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Eckankar is a new religious movement founded in the United States in 1965. It focuses on spiritual exercises that are said to enable practitioners to experience the Holy Spirit of God, also known to followers as "the ECK" or "the Light and Sound of God ." The personal experience of this spiritual Light and Sound is a primary goal of the teaching. It claims to provide a personal, unique and individual spiritual inner path to understanding of self as soul, and development of higher awareness "consciousness" and God. Adherents of the religion are called "Eckists".

According to the Eckankar glossary, the term Eckankar means "Co-Worker with God". Eckankar is described as "Religion of the Light and Sound of God". Eckankar has also been described as "The Ancient Science of Soul Travel," "The Science of Total Awareness," and "A Way of Life".

According to the Eckankar website, "Eckankar redefines the experience of religion. It offers an individual the spiritual tools needed to walk one's own journey home to God."

ECK is another word for the Holy Spirit, also known as the Audible Life Current, Life Force, or Light and Sound of God.

Eckankar's headquarters are in Chanhassen, Minnesota, southwest of Minneapolis. The Eckankar Temple, an outdoor chapel, an administrative building, and the ECK Spiritual Campus are located at this site.

Beliefs
The basic teachings of Eckankar include the following: * Soul is eternal. * Soul exists because God loves It. * Soul is on a journey of Self- and God-Realization. * Spiritual unfoldment can be accelerated through conscious contact with the ECK, Divine Spirit. * This contact can be made via the Spiritual Exercises of ECK and the guidance of the Living ECK Master. * You can actively explore the spiritual worlds through Soul Travel, dreams, and other spiritual techniques. * Spiritual experience and liberation in this lifetime are available to all.

The Spiritual Exercises of ECK
Eckankar emphasizes personal spiritual experiences as the most natural way back to God. These are attained via the Spiritual Exercises of ECK. Just as physical exercise helps one build physical vitality, Eckists use the spiritual exercises of ECK to help build spiritual vitality. There are many forms of spiritual exercise. Eckankar offers a Spiritual Exercise of the Week on it's website.

HU: A Love Song to God
One important spiritual exercise of Eckankar is the singing or chanting of HU. HU is an ancient name for God that has been used in many historical cultures including ancient Egypt and the Sufi tradition. HU is viewed in Eckankar as a "love song to God". In American English, it is pronounced like the word "hue" in a long, drawn-out breath, and is sung for about 20 minutes. ECKists sing it alone or in groups. ECKists believe that singing HU draws one closer in state of consciousness to the Divine Being and that it can expand awareness, help one experience divine love, heal broken hears, offer solace in times of grief, and bring peace and calm.

Community HU Songs
Eckankar hosts community HU Songs in most major cities and many local areas around the world. The Community HU Song is presented as a service to the local area and is open to people of all faiths. It consists of a 20 minute singing of the HU followed by a five minute contemplation. Attendees are invited to join in or merely observe silently. The Community HU Song is followed by a period of fellowship and refreshments.

ECK Worship Services
Eckankar holds ECK Worship Services in most major cities and many local areas around the world. An ECK Worship service generally includes a HU Song and contemplation, a talk or panel discussion from members of the Eckankar Clergy, and often includes creative arts and group discussion.

Eckankar Seminars
Eckankar hosts a Worldwide Seminar in October and a Springtime Seminar every year. Eckankar also hosts annual seminars in many areas around the world. ECK seminars include speakers, creative arts, workshops, discussion groups and other activities.

Past Lives
Eckankar teaches that each person is a Soul that has lived many lifetimes in many bodies. Harold Klemp writes, "Reincarnation allows people, like you and me, to have a chance to develop the quality of divine love. This opportunity comes through the hardships and uncertainties of life, as well as in the joys and fulfillment of living. So we develop the quality of divine love. This love makes us more godlike beings." [ref]Harold Klemp, Past Lives, Dreams, and Soul Travel, 2003[/ref]

Dreams
Another important teaching tool for ECKists is dreams. Members are encouraged to keep dream journals to facilitate study. According to followers of Eckankar, dream travel often serves as the gateway to Soul Travel or the shifting of one's consciousness to ever-higher states of being.

Soul Travel
In the simplest terms, Soul Travel is an individual moving closer to the heart of God. This movement takes a variety of forms. Eckankar teaches that Soul (the true self) can leave the body in full consciousness and travel freely in other planes of reality.

Eckankar teaches that "spiritual liberation" in one's lifetime is available to all and that it is possible to achieve Self-Realization (the realization of oneself as Soul) and God-Realization (the realization of oneself as a spark of God) in one's lifetime.

Spiritual Leader
Harold Klemp is the spiritual leader of Eckankar today. Eckankar always has a living master. Harold Klemp has authored numerous books, articles and discourses about the teachings of ECK. Audio and video recordings are available of his talks.


 * "Harold Klemp was born in Wisconsin and grew up on a small farm. He attended a two-room country schoolhouse before going to high school at a religious boarding school in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
 * "After preministerial college in Milwaukee and Fort Wayne, Indiana, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force. There he trained as a language specialist at Indiana University and a radio intercept operator at Goodfellow AFB, Texas. Then followed a two-year stint in Japan where he first encountered Eckankar.
 * "In October 1981, he became the spiritual leader of Eckankar, Religion of the Light and Sound of God. His full title is Sri Harold Klemp, the Mahanta, the Living ECK Master. As the Living ECK Master, Harold Klemp is responsible for the continued evolution of the Eckankar teachings.
 * "His mission is to help people find their way back to God in this life. Harold Klemp travels to ECK seminars in North America, Europe, and the South Pacific. He has also visited Africa and many countries throughout the world, meeting with spiritual seekers and giving inspirational talks. There are many videocassettes and audiocassettes of his public talks available.
 * "In his talks and writings, Harold Klemp's sense of humor and practical approach to spirituality have helped many people around the world find truth in their lives and greater inner freedom, wisdom, and love."
 * "His mission is to help people find their way back to God in this life. Harold Klemp travels to ECK seminars in North America, Europe, and the South Pacific. He has also visited Africa and many countries throughout the world, meeting with spiritual seekers and giving inspirational talks. There are many videocassettes and audiocassettes of his public talks available.
 * "In his talks and writings, Harold Klemp's sense of humor and practical approach to spirituality have helped many people around the world find truth in their lives and greater inner freedom, wisdom, and love."
 * "In his talks and writings, Harold Klemp's sense of humor and practical approach to spirituality have helped many people around the world find truth in their lives and greater inner freedom, wisdom, and love."
 * "In his talks and writings, Harold Klemp's sense of humor and practical approach to spirituality have helped many people around the world find truth in their lives and greater inner freedom, wisdom, and love."

Membership
Eckankar offers membership for those who wish to study directly under the Living ECK Master. Members receive spiritual discourses which may be studied in private at home or in classes.

Members of Eckankar (ECKists) come from all walks of life. ECKists are homemakers, businesspeople, and retirees. They are professionals, educators, scientists, and farmers. They come from all age-groups, all races and nationalities, and all religious backgrounds.

Like most people, ECKists have families, careers, and daily struggles. They live a life of joyful participation in the mainstream of society.

ECK Masters
According to the main Eckankar website:


 * The present Living ECK Master, Sri Harold Klemp, studied under Paul Twitchell, who studied under numerous teachers. This unbroken chain reaches back through time. There have been countless ECK Masters in this lineage (also known as the Order of Vairagi Adepts or the spiritual travelers). Some have been historical figures, but most have worked silently or with small groups.
 * Much has been written about guardian angels. In fact, there have been so many reports of angelic visitations that national research groups have been formed to record and investigate the phenomenon. Sometimes these angels appear physically during a life-threatening episode, then disappear. Other times, accompanied by blue or white light, they appear in an inner vision or a dream. Sometimes they appear as invisible friends to children. One common thread in all these appearances is that, through the experience, people's lives were changed for the better.
 * Many times these guardian angels are ECK Masters.
 * Many times these guardian angels are ECK Masters.
 * Many times these guardian angels are ECK Masters.

The main Eckankar website offers this list of Masters:

* Fubbi Quantz—the guardian of the Shariyat-Ki-Sugmad at the Katsupari Monastery in northern Tibet * Gopal Das—teaches at the Temple of Golden Wisdom on the Astral Plane * Kata Daki—helps people get back on their feet during hardship * Lai Tsi—the guardian of the Shariyat-Ki-Sugmad on the Saguna Lok, the Etheric Plane * Paul Twitchell—modern-day founder of Eckankar * Rami Nuri—guardian of the holy book, the Shariyat-Ki-Sugmad, in the city of Retz, Venus * Rebazar Tarzs—the torchbearer of Eckankar in the lower worlds * Towart Managi—was the Mahanta, the Living ECK Master in Abyssinia, an ancient kingdom in what is now Ethiopia * Yaubl Sacabi—the Mahanta, the Living ECK Master among the Mycenaeans in ancient Greece

Ceremonies and Rites
There are few personal requirements to be an ECKist; however, certain spiritual practices are recommended. Chief among these is daily practice of the "Spiritual Exercises of ECK" for 15–20 minutes. The most basic ECK spiritual exercise is singing the word "HU", an ancient name for God, for upliftment and spiritual experiences. A wide variety of spiritual exercises are offered, and members are encouraged to create their own. There are no dietary requirements, taboos, or enforced ascetic practices. Eckankar does not require potential members to leave their current faith to join.

There are a number of ceremonies an ECKist can experience as part of the teaching:
 * ECK Consecration Ceremony : Celebrating the entrance of the young and infant into Eckankar, and new life in the Light and Sound of God.
 * ECK Rite of Passage : Celebrating the passage from youth into adulthood, usually around thirteen.
 * ECK Wedding Ceremony : Celebrating the marriage bond as two ECKists commit their lives to one another before God.
 * ECK Memorial Service : Honors the journey of Soul and welcomes It into the worlds beyond the physical.

ECKists celebrate a spiritual new year on October 22. There is no organizational celebration of personal anniversaries, such as birthdays of the leaders.

History
[Paul Twitchell]] founded Eckankar in 1965 as the Mahanta, the Living ECK Master and led it until his death in 1971. Darwin Gross (spiritual name: Dap Ren) then became the Mahanta serving until 1981. On October 23, 1981, Harold Klemp became the Mahanta and is the current spiritual leader of Eckankar.

ECKists believe that the basis for the Eckankar teachings dates back to the beginning of human life. The word HU has been found as early as ancient Egypt.

Eckankar's headquarters was originally in Las Vegas, Nevada. The organization was moved to Menlo Park, California in 1975. In 1986, Harold Klemp moved the base of operations to Minnesota, where it remains today.

Eckankar is accepted as a religion by the U.S. Army.

Etymology
According to the Eckankar glossary, the term Eckankar means "Co-Worker with God". Eckankar is described as "Religion of the Light and Sound of God". Eckankar has also been described as "The Ancient Science of Soul Travel," "The Science of Total Awareness," and "A Way of Life". ECK is another word for the Holy Spirit, also known as the Audible Life Current, Life Force, or Light and Sound of God.

Linguistically, however, "Eckankar" derives from Ekankār or Ik Oankār (Sanskrit Eka Omkāra), a name for God given by Guru Nānak and the very first word of the Mūl Mantra (recited everyday by Sikhs), the Japjī Sahib, and the Sri Guru Granth Sahib (Sikh holy scriptures). The word ek or ik is the number one in Hindī, Urdu, and Pañjabī (from the Sanskrit eka). "Ekankar", when written in the Gurmukhī alphabet, is one of the two symbols of the Sikh faith (the other being the khanda) and can be found written or drawn on Sikh items, motor vehicles, and in all Sikh edifices and Gurdwāra (temple).

Current Status
Eckankar's 50000 sqft main "Temple of ECK" was dedicated in Chanhassen, Minnesota on October 22, 1990. As of late 2007, the largest capacity Eckankar Temple was in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria, with a total capacity of 10,000.

The Eckankar "EK" symbol appears on the list of Available Emblems of Belief for Placement on Government Headstones and Markers by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.

Related groups
Several groups claimed to carry on the original teachings of Paul Twitchell and Eckankar. Sri Darwin Gross (now deceased) used the name Ancient Teaching of the Masters (ATOM), after being precluded from using the Eck terminology, Sri Paul Marché claims to carry on for his Master, Sri Darwin Gross using the name Dhunami, after being precluded from using the ATOM terminology. Other claimants include AKATHA —and Sri Timothy Arnold / Sri Kahtifji (The Mahaji) respectively. John-Roger's Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness appears to have split from the main body of Eckankar, though Gross, Marché and Sri Kahtifji claim to be preserving the originality of the teachings. John-Roger / Roger Delano Hinkins (2nd initiate) denies any connection to Eckankar beyond having once been a student of Paul Twitchell. More recently, former ECKist Ford Johnson formed a spiritual organization based on the idea that one does not need a master or spiritual guru to achieve spiritual enlightenment. Other former ECKists and their groups, like Sri Michael Owens's "The Way of Truth: Path to God Realization"; Sri Michael Turner's "Yahoo group"; Sri Gary Olsen's "MasterPath"; ex-6th initiate Jerry "Sur Toma" Mulvin's THE DIVINE SCIENCE OF LIGHT AND SOUND; and Evan Pritchard (author, From the Temple Within) could be seen as individuals and organizations that maintain Eckankar-like cosmogonies. All these groups along with Eckankar were founded in the United States in the twentieth century.

David C. Lane, a philosophy professor, discusses the phenomenon of those American teachers. Lane suggests these might be seen more traditionally as an organic continuum or an historical school of "American Shabd" teachings, rather than a "splintering" of any movement. Lane is already distinguished in this particular subject for his research from the late 1990s concerning perceptions of distortions, plagiarism and concealment involving author Paul Twitchell during the first three decades of Eckankar's existence.

Harold Klemp, the current leader of Eckankar has stated that members should feel free to leave Eckankar unbounded by guilt or fear.

Criticism
Internet communities of current members, ex-members and critics, such as the Usenet newsgroup alt.religion.eckankar, include discussion dating back more than ten years. Eckankar has been labeled a cult by some, including both former members and conservative Christian writers.

After Twitchell's death in 1971, David C. Lane published a book that claimed some of Twitchell's Eckankar books contained passages from other authors' books without proper citation. Lane claims Twitchell's The Far Country contains plagiarism (of With a Great Master in India and The Path of the Masters by Julian Johnson of the Radha Soami Satsang Beas).

Eckankar states that Twitchell's role was that of "master compiler", saying;

Master Compiler   The high teachings of ECK had been scattered to the four corners of the world. The different masters each had parts and pieces of it, but they attached little requirements, or strings, to it: You must be a vegetarian, or you have to meditate so many hours a day if you want to really be a true follower on the path to God. And this was wrong for our day and age. It was geared for another culture.  Paul gathered up the whole teaching and took the best. Though it may be a strange thing to say, in this sense I see him as a master compiler. He gathered the golden teachings that were scattered around the world and made them readily available to us. So now we don't have to feel that we must spend ten or fifteen years in an ashram in India, sitting around in the dust with the flies, or locked in a walled-up little cell to keep our attention from the outside world, in order to live the spiritual life.

In 2007, Doug Marman, an Eckankar High Initiate, published The Whole Truth, a biography of Paul Twitchell, refuting these claims made by Lane. The information is highly detailed and examines the criticisms point by point through verifiable historical references. Marman also examines the rarity of respectful dialog in an age of criticism. In relation to this book, Twitchell's widow, Gail Twitchell, has written "...finally, someone got the whole thing right ... Paul's work [put in] in the proper perspective." Twitchell biographer and paranormal researcher Brad Steiger has also written and commended this work as the most researched and authoritative to date on Paul Twitchell.

Lane has published commentary on Marman's book, reaffirming his view that Twitchell tried to cover up his past associations and plagiarized several authors.

Plagiarism discussion

 * Dialog in the Age of Criticism. David Lane and Doug Marman discuss plagiarism
 * Twitchell Plagiarism

Category:Meditation Category:New religious movements Category:Religious organizations established in 1965 Category:Shabd paths Category:Monotheistic religions

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