E-mail David Christopher Lane
directly at dlane@weber.ucsd.edu
Author: Ex-Eckist Publisher: Neural Surfer Publication date: 1996
E-mail David Christopher Lane
directly at dlane@weber.ucsd.edu
I
want to go back to the home base now.
Dear David, This is what I'd like to get across to anyone considering the path of Eckankar regardless of whether they think of themselves as Eckists or not. You have my permission to post this on your web site, in fact, I'd appreciate it a great deal. Here's the problem, the outer organization of Eckankar has been seriously and irrevocably polluted with, of course, plagiarism and flat out lies by the founder that are intended to keep students off balance forever. Now if it ended there it might not be so bad, however, and this is a huge however, the deceit of Eckankar only starts there as the actions of Darwin Gross so conclusively gives abundant testimony. All should be forewarned that threats about what happens to those who leave Eckankar are usually discovered after receiving initiation. What a convenient time to be told! I lost faith and left this deceptively mild cult mainly because God's love is not for sale, I point this out because the "Inner Master, God on Earth" known as the Living Eck Master only gives loves and protection to those in Eckankar! Some will argue this but it is true, Eckists who don't believe that should simply review the teachings and forget the crap about the "real and hidden" meaning of the written word. There is, in fact, a discourse that informs the student about what happens to the unfortunates who leave Eckankar. That in itself is rather rude but the discourse goes on to say that the Living Eck Master will say nothing to the student who decides to leave, he says nothing about the great misery and unbearable sorrows that await him now that he's without God's protection. But, but, didn't he just say it? After all the discourses are approved under the supervision of the aforementioned Living Eck Master and therefore the word of God. After over 10 years of discourse study I still didn't feel any more spiritual than when I began. There are books and more books, audio and video tapes galore as well as expensive Eck jewelry for sale. Of course, all good Eckists have lots of Eck books and materials. This guarantees a lot of cash flow for the organization. Now, the real sting. There's been such a great deal of plagiarism, lying, and scandalous behavior by the founders and maintainers of Eckankar that is impossible BUT impossible to cover up much less explain rationally. The straw that broke my back was the way I was defending Eckankar and everything about it, WITH NO REAL PROOF. Why would this spiritual path NEED defending? I was in the grip of incredibly strong mind control which was subtle to say the least. The scales finally fell from my eyes and I see Eckankar for what it is, a way for some folks in Minneapolis to make a very comfortable living. At present I am salvaging all the good things I can out of the teachings because clearly there are some excellent spiritual points expressed but these are simply teachings and concepts taken from other religions. I remain anonymous for now and give a great deal of credit to you Mr. Lane for the web sites where I first gained an insight into the considerably less than perfect history of Eckankar. I will be working to help others break away from the mind control and eventually work openly to assist them in the readjustment to a more normal life away from fantasy Inner Masters and bogus threats. -A Very Grateful Ex-Eckist!
