Eckankar, a subtle cult

By Raphael, raphael@skypoint.com

This is written in sincere support for those who are struggling with these issues

In the past when Eckankar has been accused of being a cult, I reacted by de= fending the teachings and believed without question the Living Eck Master w= hen he said that Eckankar was not a cult. I didn't view any claims by other= groups about Eckankar. I simply closed my mind to them. Now I am viewing t= his issue again, but this time allowing myself to see the issue without the= filter of the Living Eck Master imposed upon my third eye. I am seeing tha= t Eckankar is, and has been a subtle cult, whose spoken words are mild b= ut whose written works demand allegiance to the Godman of Eckankar (Harold = Klemp). Eckankar under the direction of Harold Klemp, publishes, dissemina= tes, and supports threats of dire consequences for those who do not believe= , and who may wish to leave the group. Hidden behind the meek exterior of = the present Godman, Harold Klemp, is a tryrant & a dictator who uses Paul T= witchell's baldfaced megalomaniacal claims of the Living Eck Master's omnis= cience, omnipresence, and omnipotence to bolster his own position without t= he 'dirty' work of saying it himself. Yet Klemp is now making these very sa= me claims directly. Here is some criterion used to classify cults. Followin= g the criterion are quotes from Klemp and Twitchell that directly support t= he claims that Eckankar is a cult of giant proportions. The criteria that f= ollows is from the book CULTS & CONSEQUENCES by Rachel Andres and James R. = Lane .

According to our definition, a cult is a group that exhibits the followi= ng characteristics:
It is a group of people who follows a living leader, usually a dominant, pa= ternal male figure, or occasionally a pair or a "family" of leaders. It is a group whose leader ma= kes absolute claims about his character, abilities, and/or knowledge. A leader's claims may inc= lude any or all of the following:

A claim that he is divine -- God incarnate, the messiah, etc.
A claim that he is the sole agent of the divine on earth -- God's agent= or emissary.
A claim the he is omniscient and infallible -- the possessor of absolut= e truth and total wisdom.
It is a group in which membership is contingent on a complete and literal a= cceptance of the leader's claims to divinity, infallibility, etc., and acceptance of his tea= chings, doctrines, and dogma. It is a group in which membership is contingent on complete, unquest= ioning loyalty and allegiance to the leader.
It is a group in which membership is contingent on a complete and total wil= lingness to obey the cult leader's commands without question.
It is then, a group that is, by definition, undemocratic, absolutist.

Here are quotes by Klemp and Twitchell from the Eckankar discourses publish= ed by Eckankar that support the criteria used above to identify a cult. The= bolded and italicized words are my emphasis. Words in parenthesis have bee= n added to explain and clairfy the words proceeding them.

"The Mahanta, the Living ECK Master (Harold Klemp) is the SUGMAD (God) on earth and has unlimited power to carry out the will of the Supreme = One in all ITS countless worlds. This is a vain boast to the ears of the profane, neverthe= less the ECK initiate learns the truth for himself during the daily spiritual exercises.' The = Eck Satsang Discourses, = Fourth Series, Page 15-16, Harold Klemp 1996.
"First to know is that the Mahanta (Harold Klemp) conducts his affairs = from this high state of awareness during all of a twenty-four hour day.= " The Eck Satsang Discourses, Fourth Series, Page 19, Harold Klemp 1996
"The Mahanta, the Living ECK Master (Harold Klemp) = is the embodiment of the SUGMAD(God), as the ECK, and therefore represents the entire ocean = of love and compassion. This strikes a reactive note in anyone who operates under the s= trictures of the human level of perception." The Eck Satsang Discourses, Fourth Series, Page 20= , Harold Klemp 1996
"The Mahanta (Twitchell) helped me up from the cot. Weak and trembling = I sat up; then with the support of the Master (Twitchell), I stood. With joy I looked at Paul a= nd thought, I now understand a little more of the ECK. So many people really don't believe yo= u have the divine power that surmounts even the forces of life and death. The = Mahanta (Twitchell) knew my silent thoughts and gave a smile of love to me." The Eck Satsan= g Discourses, Fourth Series, Page 24, Harold Klemp 1996
"The ECK Masters hold meetings in a number of different locations. Alth= ough their home on the Soul Plane is known to be Honardi, the immense order of Vairagi Masters= is apt to send specialists from among them to gatherings on the order of business seminars= =2E
One such location is the spiritual site of Bcero Corsa, a meeting place = hidden in a remote part of the southeastern United States. The approaches to it are protected by thousands of vipers that infest the swamplands. No intruder is welcome, nor is the secret pa= th to it ever revealed to an outsider. Each ECK Master in attendance is the best talent in= his particular area of interest: Some are pilots, government workers, medical doctors, mathemat= icians, laborers. =
The gatherings are usually attended in the Soul form, and Peddar Zaskq (= Paul Twitchell) often chairs the meetings. All in attendance are finely versed in the Law of Econ= omy and are leaders in their fields." The Eck Satsang Discourses, Fourth Ser= ies, Page 23, Harold Klemp, 1996
"A Master (Klemp) is a diplomat,but he must be able to call a spade a s= pade. He must be honest with everyone and tell exactly who and what is making a problem - an= d do this without beating around the bush. His entire development has followed the line of ga= ining the fullest love of ECK.
He (Klemp) is the ideal and the vanguard of the human race."
The Eck Satsang Discourses, Fourth Series, Page 24, Harold Klemp 1996
"We (Twitchell and Eckankar) have not been able to express ourselves in= public because the secrets of the ECK are not for public ears." The Eck Satsa= ng Discourses, Third Series, Page 1, Paul Twitchell, 1971, 1995
"In the first place, it is stated, and has been known throughout all th= e ECK (eckankar) books and writings that ECK is the original source of all life. It is further sta= ted that all life, religions, philosophies, and metaphysical systems spring out of the fountainhead which= is ECK. Therefore, we cannot find anything which is greater that ECK. We cannot find anyone wh= o can give the true initiation into the stream of life, ECK, except the Mahanta, the Livi= ng ECK Master, and those appointed by him. Anyone who makes claims that he is going to= be the next Living ECK Master is certainly making false claims. Anyone who breaks away f= rom the ECK after receiving initiation into ECK will have to go through many future liv= es until he meets the ECK Master again, accepts him as the Mahanta, the Living ECK Mast= er, and surrenders completely to him.
He punishes himself. The Mahanta has nothing to do with it; he is only t= he vehicle for the ECK, which steps in and begins to work out the destiny of the individual wh= o has taken steps to create overt acts against the Master, or if he does any of the things as gi= ven above in the second and third paragraphs. Those who indulge in their whims and try to turn thei= r unhappiness into complaints about the ECK Master or the Mahdis, soon find themselves in cert= ain circumstances which only add to their troubles in life. The ECK ceases to o= perate in their lives, for one thing. This brings about a misery which few, if any u= nderstand; they seem to think that the responsibility lies outside themselves.
If ECK, as the vital spiritual force. ceases to function in that individ= ual who has created heavy overt acts against the ECK, that individual becomes like a vegetable<= /B>. This is a simile for one without vitality in his actions and deeds, whose thinking is= dulled, and who is not mentally alert at all. In other words, he is like an inanimate elemen= t of life, a vegetable, a piece of mineral, a rock, or something with hardly any emotions or thinking= ability left.
...This (vegetable state) also occurs if one should have the initi= ation in ECKANKAR and break off to join another group, regardless of whether it is a= psychic, religious, or philosophical organization." The Eck Satsang Discourses, Third Series, Page 1 & 2, Paul Twitchell 197= 1, 1995
"All ECK Masters come from a long line of spiritual Maste= rs; the Mahantas come from the same line, but they are directly connected with the SUGMAD(God) and e= ach can be called the Son of Heaven; the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Every E= CK Master is the ECK Itself, but the Mahanta (Klemp) is not only the ECK of Itself, bu= t the only true representative of the SUGMAD(God) upon every plane in the whole uni= verse of God. He is often known as the mystical body of the SUGMAD(God). The line of the ECK= Masters goes back into the ages, far beyond the formation of the worlds of the psychic p= lanes." The Eck Satsang Discourses, Third Series, Page 2, Paul Twitchell, 1971, = 1995
"The Living Eck Master (Klemp) is the avatar of the world= who has been sent here to take all Souls back to their heavenly home again; none s= hould dispute this. Anyone else who makes such claims is indeed a false prophet i= n sheep's clothing." The Eck Satsang Discourses, Third Series, Page 4, Paul Twitchell, 1971, = 1995
"If anyone studies ECK (eckankar) closely, it's found that nothing can = compare with It, and It alone can serve humanity, the world, and the beings on the other planes. Unless one realizes this, and at the same time realizes that he must he turn s= erve ECK, there is no hope." The Eck Satsang Discourses, Third Series, Page 6, P= aul Twitchell, 1971, 1995

There are many more quotes which document the cult methods of Eckankar. Som= e of them can be viewed on Raphael's Recovery Room's Home Page under The Book Of Eckankar (tm) Threats.
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Peace and growth,
Raphael.