why i left eckankar why i left eckankar

This feels like all the atoms in the universe moving around, its like a rushing sound in the background. Lane leans across the cafe table, excitedly tapping his straw. The term Eckankar is also a word used to refer to the name of God in Sikhism. 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. People were wearing rich, colorful clothing. When they find out youre talking to me, I guarantee that their lawyers will write. Houdini longed to communicate with her beyond the grave. Paul Twitchell. 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. 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". Then his widow, Gail Atkinson, had a vision in the night in which Twitchell named Gross. I left Eckankar because I was able to prove the concepts of Soul Travel to myself. Lane tried in vain to place his controversial book with a major publisher. Once when I was driving down to Baja on one of my frequent surf trips, he continues, I noticed to my amazement a highway sign that said Rebasar. I dont know exactly what it means No Passing, or something like that. They sent letters about me claiming I was the negative force, that I. May 1, 2023 6:30 AM. Rebazar Tarzs. Why you can trust Sky News Sky Sports pundit Graeme Souness is to step down after 15 years. 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. Theres certain things I left out of the book, and one of them is the night Twitchell died. Eckankar is a new religious movement founded by Paul Twitchell in 1965. My family is full of attorneys. It was difficult coming to this country, trying to figure out the language, the new culture, and what to do. I had my two sisters to take care of while my parents were being mixed up. When the Vietnamese fellow was in San Diego, he saw a poster for an Eckankar event that had a picture of Rebazar Tarzs on it, and he recognized him. But they kept running it, and he never sued them., In August 1988, the Los Angeles Times published an extensive two-part critique of John-Rogers activities, based on Lanes research. I want Eckankar in some weird universe to keep going, because its fun for me. In one he refers to me as Lane the widower. So then I wrote The J.R. Controversy for a new journal called Understanding Cults. The courtship was over. So who was this mysterious Paul Twitchell? Where do you think Twitchell got these names?. I went to sleep, and in my sleep I seemed to hear a sound of singing.. I'm a former member of this cult, in America. McMahon seems suspicious of me, so I tell him that my current husband is an Irish Catholic from Long Island and that Im still very much in contact with my former husband, whos a higher initiate of Eckankar like himself. Pine Avenue, right next to where I was living when I was doing my books in the 80s. Two years later I got a letter from a guy in Canada saying hed discovered a genuine guru. Then he mailed some of the stolen documents anonymously to Eckankar under the assumption that they would use it against me and I would think Eckankar robbed my house. The spiritual exercises are a form of prayer. 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. I got sick a lot when I was a baby. Hi, Im Dave." The inner form of the Living Eck Master, known as the Mahanta, works with students in the dreamstate and during their spiritual exercises. . I ask, How do you account for Eckankars success? Eckankar uses two things that everybody has to have. Radhasoami is a yogic teaching that, according to Lane, is designed to enable the soul or consciousness to ascend beyond the physical body to higher spiritual regions by means of an internal sound or life current. Central to the teachings of Radhasoami, continues Lane, is the necessity of a living human master competent in initiating disciples into the practice and technique of listening to the inner sound, contemplating the inner light, and leaving the human body at will. The Indian guru Kirpal Singh figures prominently in Twitchells early writing. The problem is that John-Roger claims to be celibate. Not the truth itself. A friend from La Jolla gave me a copy of the article that David Lane is writing called the J. R. Controversy. Eckankar teaches that the soul is eternal, it exists because God loves it, and it is journeying to self-realization and God realization. After reading Eckankar books for a year and a half, Yelman went to a seminar in Las Vegas. But in buying a religion, youre supposed to wear these narrow blinders, so that if anybody disagrees you can block it out. But its just a few blocks off University.. Eckankar's stance on sexual relations, although overtly heteronormative, speaks to the religion's appreciation of the sex act as an important and meaningful experience in human life. Lane pays for my coffee and his Coke, and we sit down at a small, dark table. Lifes kind of sad. Actually, Eckankar is the one who has kept me going because they keep [after] me every time I try to come out with something. Rebazar Tarzs, yeah, that Rebazar Tarzs. They knew what I had done with Eckankar, and they thought, Well, he can do this with J.R. So there was a secret meeting in a Santa Monica condominium with these defectors. Although i had forgotten my. 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. I said, Yeah, Geraldo, this guy robbed my house, he did this he did this he did that all on national TV. Gail Atkinson, who has long since broken with Eckankar, is said to live in wealthy seclusion in Palm Springs. 40 people in a hotel named Hanalei in San Diego for a man who used to draw thousands. But the woman I remember was mousy, with a broad smile; no Bond girl was she. His quest for knowledge and experience of God is without question. Eckankar threatened a lawsuit for the inappropriate use of their trademark symbol on the books cover. Simply put, Twitchell cut his connection with Radhasoami for good marketing reasons. Lane and Walsh had put a circle with a slash through it over Eckankars logo, which is EK formed into a circle. Everybody has a right to pursue whatever interest they have. When I ask him what Eckankars position is on Lanes research, Richards, whos been in Eckankar for 20 years, says he doesnt know. April 25, 2023, 1:58 p.m. The mastership of Darwin Gross is a black cloud in Eckankar history, a history that Eckankar wants to erase. Totally aware, she says seriously. It got to the point that it became a mythology in which Twitchell couldnt remember all the names. Peebles, says Lane, got so disgruntled when he realized there was some kind of fraud being perpetuated that he wrote Eckankar himself about these findings. Peebles returned to his Baptist roots and sent his paper to Professor Ed Gruss of the Los Angeles Baptist College. Its basically, check your brains at the door when you join a religion.". Gross was in the habit of wearing light-blue leisure suits, and men throughout the audience mimicked his attire. Gross enters and takes his position behind the gold-toned vibes. Answer. I stood up and said, You know, Im a member of the community, Im a coach in the Little League, Im involved with the schools. I gave a list of my involvements with the community, and then I said, Im an Eckist and I believe in God. Among those two explanations, Occams Razor points to the simpler one, I overslept. Sri Harold Klemp has immense financial resources available to guide the spiritual lives of his tens of thousands of believers. Remember, hed been kicked out of Swami Premanandas church in 1955. Outsiders would think they had stumbled into a convention of traveling salesmen. 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. He publishes books through an organization called Be Good to Your Self, located in Las Vegas. Eckankar is still very much open to and supportive of whatever religion a person belongs to. I think they expected somebody who was more academic looking. He does that all the time. Naturally the threat made me want to do more research. In a way it was like an abandonment. Initially he refuses to come to the Hillcrest home where Im staying, preferring to meet in a nearby restaurant. (Such a quake did occur in 1812.) Sipping his virgin strawberry margarita, Lane says, I got a sense of authenticity when he played his vibes, like thats who he really was, a musician, instead of trying to be a master. Clearly Lane is not a blind follower. Various Eckists say they witnessed the ceremony. It has its positive aspects, a sense of community, a sense of focusing on the individual and his or her experiences of the divine. I called him my friend, she continues. Eckankar took off like wildfire, growing from three students to thousands in less than three years. I dont want to tweak his day. I know that here in San Diego, when we had our Eck center, elderly members of Eckankar who were sitting at the center got threatening telephone calls from Christian organizations., No, it had nothing to do with him. Last year, former cult member Peter McWilliams published a scathing tell-all, Life 102: What to Do When Your Guru Sues You; Novembers Vanity Fair linked Arianna Huffingtons allegiance to MSIA to her husbands unsuccessful senate campaign; and the March issue of Playboy ran a detailed expose. Should I send this to the IRS? 'Should I send this to Eckankar? Little notes he was making to himself. His critique was instrumental in my dropping out of Eckankar in the early 80s. Hes listed in Ripley's Believe It or Not as having sold an article every day. I gave up drugs, and my grades went down. In their own words, "The ECK is spirit. In one article Lane shows me, Twitchell is reported to have piercing blue eyes, to sleep only four hours a night, to read 5000 words a minute, to eat little, and to have the ability to be in all places at the same time.. Gross continues to work as a spiritual master, with a small group of devoted followers, many of them former Eckists. I vacantly stare at Lanes tanned hairy legs, nostalgic for the boyfriends who played this song for me. Saturday afternoon, when we arrive at the hotel, Lane keeps disappearing into the bathroom. We have a tendency to want to inflate our lives with spiritual meaning, and skepticism is not much fun. Grosss uplifting music is claimed to have miraculous healing powers. But he refuses to reveal details for publication and will only repeat the facts as listed on the death certificate. Hes a friendly guy with lots of dreams of his own, but I just want to stare at the streams of headlights along the highway. When he died in 1971, he was living in Del Mar. I felt the world has gone by, but these people are still there.*. I was a member for almost 15 years, but thanks to the internet, I found out the truth about it and got out. Thats his axe to grind with Eckankar. Lane has tears in his eyes. David Lanes critiques of Eckankar may be well documented and rational, but religious devotion is not about rationality. 'Ohoh! Signed, The Master. Another former Eckist named Gary Olsen started the MasterPath. Followers of Eckankar believe that beyond the physical world there are many other realms existing at higher vibratory rates. 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. What I find interesting is that his material doesnt shake the belief of most Eckists., This is why, he responds immediately. The treatment of critics, the phony official organizations that are merely cult front groups, and the lies are all the same. But if I belonged to an organization that did. When I called to sign up, they told me that I never had to go to a class if I didnt want to. They looked just like the Rod of Power! The Making of a Spiritual Movement, which is not advertised or available in bookstores, has sold more than 10,000 copies. On Saturday, I lunch with Lane at a restaurant in Del Mar. We dont rely on the written word. Now, Jagat is actually the first name of a Radhasoami guru named Jagat Singh. You can explain it in a lot of different ways. In the meantime, Lane graduated from Northridge, visited India, and enrolled at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, where in 1979 he met Brian Walsh. Eckankar is a classic case in point. Through daily spiritual exercises, one can shift ones awareness from the physical world and soul travel to these higher planes. He used to send me Christmas cards, he gave me his personal phone number, and he offered me $5000 to help with my research on Eckankar.. According to Lane, all three letters are printed in the same typeface with the same malfunctioning capital A. Apparently Lane has equally conflicted feelings about me. 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. John-Roger was a follower of Eckankar, begins Lane. Its the reason, I believe, that he plagiarized so blatantly.. David Lane has his own personal agenda. Its difficult not to resent Lane, that temptress, that town gossip, that snake in Eden. Sure! But when we go to the Hillcrest Village parking garage to retrieve Lanes car he cant find it. With the blink of an eye, he could vanish forever. Those who become disheartened quit ECK for other paths that seem to require less drive and responsibility of them. But Lane had the jump on all of them when back in 1984 he wrote The J.R. I called John-Roger immediately. It lacks the wit, passion, and narrative drive of his other books. 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. Dropping out, of a religion, one in which one attempts to focus ones every thought, every action on those teachings, is a horrible experience. ECKANKAR. 2023 San Diego Reader. I came from a religion that was full of dogma and rituals, and it really was a breath of fresh air to have all my questions answered in a way that made sense to me.But above all, I think I most appreciate how I am able to incorporate the teachings of ECK into my everyday life, instead of feeling like my physical and . To come up with original material takes time, and time is money. We close our eyes and chant Hu together for several minutes. Im sure of it. He taps his finger on the table. Discomfort spreads across his face as I continue, You were the Master most of the time I was in it. Holding my hand, he looks deep into my eyes and says, Im still the Master. A representative at the Eckankar international office assured me that no one is turned away for lack of funds. Lane pauses and thinks for a bit. Hed read the book and wanted me to visit him. They fade out clean and quietly. It went through the roof a lot quicker than he expected. Writing this summary of beliefs, I consulted Eckankar materials, but I didnt need to. or call 1-888-L0VE-GOD (recorded message) 952-380-2200 (Eckankar Spiritual Center) You may write us at: ECKANKAR PO Box . 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. Not long afterward I joined Eckankar, unaware of the dissension. She agrees to provide us with an official photograph of Gross at the vibes, and I leave to find Lane. ET. The disciples felt used and manipulated for spiritual reasons., After the secret meeting. While a few people I met were off-the-wall, Eckists in general make wonderfiil friends, kind, caring, nonjudgmental. 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 . Curated stories, fun places to hang out and top events. When I get home, my hosts greet me with a Manhattan. Each year Eckankar holds three of these U.S. seminars, which can draw 6000-plus people. I imagine them as the tormented souls of all the cultists who have lost their faith because of Lane. Dawn is finishing an applied kinesiology demonstration of the power of Grosss music. 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. Home study discourses and musical tapes are also available. Paul was an avid reader. Understand that if you read the sacred works of all the religions, such as the Bhagavad-Gita, the Bible, or the Koran, youre going to see references almost exactly alike. He tells me a phenomenal story about an American writer and a European writer who, unbeknownst to one another, wrote identical books and sent them to the same publisher. Hes big, coughing, not in the best of health, and he doesnt have any money. Dr. Bluth, Twitchells personal doctor and vice president of Eckankar at the time, has confirmed that he gave Twitchell books from the Radhasoami library. The teachings of Eckankar are presented to the public through books, free brochures, advertised meetings and lectures, and, of course, word of mouth. The experiential aspect to Eckankar really interested me, and thats how it started.. We were suddenly in a marketplace with lots of bright burgundy-colored carpets. 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. In Youth Ask A Modern Prophet, Harold Klemp writes, "The deep relationship between man and woman is a sacred token of human love. The walls are covered with Andrea Zuills dramatically lit oil paintings of monstrous chalky-fleshed zombies. Nobody wins, so we just let it sit there. When a group of Eckists and I went to see the Bloomington, Indiana, premiere of Star Wars, we were thrilled by the light sabers of the Jedi knights. The skies themselves seem to be weeping with loss. Buying a used car you at least look underneath the hood, hit the tires, maybe take it to a mechanic to check it out. If thats his focus in life, then he has a very limited view of life. McMahon explains that plagiarism isnt always what it seems. Instead of asking people to be really skeptical of things, its asking them to believe almost anything. But, Dave, I counter, when you talk to Eckists they always tell you, Im a totally skeptical person. So he puts up a thousand bucks and out comes this funky. The transaction was conducted ethically but the Left's attacks on Justice Thomas have nothing to do with ethics. In 68 he was a convener, which means he held Eck satsangs [classes) in his home in Rosemead, California. Eckankar set up a meeting with Lane at its international headquarters in Menlo Park. The minute he saw me he canceled all of his appointments and spent six hours with me., Lane leans across the table toward me and grins. 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 think theres some sophomoric techniques, that its naive in terms of its psychology. Eckankar is cult just like Scientology. He also does private executive coaching. Lanes green eyes turn serious. Hes unimpressed on both counts. Those answers were so far-reaching in their depth and breadth, they still help me today, nine years later. His new title was President of Eckankar. It never existed. Eckankar is a system of belief that seeks to unify the person's soul with Light and Sound which are twin aspects of the Holy Spirit, or the Divine Spirit. I anticipate our talk with a mixture of excitement and anxiety. Lets try to make it easy for them to at least understand what were doing, what were about, and what the potential of the teaching is. A lot of people would see Eckankar as a cult.