source: http://www.iidb.org/vbb/showthread.php?t=57698
"...the Eckankar writings are riddled with fear tactics right out of Scientology and dire threats of what damnation awaits anyone foolish enough to quit. Without the Living Eck Master's guidance, all a person's karma is dumped onto his head and will likely crush the poor soul. Numerous threats promise countless rounds of more miserable lives spent in the astral hells and back here on earth. All is not lost, though, if the hapless student someday crawls back to the feet of the Living Eck Master and asks to be saved. As you may guess, these fear-laden admonitions against quitting are only available to the student after approximately 10 years of conditioning (er...study), so new members have absolutely no idea what less-than-pleasant surprises await them down the road."
When I first quit, I was a bit worried about what would happen next, but I was willing to take the chance because the whole movement seemed such utter bullshit. They claimed stuff like every famous person who ever lived was secretly an Eckist and/or an Eck Master.
From my experience, I think cults are most effective on the young, on persons who have recently been traumatized and need something to fill the void, or people who desperately need the approval of a group to belong to.
When I joined Eck, I guess it was a youthful indescretion and it seemed like a good idea at the time.
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No one likes to feel like they were played. I am an ex eckist too. I think it takes a lot of courage to walk away because the brain washing can be so powerful. I know of an older Eckist that would like to get out but he has been in so long, he is afraid to take the step. So give yourself a pat on the back and also know truth is out there. When I found out the truth about initiations, the area Resa yelled at me because I asked the questions. Eckist can't handle truth although they talk about it constantly. Thank you for your posting. All of us need to know there are others that have experienced the deception of Eckankar.
I first met Paul in San Diego in 1967 through Tom Flamma, when Eckankar was becoming popular. I was mesmerized like so many others to the idea of an easy access to God. Of course I gave him lots of money. But, nothing like Helen Varner Fry of Sedona. She had a spectacular property. I lived there and worked for room and board, no wages.
Financially, I think, that was how the movement got started. She had untold millions in property value from her late husband. He used to fly over the area and gradually make acquisitions. We are talking 142,000 acres, in what was considered inexpensive scrub desert; good only for the many Hollywood movies we are all familiar with. But, to developers, it was a desert of diamonds.
Guess who she willed it to? Eckankar. Where that money eventually disappeared into is probably in the same way as the money from Enron!
As I look back at these 'masters', I am the same as others who want to believe. It is a harsh, but necessary, life lesson.
I quit Eckankar. It is just another form of multi-level marketing.
I joined Eckankar in1968 on my own when I was 17 and am still a grateful member of Eckankar today. I have met Sri Paul Twitchell and also personally known many individuals like Tom Flamma, Frederick Foos and many many other chelas from the early days of Eck. I have volunteered upon occasion without any pressure at all from Eckankar or local Eck leaders. To this day, I have not found anything that can equal the “sacred” teachings of Eck or the “personal inner guidance” of the various Eck Masters who have proven themselves to be “real and helpful” at every turn. Indeed, I know Eckists who received guidance from these same inner Masters long before encountering the outer teachings of Eck in 1965 or afterwards. As for myself and my immediate family members, our past life memories have not dimmed and the guidance of these Eck Masters in other lives in known personally to us, and not through speculation or mere belief. This includes the physical appearance of Yaubl Sacabi for a couple days to my whole family at a crucial time when my mother was deceased. He quietly gave us love and support and it was only a day afterwards that we realized his true identity after he had gone.
NEVER have I felt fear, guilt, cult tactics, financial manipulation or anything of the like while being an Eckists these past 43 years as an Eckist. Time after time, I have received ONLY benefits with life problems concerning survival, deceased relatives and friends as an act of kindness and concern by these same Eck Masters, right on up to the present Living Eck Master, Sri Harold Klemp. Well do I also remember the grace given to my father by the inner Master Wah Z at his hour of passing from this life.
As for one of the previous comment makers… I remember him, and I also remember the personal problems he had that had nothing to do with Eckankar that made his life unnecessarily challenging. But that was not the fault of Eckankar… since we each must hold personal responsibility for what we do and what we do not do in this life. To the Eck Masters and Eckankar… I can only say thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the blessings showered upon my family all these many years.
Eckankar has been a great adventure for me since 1969 when I met my first ECK Master (in this lifetime) Paul Twitchell. Commitment is not for everyone; many marriages come apart in rancor, others end in friendship (as did my first, I'm glad to say). The relationship between a teacher and a student depends entirely on what both parties put into it. The teacher can give his all, but if the student flags in his devotion to study and application, or takes a stronger interest in other matters, the relationship with the teacher can be expected to flag. It's sad when the student feels a sense of failure and blames it on the teacher. Every great teaching meets strong opposition from the orthodoxy of the time. In modern time it's either the academic "secular humanists," or the evangelistic fundamentalist types. If you don't see opposition, suspect the teaching! Of course the presence of opposition doesn't mean the teaching is true either. All I will say about the truth if Eckankar is that by applying it to my life I have had a very happy life. Before Eckankar, when I tried everything else, I was miserable. My success is no guarantee that others will enjoy it. The path is littered with failures, whether from ego, social correctness, religious confusion, or whatever. If ever and when I meet someone as happy as myself who has reached it by another path, I'll take my hat off to him or her - but I won't eat the hat!
That the author would try leading with a ridiculous and easily disproved claim that Eckankar says that "Every famous person who ever lived was secretly an Eckist and/or an Eck Master" says it all about their credibility.
Beautifully said
Beautifully said
I noticed a guess, in one of the blogs , that there were between 50,000 and 500,000 Eckists out here.
That guess is so variable because the
person realizes the vast number of Eckists that are self realized and
God realized,and no longer need the trappings of the "organization" of Eckankar I,for lack of a better word graduated after five years back in 1978 and have been and will always be an Eckist. Thank you Paul,Darwin,Thomas Helen Dr.Fooz
Ernie Jerry...........
I noticed a guess, in one of the blogs , that there were between 50,000 and 500,000 Eckists out here.
That guess is so variable because the
person realizes the vast number of Eckists that are self realized and
God realized,and no longer need the trappings of the "organization" of Eckankar I,for lack of a better word graduated after five years back in 1978 and have been and will always be an Eckist. Thank you Paul,Darwin,Thomas Helen Dr.Fooz
Ernie Jerry...........
Though not now a member, I was a member of Eckankar for many years, even receiving a healing of an arm I damaged in a car accident from Paul and the the Sound Current shortly after his passing. He was definitely a magical being.
I also lived on Helen Frye's property for a short time with Charlie. Great people.
I learned much, grew tremendously and would advise anyone trying to discern truth to avoid second-hand information. The ego is a funny bird and comes in many disguises.
It's my experience, that what one sees and experiences is a reflection of ones own consciousness. What you 'see' is what you get. In the beginning of this thread I notice fear of cults, victimization, and losing money.
The basis of the Eckankar teachings for me is one of personal experience and responsibility, and Love. After 45 years a member I continue to learn about these. Would I have without the inner connection to the Light and Sound link from Paul? It seems unlikely.
Your mileage may vary, ;-)
Finder,
I agree fear is an amazing teacher, generally hiding in projection and judgement, until exchanged for love (which at the purer levels is allowance).
Eckankar, like all creations in this dimension, is a construct. It moved and transmuted overtime as the consciousness of those listening became receptive to something new or deeper or just different.
Paul struck a gong of the imagination at very deep levels and in very diverse ways. I remember Helen Frye telling me that she got into Eckankar because someone gave her a book and Paul's head came out of the pages and started speaking to her. lol.
Unlike so many of the critics, I don't pretend to know who or what Paul was/is but I'm
leaning toward a suspicion he was always off-planet and tasked himself with the thought
of how to best assist the most with the insight and enlightenment that so clearly threaded through him.
Hi Doru,
Yes, the outer organization of Eckankar has morphed over the last five decades. Yet the core teachings have remained the same.
My first meeting with Paul in the physical was surreal.
Later I saw him as a man.
Now I just see him as an enlightened Soul serving 150%, as best as he could, through all his dualistic bodies.
The viewpoint of Soul is always off-planet/out of body, yes?
Finder,
One of the last times I saw him on the inner planes his eyes were huge, blue and catlike as were just sitting and chatting. So when I mention off-planet I was playing with the idea of high alien. lol
(p.s. I did encounter him in his radiant body, but not talking about that.)
Wonderful . For someone who is still are eckist now and forever this is beautiful said
Unknown, in one of the first teachings I had with Pauli on the inner planes he gave to me a book. I was puzzled by the title on the cover “The Essence of the Lower Nature”. Quickly scanning through the book I saw every page was blank. Then he began to instruct me on the difference between ‘existence and essence’, using a rubber band and then a pool and empty yard where I lived. Perhaps many look at these great teachers and see only blank ages, but the lessons have travelled with me throughout my life, and I know the difference. And it’s made alll the difference.
Doru,
The ECK, the essence, is really the teacher, yes? IT seems to me to be the 'blank pages' upon which we translate/transcribe our experiences.
The masters, inner and outer, are like us; merely channels for IT. Allowing ourSelves to be greater and greater conscious channels for IT continues to make a difference for me.
ECKANKAR has changed, but continues to be a Path of Spiritual Freedom.
https://www.eckankar.org/Seminars/major.html
Finder,
Eckankar for those just waking up looks very different than to those who have been on path for some time. I find those who belittle the teaching missing the point again and again because it doesn’t seem to meet their expectations.
The masters have said repeatedly Eckankar is intended to take one to the fifth plane, and then the master lets you go. You can choose to continue supporting the works of Eck through the organization or go your own way, hopefully still mastering more and more at deeper and deeper levels in some form of service.
My advice would be if you find yourself dissecting your spiritual reality, you’re probably running on empty and need to move from expectation to expectancy, once again.
Hi All,
I joined Eckankar in 1969 and met Paul Twitchell shortly after. Now, 50 years later, I remain grateful for being alive at a time when Eckankar is so generally available and that it found me! No, it's nor for everyone. It has given my life meaning next to which all other paths pale, and I've looked at many as a means of bridging gaps to share what can be shared with others. When the student is ready, the Master appears - an old adage and true one. But readiness can be wishful thinking. Efforts to realize spiritual goals need to be sincere. When they are not, failure occurs. How often do individuals take responsibility for their failures? I submit the those who do and try again may do very well in the end. We live and learn - or we don't. Such is life!
I lived at "The site" (Helens property) about 1.5 yrs total, I value the growth I experienced there. John Z, John M. Dennis C, Janell, Milly, Myself, my bro. Charlie, the Dobecks, Mr. Hodges, Gary, Peter W. "The Lepricon" Ted, "Trix", Evon, Hu, the mecanic, and all were really great people. I ended up moving out then later back as the place transfered to the Az. State Park. What I did there was not Helen's favorite thing, she was a purist in her wanting the property to remain natural, I piped the place and irrigated it. Then helped sell off all the equipment after the site was closing. I helped my friend buy the trucks and the trailers tractor type stuff. Richard G. was at the time closing it down. One of my favorite people was Jean S. Liz T. performed my wedding at Helens house,(The Wings of the wind). The one we called "General Mills", or "John Wan" or "Laurence of Sedona" was Helens assistant, he was a wonderful guy. We all had such love and joy working there.
Anyone that claims the Eck used fear and such or claims anything dark, they are not anyone that was there when I was. I was at the site from march 78'till the end.
Ok, there was some PR issues with Darwin marrying Paul Twitchells wife Gayle and and some issues in court between Charlie W. and Eck. The house in the Village was one issue of who inherited it. Why fight over Helens property? Darwin was a very carismatic guy, and likely a bit too popular with his "Follwers" but what the heck is all this hype about, I do not buy it.
Greg Chick, no that's not my pet name.
Giving freedom to others has been a cardinal principle of Eckankar from its inception as a modern form of deep wisdom of the ages . I know this from being an active ECKist for well over 50 years. There is much one encounters in life to pull one away from a profound spiritual path and only, I think, a recognition and appreciation for the blessings one has on a daily basis will ensure the benefits continue. Taking responsibility for all the challenges life brings is also a cardinal principle of Eckankar and I suppose it should be small wonder that persons who don't or won't will have difficulty with any real spiritual path. On what will they blame their problems? Some will say genetics; some say culture. Psychiatry is an industry based on finding targets of blame, or so it seems from my nodding acquaintance of the field. Politics is about blaming which other party one does not belong to. My own conclusion is that the whole orientation of blaming is a mental trap for evading personal responsibility. Anyway, Eckankar teaches that love and fear cannot exist in the same space and my own experimenting has shown this to be true. Understanding that each of us is Soul, an eternal being loved unconditionally by the Creator makes a very different business of life than otherwise.
Comment to Tobywan, The truth about Eck yes, so it is the truth of life as well. I guess a circle exists there. I too started with Paul, and was there all the way into 1981, but lost desire for Satsang in a group so to speak. The social challenges in Sedona were many...
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