Eckankar

[hoping4change]

I saw a commercial during "Ancient Aliens," on A&E, about "finding your past lives." It was very generic, as if they were selling something. I looked up the website advertised and realized this was an actual religion, that is based on the light and sound of God, where members believe in past lives, soul travel, etc. It made me feel kind of uncomfortable. Maybe because I prefer to view my beliefs as more of a Science, or Metaphysics, than a religion. As always, I had to look for sites objecting to Eckankar and read statements from past followers, who referred to the religion as more of a cult. Once you join, you must stay, or the result could be eternal damnation. I don't like Eckanakar's use of punishment & control. I don't know where I'm going with this, but I'm interested in hearing how others feel regarding the commercial, religion, beliefs, etc. I did not know this faith existed, and I'm interested in others feelings on the matter, good or bad.

 

[argonne1918]

I know someone who belongs to Eckankar. I've never gone to it but I don't think it's as bad as same claim. I suspect that Eck members probably knew each other in past lives. It's a way for them to reconnect. Just like some of us here have know each other before.

 

[Sarellah]

I've heard of the religion but not of the eternal damnation part; thanks for informing us.

 

[BriarRose]

I knew a member, and most of her beliefs were like mine. She gave me books to read, but I thought they were simplistic. I didn't know about the damnation - it wasn't mentioned in the books. I think the founder was a man named Paul Twitchell. My friend did practice OBEs, and we discussed our mutual belief in reincarnation.

 

[Sister Grey]

I've read a bit about them, and I think I knew a guy way back who might have been a member. My impression was that they're harmless, but I imagine the fundamentalists wouldn't be too fond of them.

 

[usetawuz]

I once went to a meeting and while friendly and open, there were still rules and a sort of dogma which put me off. I had one man pull me aside and tell me my methods and rationale were ineffective and unhelpful, so I thanked him and promptly forgot about it. It is a religion and has all the hallmarks of man-directed rituals and a supposed "right way of doing it", which has never worked for me.

 

[Misty8723]

When I was a teenager, I came across a book on Eckankar. I found it interesting, and it actually the first time I had heard the term "astral projection." A lightbulb went off because I had had an out of body experience but had no idea what it was. However, I don't like the religion aspect of it and would never get involved. I prefer to maintain my beliefs without the dogma.

 

[Twilight]

Interesting, it seems like you guys have introduced me to this religion although I've only been exposed to Catholicism and Methodist religious septs. ^_^

 

[usetawuz]

Interesting, it seems like you guys have introduced me to this religion although I've only been exposed to Catholicism and Methodist religious septs. ^_^

I'm not sure I understand what you are saying...this wasn't so much an introduction to a religion but rather a view into our impressions of one. Please understand these are our opinions and you must make up your own mind...I would suggest investigating Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism before eckankar simply because of the established aspect of them and the potential for more likely participants who can provide greater understanding of them.

 

[Twilight]

I find the concept quite interesting in all despite never hearing about this sept, don't get me wrong. However I'd prefer Catholicism in the heat of them all. It's fun learning new spiritualities

 

[TMarie33]

A really nice woman who was a customer at my last job brought me in a bunch of Eckankar books, it was kind of confusing because they all seemed to start in the middle of the whole story. She was such a nice woman though with the most peaceful energy, one day she could tell I was not feeling too good through the "retail smile" and did the sound of god with me (Hu) and the vibration of it was very calming, it had a soothing tone. She invited me to the meetings but I never went as I am a lone wolf. Very lovely people though, I agree with the soul group thing and wondered if I knew her before because I felt a strange tingly warming in my solar plexus area when she she was leaving and we hugged, a familiarity.

 

[argonne1918]

Very lovely people though, I agree with the soul group thing and wondered if I knew her before because I felt a strange tingly warming in my solar plexus area when she she was leaving and we hugged, a familiarity.

Yes, it's possible you knew her before. Most of the people you know now you have known before. After a while you get so you can sense it when you meet someone. BTW, many of us here in the forum have discovered past life connections with other forum members. It's like at some level we agreed to meet here. Thank God for the Internet. wine**

 

[TMarie33]

I love that idea! Most definitely I have had that "Well hello again!" feeling....it just validates all these new experiences in a whole new a way.

 

[WS12]

Balanced View


Eckankar is not for everyone but my experience with it has been positive. Everyone is welcome to attend as long as they like but there is no pressure for membership.

 

[rjmarzano]

I've seen those TV commercials also.

To be honest it gave me the creeps like it's a cult. I guess because of Scientology I'm very leery of those 'new age' types of organizations.

Maybe I'm being paranoid but on the other hand it may be advisable to just be cautious.

 

[WS12]

Eckankar is a great spiritual path. They have many exercises to try and the path is an unfolding one and not constricted to the teachings of only one teacher years ago.

 

[Polaris8]

I saw a commercial during "Ancient Aliens," on A&E, about "finding your past lives." It was very generic, as if they were selling something. I looked up the website advertised and realized this was an actual religion, that is based on the light and sound of God, where members believe in past lives, soul travel, etc. It made me feel kind of uncomfortable. Maybe because I prefer to view my beliefs as more of a Science, or Metaphysics, than a religion. As always, I had to look for sites objecting to Eckankar and read statements from past followers, who referred to the religion as more of a cult. Once you join, you must stay, or the result could be eternal damnation. I don't like Eckanakar's use of punishment & control. I don't know where I'm going with this, but I'm interested in hearing how others feel regarding the commercial, religion, beliefs, etc. I did not know this faith existed, and I'm interested in others feelings on the matter, good or bad.

Hoping4change

Eckankar is a very spiritual path.

In response to your post Eckankar is a very spiritual path that gives the individual the tools to experience self awareness (soul consciousness and eventually god realization first hand.) The present day leader Harold Klemp is called the Mahanta which is a transcendental soul. He is a among a very long line of spiritual teachers who has reached the God Conscious state of being. However he is not worship in Eckankar but rather looked upon as a spiritual avatar/master of sorts to give those seeking self awareness (soul consciousness) and eventually god realization the actually tools to experience these attributes of reality for the self. He is a soft spoken living spiritual master. His style is rather low key which some find boring and dry however his words are soft but very powerful if fully understood. He attended high school at a religious boarding school in Milwaukee, Wisconsin afterward he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force, where he trained as a language specialist at Indiana University and a radio intercept operator at Good fellow AFB, Texas. He completed a two-year tour at Misawa Air Base and later at Yokota Air Base in Japan, where he was first exposed to the teachings of Eckankar. Which from what I understand has its roots thousands of years ago in human history in the far east. The teachings of Eckankar was introduced to the western world as a modern-day religion in 1965 by the Spiritual Teacher at that time Paul Twitchell.

However the path of Eck is not for everyone nor should it be. As each soul must choose their own spiritual path that best suit's their state of consciousness. Therefore one can only open up the door to allow another to walk thru it in order to gain a new, perhaps different experience or perspective on life. However the individual must walk thru that door by their own free will and initiative. You can not make someone do that nor should you as this violates spiritual law of ones psychic space and free will. There by creating more karma for the self. As we are all at different stages of spiritual evolution in consciousness.

However Eckankar is in my opinion a very direct spiritual path in that it gives individual the tools to experience reality beyond the physical world by learning the art of soul travel making those other dimensions of reality a living one to the human consciousness. This eventually will lead to self awareness as soul and later god realization This breaks the illusion of death and Maya of the physical world. However not everyone is cut out for this. So allowing others to make their own decisions for themselves is best. However please know that Eckankar is not a cult. Not by any means. As the path teaches one to be responsible to ones family, friends and respect to ones own culture, society or community they belong to. The ECK teachings are based on compassion, unconditional love, respect, personal responsibility, and giving others spiritual freedom. It is against spiritual law to push one's beliefs on others or to hold anyone to a spiritual path. Which is why the damnation thing is simply not true. Yes some do drop out of the path as they found it just was not right for them. And so life carry's on just the same despite all the internet hype over it. But then again many leave their spiritual path or religions they grew up with as children simply because as soul they out grew them. And needed to find something else that best suite their new state of consciousness where they are at now.

What I have discovered over the course of my lifetime is that all spiritual paths/or religions are nothing more than tools for the human consciousness to contact the divine within them. Therefore religions and other spiritual paths are nothing more than tools for the soul to try to understand that which transcends the human mind. The reason is because each soul is coming from a different state of consciousness and views and experiences reality differently while incarnated in the physical dimension.

So each soul will view and experience god within the inner self from their own unique point of references and viewpoint. Neither one is right or wrong in how they are experiencing the god force within. As we are all a part of god just as each drop of water is apart of the ocean.

So in the end we all will reach enlightenment at some point be in this lifetime or in some far distance one so it does not really matter. Because to god billions of years in our liner terms of the meaning is nothing more than a blink of an eye.

So each soul is at exactly where they need to be in this present moment in time on their journey home.




Peace and love.

P.

 

[fireflydancing]

Personally, I am allergic to cults. Being a member of a cult is not good for your mental health and your well being in general.

Cults
Cults take away personal responsibility. Cults absorb personality, money, and freedom from its members. Just a waste of 'time' and unnecessary suffering. If you want 'to learn a lesson' it can happen in so many more respectful ways. Well, except when you want your ego destroyed, then you're exactly in the right place you are supposed to be. (/sarcasm)

Eckankar
Now to the Eckankar. I don't know them. So I went to their website, and I googled to find testimonies of ex-members of Eckankar. If you want to judge a group for being a cult/sect, never start with the content. First, find out their foundations, their structure.

Why is Eckankar considered a cult?
Well, ... a lot of red flags were waving in the wind.

I. The holy leadership to start with (called by titles like the Mahanta, the Master, Sri, the Prophet).

source: https://www.eckankar.org/abouteckankar.pdf


II. The secret knowledge they can offer you that is not available through other means than by their programs.

source: https://www.eckankar.org/abouteckankar.pdf


III. The elitism. They call themselves the Eckists to distinguish from the rest of the peoples.

source: https://www.eckankar.org/abouteckankar.pdf


IV. Initiations

source: https://www.eckankar.org/abouteckankar.pdf


V. Scientology Church
A very interesting red flag is the fact that the founder of Eckankar, Paul Twitchell, had been a member of the Scientology Church, just years before founding his own church. It's not even a secret, they're kind of proud of it.

source: https://www.eckankar.org/Masters/Peddar/hisStory.html


My opinion
Well, this is my harvest so far and personally, I don't feel the need to investigate the content of Eckankar. Between the lines on the website, I read about us being particles of the Divine (I agree) and some other stuff I agree or disagree on. I know enough about cults and their way of working. First, it starts with the love bombing. A recruit will be welcomed bathed in love and understanding. Not one single dark cloud on the horizon. In the beginning, they don't even realize it's a real cult until it is too late. This honeymoon period can stretch out over years. It took someone I know 7 (!) years to realize this (another cult). It's a highly complex of psychological processes that make the person stay in the cult. It is a myth that people need to be locked up in order to stay with the cult. If the brainwashing was performed effectively, they will declare it's all out of the free will.

Testimonies from ex-members
I did look up the internet to find out if there are former members of Eckankar and yes... there are ex-Eckists full of rage. Suprise...
Sources: https://eckankarlawsuit.jimdo.com/ex-members-1/
http://truthabouteckankar.blogspot.com/ ,
http://www.forum.exscn.net/threads/eckankar-–-a-scientology-clone.31226/ ,

 

[fireflydancing]

CHARACTERISTICS ASSOCIATED WITH CULTS
http://cultresearch.org/help/characteristics-associated-with-cults/

10 Signs You’re Probably In A Cult
https://medium.com/@zelphontheshelf/10-signs-youre-probably-in-a-cult-1921eb5a3857

Six Sociological Characteristics of Cults
http://andynaselli.com/sociological-characteristics-of-cults

What are some signs and practices of a cult?
https://carm.org/signs-practices-of-a-cult


.....


Do you want to leave or did you just leave a cult?
Try this Google search

 

[Polaris8]

CHARACTERISTICS ASSOCIATED WITH CULTS
http://cultresearch.org/help/characteristics-associated-with-cults/

10 Signs You’re Probably In A Cult
https://medium.com/@zelphontheshelf/10-signs-youre-probably-in-a-cult-1921eb5a3857

Six Sociological Characteristics of Cults
http://andynaselli.com/sociological-characteristics-of-cults

What are some signs and practices of a cult?
https://carm.org/signs-practices-of-a-cult


.....


Do you want to leave or did you just leave a cult?
Try this Google search

Fireflydancing,

I can understand your concerns my dear. And I agree with you whole heartily. However in this case and in my opinion Eckankar is not a cult but a new age religion. I mean come on! It's headquarters is in Chanhassen, Minnesota and is registered as a non-profit religious group with members in over one hundred countries around the world. I would hardly call it a cult. It might have some aspects taken from other eastern spiritual paths and tailored it for the western mind set to understand but over all they believe in One God, karma, reincarnation, soul travel, personal responsibility to ones self, one birth family and community, (which is not a cult behavior by the way) and a goal for the person to become self aware as soul (soul awareness) and eventually enlightenment. Many other spiritual paths on this planet follow similar goals. Mostly in the far east.

However because it is not well know in western culture many would consider this to be a cult right off the bat because it does not follow main stream western religion which tend to be Christian based. However not everyone in American is Christian. And in fact Christianity was a pagan cult for hundreds of years after the death of Christ before it became an official religion.

Yes I have read some of internet hype over members that left the path. So what! Many people leave their spiritual path all the time all over the world in various cultures for various reasons. So personally I would not worry about this as it does not follow the typically cult behavior. However I do agree it is a new age religion. As I have met some people that belong to this group and others that have left it. Both sides seem normal enough in my opinion. As I have friends from all walks of life, Some are Christian, Some are Catholic, others are Buddhist, one Hindu, some are new age, some don't have any religious path at all that they follow but have a spiritual bent to them and some are agnostic. Only two are atheist. However one friend Alex (female) who is an atheist believes in reincarnation and a soul but not god so go figure?

I am sure we all have been involved in many religious groups and spiritual path in many of our past lifetimes. To me god speaks to everyone from their own unique perspective and state of spiritual consciousness from within. Which is why the world is so diverse and complex in nature. If nothing else it make for an interesting ride while in the physical plane.

Peace and love.

P.

 

[fireflydancing]

Hi Polaris8,

My response about the Eckankar cult was mainly intended to inform people about the structure of a cult. The forum of this website is being read by so many more people than just the registered members.
And I think this kind of information is needed to form a balanced opinion about this religious group. My response was not directed personally to you, although I wondered whether you only wanted to inform about the Eckankar or whether you were involved in it too. Well, I guess you are involved, now I read your defense of this group. I don't deny you your right of religion. On this forum, we have people from all kinds of religions and as long as people don't start preaching, that's ok.

However, I would like to clarify some things.

First, the message of a cult-like religion has nothing to do with whether the group is considered a cult or not. It's about the structure and the organization.

Second, it has nothing to do with opposing the ideas of Christianity. In fact, a lot of big and smaller Christian groups are considered a cult, just based on their structure and organization. Within the Catholic Church, we have Opus Dei for example. On the protestant side, my mother grew up in an evangelical cult with high profile preachers. Having big churches all over the world is not an argument against being a cult.

Third, the message and content that a cult presents to the general public are in no way decisive for judging a cult. One of the characteristics of a cult is having two faces. One face for the public to see and another face for the members of the cult. The public message and the secret message are often insanely contradictory.

I deliberately did not comment on the content of the Eckankar doctrine nor their public statements. It's not necessary, as I explained above.