This feels like all the atoms in the universe moving around, its like a rushing sound in the background. A job as a correspondent for Our Navy took him to Washington, D.C. in 1945. Youre not going to say, Well, Im a dumbshit. On the negative side, Twitchells teachings were synthesized without really maturely thinking whether these different teachings fit in together. When Paul Twitchell suddenly died in September 1971, he left no word as to who his successor should be. I found all this fun, interesting stuff. The beggar you meet on the street may really be an Eck Master. I just went off on him. May 1, 2023 6:30 AM. Then his whole manner changed he leaned forward in his chair, his voice emphatically rose and fell. At the time I didnt know who he was. Its the reason, I believe, that he plagiarized so blatantly.. When a group of Eckists and I went to see the Bloomington, Indiana, premiere of Star Wars, we were thrilled by the light sabers of the Jedi knights. Thats one explanation. In the early 70s, when I joined, I was dysfunctionally shy, a borderline agoraphobic, afraid to talk to salesladies in department stores. When I get home, my hosts greet me with a Manhattan. I felt the world has gone by, but these people are still there.*. One of the disciplines that we employ is the law of discrimination. Yelman received hers while at an Eck seminar in Hawaii. On an Internet alternative religion bulletin board, a former Eckist writes that after reading Lanes book, I felt as if someone had just torn out my insides and served them to me over rice. Losing ones cult is like losing the love of ones life. 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. Two different analysts verified they were all written by John-Roger Hinkins. Since its early days Eckankar has always really been a religion. Im a mystical agnostic materialist. And who knows? Lane shakes his head. Video explores the spiritual problems that may come, and explains how to deal wit. Paul was an avid reader. I wonder how long it takes new Eckists to even learn of his existence. In fact, we find more in common with people of other religious or spiritual beliefs than we have with people who dont have any religious or spiritual beliefs, simply because they have a commitment to spirit on some level., Im curious about how Eckankar has changed since I left it in the early 80s., Well, Richards says slowly and thoughtfully in a charming Southern accent, I think the present Living Eck Master has not changed the essence of the teachings, which is basically about self-realization and god-realization in the most direct way the individual can achieve that. I noticed in Baja a highway sign that said Rebasar. I said to myself, I bet this is where Twitchell got the name Rebazar Tarzs! The following evening, when the airport shuttle drops me off in front of my apartment, five guys are smoking crack beside a dumpster. As the great Houdini wrote, The yellow thread of exposure seems to be inextricably woven into all fabrics whose strength is secrecy. Houdini, like Lane, was a man whose obsessions drove him to expose religious frauds. Freeways knocked out Sorrento Rd., getting from the 5 to the 805, fitness fanatics head for Corner House, get those Mira Mesa signs out. Eckists left and right were smiling at the guy, stopping for long chats, and tossing money into his cup. Eckankar lost. 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. 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. Whereas Sudar Singh [another memorable character in Twitchells cosmology] isKirpal Singh. In The Making of a Spiritual Movement, Lane quotes many passages from Twitchells magazine articles written in the 60s in which Twitchell cites Swami Premananda, Kirpal Singh, Meher Baba, Guru Nanak, Kabir, and even Jesus. McMahon, who was raised Catholic in New York City and on Long Island, has always been interested in spirituality. Gross enters and takes his position behind the gold-toned vibes. Her enormous eyes seem to sparkle. Once I got into Eckankar I was suspicious that he probably was an Eck Master, but he never really said so., When Yelman was 12 and she moved with her family to California, the visitations ceased. Now, Jagat is actually the first name of a Radhasoami guru named Jagat Singh. No, I was excited that somebody would pay attention to my research, Lane exclaims. I called John-Roger immediately. It wasnt like this last time around. What about Lanes plagiarism charges? I ask. 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. On the Marie Vega [TV] show in Los Angeles, I said, John-Roger Hinkins robbed my house. He threatened to sue the TV station for a million dollars if they ever ran the program again. Lane leans down to better peer through his window. After leaving the Self-Revelation Church, Twitchell dove into the Radhasoami movement. He lives in the San Diego area, but the location is a closely guarded secret. I remember he took my hand and I could feel it, a concrete thing. In 1979 he called me from Northridge, where he was living at his girlfriends aunts house. This time the arm doesnt budge no matter how hard she pushes down on it. Recently I have had a spiritual crisis where I stopped believing in the concept of the Abrahamic God. "Actually, Eckankar is the one who has kept me going because they keep [after] me every time I try to come out with something. It has its positive aspects, a sense of community, a sense of focusing on the individual and his or her experiences of the divine. Recently I have had a spiritual crisis where I stopped believing in the concept of the Abrahamic God. In one he refers to me as Lane the widower. So then I wrote The J.R. Controversy for a new journal called Understanding Cults. A friend from La Jolla gave me a copy of the article that David Lane is writing called the J. R. Controversy. I was teaching at UC-San Diego at the time. They looked just like the Rod of Power! For one, they're saddled with . Sri Harold Klemp has immense financial resources available to guide the spiritual lives of his tens of thousands of believers. He offshooted from Eckankar and founded this religion called the Divine Science of Light and Sound. I dont believe anything until its proven to me. , Im sure they said that about Jim Jones; Im sure they said that in David Koreshs group. What it means is that I ultimately dont know. Then, Lane says excitedly, John-Roger committed the biggest mistake. I never stopped, not even for a minute even though they, pardon my expression, treated me like shit. As I walk away he yells after me, Hang in there!. In Understanding Cults, Lane published The Criminal Activities of John-Roger Hinkins, a laborious account of Hinkinss alleged break-in and smear campaign. I asked what happened to my friend, my childhood master. It lacks the wit, passion, and narrative drive of his other books. I have a nightmare in which Lane and I go to the wedding reception of a couple we do not know, and Lane abandons me. As we wander aimlessly back and forth between the second and third levels of the garage, I smile at my surfer companions inability to negotiate this concrete urban maze. 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. If I were any of you. I was 21. Though Eckankar does not try to coerce disillusioned members to remain on the path, Eckists are warned that when they drop out, their spiritual growth stops, and they are at the mercy of the Kal, the negative force of the universe. Eight years later he broke with Kirpal Singh and thereafter denied any involvement with him. Although the book was already typeset. Eckankar set up a meeting with Lane at its international headquarters in Menlo Park. He seems gently ecstatic, but so tired. Hes now in Scottsdale, Arizona. Finally, in 1992, Garland, a publisher of hardback reference books, accepted Lanes manuscript for its library series. It went through the roof a lot quicker than he expected. When youre traveling, you want to have fun; you want to see pretty things. Then his widow, Gail Atkinson, had a vision in the night in which Twitchell named Gross. But Eckists are such sweet people, I insist. "Race me!" 4-year-old Lucia demands. Members receive a monthly discourse, which they have the option of studying alone or in classes. If theyre going to sue you about a 120-page term paper when youre 20 years old, you know somethings up. WHY I LEFT THE MASTER. To top it off, their white helmets bore an insignia that was remarkably similar to Eckankars circular EK logo. Lanes research indicates, however, that Twitchell was born between 1908 and 1912, in Paducah, Kentucky. 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. Yelman is stunning tall and extremely thin, clad in a pale-beige pantsuit, her natural blond hair pulled back into a bun, the bangs teased like feathers across her forehead. In January, it rains for 26 days. I went to sleep, and in my sleep I seemed to hear a sound of singing.. Besides working as a therapist, Richards has taught at the University of Humanistic Studies and is an adjunct staff member of the Center for Creative Leadership in La lolla, an organization that specializes in executive management training. Nowhere in any of the Eckankar press materials is Gross mentioned. So I sent my term paper to Eckankar, and then they turned around two months later and said they were going to sue me if I published it. His voice changed, Well, we cant reveal that information. Was he in San Diego? No reply. She agrees to provide us with an official photograph of Gross at the vibes, and I leave to find Lane. Same with Shamus-i-Tabriz. 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. Eckankar is a new religious movement founded by Paul Twitchell in 1965. 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. 0:53. Eckankar teaches that it is possible to experience the Light and Sound through the proper use of spiritual exercises. When I woke up in the morning, I had an opportunity to ask questions. I think that in Eckankar skepticism is healthy, he continues. I dont remember it being this nice. For a year and a half or two years, says Lane, it was a shoestring operation. It is the force that sustains and supports all life throughout the worlds or SUGMAD [God]. This was 79, 15 years ago. Answer. Im also aware that in at least two previous lifetimes I was killed because of my beliefs, specifically in reference to Eckankar, and so I think some of that karma was still sitting heavily on my chest, so to speak., Im impressed with Yelmans absolute assurance. The Kal is similar to Satan, representing everything that is materialistic and evil, a being of vileness, wrath, and vengeance. Lane drives me back to Hillcrest. He took to unmasking frauds, but always with the hopes of finding a true medium. The perplexed beggar was in hog heaven. Hinkins also wrote to Charan Singh asking him to use his influence to get lane to stop doing research on him. And there was a big note on a box that said, NO MORE. No jewelry was gone only research stuff, including materials for my doctoral dissertation., He took my wifes personal diaries, a camera which he must have thought had film in it, videotapes, an address book, and my recipe file containing my favorite recipe for Del Mar lentil loaf. Eckankar first caught my attention by how matter-of-fact and logical it was. I was a member for almost 15 years, but thanks to the internet, I found out the truth about it and got out. Are your tax dollars being spent by this group? So they interviewed me, and I had this rainbow tie on, and Geraldo and I were going at each other. It got to the point that it became a mythology in which Twitchell couldnt remember all the names. Rebazar Tarzs, yeah, that Rebazar Tarzs. I still have those notes.

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