I think it was a resistance to being in the physical world and being fully embodied, and so I tried to exit a few times. There is, indeed, something ethereal about this frail woman. The Living Eck Master helps the souls that are embodied here on Earth to gain the spiritual insights that they need to grow and evolve spiritually., Yelman hugs me goodbye, and I take an endless rush-hour cab ride to Hillcrest, during which the driver asks me endless questions about Eckankar. Eckankar believes that God exists in two parts, the Light and Sound, known as ECK. I keep waiting for Gross to give a speech, but he never does. It went through the roof a lot quicker than he expected. Twitchell was living in Point Loma in 1965 when he started teaching workshops and selling booklets on how to leave your body. Im a surfer, so I had this surfer hair and a turtleneck. Anyway, there was an intensification of that, and I knew undoubtedly something was going on. Apparently Lane has equally conflicted feelings about me. A few months later Gross and Twitchells widow married, sending more ripples of confusion throughout the fold. I imagine we have a wide spectrum. Why you can trust Sky News Sky Sports pundit Graeme Souness is to step down after 15 years. He took my wifes diaries and made hand-written notes in the margins. Here's something you might be interested in. Disillusioned Eckists left the movement in droves. After a few more tunes. The term God no longer had use for me. Lane phoned Hinkins to ask him about these charges. The mastership of Darwin Gross is a black cloud in Eckankar history, a history that Eckankar wants to erase. Dont you feel like the Great White Hunter attacking the endangered rhinoceros? Lane responds with animation. When I came back to the States, I read a book by Paul Twitchell called The Tigers Fang. Eckankar is not for everybody. With some trepidation, I return to San Diego, exhausted from two months immersion in religion. But some wont let you let em go. Its raining. But if I belonged to an organization that did. I said, Yeah, Geraldo, this guy robbed my house, he did this he did this he did that all on national TV. I said, 'Where was John-Roger yesterday? The guy turned totally paranoid. At this stage, Peter McWilliams, the guy who later wrote Life 102, was still pro-John-Roger, so he was putting his hands on the camera, that kind of scene, when they tried to interview John-Roger. A lot of people have. I'm a former member of this cult, in America. I had my two sisters to take care of while my parents were being mixed up. I was excited 20 years old, in the moment of discovering something new. Del Mar Press agreed to change the cover on future editions. Let's just say that on a relative scale, Jim Jones and Jonestown is the worst and that Mother Teresa of Calcutta is the best in that range Eckankar is kind of in the middle, and I dont think it should rank with the most dangerous of cults. Nobody wins, so we just let it sit there. It wasnt like this last time around. For tax purposes Twitchell moved Eckankar to Las Vegas, but he maintained residence in San Diego for the rest of his life. They say you can never damage the Eck spirit, because its life. While Lane is in the bathroom, I try, to no avail, to get permission to photograph the event. The Kal is similar to Satan, representing everything that is materialistic and evil, a being of vileness, wrath, and vengeance. Other students of Radhasoami have objected to Lanes critical stance in The Radhasoami Tradition: A Critical History of Guru Successorship, published by Garland. Nowhere in any of the Eckankar press materials is Gross mentioned. Eckankar got wind of the new edition, and their lawyers began corresponding with Garland. Hes touring the Southwest, as we speak. Founded in 1965 by Paul Twitchell, one-time disciple of Swami Premananda, Kirpal Singh, and L. Ron Hubbard, Eckankar owes much of its theology to Radhasoami. Simply put, Twitchell cut his connection with Radhasoami for good marketing reasons. The way to get more income is to have new material, speculates Lane. I would just close my eyes and he would be there, and I would be there with him too. I would not put it past Twitchell to have simply coined the name from one of his trips to Baja.. In Eckankar, since everyone is Soul, everyone is worthy. Browsing in a bookstore one day, Lane stumbled upon one of John-Rogers books and noticed it was very similar to Eckankar. Youre not going to say, Well, Im a dumbshit. Lane, like his counterpart Houdini, seems shackled. Shortly afterward, Twitchell claimed, a 500-year-old Tibetan monk, Rebazar Tarzs, appeared to him and instructed him to move to San Diego. Lane has tears in his eyes. Remember, hed been kicked out of Swami Premanandas church in 1955. Lifes kind of sad. Lane shakes his head. This time the arm doesnt budge no matter how hard she pushes down on it. Instead of asking people to be really skeptical of things, its asking them to believe almost anything. But, Dave, I counter, when you talk to Eckists they always tell you, Im a totally skeptical person. And curtain after curtain of gauze was quietly removed, and I saw stars behind stars behind stars, as in the magical Odeons of my youth. He wanted to know every dirty piece of laundry on Twitchell and Eckankar. Twitchell married his second wife, Gail Atkinson, in San Francisco in 1964. Recently I have had a spiritual crisis where I stopped believing in the concept of the Abrahamic God. Signed, The Master. Another former Eckist named Gary Olsen started the MasterPath. But they kept running it, and he never sued them., In August 1988, the Los Angeles Times published an extensive two-part critique of John-Rogers activities, based on Lanes research. Eckankar set up a meeting with Lane at its international headquarters in Menlo Park. His clothes seem to be tossed onto his rather stocky body. According to Lane, all three letters are printed in the same typeface with the same malfunctioning capital A. . Lane can be such a card. Lanes research into Eckankar is meticulously documented. Yelman tells me she was born in Germany. "There are three areas that cause people to leave ECK: First is discouragement. Rebazar Tarzs, she says reverently. He was advertising in Fate magazine, Orion magazine, Cosmic Star." Though McMahon is obviously angry about Lane, he maintains a kind, gentle manner. The maker of Bud Light, Anheuser-Busch, said on Tuesday that two of its executives were taking a leave of absence after the beer was featured in a social media . Dont miss out. We see that all the time.. I came from a religion that was full of dogma and rituals, and it really was a breath of fresh air to have all my questions answered in a way that made sense to me.But above all, I think I most appreciate how I am able to incorporate the teachings of ECK into my everyday life, instead of feeling like my physical and . His only interest was getting the message out about the light and sound of God., McMahon doesnt blame anyone for being skeptical. In October 1981, Eckists were again floored when Gross announced his resignation as the Living Eck Master, but not without first signing a contract that gave him a salary of $65,000 for life, full medical and dental coverage, use of a company car, and entertainment expenses. But even in his formality I instinctively trusted him. Well, the upshot of it is, we were friendly for five years, and then in 1983 four of his closest disciples defected. During the 30s and 40s, Twitchell was a prolific writer. There was music and noise and clamor, and I turned to look at my friend. Through a process that Lane himself does not completely understand, someone photocopied this manuscript and circulated it around the country. Hes a friendly guy with lots of dreams of his own, but I just want to stare at the streams of headlights along the highway. And who knows? Hes got his music. He probably thought my recipe file was written in code and had secret information, or something like that. Lanes green eyes turn serious. The skies themselves seem to be weeping with loss. Eckankar threatened a lawsuit for the inappropriate use of their trademark symbol on the books cover. To come up with original material takes time, and time is money. I dont remember it looking this way, he says pensively. answer the question why i left eckankar, which will help you get the most accurate answer. He said, 'Some of us live the spiritual life, others intellectualize it. This guys pretty smart, because he knows that if he pays attention to me, thats a good way of buying me off, so he can spin-doctor my research. Video explores the spiritual problems that may come, and explains how to deal wit. "Actually, Eckankar is the one who has kept me going because they keep [after] me every time I try to come out with something. Eckankar lost. What about Lanes plagiarism charges? I ask. This is where Ive got to be careful. People typically define cults, first of all, as based around worshiping a personality. Lane and his friends playfully call one another by the names " of Eck Masters. 2023 San Diego Reader. The walls are covered with Andrea Zuills dramatically lit oil paintings of monstrous chalky-fleshed zombies. And in my unknowingness, I like to explore how much more I dont know., Talking to these Eckists, the conscious, rational, jaded Dodie faded out, and this other little Dodie inside me was starting to feel an incredible seduction. (Such a quake did occur in 1812.) May the Force be with you.). Gail Atkinson, who has long since broken with Eckankar, is said to live in wealthy seclusion in Palm Springs. I had huge phone bills, because I had called this professor or this person. Eckankar, which is now called the Religion of Light and Sound, teaches that each individual is Soul inhabiting a human body. Finally, as a last resort, Lane suggests we exit the parking garage and then walk down the ramp where we drove in. Indeed, as Lane, Melton, and others have pointed out, most of Paul Twitchell's writings are derived from two Radhasoami publications, With a Great . I am afraid my beliefs will cause conflict within the Eckankar community and it may be best that I leave Eckankar. Two years later I got a letter from a guy in Canada saying hed discovered a genuine guru. The Living Eck Master descends from an unbroken line of Vairagi Masters. Everybody Ive ever talked to who knows Gail says shes a very sharp person. Lane is convinced John-Roger was involved. For a year and a half or two years, says Lane, it was a shoestring operation. Lane then quotes these same passages as they were later reproduced, usually word for word, in Eckankar books, with the names changed to the o Eck Masters Sudar Singh, Fubbi Quantz, Rebazar Tarzs, Lai Tsi, j and Gopal Das. Lane tells me that former Living Eck Master Darwin Gross is appearing February 11 at the Best Western Hanalei Hotel. Hi, Im Dave." Probably a composite cover name for three people: Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, which was started 500 years ago; Sawan Singh, who was Kirpal Singhs guru; and Swami Premananda. But, Dave, I ask in exasperation, after all this time, why are you persisting?, Rarely in life do you ever get to play detective, he says. Geraldo was in New York, and I was on satellite hookup at Universal Studios in the San Fernando Valley. Eckists left and right were smiling at the guy, stopping for long chats, and tossing money into his cup. In my copy of The Making of a Spiritual Movement, he signs himself the Kal force, Dave. The Kal force, remember, is the power of negativity. I dont go into Eck centers and walk around and say, Here, read my book. All Im saying is that Twitchell was lying to his constituency. On Saturday, I lunch with Lane at a restaurant in Del Mar. I called John-Roger immediately. Eckankar is against psychic . 195 views 10 months ago Talk probes a statement made by many in the Eckankar organisation, that their group is 'uplifting'. Recently I have had a spiritual crisis where I stopped believing in the concept of the Abrahamic God. Another man named Sri Michael Turner, in Tucson, claims to be the 974th Living Master of the Midnight Sun. I was never able to penetrate Richardss reassuring politeness until I turned the conversation from Eckankar to Freud, Adler, and lung. Clearly he is more comfortable with the fluid topography of waves, of meditation, of philosophical inquiry. Now, Jagat is actually the first name of a Radhasoami guru named Jagat Singh. Actually in the moment it was okay, I hardly noticed it. Ellen Burstyn, maybe.) Sri harold klemp is the 973rd living eck master in an unbroken line of eck masters. Im under your spell, but how can I help it. There is a double edge to this torch song; from the way she keeps glancing affectionately over at Gross, it is the Masters spell that Driggs cant be blamed for falling under. When I called to sign up, they told me that I never had to go to a class if I didnt want to. I looked like a little kid. But Eckankars attorneys mailed the package back to me. Gross and Kurz are joined by vocalist Kim Driggs, an attractive woman with dark shaggy hair. He read thousands and thousands of books, and he was a spiritually hungry man. I had out-of-the-body experiences, I had contact with spirit, I saw the blue light, saw all the things they talk about in the books prior to coming to Eckankar. But Im amazed that after all the dirt hes dug up on religions, he could be seriously involved in any spiritual path. Read full review of Eckankar Helpful? . by. Man, it was a nasty conversation. It got to the point that it became a mythology in which Twitchell couldnt remember all the names. I dont have a real axe to grind., At a Hillcrest cafe, Lane confides, The people who scare me are John-Rogers people, not Eckankars. John-Roger Hinkins, founder of the Church of the Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness (MSI A, pronounced Messiah), has gotten a lot of bad press lately. Sitting at our outside table, high above Camino Del Mar, surrounded by sky and ocean, I feel as if were gods feasting on petty human concerns. David Lane has his own personal agenda. Do you know what I mean?. Eckankar has members in over 120 countries around the world, and its teachings have been translated into more than twenty-five languages. In 1950 the Twitchells moved to the church compounds, but five years later Twitchell was asked to leave the church for personal misconduct. That same year he and his wife separated. How wonderful after Eckankar, when I was able to experience the exquisiteness of other musicians and various teachers and realize fully: "This is it. I was on the Holy Grail of research.". Thats one explanation. In Youth Ask A Modern Prophet, Harold Klemp writes, "The deep relationship between man and woman is a sacred token of human love. We talk about the Hu as a prayer song or a love song to God, instead of saying its a chant or mantra. ", Charles Richards: "David Lane is making a name for himself by being an antagonist to Eckankar.". Dr. Bluth, Twitchells personal doctor and vice president of Eckankar at the time, has confirmed that he gave Twitchell books from the Radhasoami library. And he didnt know anything about Eckankar., The guide was a bearded man in this maroon robe. Many events are open to the public, including the Sunday worship services, which tackle spiritual topics of broad interest. Grosss movements are frail and slow as he removes his dark-blue jacket to reveal a short-sleeved white shirt and tan pants held up with wide red suspenders. May 1, 2023 6:30 AM. Its difficult not to resent Lane, that temptress, that town gossip, that snake in Eden. John-Roger was a follower of Eckankar, begins Lane. Eckankar first caught my attention by how matter-of-fact and logical it was. So I do. I ask, ever so casually, Is it true that you have some friends who are Eckists?, How do they justify that you are doing things that might damage the group?, They differentiate the message from the medium. On October 22, 1965, Twitchell claimed to have received the Rod of Power from Rebazar Tarzs, becoming the 971st Living Eck Master. After dinner, she confides, I walked along the beach and sat down beneath a tree to do a contemplation. The following evening, when the airport shuttle drops me off in front of my apartment, five guys are smoking crack beside a dumpster. I was a member for almost 15 years, but thanks to the internet, I found out the truth about it and got out. Hed read the book and wanted me to visit him. For years after I left Eckankar, I was plagued with wrenching spasms of primal fear, emptiness, collapse, and betrayal. Jerry Mulvins suggestion that you start your own cult must have been intriguing on some level. 40 people in a hotel named Hanalei in San Diego for a man who used to draw thousands. Yelmans studies at UCSD brought her to San Diego in 1974. Eckankar is one of the New Age religions, started in 1965 by journalist Paul Twitchell. Lane leans down to better peer through his window. Finally, in 1992, Garland, a publisher of hardback reference books, accepted Lanes manuscript for its library series. He basically took Eckankars money, while saying it was really for Eckankar purposes. Excommunicated from Eckankar, his lifetime agreement terminated, Gross was suddenly penniless. In Texas, she says, a disembodied being began visiting her. And so I had handwriting analysis done on the writing on the diaries and on that NO MORE sign. Last April the current Living Eck Master, Harold Klemp, spoke at a three-day major seminar at the San Diego Marriott Hotel & Marina. Radhasoami is a yogic teaching that, according to Lane, is designed to enable the soul or consciousness to ascend beyond the physical body to higher spiritual regions by means of an internal sound or life current. Central to the teachings of Radhasoami, continues Lane, is the necessity of a living human master competent in initiating disciples into the practice and technique of listening to the inner sound, contemplating the inner light, and leaving the human body at will. The Indian guru Kirpal Singh figures prominently in Twitchells early writing. There are ECK Temples, ECK Centers, and reading rooms in cities and towns across the . Thats really what it is for me. I told him I didnt plan to write about him, but letters [started going] around the country saying that I was a gay FBI agent in San Diego, that I had researchers working for me that I wasnt paying. Eight years later he broke with Kirpal Singh and thereafter denied any involvement with him. Although the book was already typeset. I need it. The ocean was rushingusually I hear a sound that is like electricity, kind of high pitched, but richer, fuller than just electrical buzzing. I met David Lane in San Diego. This is not seen as coldness or indifference but as a precursor to unconditional love. So I came upon this theory called genealogical dissociation. Discomfort spreads across his face as I continue, You were the Master most of the time I was in it. Holding my hand, he looks deep into my eyes and says, Im still the Master. He was giving a talk at UCSD, trying to sell his book, preaching against Eckankar and a whole bunch of other religions. He lives in the San Diego area, but the location is a closely guarded secret. I think of Rumi, the great Persian poet, who said, with all these false coins abounding, theres got to be something genuine in the midst of it.. So I said, 'You guys can get out of this simply, just explain that Twitchell plagiarized. You got it. When the Vietnamese fellow was in San Diego, he saw a poster for an Eckankar event that had a picture of Rebazar Tarzs on it, and he recognized him. Then he took the Ho, and he put the two words together. In one article Lane shows me, Twitchell is reported to have piercing blue eyes, to sleep only four hours a night, to read 5000 words a minute, to eat little, and to have the ability to be in all places at the same time.. Theres no calm center to this storm. And it continues to rain. Although i had forgotten my. I have been an official member of Eckankar for 10 years. Charan Singh forwarded it to Lane. Eckankar then threatened Gruss with a $2.5 million lawsuit for publishing Peebless paper, for making a photocopy of it. I'd heard rumors about why he left but I wanted to see for myself. It [had been mailed originally] from a P.O. I never thought he was gay until everybody said, 'Heilo-o, looks like he likes you a little too much, Dave. One of his major disciples, Victor Toso, later revealed that he had kind of a quasicrush on me., Did John-Roger ever make any moves on you?, I was flattered that here was a spiritual master who was spending hours with me instead of dissing me or suing me. About four weeks later Lanes guru in India, Charan Singh, received a letter, supposedly from another follower in San Diego, criticizing Lane and quoting from his wifes stolen diaries. Im not interested in all this other dialogue that David Lane is so focused on. Its even available for community events. I hook my mike over the breadbasket and turn on the tape recorder. I was one of the those stooges for decades until I came down with a pathological. Understand that if you read the sacred works of all the religions, such as the Bhagavad-Gita, the Bible, or the Koran, youre going to see references almost exactly alike. He tells me a phenomenal story about an American writer and a European writer who, unbeknownst to one another, wrote identical books and sent them to the same publisher. For free downloadable books, check out our Web site at www.Eckankar.org. Whenever I saw Gross and Atkinson, I would be seated in an auditorium, surrounded by thousands of avid followers, each hoping at some point to receive the darshan, the Masters gaze. Eckankar is a religion first founded in 1965 by Paul Twitchell, who served as the first Mahanta, or living ECK Master, who acts as a teacher for ECKists. I also have the evidence that David Christopher Lane is an informant for the F.B.l. Within two years Klemp fired Gross, accusing him of negativity, spiritual decay, and embezzlement. He is Shamus-i-Tabriz (a living Eck Master of 400 years ago who now teaches on the Causal Plane at the Sakapori Temple of Golden Wisdom in the city of Honu). As I stroll toward the ocean, through a lush, affluent neighborhood, disappointment creeps over me like the tide. Gross smiles to himself as he hits the vibes. This must not be true. In what century was he born? Theres so much shit. Outsiders would think they had stumbled into a convention of traveling salesmen. The spiritual exercises are a form of prayer. Id be very careful where I go and what I do and who I talk to, you wouldn 7 want anyone to get hurt now, would you? I was 21. Twitchell told his second wife, Gail, that he was born in the early 20s. James Peebles, an Eckist and fellow classmate of Lanes, also wrote a paper on Eckankar. Sitting at a table outside Monsoon at Village Hillcrest, surrounded by potted plants and curving walls of mango orange, gold, deep purple, and rusty red, Lane sips a Coke and tells me the history of his involvement with alternative religious movements. I see Eck masters, I see Radhasoami masters, I see Rebazar Tarzs and Sudar Singh. The idea that people are leaving Eckankar based on what they read in a single book is IMO an advertizing tactic to sell more copies. . The bed was overturned, drawers were everywhere. I really enjoyed the music, but it was kind of sad. ET. Through daily spiritual exercises, one can shift ones awareness from the physical world and soul travel to these higher planes. It gets tiresome., For ten years I was a member of Eckankar,one of the groups Lane has written about most extensively. Eckankar is a system of belief that seeks to unify the person's soul with Light and Sound which are twin aspects of the Holy Spirit, or the Divine Spirit. When he finishes the song, he takes off his shoes to be closer to the keys. The atmosphere in the room is homey and protective. They say, the message works for me, the contemplation works for me. His voice changed, Well, we cant reveal that information. Was he in San Diego? No reply. His disciples told me he would pick a guy every night out of the staff and claim that they needed to have sex with him in order to increase their aura or they needed, pardon my language, a rectal innerphase in order to burn off karma., He has thus thing called aura innerphasing, where you do aura balancing, soul balancing, etheric balancing. I felt the world has gone by, but these people are still there.*. I left eckankar because it simply didn't work for me and I didn't realize that for a very long time. Eckankar's stance on sexual relations, although overtly heteronormative, speaks to the religion's appreciation of the sex act as an important and meaningful experience in human life. When Yelman was six, her family moved to Texas. Im just saying that if he had a personal problem with some Eckists, this is not an indictment against Eckankar, this is an indictment against the individuals hes had contact with. I met a guy from Vietnam whose whole family traveled here to San Diego by boat, guided by Rebazar Tarzs, whos one of the Eck Masters thats written about in the books. Two figures emerge from the stilted style: the protean Paul Twitchell and his young, vivacious wife Gail, who, after Twitchells death, married his successor, Darwin Gross, in a Dynasty-like power play that troubled and thrilled the faithful. It wasnt just David Lanes personal opinion. Everybody has a right to pursue whatever interest they have. I imagine them as the tormented souls of all the cultists who have lost their faith because of Lane. And they said, He taught you everything he could teach you, and you agreed that it was complete. It was so satisfying, it was so true, really true, true to the core of my being., So was your childhood teacher an Eck Master?. His new title was President of Eckankar. Rebazar Tarzs. As Eckankar filled my life, I felt like I was entering Shangri-la; a new glistening world of love, of possibility opened before me. His critique was instrumental in my dropping out of Eckankar in the early 80s. Burley, who . Since its early days Eckankar has always really been a religion. ECKANKAR was founded by Paul Twitchell (1909 - 1971) in California in the mid-1960s. Moreover, people within John-Rogers group have confirmed that on the day of the robbery he was in San Diego., Lane didnt sue Hinkins, but he did go public with his story. But, while his friend Arthur Conan Doyle and other enthusiasts were impressed with the supernatural sideshows of mediums, Houdini, with his vast knowledge of magic techniques, could duplicate the effects. Do you think it would be an easy thing to do?". It controls their minds using sophisticated thought control systems, and demand absolute obedience to Klemp and to the cult. You can explain it in a lot of different ways. Hired at the height of the Covid pandemic, Parkway softball coach Eva Burley has left her position to return to Texas to care for her father, who has been diagnosed with ALS. in his book, and on every single page I just had to make my own notes. As Yelman laughs, her stiff, angular body quivers with excitement. We actually challenge our inner experiences in the name of God, to make sure that theyre not phony, not of the negative world of Kal. My only regrets were that I sold all my rock albums to pay for my membership. Eckankar is a new religious movement founded by Paul Twitchell in 1965. Murdochs obsession with water suddenly makes sense. We figure, if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, we might as well call it a duck.". This was in 76 or 77, and I was 20 years old, so its like All the President's Men. Classic. I dont remember it being this nice. With the popularity of the Ghostbusters logo. It's. McMahon generously drives me to my interview with holistic health practitioner Bettina Yelman, whose Del Mar office is just down the hall from Richardss.
