Eckankar

Eckankar logo

Temple of the ECK, Chanhassen, Minnesota, USA

Eckankar is a worldwide new religious movement , the origins of which are, among other things, the Sant Mat movement . It sees itself as a primordial religion based on the principles of karma and reincarnation and combining the knowledge and experience of all major world religions in its core. Eckankar was published in 1965 in the USA by Paul Twitchell as "Science of Soul Travel ". The current spiritual leader is Harold Klemp .

Teaching

The basics of Eckankar

The term “Eckankar” is derived from Sanskrit ( Panjabi dialect Ek-om-kar , “There is one and only one God”; Sada sada Ik Ekangkar , “However, it is Ekangkar that has always been there”). In Sanskrit, ek is the syllable for one and is used as a synonym for the holy spirit (similar to Hindi: Prana , chin .: Qi ). For the Eckists (also called "Eck-Chelas") it simply means: "The way of ECK".

Eckankar himself makes no reference to known religions of the Indian cultural area such as Buddhism , Hinduism and the Sikhist yoga of sound and light, although there are theological parallels here. In addition, clear influences of the Radhasoami path can be seen. One difference to these religions is a form of religious practice that is adapted to western people. Also, contrary to Buddhism, the existence of an immortal personal soul and a god is postulated. The teaching is partly gnostic , but does not devalue physical existence and the material world as "evil" creation. The physical existence and the material world are seen as the place of action of the negative force, the "Kal-Niranjan". Despite similarities with theosophical teachings, Eckankar does not make the claim anchored there that the teaching is based on the spiritual, mental and physical basic principles and modes of action of nature. Also eckists not believe how many followers Far Eastern routes to it, sometimes as a man, then then reincarnate as a man but as an animal or insect, and that the soul in the course of age gradually in a series of incarnations from the group consciousness of the minerals on the Evolution unfolds to the disembodied being of pure love.

The meaning of the soul

Eckists believe that the soul is immortal and forms the true identity of the individual. According to Eckankar, the soul is an eternal spark of God that exists because God loves the soul and was sent into this world to gain spiritual experience. Accordingly, she is on a journey to self and God realization over many lifetimes, and the spiritual development can be accelerated through conscious contact with the Holy Spirit. According to Eckankar, spiritual experience and karmic liberation are accessible to all people in this life.

The importance of negative force

In Eckankar the so-called negative force is assigned an important role in the formation and perfection of the soul. In the dualistic universe, which according to the Eckists comprises the physical world and the various energy bodies with the astral world (emotional level) , causal level (cause and effect / karma ) and mental level (understanding, poetry, morality) of man, God (Sugmad) has one Ruler installed (Kal Niranjan) , who has the task of occupying the soul until it recognizes the conditions of these so-called lower levels and starts searching for the universal self and the pure love of God beyond the opposites of right and wrong, day and night, life and death opens. For this purpose, the living master serves as a guide, who, however, does not have the task of snatching the souls from Kal Niranjan or to save them, but is only available to show souls that are looking for the way back to God.

Social and moral values ​​of a society are seen as meaningful and useful for regulating coexistence. In order to come to an experience of God, however, man himself can recognize the illusion of matter, free himself from the delusion of human consciousness and recognize himself as a soul and the spiritual meaning in the exchange of experiences. This even includes overcoming Eckankar as a religion, similar to the requirement to transcend Buddha's teachings as an outer limitation. This requires the highest individual ethics , since the negative force will repeatedly try to confuse the soul with dualistic concepts, mental arguments, discussions , emotional joys or sorrows, or with karmic entanglements. The negative force is thus not combated, since it is only naturally used by the divine principle to hide from man his true identity as a soul through every conceivable distraction.

aims

Eckankar is of the opinion that earthly life is a valuable experience for the soul, which should be served with respect and the promotion of creative talents. Followers of Eckankar assume that after two years of intensive practice in everyday life it should be possible to make a new physical incarnation unnecessary through loving and careful behavior and thus to become a conscious “co-worker of God ” in the hereafter or voluntarily here on earth become. To become such a “co-worker of God” is, according to Eckankar, the goal of every soul, which develops through all ages and over a multitude of incarnations to become a conscious soul. The tasks as a co-worker of God would lie above all in encountering creation with one's individual talents as well as greater love and humility . In order to achieve this state, it makes sense to give up the so-called "five passions of the mind": anger , greed , lust , attachment and vanity . A complete turning away from the world or a zealous missionary work are just as ineffective as high intellectual achievements or an office in Eckankar. In the press release from Eckankar Germany you can read that the members should live according to the highest standards: total awareness, responsibility and divine love.

In the tradition of monism , Eckankar took over the teaching of Advaita (Sanskrit, "non-duality") from the Vedic tradition of Hinduism, according to which the individual soul is itself part of the all-soul and thus God. Derived from this, Eckankar assumes that the more people reach higher spiritual states, the more forces are released from the creative universe and benefit the evolution of nature and society. Eckankar represents two doctrines here: on the one hand, the monistic teaching of the universal God beyond the known and partly personalized images of God and that of the interactionist dualism , which, according to René Descartes, says that spirit and matter interact with one another. For Eckists, the realization of these two concepts is a basic requirement for self-knowledge as a soul, which, according to Eckankar's self-understanding, does not coincide with the concept of the spirit in the sense of a materialistic monism (cf. Philosophy of Spirit ). The soul uses the dualistic universe only to collect experience in interaction with other souls. The Eckists therefore do not refer to human understanding and mental processes as mental states, but rather as a function of the soul, which enables the infinite self-experience of God with himself through an infinite number of soul bodies and incarnations. Only the awareness of these experiences, but not the respective personality, remains, in Eckankar's belief system, across individual reincarnations.

The "sound current" (a form of the so-called Eck-Strom, holy spirit, prana or chi), which, according to the monistic worldview, first called the spiritual and then the material world into existence, returns in wave-like cycles to the origin, to God , back and can be perceived in silence as light in the third eye or as an inner sound. " Bani " is used as a designation. Within Sant Mat , Guru Nanak and Kabir (15th / 16th century) were known as forerunners of this “path of the masters”. Kirpal Singh later, from 1953 to 1974 , taught the principles of universal truth in many religions, the living master as well as self and god realization and the audible sound current (Bani / Shabd Dhun) as the expression of the highest deity in India. Experiences of light and sound within are therefore very important for Eckists.

After a long spiritual practice and observation of one's own dreams of ECKist should realize that he has the ability to perceive themselves as a soul with a human self, not more than a man, a soul has . This realization is called "self-realization" in Eckankar. This special form of expansion of consciousness is also called soul journey by Eckists and has more to do with personal experience of the individual in completely normal life than with scripture study and extensive meditation or asceticism.

Another aspect of the soul journey and a lofty goal in Eckankar is closely related to belief in reincarnation and includes what is known as the consciously induced out-of-body experience . This subject was the focus of the scriptures when it was first published in the 1960s by Paul Twitchell. Another goal of the Eckist is the so-called God-realization, which should enable him as a soul to be fully conscious in the presence of God.

Founding history

Eckankar was founded in 1965 by the journalist and American Paul Twitchell (1908 (?) - 1971). He gained spiritual experience working with L. Ron Hubbard , the founder of Scientology , and Kirpal Singh , a master of Sant Mat . After only passing his teaching on to a few students at first, Eckankar transformed over time into a global organization.

He was succeeded by Darwin Gross, who was the spiritual leader of Eckankar from 1971 to 1981 after a two-year membership. In 1981 he was expelled from the organization through the action of Harold Klemp , the current master, and the president of the organization, Peter Skelskey . After a legal dispute in 1983, he was stripped of the title of Eck Master in the following year. He led today's community ATOM (Ancient Teachings Of The Masters). Darwin Gross died on March 8, 2008 at the age of 80.

The living master

Harold Klemp grew up in the US state of Wisconsin, where he studied theology . He was an Air Force soldier in Japan when he heard about Eckankar. In 1981 he was named the 973rd Living Master and Spiritual Guide of Eckankar. Since then he has written about 70 books and a series of annual courses with monthly letters for members, as well as producing about 50 videotapes of his lectures. In the USA, the lectures are regularly repeated on regional television in individual states. Monthly course letters for a 17-year course as well as a large number of his own and nine by Paul Twitchell in German are available from this material.

According to Twitchell's testimony, mankind has always had a spiritual guide, regardless of the religion under which this “living master” has served. Most of the time, however, these masters would not have imparted their teaching to the public. Because of the risk of reprisals, it used to be necessary to pass on this knowledge secretly. Eckankar also includes spiritual leaders in his teaching whose biographies do not reveal any reference to Eckankar and names a large number of partly well-known personalities who, often in secret, are supposed to have been the spiritual guide for the people of their time. For example, Pythagoras , Milarepa , Rumi , Socrates , Omar Chajjam or Epiktet (Epictetus) are mentioned. A complete list of these masters does not exist.

Harold Klemp also adapts the teaching to the social and spiritual realities of the current time. The Eckists grant the more important form of spiritual guidance to inner guidance, for example in dreams or everyday wisdom about the contemplative interpretation of seemingly banal situations. This personal spiritual instruction via intuition is called "Mahanta" in Eckankar and accordingly communicates with the higher self of a devotee who, with the help of spiritual, mostly contemplative exercises, attains a loving and active attitude of discernment.

While the living Eck Master shows spiritual connections for everyday situations, it is left to the Eckists themselves to draw the right conclusions for them in an inner dialogue with the "Mahanta" and with the help of individualized spiritual exercises. Eckists do not pray to God to ask him for something, but hand over their questions and problems in silence to the higher self or the inner master, in order to then live as actively and lovingly as possible in physical, emotional and mental life. Here one relies on the inner guidance and sometimes karmic connections are asked instead of complaints or the question of "why".

The idea that a prophet or master takes over the consequences of his thoughts and actions on behalf of a practicing Eckist ( salvation theology ) and thus frees him from his self-created karma, even over many lives, is alien to Eckists. Eckists believe that their master manages their fate by divine mandate and arranges it so that they can draw the best possible experience from it. The contact with the corner master should also bring about the fastest reduction in negative karmas. Eckists therefore also believe in God's mercy and forgiveness.

According to Eckankar, a Eck Master is the most important co-worker of God to help people in their spiritual studies and soul journeys and to protect them on the inner planes. Worship of a guru is strictly rejected within the organization. In his writings, Eckankar emphasizes that the importance of the Master for the believer's progress is often overrated. Although the divine principle always establishes one (or more) living representatives in the physical universe in order to bring the individual on the way to the co-operation of God, the true religion can only be practiced internally, in dialogue with the inner master. This is also the reason why Eckankar as an organization does not take a position on mental disputes on religious issues. The doctrine does not see the outer master and his actions as well as ultimately the whole organization as decisive for the individual progress of the believer, since a religion without the inner and very personal devotion to the divine never leads to a divine consciousness. The external teaching and culture of Eckankar are thus not sacrosanct.

Management and administration of the organization are directed by the president of the organization at the organization’s headquarters in the United States. The spiritual and worldly leadership in Eckankar are not necessarily congruent.

The decision about who will be the next Eck Master is made, according to Eckankar's writings, an order of transcendent masters on the inner planes. The announcement is then formally announced by the still reigning living master. The title of "Mahanta" is not given to all appointed Eck Masters. Harold Klemp is regarded by the organization as one of the living masters and is therefore also considered the “Mahanta” of this time.

The spiritual practice of Eckankar

Eckankar followers are advised to contemplate for between five and 30 minutes once or twice a day , that is, to gently direct their attention to the third eye in silence and recite a mantra, for example . In contrast to meditation , in which the meditator tries to empty his mind , the goal of contemplation is a gentle contemplation of an affirmation , such as a mantra or a thing / person he loves, which is easier for the western person to obtain . The posture is just as little prescribed as the time of day.

The spiritual practice of the Eckist consists of an intuitive and voluntary range of spiritual exercises. These are for example:

• writing down dreams for self-reflection
• singing the mantra "HU" (pronounced: "Hjuuuu"), half-loudly or quietly as a love song to God
• chanting a personal mantra
• the blessing of the day in the name of God or the inner higher self
• the loving consideration of angry fellow human beings as souls who are just learning
• the use of affirmations
• Reading the holy scriptures of Eck (Shariyat Ki Sugmad), alone or with other Eckists
• practicing out-of-body experiences accompanied by the inner master

During the discussion rounds, workshops or church services by Eckankar, the HU is mainly sung to get in the mood (about one to two minutes), but those present can also simply be quiet. After the topic has been briefly presented, an open discussion usually takes place. Nobody is asked questions or a sermon is given. If the conversation doesn't go on, quotes or spiritual parables from the Eck Masters are used, which often makes it easier to bring in your own experiences. The introduction is a little longer for church services. At workshops, small groups are sometimes formed for discussion. At the end of such events, which usually last one to one and a half hours, the HU is sung again briefly together. Books other than those of the Eck-Meister are not used, but followers can also tell of their experiences with other religions.

The values

General

Eckankar does not give any specific practical instructions, does not prescribe any specific societal or social values, nor is a vegetarian diet expected. The official statements state that the Eckist should lead a responsible life of compassion while keeping his attention on the worlds of God. He should earn his own living, serve society, and fulfill obligations to himself, his family, his employer and his country. Eckists should act within human laws and everyone is free to behave consciously and to determine their own fate on the basis of the foundations created. In particular, fatalism in any form is rejected.

Way of life and ethics

The use of tobacco and alcohol is not recommended. Eckankar centers are smoke-free areas. The use of drugs is considered a regression in spiritual development and is strongly discouraged. Eckankar says nothing about the use of medication, in particular there are no regulations to avoid certain substances despite a doctor's prescription. Subjects such as nutrition or choosing a doctor are not part of the teaching. Eckankar regards life as a gift from God, and suicide is viewed as a violation of spiritual laws.

Matters such as abortions, divorce , sexual orientation, military service or the right to die are viewed as an individual decision and Eckankar as a religion does not comment on them. It is recommended that experienced Eckists fast on Fridays. A so-called mental fast can also be carried out on a voluntary basis, during which the attention remains focused on God and the Holy Spirit and light food is eaten.

Every responsible person in Eckankar is expected to pay close attention not to combine his personal or professional interests with the exercise of his office and not to encourage members to donate time, money or material assets for Eckankar. If there are any expenses, then only on a voluntary basis.

Handling of rules

Eck's spiritual laws have been published as a manual and comprise a number of universal rules and points of view that are suggested to the Eckist. Within the Eckankar organization there is no instance or agreement according to which compliance with these laws is monitored, controlled or violations are punished. The maxim of complete personal responsibility within and outside the organization applies. Responsible cornerists have to adapt to certain requirements of the organization in public presentations and events.

Relationship to other religions

According to Eckankar's statement, Eckankar respects the important spiritual role of other religions and does not do missionary work with the aim of converting believers. Eckankar members are expected to respect the beliefs and freedom of others when discussing religious matters. Intensive mixing with topics from other religions is only prevented by the respective leader of the event after deviating from the literature several times in order to give interested parties the opportunity to report on their experience.

Eckankar refers in his teaching to a number of other religions and to the contents of the most diverse teachings, without naming them openly. Paul Twitchell claims to have been a member of many spiritual movements in the 1950s. With a series of articles in Mystic World (the official membership magazine) and his public lectures, Harold Klemp confirmed that the founder of Eckankar was a follower of Swami Premananda , Kirpal Singh and L. Ron Hubbard , among others . Twitchell later used some statements by Ron Hubbard, which he himself had taken from others, in his books for Eckankar. For a while, officials had denied that Twitchell had any connection with any of these teachers. While at Scientology, Twitchell was press secretary. According to his own statements, Twitchell left Scientology five years before he founded Eckankar because he recognized the destructive nature of the movement. This was taken as an opportunity by individual church sect representatives to connect Eckankar with Scientology and to draw parallels.

Eckankar himself has not commented on this issue for several years. The ecclesiastical sect commissioners do not accuse the movement of any manipulative practices (see below) .

The ideological parallels to Scientology relate to

• the acceptance of reincarnation with the goal of perfection as an individual
• adapting an eastern worldview and ethics to western conditions without the members having to leave their religion
• the teaching of karma and the explicit emphasis on personal responsibility
• the condemnation of drugs
• out-of-body experiences as mediated practice

Scientology distances itself from Eckankar. Conversely, Eckankar's current leader, Harold Klemp, distances himself from any form of totalitarian influence in his writings. The movement shows much more in common with other Far Eastern routes:

The ideological parallels to the Radhasoami refer to

• the close theological relationship to Sikhism
• the rejection of the caste system and pantheon of Hinduism
• the teaching of karma and belief in reincarnation
• the succession of "living masters" ( Sant Satgurus ), in a sense comparable to the succession of the popes in Catholicism
• teaching different meditation techniques
• the belief that man consists of body, mind and soul, but that the soul is immortal
• the rejection of alcohol and all intoxicants.

The Radhasoami way differs from Eckankar in its guru worship, the vegetarian way of life, the view of the human being as a microcosmic representation of the entire creation and the limitation of worldly possessions to the bare essentials.

The ideological parallels to Hinduism relate to

• the law of cause and effect, also in the spiritual realm (karma)
• the acceptance of reincarnation with the goal of perfection as an individual
• Humans and animals wander through the world ages called Yugas as souls
• There is no founding figure like Jesus of Nazareth in Christianity or Buddha in Buddhism
• There is no self-contained collection of scriptures that is unique or considered complete
• Similar to Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva and Shakti, there are different deities for the heavenly levels in the dualistic universe.
• Direct contact with God is possible for every believer.
• There are a variety of spiritual guides who adapt the teaching to suit the circumstances of their surroundings.
• The way of yoga from sound and light (not the entire system) can be found in Eckankar as the principle of light and sound.

Hinduism differs from Eckankar in the caste system and the partially contradicting directions, which are viewed as independent religions in Hinduism due to traditions and ideas of God. In Hinduism, the spiritual leaders are worshiped personally as gurus . Likewise, the different rulers of the dualistic heavenly worlds (recognizable by concepts such as beautiful / ugly or light / dark ) are not worshiped as deities in Eckankar, but they only play the role of “God's co-worker”. Hinduism does not know the term “Sugmad” for the divine beyond duality. In Hinduism, unlike Eckankar, the soul is not ascribed a personality, while Eckankar ascribes the essence of the experiences from all incarnations to the soul. In practical terms, Hinduism prescribes the main task as a mother for women and expects a widow to remain loyal to the man even after his death. This, in connection with the lived patriarchy of Hinduism, distinguishes the two paths considerably from one another.

The ideological parallels to Buddhism relate to

• the goal of developing wisdom , understanding and love
• the law of karma
• a type of meditation in which one's own meditative vision produces an understanding of the nature of one's own mind and the nature of all things ( contemplation )
• the warning against blind faith in authority and the request not to dogmatically obey the teaching shown (human responsibility).
• the realization that suffering is also caused by greed and hatred ( anger )
• the knowledge that the way out of suffering leads through observing simple ethical rules (cf. eightfold path )
• the requirement to let go of Buddhism or Eckankar in order to realize divine experience.
• a middle path that avoids all extremes in order to no longer generate karma.

Buddhism differs from Eckankar in its negation of the individual soul as a constant and personal unit that can also be reborn. Liberation from suffering is called enlightenment in Buddhism . Due to its later division into different schools, Buddhism, unlike Eckankar, also experienced a variety of adaptations to different traditions.

Eckankar assumes that every religion corresponds to a certain state of consciousness, the members of which are in the right place in the corresponding religion. However, since Eckankar considers one's own path to be the path with the greatest potential for development, other religions are seen as states of consciousness with less freedom in development. In daily practice, Eckankar takes care not to derive any devaluation from this. The principle applies: "Everything is in its right place, if you no longer feel comfortable where you are, you will start looking for a different path on your own." While, from Eckankar's point of view, on the one hand there is tolerance in the sense of letting go, In this way, on the other hand, the other religions are inserted into their own unified view of religions - a view that many religions definitely do not share, since they d. Usually do not refer to elements of other religions or endorse other religions. The worldview of Eckankar is therefore incompatible with the traditional theology of Christianity , Judaism and Islam .

From Eckankar's point of view, it is possible in the first few years, for example, for a Christian to become an Eckist and initially remain a Christian. He can remain so indefinitely in name, but in the course of time he would abandon more and more of the worldview and religious practice of his earlier religion. Nevertheless, especially when family conflicts threaten, Eckankar is not expected to officially terminate the earlier path. However, it is then only about external church membership in the previous religion.

Eckankar also differs from spiritualist communities in that it rejects any attempt to interfere in the lives of others by means of supernatural forces or manipulative practices. Divination or Reiki healings are seen as neutral as long as they are carried out without attempting to disregard karmic obligations and are kept open in the name of God. It is not the aim of Eckankar to come into contact with the deceased by means of magical rituals or drug consumption or through excessive mediation. Magic, whether white or black, and the areas of occult practice are generally not taught by Eckankar. And although Eckankar has a natural relationship with OBE (“out of body experience”), the astral projection practiced in occult groups without the accompaniment of the inner master is not recommended. According to Eckankar, the energies and beings existing in this area do not allow any direct divine experience.

organization

Eckankar maintains a larger site in the USA at its headquarters in Chanhassen ( Minnesota , USA) with currently a temple, a chapel and the administrative center. Further buildings are planned for the longer term. Separate national organizations are maintained in 48 US states and on all continents except the territory of the former Soviet Union and strictly Muslim states. Eckankar is represented in Germany , Austria and Switzerland as well as in Italy , Denmark , Finland , Holland and France through study groups and centers in rented premises. There is no separate church or administrative seat in Europe.

The largest community in the world is in Nigeria . President Olusegun Obasanjo , who was among other things chairman of the advisory board of the anti-corruption organization Transparency International and a candidate for the office of UN Secretary General, supported Eckankar for several years. The former RESA (regional director) of Eckankar led the religion to the third largest in the country after Islam and Christianity and named a college after Harold Klemp. After studying Ford Johnson's book "Confessions of a God Seeker" (see literature), he left Eckankar.

According to his own statement, the living master attaches great importance not to be personally venerated or to proselytize for the external organization of teaching in a social or societal context. Above all, the Regional ECK Spiritual Helper (RESA) is responsible as an ECK clergyman for the supervision of Eckankar activities in the state (s), province (s) or country (s) assigned to him or her . He or she is supported by an organization of volunteers who coordinate regional and local activities. The organizational and factual errors from the time Eckankar was founded should be avoided. However, these are no longer communicated internally today, which leads to irritation for some Eckists (see criticism) .

Eck-Center in Germany:
In Germany Eckankar has a registered association based in Frankfurt am Main. ECKANKAR Gemeinnützige Studiengruppen Deutschland e. V. (VR 14300). Here the organization maintains 29 regional centers and some regional study groups.

Eck-Center in Switzerland:
In Switzerland : Eckankar-Gesellschaft Schweiz , Zurich. Also organized as an association, as is customary in Switzerland for all non-regional religious communities. There are seven regional centers here.

Eck-Center in Austria:
In Austria : Eckankar Austria, Community for Spiritual Development - registered, non-profit association, Vienna. There are eleven regional centers here.

Finances

Eckankar is financed through donations and membership fees. All activities outside the headquarters in the United States are organized on a voluntary basis, there is no obligation for members to cooperate. Eckankar's self-government is organized on three levels:

• International: An annual membership fee is collected through the spiritual center in Minneapolis. Members who are in financial difficulties, this will be waived in whole or in part upon request without giving reasons. Full-time administrative staff are employed at the head office and the spiritual leader of Eckankar himself and the administrative management, with the knowledge of the members, officially receive salaries from the organization's donations.

• National: National non-profit associations maintain the infrastructure for national public relations. It is not compulsory for the member in Eckankar to join this association.

• Regional: The regional centers are organs of the respective association and are subject to financial self-administration. The members in the area of ​​a center are responsible for renting space, regional public relations and organizing discussion groups or church services. The regional events are free of charge for members and visitors.

Members in the USA have been receiving information on the status of donations for current projects since the mid-1990s.

membership

Membership at Eckankar can only be renewed annually. To begin the next academic year and receive an annual course of 12 monthly courses, a donation of $ 130 for an individual or $ 160 for the entire family is requested. An automatic direct debit procedure is also not offered on request. With this, the conscious decision for Eckankar's path should be made very clearly the responsibility of the member.

In the event of financial difficulties or for students, a lower amount can be transferred. Eckankar accepts such inquiries without further inquiries about the personal circumstances of the member and no effort will be made to remind or claim the shortfalls at a later point in time.

Public Relations and Writings

Eckankar offers roundtables on spiritual topics of everyday life in his centers and advertises them in regional advertising papers and esoteric magazines. Workshops are also offered in public spaces and book stands are set up at esoteric fairs . Programs are occasionally set up in bookstores or drug stores. These events are free and non-members can also visit them as often as they like. Some events and the satsangs are reserved for members only. However, individual exceptions are possible with the consent of the organizer. The opportunity to donate to these events is occasionally pointed out in order to cover the local cost of the space. A German commercial is made available to the regional centers for advertising in art house cinemas. Fundraising is rejected as a means of market communication or financing .

In addition to local events, Eckankar organizes a major event in Europe every 2 years. Around 500 to 1500 Eckists meet at this European seminar at different locations every year and hold workshops, attend lectures or discussion groups. For children of Eckists there are special, pedagogically adapted programs that are intended to sensitively respond to children's questions about God and the meaning of life. Interested parties receive a monthly newsletter on request, which is distributed by email.

criticism

There are former members who report negative experiences with Eckankar. The allegations mainly concern:

• the claim of an unbroken line of corner masters with no evidence
• lack of financial transparency in the organization
• lack of critical ability of the organization
• Solitary claim that can make relationships with outside friends and relatives difficult
• not flagging Twitchell's textual acquisitions in his early books and claiming that he received these scriptures through inner visions
• Paul Twitchell's dogmatic stance that is incomprehensible on spiritual issues. He pretended, for example, that Eckankar was the highest path to God, that there was no other path to enlightenment and that belief in everything except Eck was wrong (SCP Journal, 1979).

In addition to well-known personalities outside of Eckankar, Eckankar also lists Eck masters who critics assume that they are inventions by Paul Twitchell that actually never existed. For example Sri Gakko, who is said to have brought the true doctrine to Venus , more precisely the city of Retz on Venus, about six million years ago .

A number of members of the Eckankar movement did not agree with the appointment of Darwin Gross as Eck Master due to the shortness of his training and left the movement in the eighties of the last century.

Financially, Eckankar waives any obligation or direct debit for the members to pay funds. Each member has to decide every year whether and how much they want to donate and whether they want to make a regional financial contribution. Faithful cornerists state that internal influencing of members for donations is expressly not desired and is not covered by the organization. The appeals for donations for the buildings in the United States are transparent, criticism of the organization can be presented and discussed privately. Eckankar does not discuss his internal affairs in public and leaves every member free to go his own way, by studying scriptures and Eck's spiritual exercises, even without contact with the external organization. This is even the better way for real internal development. Contact with other Eckists or elitist behavior or strict cooperation in the organization is not necessary, according to Eckankar, in order to make progress on the path to God. For Eckists who want to help with the organization on behalf of Eckankar, it is particularly important to adhere to clear rules in public and to lead a fulfilling life in the midst of the respective society.

In 1983 in the United States, David C. Lane showed that Paul Twitchell wrote large parts of his ten books from 1962 to 1967 - often including linguistic errors - from the Sant-Mat basic work The Path of the Masters by Julian P. Johnson had copied and replaced the names of the masters mentioned by the universal synonym "Mahanta", but without naming this source. Nor did he find any evidence of Twitchell's study trips to India or the masters Twitchell claimed to have met in his out-of-body experiences. The fact that religion has been compiled from a variety of other avenues is emphasized by Eckankar himself. Lane defines the concept of an "original religion" mainly in terms of copyright law and puts Eckankar's integrity into question. Last but not least, he criticizes that Twitchell earned his own living with Eckankar and that of his wife. Above all, however, the accusation of plagiarism shook Eckankar considerably in the 1980s.

Eckankar does not comment on Lane's criticism. Long-time Eckists emphasize, however, that in his work on religious studies he refrained from any substantive or spiritual consideration of the teaching of Eckankar as such and from taking into account the other statements made by Paul Twitchell himself. A comparative consideration of the theological development and accumulation of recognized material in other religions or the substantive connections of known paths with each other is also not found in Lane, although this college professor of philosophy and comparative religion. In fact, many major religions have obtained large parts of their writings from anonymous sources and have often not given any source references in their works. Critics point out here that some of Twitchell's sources were by no means anonymous and that modern copyright law was certainly valid for certain Paul Twitchell sources. Lane's criticism subsequently also concerned Klemp's initially inconsiderate attitude towards the proven copies of the founder of Eckankar. The issues raised have not resulted in any legal dispute with Twitchell or the organization.

At the beginning of this century, former plumber confidante and longtime Eckist Ford Johnson researched and confirmed the allegations on the basis of David Lane in his book "Confessions of a God Seeker". In his book, among other things, he criticizes the statements of the teaching in the basic texts, which, from Eckankar's point of view, have to be understood metaphysically on the threat of misfortune in the event of a departure from the true teaching as not loving and therefore turned directly to Harold Klemp.

The vast majority of the Eckists understand these text passages and also the reports of soul journeys with enormous demonstrations of power of divine power in some texts, detached from earthly persons and a secular organization, as a symbolic representation, and theological comparison with similar statements in the Old Testament , in the Vedas , falls or other basic religious texts. Eckankar advises that if you have problems with individual passages in the basic texts, you should thoroughly contemplate the context. In their daily interactions, those responsible for Eckankar should emphasize the freedom of the individual and allow compassion and tolerance to prevail and pass on any criticism of mental concepts and discussions to the inner master with the greatest possible love.

Harold Klemp has been committed to working in Eckankar in accordance with copyright law since he took office in 1981 and has written around 70 books without copies. The criticism of his person is limited to the continuation of the teachings of Twitchell, with claims of salvation alone no longer appear since the late 1970s. In the early 1990s, Klemp commented on the early years of the organization in various lectures and on Eckankar's website and stated that Twitchell also had human weaknesses, like any master who incarnates in the physical. There are no known international conflicts between Harold Klemp and government agencies.

Regarding the question of whether a living master should justify himself to the spiritual statements of his teaching to his followers, if, for example, these communicate inner experiences that interpret or question the word of the teaching differently, Eckankar refers to religious authorities of other religions, for example the pope, gurus or prophets . There is a tendency to say that in general the followers of a religion recognize the word of their leader or their prophet uncritically or are more or less gently excluded from the teaching in the event of persistent criticism. In this respect, Eckankar is similar to many other religions in which there is no democracy in questions of the interpretation of the Word of God or inner visions. New Age movements generally have a more open and multi-layered tradition, even if Eckankar, in contrast to most orthodox religions, does not fix his teaching, but adapts it to the requirements of the changing conditions of the time under the influence of the respective living master. Persecution of dissenters within the organization, punitive actions or the exercise of psychological or physical violence against former Eckankar members can not be established anywhere in the world.

Furthermore, there are no known cases of kidnapping, property embezzlement, involvement in mafia structures or the trade in church property, the creation of paramilitary units or other criminal acts on the part of Eckankar.

Cult reports

The question of " sect-like " behavior, which is often important for outsiders, about a new religious movement is answered as follows, according to the official sources of the federal and state governments: Eckankar is indeed listed and described in Germany in the relevant manuals of the church sect advice centers, is found there and in the area the sect commissioner, however, is not mentioned as a dangerous youth and psycho sect. Eckankar was not mentioned in the report of the Bundestag study commission. An observation of the movement by government agencies or legal proceedings with former members or press organs in which Eckankar appears as a plaintiff or defendant are not known in Europe.

literature

• International Who's Who of Intellectuals . 9th edition. The Who's Who.
• Hans Gasper, Joachim Müller, Friederike Valentin: Lexicon of sects, special groups and world views: facts, backgrounds, clarifications . 6th edition. Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau / Basel / Vienna 2000, ISBN 3-451-05528-7 .
• Paul Twitchell: The Shariyat-Ki-Sugmad: Book 1 . Eckankar, Minneapolis MN 1996, ISBN 1-57043-087-X (basic religious work by Eckankar)
• Paul Twitchell: The Shariyat-Ki-Sugmad: Book 2 . IWP-Publ., Menlo Park [2001], ISBN 0-914766-70-8 (basic religious work by Eckankar).
• Paul Twitchell: Eckankar. The key to secret worlds. The amazing rediscovery of our inner universe . Illuminated Way Press, Menlo Park 1976, ISBN 0-914766-32-5
• Harold Klemp: The Language of Soul: Keys to Living a More Meaningful Life . Eckankar, Minneapolis MN 2003, ISBN 1-57043-195-7 (Book about the inner voice of the soul. Voted best book of the year in the USA by MIPA in the religion category for 2003.)
• Linda C. Anderson: Who are you? Why are you here? 35 Golden Keys to These Questions , ed. by Joan Klemp. Eckankar, Minneapolis MN [2001], ISBN 1-57043-156-6
• Michael Newton: The Journeys of the Soul: Karmic Case Studies . Ed. Astroterra, Wettswil 1996, ISBN 3-907029-50-X (Hypnosis transcripts from a large number of regression sessions on the subject of “Experiencing between the Incarnations”; a book recommended by Harold Klemp.)
• In search of the divine love that flows through the world . In: Die Welt , October 29, 2006.

Web links

Commons : Eckankar  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• ECKANKAR main page German-speaking Europe
• Two free German-language info books (PDF)
• via Eckankar relinfo.ch
• Critical background information in German about Eckankar eckist.info

Individual evidence

1. ↑ David V. Barrett: Eckankar. In: Peter B. Clarke (Ed.): Encyclopedia of New Religious Movements. New York 2006, ISBN 0-415-26707-2 . "In fact its origins lie in the Sant Mat tradition, an esoteric movement with Hindu and Sikh roots, which dates back to the nineteenth century and has numerous variations."
   Diana G. Tumminia: Heart and Soul: A Qualitative Look at the Ethos of the Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness. In: James R. Lewis, Jesper Aagard Petersen: Controversial New Religions. Oxford University Press, 2005. p. 335: “David Lane (1992) and Andrea Diem (1995) categorize MSIA as one of the newer offshoots of the Sant Mat religion, like Eckankar or Divine Light Mission that are also based on the Radhasoami tradition of India. “
   Elijah Siegler: New Religious Movements. Prentice Hall, 2007, ISBN 0-13-183478-9 . P. 64: "Eckankar is a New Religious Movement that also owes most of its ideas to the Sant Mat tradition (which it combines with Western esoteric traditions such Theosophy and Rosicrucianism)."
2. ^ Paul Twitchell: Spiritual Records , 1980, Illuminated Way Pub (February 1980), ISBN 978-0-914766-53-7 .
3. ↑ Paul Twitchell: Shariyat Ki Sugmad , Book I, 1980. Illuminated Way Publishing, 1988, ISBN 978-0-88155-053-5 .
4. ↑ Eckankar, Religion of Light and Sound of God . Press kit, 1999.
5. ↑ Harold Klemp: Eck Wisdom Temples, Spiritual Cities & Guides . ISBN 1-57043-165-5
6. ↑ Paul Twitchell: Eckankar - The key to secret worlds . ISBN 978-0-88155-016-0
7. ↑ Harold Klemp: cosmic sea of ​​words The ECKANKAR Lexicon . ISBN 978-1-57043-142-5
8. ↑ Harold Klemp: The Spiritual Exercises of ECK . ISBN 1-57043-139-6
9. ↑ Harold Klemp: The Spiritual Laws of ECK . ISBN 1-57043-107-8 .
10. ↑ Largest Eckankar community worldwide in Nigeria
11. ^ Association headquarters in Germany
12. ↑ Annual membership fees for members ( Memento of the original from September 29, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
13. ^ David C. Lane: The Making of a Spiritual Movement: The Untold Story of Paul Twitchell and Eckankar . del Mar Press, 1983, ISBN 0-9611124-6-8 (or: German translation by David C. Lane PDF; 0.5 MB )
14. ↑ Text comparisons on the accusation of plagiarism in Twitchell's writings ( Memento of the original from April 5, 2005 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English) 
15. ↑ Ford Johnson: Confessions of a God Seeker - A Journey to Higher Consciousness . ISBN 0-9728835-8-4 . Critical book by a former confidante of Klemp on his way away from Eckankar.
16. ↑ Ford Johnson, former Eickist for many years, publishes his correspondence with Harold Klemp. ( Memento of the original from December 20, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English) 
17. ↑ For example: Handbook of Religious Communities and World Views . 6th edition, published by VELKD, 2006, p. 923.