past lives, dreams, and soul travel. Exploring past lives supposedly allows "lessons of long ago" to "help our lives today" because everyone's virtues and shortcomings were developed from past lives. Dreams are "another way to find wisdom from the heart," the site claims, and people are encouraged to learn how to "work with dreams."
Soul travel is integral to the practice of ECK. It is described as "a shift in consciousness" that allows a person to "tap into the wisdom and knowledge of the last great frontier - our inner worlds." During soul travel, a person's soul supposedly leaves the body and explores other worlds. ECKists also believe that the soul can leave the body when sleeping and return at will, once it learns how.
ECK teachings supposedly teach people how to do all these things but, as the site explains, following the ECK master is key to their success.
"Key to the ECK teachings is the Mahanta, the Living ECK Master. He has the special ability to act as both Inner and Outer Master for ECK students. He is the prophet of Eckankar, given respect but not worship. He teaches the sacred name of God, HU, which lifts one spiritually into the Light and Sound of God, the ECK."
The current Mahanta is Sir Harold Kemp Harold Klemp who was born and raised in Wisconsin and first encountered the teachings of Eckankar while serving in the U.S. Air Force in Japan. He was appointed to leadership role in the group by the so-called "972nd Living Eck Master" Darwin Gross. (Past ECK masters supposedly include Socrates, Plato, Jesus, Moses, Martin Luther, Michael Angelo, Mozart, Einstein, etc.).
Gross and Klemp fought one another legally in 1974 when accusations of misappropriation of funds and leadership challenges landed them both in court. At that time, Klemp was given the title "Mahanta", which means "superior of a monastery" in Sanskrit but means "the highest state of God Consciousness on Earth" to ECKists. (Gross apparently went his own way and started a new group known as ATOM, which means Ancient Teachings of the Master.)
As for daily practices, ECKists are encouraged to practice the "Spiritual Exercises of ECK" for 15–20 minutes a day, part of which involves singing the word "HU", an ancient name for God. (This practice is also part of Sufism.) The purpose of these exercises is to help a person come into a proper awareness of their past lives in order to facilitate contact with ECK "masters" (including the present one) who are believed to be on different spiritual planes in the next world. This will supposedly enable them to remove bad Karma and help them progress through various reincarnations. At the conclusion of these prayer exercises, the person says, "I now put my inner experiences into your hands, Mahanta. Take me wherever is best for my own unfoldment at this particular time."
Former members of Eckankar call the group a cult saying that leaders demand allegiance to the "Godman of Eckankar" (Harold Klemp) and threaten nonbelievers with dire consequences.
Believe it or not, Eckankar followers insist that their members need not leave their current faith to join! However, it should be quite obvious that this religion is not compatible with Christianity. Notwithstanding the fact that it requires a belief in reincarnation, which is against the teaching of the Church, it also violates the First Commandment by setting up the Mahanta as a Godman. In John 14:6 Jesus tells us that "No man comes to the Father, but by me" but ECKists are taught that it is only through Eckankar that a person can find a "direct path to God" (Moritmitsu 232).
Persons following this weird religion are obviously searching and should be treated with compassion and bathed in prayer. I would suggest that family members who wish to help a loved one out of this cult consult with a local Catholic or Christian psychologist who has expertise in this area to determine what is the most effective way to help.
Send your New Age question to newage@womenofgrace.com
The Wierd World of the ECK Cult
Our ministry recently received a request from someone who is concerned about family members who are being drawn into a group known as Eckankar.
For those of you who have never heard of it, Eckankar is a cult-like religion that is based on a 19th century Indian tradition known as Sant Mat which is centered on surat shabd yoga or "yoga of the sound current." It promotes the worship of ECK, a Divine Spirit or "Current" of life that allegedly flows through all living things. Referred to as the Light and Sound of God, ECK is also called the Holy Spirit, which may lead some Christians into believing the group worships God.
Eckankar was founded by Paul Twitchell, an ex-Scientologist who concocted it from a variety of teachings such as Scientology, Ruhani Satsung (the teachings of an Indian guru named Kirpal Singh) shabd yoga and teachings from several other religious and occult groups. Twitchell appointed himself the "Living ECK Master" in 1965, claiming he would only serve for five years. But when those five years were up, he refused to step down and created a story about a child who was in-training to succeed him but wouldn't be ready for another 15 years. During that time Twitchell died (or translated, as they say in ECKland) and his wife named Darwin Gross as the next "Living ECK Master." Gross ended up in a lawsuit with the next contender to the "throne", Harold Klemp (more about him later).
Eckankar is considered to be a religion because it has its own ceremonies such as the "Consecration Ceremony" which is similar to baptism and is administered to infants and those who are entering Eckankar. Their "Wedding Ceremony" is used to marry two ECKists and a "Memorial Service" marks the soul's passage into other worlds.
According to its website, the group believes God speaks to a person through past lives, dreams, and soul travel. Exploring past lives supposedly allows "lessons of long ago" to "help our lives today" because everyone's virtues and shortcomings were developed from past lives. Dreams are "another way to find wisdom from the heart," the site claims, and people are encouraged to learn how to "work with dreams."
Soul travel is integral to the practice of ECK. It is described as "a shift in consciousness" that allows a person to "tap into the wisdom and knowledge of the last great frontier - our inner worlds." During soul travel, a person's soul supposedly leaves the body and explores other worlds. ECKists also believe that the soul can leave the body when sleeping and return at will, once it learns how.
ECK teachings supposedly teach people how to do all these things but, as the site explains, following the ECK master is key to their success.
"Key to the ECK teachings is the Mahanta, the Living ECK Master. He has the special ability to act as both Inner and Outer Master for ECK students. He is the prophet of Eckankar, given respect but not worship. He teaches the sacred name of God, HU, which lifts one spiritually into the Light and Sound of God, the ECK."
The current Mahanta is Sir Harold Kemp Harold Klemp who was born and raised in Wisconsin and first encountered the teachings of Eckankar while serving in the U.S. Air Force in Japan. He was appointed to leadership role in the group by the so-called "972nd Living Eck Master" Darwin Gross. (Past ECK masters supposedly include Socrates, Plato, Jesus, Moses, Martin Luther, Michael Angelo, Mozart, Einstein, etc.).
Gross and Klemp fought one another legally in 1974 when accusations of misappropriation of funds and leadership challenges landed them both in court. At that time, Klemp was given the title "Mahanta", which means "superior of a monastery" in Sanskrit but means "the highest state of God Consciousness on Earth" to ECKists. (Gross apparently went his own way and started a new group known as ATOM, which means Ancient Teachings of the Master.)
As for daily practices, ECKists are encouraged to practice the "Spiritual Exercises of ECK" for 15–20 minutes a day, part of which involves singing the word "HU", an ancient name for God. (This practice is also part of Sufism.) The purpose of these exercises is to help a person come into a proper awareness of their past lives in order to facilitate contact with ECK "masters" (including the present one) who are believed to be on different spiritual planes in the next world. This will supposedly enable them to remove bad Karma and help them progress through various reincarnations. At the conclusion of these prayer exercises, the person says, "I now put my inner experiences into your hands, Mahanta. Take me wherever is best for my own unfoldment at this particular time."
Former members of Eckankar call the group a cult saying that leaders demand allegiance to the "Godman of Eckankar" (Harold Klemp) and threaten nonbelievers with dire consequences.
Believe it or not, Eckankar followers insist that their members need not leave their current faith to join! However, it should be quite obvious that this religion is not compatible with Christianity. Notwithstanding the fact that it requires a belief in reincarnation, which is against the teaching of the Church, it also violates the First Commandment by setting up the Mahanta as a Godman. In John 14:6 Jesus tells us that "No man comes to the Father, but by me" but ECKists are taught that it is only through Eckankar that a person can find a "direct path to God" (Moritmitsu 232).
Persons following this weird religion are obviously searching and should be treated with compassion and bathed in prayer. I would suggest that family members who wish to help a loved one out of this cult consult with a local Catholic or Christian psychologist who has expertise in this area to determine what is the most effective way to help.
Send your New Age question to newage@womenofgrace.com
For those of you who have never heard of it, Eckankar is a cult-like religion that is based on a 19th century Indian tradition known as Sant Mat which is centered on surat shabd yoga or "yoga of the sound current." It promotes the worship of ECK, a Divine Spirit or "Current" of life that allegedly flows through all living things. Referred to as the Light and Sound of God, ECK is also called the Holy Spirit, which may lead some Christians into believing the group worships God.
Eckankar was founded by Paul Twitchell, an ex-Scientologist who concocted it from a variety of teachings such as Scientology, Ruhani Satsung (the teachings of an Indian guru named Kirpal Singh) shabd yoga and teachings from several other religious and occult groups. Twitchell appointed himself the "Living ECK Master" in 1965, claiming he would only serve for five years. But when those five years were up, he refused to step down and created a story about a child who was in-training to succeed him but wouldn't be ready for another 15 years. During that time Twitchell died (or translated, as they say in ECKland) and his wife named Darwin Gross as the next "Living ECK Master." Gross ended up in a lawsuit with the next contender to the "throne", Harold Klemp (more about him later).
Eckankar is considered to be a religion because it has its own ceremonies such as the "Consecration Ceremony" which is similar to baptism and is administered to infants and those who are entering Eckankar. Their "Wedding Ceremony" is used to marry two ECKists and a "Memorial Service" marks the soul's passage into other worlds.
According to its website, the group believes God speaks to a person through past lives, dreams, and soul travel. Exploring past lives supposedly allows "lessons of long ago" to "help our lives today" because everyone's virtues and shortcomings were developed from past lives. Dreams are "another way to find wisdom from the heart," the site claims, and people are encouraged to learn how to "work with dreams."
Soul travel is integral to the practice of ECK. It is described as "a shift in consciousness" that allows a person to "tap into the wisdom and knowledge of the last great frontier - our inner worlds." During soul travel, a person's soul supposedly leaves the body and explores other worlds. ECKists also believe that the soul can leave the body when sleeping and return at will, once it learns how.
ECK teachings supposedly teach people how to do all these things but, as the site explains, following the ECK master is key to their success.
"Key to the ECK teachings is the Mahanta, the Living ECK Master. He has the special ability to act as both Inner and Outer Master for ECK students. He is the prophet of Eckankar, given respect but not worship. He teaches the sacred name of God, HU, which lifts one spiritually into the Light and Sound of God, the ECK."
The current Mahanta is Sir Harold Kemp Harold Klemp who was born and raised in Wisconsin and first encountered the teachings of Eckankar while serving in the U.S. Air Force in Japan. He was appointed to leadership role in the group by the so-called "972nd Living Eck Master" Darwin Gross. (Past ECK masters supposedly include Socrates, Plato, Jesus, Moses, Martin Luther, Michael Angelo, Mozart, Einstein, etc.).
Gross and Klemp fought one another legally in 1974 when accusations of misappropriation of funds and leadership challenges landed them both in court. At that time, Klemp was given the title "Mahanta", which means "superior of a monastery" in Sanskrit but means "the highest state of God Consciousness on Earth" to ECKists. (Gross apparently went his own way and started a new group known as ATOM, which means Ancient Teachings of the Master.)
As for daily practices, ECKists are encouraged to practice the "Spiritual Exercises of ECK" for 15–20 minutes a day, part of which involves singing the word "HU", an ancient name for God. (This practice is also part of Sufism.) The purpose of these exercises is to help a person come into a proper awareness of their past lives in order to facilitate contact with ECK "masters" (including the present one) who are believed to be on different spiritual planes in the next world. This will supposedly enable them to remove bad Karma and help them progress through various reincarnations. At the conclusion of these prayer exercises, the person says, "I now put my inner experiences into your hands, Mahanta. Take me wherever is best for my own unfoldment at this particular time."
Former members of Eckankar call the group a cult saying that leaders demand allegiance to the "Godman of Eckankar" (Harold Klemp) and threaten nonbelievers with dire consequences.
Believe it or not, Eckankar followers insist that their members need not leave their current faith to join! However, it should be quite obvious that this religion is not compatible with Christianity. Notwithstanding the fact that it requires a belief in reincarnation, which is against the teaching of the Church, it also violates the First Commandment by setting up the Mahanta as a Godman. In John 14:6 Jesus tells us that "No man comes to the Father, but by me" but ECKists are taught that it is only through Eckankar that a person can find a "direct path to God" (Moritmitsu 232).
Persons following this weird religion are obviously searching and should be treated with compassion and bathed in prayer. I would suggest that family members who wish to help a loved one out of this cult consult with a local Catholic or Christian psychologist who has expertise in this area to determine what is the most effective way to help.
Send your New Age question to newage@womenofgrace.com
