In The Life and Many Deaths of Harry Houdini, Ruth Brandon writes, He terribly wanted to be convinced. When they find out youre talking to me, I guarantee that their lawyers will write. I said, Yeah, Geraldo, this guy robbed my house, he did this he did this he did that all on national TV. 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. Gross and Kurz are joined by vocalist Kim Driggs, an attractive woman with dark shaggy hair. No. Then she asks him to think about Grosss music as he again holds out his arm. He tells me hes currently working on a second book about Eckankar, entitled Gakko Came from Venus: Exploring the Hidden World of Eckankar, an Unauthorized Expedition. Lane, like his counterpart Houdini, seems shackled. Rebazar Tarzs, yeah, that Rebazar Tarzs. Hes told me he surfs, and in his knee-length khaki shorts, plum-colored T-shirt, and sandals, he looks like a surfer. All that junk you gave Lane to write down came out of your own filthy minds, and mouths and you know filthy mouths must be cleaned out don't you. We would like to show you a description here but the site won't allow us. Her enormous eyes seem to sparkle. He does that all the time. The program Lane and I attend at the Best Western Hanalei is called The Universal Basics of Life Through Music. It costs $35 at the door. Everybody Ive ever talked to who knows Gail says shes a very sharp person. After a year or so, he branched off and started his own group, MSIA, claiming that in 1963 he had a kidney stone operation and that after nine days of being in a coma he had been commissioned to be the Mystical Traveler Consciousness. At first Hinkins thought it was the legendary Rebazar Tarzs who came to him on the inner planes and passed on the keys to the Kingdom, but later, after seeing a photo of Radhasoami guru Sawan Singh, Hinkins decided that it was really Sawan Singh who had given him the mantle. When Paul Twitchell suddenly died in September 1971, he left no word as to who his successor should be. At one Eckankar seminar in Florida, a panhandler happened to station himself outside the hotel where the seminar was held. The Mahanta is respected but not worshiped . In 1978, after five years of study, he was initiated into Radhasoami in India by the late Maharaj Charan Singh. To come up with original material takes time, and time is money. Now what do you do when your group is charging money and does not follow any of the restrictions of this Indian group it evolved out of, one whose teachings are free? The next day Channel 8 news came out and did as their lead story Cult Researcher Robbed. They took a copy of my article The J.R. Controversy. But they didnt name John-Roger.. I need it. In 1977, noting the similarities between Radhasoami and Eckankar, a religious movement founded in San Diego in 1965 by the late Paul Twitchell, Lane wrote a term paper comparing the two for an undergraduate religious studies class at California State University-Northridge. Mother Teresas group. "Race me!" 4-year-old Lucia demands. McMahon, who was raised Catholic in New York City and on Long Island, has always been interested in spirituality. Everybody has a right to pursue whatever interest they have. He offshooted from Eckankar and founded this religion called the Divine Science of Light and Sound. My parents raised me not to write in books, and so I didnt. 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. Hes a character who has seized the imaginations of Eckists as completely as Ahab or Falstaff has seized ours.) Should I send this to the IRS? 'Should I send this to Eckankar? Little notes he was making to himself. 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. Each year Eckankar holds three of these U.S. seminars, which can draw 6000-plus people. How would you address that issue?, Richards takes a long, reticent pause before he answers. and is being financed by them to do his dirty research. The experiential aspect to Eckankar really interested me, and thats how it started.. Rather, hes tried to make the teachings more accessible to the average person whos interested in religion or spirituality but may not be familiar with a lot of the terms that weve used in the past., What alternative terms have been developed?, Instead of talking about contemplations or the nurat or the surat technique for the light and sound, we just say we do spiritual exercises. Two years ago you were living at your girlfriends aunts house, not making much money on the pro-bowling scene, and now youre God., Lane rolls his eyes. I called John-Roger immediately. Lane drives me back to Hillcrest. Understand, hes got names coming out of the woodwork., So who do you think Rebazar Tarzs really is?. 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. He probably thought my recipe file was written in code and had secret information, or something like that. 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. On the wall to my right is a framed print of the yin-yang symbol with a feather fixed to it. I was confident that soon James would see the light and become a disciple of Eckankar. 195 views 10 months ago Talk probes a statement made by many in the Eckankar organisation, that their group is 'uplifting'. Aside from the fact that Eckankar has techniques and tools that are incredible and not really matched by other groups, I think the freedom that is allowed to the members is a wonderful thing.". Cautiously I bring up David Lane. What I found was so obvious that anybody could have discovered it. I dont think so. Because that was my condition if I could just study in the closet, then I would join. Lane pays for my coffee and his Coke, and we sit down at a small, dark table. I keep discovering more and more offshoots, in India as well as here its like a virus, it keeps reproducing itself., You know the ins and outs of how religions are organized, and you're a charismatic person. Apparently, says Lane, Darwin took $2.5 million and put it into a front corporation in Oregon called Dharma Corporation. Its difficult not to resent Lane, that temptress, that town gossip, that snake in Eden. He didnt bring up David Lane, but he requested that I not dwell on Darwin Gross. Lane tells me that former Living Eck Master Darwin Gross is appearing February 11 at the Best Western Hanalei Hotel. . He claimed to have been born on a boat on the Mississippi a few minutes after a great earthquake shook the mid-South and formed a lake in its wake. I really hadnt planned to write about him at all. I dont mean just an idea or a thought, Im talking about the reproduction of grammatical mistakes, semicolon misuse. He said, 'Some of us live the spiritual life, others intellectualize it. Im talking about the very form of that truth being copied. Eckankar first caught my attention by how matter-of-fact and logical it was. Another man named Sri Michael Turner, in Tucson, claims to be the 974th Living Master of the Midnight Sun. This is not the type of individual who was looking for riches he didnt dress well, he didnt have a lot of possessions or anything. My family is full of attorneys. A skeptic goes to an Eckankar meeting, or anybodys meditation meeting, and says, Well, now wait a second, are you sure you saw the astral body of Rami Nuri? Eckankar believes that God exists in two parts, the Light and Sound, known as ECK. I had the following experience, I was taken back to the crucifixion. Im worried about getting lost, he says, exasperated. Peebles, says Lane, got so disgruntled when he realized there was some kind of fraud being perpetuated that he wrote Eckankar himself about these findings. Peebles returned to his Baptist roots and sent his paper to Professor Ed Gruss of the Los Angeles Baptist College. He may have been Rebazar Tarzs. 1:08. Religions in Minnesota Religions in Minnesota Acts of Intolerance Because of the frequency and duration and escalation of these incidents, coupled with religious slurs being painted over sacred signs, property, and our roadway, it's religious bigotry. "Actually, Eckankar is the one who has kept me going because they keep [after] me every time I try to come out with something. But the stuff that Lane goes after has nothing to do, for me, with the validity of the teachings., When I was in Eckankar, one of the things that I really liked about it was its respect for other faiths and that there was no pressure to get anybody to join., Richards responds, Sri Harold Klemp has taken a special effort to make it clear that we accept the value and the need for all different paths and religions, because people operate at different states of consciousness. 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 . If thats his focus in life, then he has a very limited view of life. McMahon explains that plagiarism isnt always what it seems. ", The following year Lane wrote a second paper, The Making of a Spiritual Movement: The Untold Story of Paul Twitchell and Eckankar. I was obsessed, Lane admits. Hes got his music. Sure! But when we go to the Hillcrest Village parking garage to retrieve Lanes car he cant find it. 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). Eckankar is not affiliated with any other religious group. But her email was the exact reason why i left. I would raise my head to the stage in rapt silence, devouring every word the Grosses spoke. I am skeptical of paranormal claims, because I believe we need to shave more with Occams Razor. Occams Razor?, The principle of competing theories, developed in the 14th Century by a guy named William of Occam, who said that if you have competing theories, go for the simplest theory first if it explains the issue fully. Followers of Eckankar believe that beyond the physical world there are many other realms existing at higher vibratory rates. That he could notJ>e was his tragedy. I wonder if this is not Lanes tragedy too. Id really start believing Id had a spiritual experience, Id wake up feeling like, Wow! Eckankar works because it doesnt make you have experiences that are impossible to have., What about soul travel, visiting higher planes of existence? Lane swallows his pizza. Lane pauses and thinks for a bit. As I walked through the hotel lobby, I couldnt see to the other side of the room there was so much smoke, and Im very sensitive to smoke yet I felt totally spiritualized. Though wary of groups, Yelman decided to give Eckankar a try. During their first six months of membership, new Eckists usually receive what is known as their first initiation in the dreamstate. But if I belonged to an organization that did. It was difficult coming to this country, trying to figure out the language, the new culture, and what to do. This was in 76 or 77, and I was 20 years old, so its like All the President's Men. On October 22, 1965, Twitchell claimed to have received the Rod of Power from Rebazar Tarzs, becoming the 971st Living Eck Master. Today it is perhaps the most successful religious movement to come out of the 60s, claiming a worldwide membership in the tens of thousands. After a few more tunes. In a way it was like an abandonment. Known the world over as the Eckankar mafia because of slippery manoeuvring behind the scenes wrecking marriages friendships livelihoods and demographics where ever they plant themselves. Rebazar Tarzs, she says reverently. Weve had people who have recognized Harold Klemp prior to his becoming the Living Eck Master; he kept coming to them into their dreams. Sex. My only regrets were that I sold all my rock albums to pay for my membership. John-Roger was a follower of Eckankar, begins Lane. Answer. Dont miss out. There was music and noise and clamor, and I turned to look at my friend. Eckankar is the most direct path to becoming a coworker with the Sugmad. Initiations link Soul to the Eck (Holy Spirit), which can be seen as light and heard as sound. Classic. Gross and Gail Twitchell divorced in 1978. After giving lectures and teaching Eckankar classes for ten years, I already knew them well. It was like an outpost of spirituality. I think it would be wrong of me to say that Eckankar is unique. I imagine them as the tormented souls of all the cultists who have lost their faith because of Lane. A few months later Gross and Twitchells widow married, sending more ripples of confusion throughout the fold. 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. It is a nonprofit religious organization and church, legally recognized in the United States and over 40 other countries. I'd sign this but you SCUM BAGS aren't worth much more of my effort, just a bit more EFFORT and then it ends. Sizing up his clean, homogenized attractiveness, I think, Tuck in his shirt and he could be on one of those infomercials, beside a pool selling motivational tapes how to lose weight, gain friends, make it rich in real estate with no money down. We spend roughly nine hours together, spread over two days. Nowhere in any of the Eckankar press materials is Gross mentioned. . Clearly Lane is not a blind follower. So who was this mysterious Paul Twitchell? Paul Twitchell. "We use more discriminating intelligence when we buy a used car than when we buy a religion, says philosophy professor and cult-buster David Christopher Lane. A friend from La Jolla gave me a copy of the article that David Lane is writing called the J. R. Controversy. This is helf to be the sustaining force of all life and the equivalent of the Holy Spirit. He wanted to know every dirty piece of laundry on Twitchell and Eckankar. It controls their minds using sophisticated thought control systems, and demand absolute obedience to Klemp and to the cult. You can imagine how I felt, exclaims Lane. Although no meetings are required, the local Eckankar newsletter lists a variety of classes, book discussions, Hu chants, and lectures. Moreover, a free left arm could be used to deflect spear strikes in combat. They fade out clean and quietly. No, I was excited that somebody would pay attention to my research, Lane exclaims. Dropping out, of a religion, one in which one attempts to focus ones every thought, every action on those teachings, is a horrible experience. We have a tendency to want to inflate our lives with spiritual meaning, and skepticism is not much fun. 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. It's. It [had been mailed originally] from a P.O. Its a bitchin house.. Thats one explanation.

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