Eckankar - new religion

[Tad]

Eckankar seems to be a relatively new religion founded by a westerner in 1960s after some travelling in Asia and meeting gurus. Their doctrine does not look too bad. However, their practice appears quite limited to some rituals and singing and analyzing dreams. I did not find anything about their followers practicing deep meditation or working to reduce cravings. So it might be another shallow tradition.


Info from Wiki:

One of the basic tenets is that Soul (the true self) may be experienced separate from the physical body and, in full consciousness, travel freely in "other planes of reality." Eckankar emphasizes personal spiritual experiences as the most natural way back to God.[20] These are attained via Soul Travel: shifting the awareness from the body to the inner planes of existence.[11]: 187 

Certain mantras or chants are used to facilitate spiritual growth. One important spiritual exercise of Eckankar is the singing or chanting of HU, and is viewed in Eckankar as a "love song to God". It is pronounced like the English word "hue" (or "hyoo") in a long, drawn-out breath and is sung for about half an hour. ECKists sing it alone or in groups.[11]: 59  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 hearts, offer solace in times of grief, and bring peace and calm.[21] ECKists believe this practice allows the student to step back from the overwhelming input of the physical senses and emotions and regain Soul's spiritually higher viewpoint.[11]: 59 

Dreams are regarded as important teaching tools, and members often keep dream journals to facilitate study.[22] According to followers of Eckankar, dream travel often serves as the gateway to Soul Travel,[23] also known as out of body experience (OBE), or the shifting of one's consciousness to ever-higher states of being.

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. The membership card for Eckankar states: "The aim and purpose of Eckankar has always been to take Soul by Its own path back to Its divine source."

The final spiritual goal of all ECKists is to become conscious "Co-workers" with God.[11]: 59 [24]

The Shariyat-Ki-Sugmad, which means "Way of the Eternal", is the holy scripture of Eckankar.[25] It comprises two books that tell of spiritual meaning and purpose as written by the Mahanta.[11]: 59  There are also a series of Satsang writings that are available with yearly membership in Eckankar. There are Satsang classes available to study discourses with others, as well as individually.[11]: 177 

Some of the key beliefs taught in the Shariyat-Ki-Sugmad include Soul Travel, karma, reincarnation, love, Light and Sound, and many other spiritual topics. ECKists believe Sugmad is the endless source from which all forms were created, and that the ECK, the Sound Current, flows out of Sugmad and into lower dimensions.[11]: 59, 187, 194 

Primary to the teaching is the belief that one may experience the perspective of soul beyond the limits of the body. Also, the concepts of karma and reincarnation help to explain situations in life as the playing out of past causes.[11]: 186–187 

The beliefs that individuals are responsible for their own destiny and that their decisions determine their future are important concepts to Eckankar. Eckankar students meet in open public services and classes to discuss personal experiences, topics, books and discourses.[11]: 59 

[Jhanananda]

I'm pretty sure we have discussed Eckankar here before, or perhaps our earlier Yahoo Group.  Anyway, if you dig deep enough into Eckankar you will find that Paul Twitchel ripped off the whole thing from a religious sect from India known as Sant Mat, which is a religious sect within Sikhism. So, Paul Twitchel was not privy to any wisdom, just whole sale ripping off books he had found in a yard sale in the 60s. Nonetheless, there is certainly some wisdom in Sant Mat that parallels our work here.  The problem I had with Sant Mat was I couldn't pin point the source of the wisdom other than the founder of Sikhism, Kabir; although I am certain one of the Sant Mat gurus surely had some genuine enlightenment, but it has become just another road side attraction for decades, if not centuries.

[Alexander]

I don't know enough about it. I saw an ad for it on television and the beliefs on surface level seem OK. But, seeing a television ad makes me cautious.

If I look on the Wikipedia page for Paul Twitchell, it looks like he may have learned from a Sikh guru as Jeff states. However, there is a concerning chart that connects Paul to Aleister Crowley, who is not a good source for spiritual development. The Wiki also states a connection to L. Ron Hubbard & Scientology, which is an immediate red flag. This group is extremely destructive & deleterious.

Being able to discern teachers - to separate the true from the false - is a product of discrimination, which is an important faculty to develop & refine. It is essential for the development of wisdom. It is built through humility, patience, critical thought, and a sincere desire for liberation.

Re: Eckankar, I don't really see a need to create new spiritual movements. Usually a new one is made just to make money or boost the founder's ego. It's also a vehicle for the founder to take advantage of female students. A new movement would also be subject to the same forces of decline as any existing tradition... so you are just repeating the same cycle. But, you would have to go through the same initial struggle (as every other spiritual teacher had to in history) of gaining initial legitimacy for your movement over the pre-existing traditions.

There are plenty of existing traditions that are excellent... Jesus, the Buddha, the Bhagavad Gita, The Yoga Sutras, Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, Shaivism, etc.

[Jhanananda]

Thank you Alexander for bringing up good points.  Every genuine spiritual teacher should be able to demonstrate a spiritual and philosophical connection to previous enlightened teachers, so we should see that demonstrated in their teaching. Paul Twitchell didn't do that.

[Inedible]

Back when I was still in school I lived in a city that had an Eckankar group and I attended some meetings. They said I should join, as in paying for an annual membership. The local library had some Eckankar books. They said I should get a student discount for my membership and that the books would cost less to buy as a member. They didn't really like answering questions. They kept telling me that if I really wanted to know I would practice singing Hu every day and read the books and listen for inner guidance. Some of the people seemed nice enough. Others seemed like they were trying to be nice, but it was taking substantial effort. In any case, I liked Eckankar a lot more than the spinoff group Vardankar. Those people seem downright hostile. The focus of Eckankar isn't just the singing Hu. It is about hearing inner sounds and seeing inner light. Like Nada Yoga. The different sounds that you hear are related to accessing different inner planes. I was hoping for proper out-of-body experiences, but they didn't seem to be teaching that.

[Tad]

Thanks for sharing. Sounds like some sort of commercialized pseudo spiritual organization.

[Jhanananda]

Thank you, Tad and Inedible for posting your comments on Eckankar.  And, welcome Inedible to the forum, and thank you for posting.

We have discussed Eckankar here before. The origins of Eckankar are Paul Twitchel came across some English translations of Sant Mat literature and plagiarized their books and materials and built Eckankar into a personality cult, which never made much progress and caused a lot of damage. So, I agree with Tad when he wrote Eckankar is a "commercialized pseudo spiritual organization." Thank you, Inedible, for posting your experience with Eckankar. we just have to keep in mind, "we know a tree by its fruit."

[KriyaYogi]

My aunt studied Eckankar.  I suppose it is similar to the mirror training I did for 3 years.  That stuff is very aethereal, but I would say, do what you can to make contact with Gods, Arahants and non-returners on the other side who can guide you after you have to leave either expectedly or unexpectedly that way they can guide you and help you continue your training without great stress. 

Any of the Divine Mothers are a great contact. The one I work with lives in M94 Galaxy far beyond the karma of our small planet in one galaxy.  I work with just a few other spirits but they are all adepts who have graduated from this realm, and they have even proven their presence to my family a few times over the years of my training.

-David

[Jhanananda]

Thanks, KriyaYogi, for posting your comment to this thread. What has become very clear to me is, while most religious movements have remnants of wisdom; nonetheless, in most cases their "wisdom" is in tatters, when they do not understand the spiritual life is based upon ethics, a contemplative practice, and most often misunderstood is that all of that is not an end in itself but a vehicle to 8 stages of religious experience, and even more important is to understand that the 8 stages of the religious experience is not a marathon to a finish line, but understanding that mastering the 4 material attainments, which we call 'jhana' here are critical foundations that one must develop before going OOBE, or one will not have the necessary equanimity when one encounters one's first demon, and encountering demons is simply par for the course.

[KriyaYogi]

Great point Jeff, I have met a few when mirror traveling.  Very scary stuff!
   
I've heard it said that if you want to be a magician it is not really possible without a foundation of meditation since working with these beings requires opened higher senses and OOB (or at least mind traveling like I do) sometimes which sounds very similar to what you said. 

-David

[Jhanananda]

David, most significantly we need equanimity to negotiate the immaterial domains, and we get it through mastering the second jhana, where the mind becomes still, but as long as we obsess over the meditation technique, then we won't get there.