The Truth Seeker

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From this definition, it is pretty clear that every religion is a cult. But the word cult, as used in the definition above, would certainly include Eckankar. While it always fit some of the criteria, I was able to not consider it a cult because I did not consider its teachings to be spurious. I now know better, for the heart of the teaching is entirely spurious. But beyond this, there is the question of whether Eckists have been brain washed. To this charge one would have to say that fear and reluctance to read anything that may be considered contrary and the advice from Eckankar to avoid Confessions for fear that it will destroy their belief is as close to brain washing as one can get.

Eckankar’s efforts to suppress the truth by attempts to discredit the messenger show that it has the potential for being an insidious cult. It suppresses knowledge and truth and uses scare tactics to keep the followers in line. You will see more of this when the story of Confessions goes public in the media. This is why it is necessary to start slowly by encouraging others to read the book and not trying to tell the whole story yourself. It is a journey and those steeped in Eckankar mythology must take it in order to be free. In this way, there will be a critical mass of those inoculated from the fear tactics and with the courage to say the truth in spite of organizational efforts to silence them.

Question 2:
In the Higher Consciousness Axiom why do you say I AM before you say GOD IS, shouldn’t it be the reverse?

On this point, I spent some time contemplating which should come first. Your point is correct in what it might imply, but in balance, the decision was made to start with I AM. The reason is actually quite simple. The only reality that we actually know is that we are. We have awareness and whatever is our outer form, our awareness is what allows us to acknowledge our existence. This is the starting point, the beginning of all that we think we know or imagine. It is only after an acknowledgment of the "I AM" state of consciousness that we are able to contemplate or consider the greater aspect of our selves that "GOD IS."

So it would be correct to say that I exist because GOD first existed. But my awareness and recognition of ALL THAT IS starts from my recognition of my own existence. It is true that at some point this may become semantics or another "chicken and egg" scenario but for me, I know that GOD is because I am and there is no other explanation for my being than that GOD IS. That is why the starting point was decided as I AM and not GOD IS. I could not know the latter, nor would there be the question unless first I recognize, examine and acknowledge my own existence.

Under Eckankar's formulation all of spirit within the entire universe is channeled through this one person and his inner bodies--a preposterous proposition when you think about it. No one entity is responsible for this for we are all an equal part of this whole differing only in the degree to which we are aware of and accept what we are and our relation to ALL THAT IS. To the degree that the mahanta is considered spirit -- and Paul has defined it this way at times -- the word can be used interchangeably. But when the person of the mahanta as an exclusive channel for all of existence is superimposed on this concept, it becomes an absurdity. However, as with all ideas, it works for those who believe -- just as Jesus, Buddha or any other so called deity works -- but the individual has a huge price to pay when anchoring their belief structure to these ideals. One cannot recognize or come to know their own divinity as long as they are seeing their own reality only in someone else.

A spark of GOD is an accurate description. But when we consider that ALL THAT IS is a collective consciousness, we are IT of itself when we fully align our consciousness with THAT state of consciousness. Thus, we are GOD of Itself when this state of consciousness is adopted (a choice that we can make) or a "spark" (much as the holographic image) when we function as individual consciousness--as we are functioning in the physical plane. Whichever state of consciousness we choose to function in at any given moment determines the most accurate descriptor.

Question 5:
Given what Confession reveals about Christianity, do you believe that Jesus actually lived?

Regarding Jesus, I try to present the four views of those who still look to Jesus without expressing my own view on the subject. I would say, if asked, that I do believe that there was such a real person that lived. I do not believe that he did what the gospels say he did and the evidence clearly demonstrates that these stories were made up and embellished. The fact that there is no written history to confirm his deeds and accomplishments supports this conclusion. This lack of history is despite the fact that there were hundreds of historians of the period when Jesus purportedly lived and not one of them has any mention of a Jesus, or any of the events he was supposed to have been involved in or anything else about his existence. How could this be so if he did the things that the Gospels say he did? The answer is simple. The gospels were written more than 100 years after Jesus’ purported death and were created with no recorded history to go by. As Confessions reveals, the Church engaged in a practice known as “pious fraud” in which the clergy were encouraged to make up stories to excite the belief of the followers. But that there was a man who lived and impacted many is supportable simply on the basis that St. Paul was aware of someone and was not in my view speaking in his letters about an apparition. However, it is also notable that Paul, the only person that lived contemporaneous with Jesus, says nothing in his writings of the stories that the gospels later reveal. Thus, I believe Jesus was a real man with a much-embellished pedigree that the church used to elevate him to the status of God, the Christ.

Question 6:
What is your View on Transmigration—the idea that from incarnation to incarnation we progress to successively higher forms until the human form and state is reached?

As for transmigration, I do believe that all of life is one and that souls are only different in their states of awareness. Without this understanding, how can one embrace the nature of life as constantly expanding to ever-higher states of consciousness? This understanding is central if not essential to an understanding of evolution and the continuum of life from one state of awareness to another. To suppose otherwise, one would have to conclude that everything is created in its final form without need for progression that the expansion of awareness leads to. Either this is true or each path of evolution is different with limitations on the level to which a particular living thing can advance (i.e., the animating spiritual principal within animals [soul] could never expand or evolve to a higher form and never advance to experience the free will and choice to which humans are allowed to reach, namely, the realization to their oneness with ALL THAT IS.) This I believe to be fundamental to an understanding of who and what we are. Without this understanding we are left with a paradigm of a sort of spiritual caste system where souls of a particular type are forever limited in the degree and extent of their spiritual evolution, a proposition that is not consistent with the idea of the ONE.
The realization of God under this construct is the realization not of something outside of oneself but of the divinity that we are. We are one with ALL THAT IS. When we realize this we are able to function at a level unimaginable from the human state of consciousness. Take another look at Part IV in this regard. I believe that this notion is the key to the next step that we are all taking.

Question 7:
If Paul Twitchell invented the Vairagi masters, how is it that I have had many experiences with them?

Most Eckists have had some experiences in the inner or outer with images of Eck masters. This is fairly easy to explain; our higher self will utilize any image — real or imaginary — to give us the guidance that we need to carry out our lives from day to day. We develop great trust and belief in these images and, in turn, they become the fabric of our dreams and our inner and outer experiences. This is how it works and it is the same reason that children have dreams with cartoon characters and other figures that are purely imaginary. The journal of the Eckist, which was transmitted to Harold and later presented — in part — in Confessions, is an even more dramatic example; his higher self and other teachers with whom he was working later discredited his experiences with the Eck masters. It was pointed out that these images were necessary to carry him out of the mythology that Eckankar had created. After he became aware of this, his dreams with the Eck masters ceased because he had outgrown the need for them. There is one poignant passage in this journal that best illustrates this point. Here, the Eckist is meeting with the spokesperson for the Nine Silent Ones, who is elaborating on a series of insights just made known to the Eckist:

October 8, 2001 – The Rod of ECK Power and Mahanta (Explained)

Given while in contemplation. I had not asked any questions to start this off.

Paul Twitchell’s sudden death was not untimely from the point of view of spirit. It was brought about on purpose to end the falsity of what he had started. Twitchell had the ability to lead, but he let himself get in the way. . . . Becoming unbalanced is a sign of not being able to cope with what is coming through, and that too much is coming through shows a lack of inner guidance and control from whoever is supposed to be the guide.

Anyone can open up to spirit but to do this in a proper way and unfold according to one’s ability is best done under a true teacher. He himself knows what to give the seeker the exposure to and in what quantity so that a balance is always maintained. The truth that could have been behind ECKANKAR is ebbing away, many are aware of this already. One more myth can now go, there is no such thing as the Rod of ECK Power. As you have rightly said, all true Masters are ONE. This so-called Mahanta consciousness is just one more write up, woven into the ECKANKAR teachings by Twitchell.

Before you ask me, I know what your next question is going to be, and I have my answer here for you: you were given the experiences with the so-called Rod of ECK Power because it was written into the teachings. If we had laid all this on you from the start, your balance would have gone, hence, as true to spirituality under a true teacher, it was given a step at a time to unfold your ability to accept it all, for there is a lot to have to accept. (See Confessions of a God Seeker-- Chapter 4)

In considering this explanation let us not forget the evidence of how Paul fabricated the Vairagi masters. One of Paul’s more apparent techniques was his blatant replacement of the name Sudar Singh for the name Kirpal Singh (the former appeared in the first versions of various writings by Paul Twitchell). This substitution occurred after Paul fell out with his first master and broke off all ties with him. There are countless examples of this substitution pattern, where Paul introduces one of his invented masters with the names of real and know personages who were first documented in original versions of Twitchell’s writings. He also followed this pattern in numerous plagiarized paragraphs, where he substituted his invented masters for the names of other real masters that the original writer used in his initial composition. Second, there is evidence of fabrication as seen in the example of Eck Master Priscus Hevidius who purportedly lived during the period of Emperor Vespasian in Rome (69 to 79 C.E.). However, there is no recorded history of anyone by that name who was a senator, as Paul alleges, living during this period. But there is a Hevidius Priscus who was a senator living at this very time who had nothing to do with Eckankar. This is an example of one of Paul’s techniques for the invention of the names and histories of his Eck masters; in this case, name reversal. Confessions presents a chart illustrating the four techniques that he used to invent his Eck Masters, including Rebarzar Tarzs among others.

Question 8:
How is it that people claim to have seen and met with these masters even before they came to Eckankar, and in some cases even before 1965 when their names first appeared in print?

To understand this, there are a few basic ideas that must be explained. First is the concept of the higher self. This is similar to soul, but is a higher and more encompassing concept of who we are than the notion of soul itself. The second concept is that of existence beyond time and space, which is the region in which soul and our higher self, which I call God-soul, function. When we move beyond the notion of linear time and consider it from the perspective of soul and God-soul we find that we are living all of our lives — past, present and future — simultaneously. Each manifestation of ourselves in time and space has a component of our higher self, functioning within that unit of awareness. This is the concept of soul, an individualized aspect of our higher self that functions within a particular dimension of time and space. It is God-soul, our higher self, that is the true master. It is that part of ourselves that provides the guidance we receive every day, and in fact performs all the spiritual functions that Paul ascribed to the Mahanta. It manages the existence of each component of itself, guiding each unit to experience what it needs to in order to become more aware of its existence in the whole of God-soul and in turn God-soul’s relation with ALL THAT IS. From this perspective, the expansion of consciousness in the physical is truly a matter of stepping from one level of awareness to another.

Functioning above time and space, soul operates a vehicle on the physical plane, and receives guidance and sometimes inner and outer indications of events that will occur in the future. This is the future time track that is often written about. Whether an experience from a simultaneous existence that preceded our current one or an experience that will occur next year, the next decade or the next lifetime, God-soul is able to orchestrate experiences so that when we encounter them there is a vibration that tells us that this is something to ponder, move into, experience, or otherwise take cognizance of. This is the source of de ja vu experiences. It is also the explanation for the experience of future events. God-soul functions from a level where it is able to see that a future encounter, for example, with a teaching called Eckankar, will occur and that masters, invented or real, will be the vehicles by which you will know and identify that this is what and where you are supposed to be at this time. It is the next step in one’s unfoldment, and that is why some have this experience with images that are known by God-soul to be the ones they will encounter. After all, when Eckankar was first created, Paul was ahead of his time in bringing out the wisdom of the East and adapting it in a form to which westerners could relate. For a while, and in spite of its fabrications, it was one of the higher paths available. In fact, in some of Paul’s early writings, especially The Flute of God, he does not include the doctrine of Eckankar, which later developed as his new religion grew in popularity.

So we come to the aspect of prior contact with these invented masters. It is not difficult to see how this occurs viewing contact from the perspective of God-soul the higher self that does the real work of guiding us and providing the experience and guidance for which Paul, through his invented Mahanta, took credit. I have had numerous experiences where people have told me that they met me on the inner planes years before they met me or heard me speak. Others have told me that they sat in on classes in the inner where I or someone that looked like me was speaking. I take no credit for this except that the higher self of that person saw that there would be a future contact with me, and this was used as a point of reference to let that seeker know that this might be the most appropriate path for them at that time. This is also what happens when people speak of seeing the face of their future wife or husband in the inner worlds long before they actually meet them in the outer. But when they do, an instant connection is made because the vibration of that later meeting coincides with an earlier one and the person takes note and is aware that some inner connection has been made.

This is exactly what happens when Eckists claim to have seen figures whom they identified as Eck Masters whose faces were like the composites developed to represent the few Eck masters out of the purported 970 who remain active. These composite images were probably other masters who were working with them and whose pictures came to be the agreed upon images of Eck masters later created by Paul. For make no mistake, Paul did create these names and histories. If you read Confessions, the evidence offered is overwhelming and only a portion of what was discovered was presented in the book. The pictures came much later as a common set of descriptions resulted in an agreed upon image that came to be identified as a particular Eck master. Indeed, many early Eckists painted or pictured Eck masters in different ways until Eckankar, as the official drawing, finally selected a particular picture as the official Eckankar picture. And once a picture was declared official, it only took our imaginations to incorporate them into our inner picture banks, ready for use in our dreams and inner and outer experiences.

Question 9:
Some say that you are starting your own religion. How do you respond to this?

Nothing could be farther from the truth. This is a charge made by those who have not read the letter I sent to Harold, and certainly have not read the book. It is a charge that attempts to shift the focus from the lies and deception initiated by Paul Twitchell and perpetuated by Darwin Gross and Harold Klemp to me. I am not the issue — truth is.

Setting up an organization was the last thing that I wanted to do. However, I made a commitment to myself that I would not reveal the truth about Eckankar and the other religions, which would cause great dislocation and consternation, unless I could provide a positive alternative – a next step that would be available to assist the individual to continue his or her spiritual unfoldment, if he or she wanted. By definition such an alternative would not be another religion, for that would be as dishonest and entrapping as the religions that were just unmasked. Nor would it be an alternative that glorifies a person. This would take the seeker away from the truth that God Realization is the search to discover and realize that we are the destination. We are an infinitesimal part of the ONE possessing the totality of its characteristics but not realizing that this is so.

The Higher Consciousness Society is therefore not a religion but a non-profit educational society. Its only purpose is to provide insight and assistance to those wanting to take this step. It also offers the opportunity for those who have the courage to take this step to also help others. It provides the support of an organization that is totally committed to individual spirituality and the discovery of the ONE that lies within each person. That is why there is a spiritual leadership council that sets spiritual direction for the organization and not a single individual in a hierarchical structure. The organization is also there to provide a sense of community for those similarly committed to their own spiritual development but preferring to make the journey to higher consciousness in the company of others where all are both students and teachers.

Question 10:
What impact did the discoveries you cite in Confessions have on your own spiritual direction?

The discoveries presented in Confessions led me to what is clearly the next step in my spiritual unfoldment after Eckankar. That step is the realization that we are a spark of God and must learn to cut the umbilical cord and stand on our own developing our direct communication and relationship with GOD, which I now call ALL THAT IS. This is the next step and the sooner soul moves beyond saviors, master, mahantas, messengers and all other “helpers”, the sooner it moves toward its own mastership and its oneness with ALL THAT IS.

This is not an easy step to take. As stated, it is like cutting the nurturing link with our parents and finally standing on our own. It is a scary step to take on an ever narrowing path. Those that prosper from our fear of leaving the nest will do practically anything to keep us there. That is why I included the quote that I did in the letter to Harold so that Eckists could see quite clearly why Paul inserted the fear statements and the curses that are found throughout Eckankar’s writings. That is also why they are included in all other religions.

Question 11:
If Eckankar is filled with such fabrication and deceit, why were you led to it in the first place?

Soul and God-soul must use whatever vehicles — religions and spiritual paths — are available in the physical to achieve growth of awareness, no matter how imperfect, provided that they aid in expanding awareness. And that is the role that all religions play. There probably is no one in Eckankar who cannot trace his or her spiritual history through many different paths before finding Eckankar.

I knew for certain when I found Eckankar that it was my next step, and I felt a sense of coming home when this happened. All this was part of the progression of my awareness to the next level. Eckankar was right for me at that time. But in the same way, the experiences reported in Confessions were also part of a plan to take me to the next and I believe final step — though it will always be in a state of expansion — the recognition of myself as a spark of God and the greater awareness of my higher self which is the true master in my life. I am now just as certain of this as I was of Eckankar’s appropriateness for me at the time of first contact. Furthermore, I would not have been ready for this next step if I had not digested the positive messages that Eckankar had to teach, nor without discovering the deceit and deception that Eckankar also contains. Both were necessary for the next step that I, as soul, had to take. I had to let go of the training wheels and the support system and realize that each of us is IT of itself. We are this divine spark and no individual or position holds a monopoly or is the exclusive channel for this power in the universe. We are, each of us, an equal part of ALL THAT IS. We differ only in the degree to which we accept and realize this truth. We only have to claim it. It takes courage to take this next step and some will clearly not be ready. They may need the training wheels for a while, even another one or more lifetimes with masters, saviors, a mahanta or some other intercessor before they are ready to soar with their own wings.

Question 12:
I have read your book and cannot argue with your conclusions, they are documented so well, but still I don’t want to leave Eckankar.

This is not surprising. Anyone who has been with a teaching like Eckankar for some time has emotional ties that transcend rational decision making. There is no rush. For many, the friendship and companionship of others is a very important part of their lives. These ties need not be broken precipitously. However, this inner turmoil is an example of the conflict that we face in many other parts of our lives. The emotional body forms attachments and is loath to break ties and move to new territory. Yet, our higher self will not let go. Once truth is known, it will not relent until we are true to ourselves. The conflict at first is not very strong and we can stay where our hearts (expressed as our emotional body) direct. But in time, the conflict becomes stronger until finally we are forced to act in accordance with our higher self. How long this takes is different for each person, but it will happen.

Question 13:
Why do so many Eckist seem afraid to read Confessions? I would think that they would want to know the truth about Eckankar or at least judge for themselves whether it contains the truth.

Many Eckists are comfortable with their existing spiritual paradigm and don’t want to confront information that might propel them to another perspective — another paradigm. Of course they are correct in this assumption, for I do not believe an open-minded person can confront the information presented in Confessions without fundamentally challenging their belief in the teaching. Once they see the extent of the deception, the lies and the cover-up at the heart of the teaching, they cannot view it the same way. The illusion is pierced and they move to the next step in unfoldment or they engage in the type of rationalizing that involves convoluted reasoning such as: “Paul placed these “challenges” [i.e. lies] in his teaching to test us; or “Truth is what ever we believe it to be so why not believe Paul.” All these rationales are correct as far as they go, but common sense and right discrimination are also vital to choosing what we accept as truth. Without them we are apt to elevate one of the most notorious plagiarist and serial prevaricators in recorded history to the status of “The God Man – the only representative of God on Earth”, which is how Paul referred to himself and his successors.

Finally, keep in mind that growth only occurs by moving from one spiritual construct to another. We confront truth and our old paradigms are challenged. We fight, argue and deny but in the end, if we are true to ourselves, we move to the next level of consciousness or choose to remain, awaiting another time and place for the opportunity to grow spiritually. But there is no rush. Joining Eckankar was a major spiritual step — perhaps enough for one lifetime.

Question 14:
I have read some really harsh condemnations of you on various internet sites. Some say you are doing this for money, for power, for revenge and other such charges. What is your response?

I have addressed a few of these points in earlier answers, especially the power [(i.e. starting my own path)] charge. As for revenge, my letter to Harold reflected what I feel in my heart, namely that I would have delighted in serving the Eck and Eckankar for the remainder of this lifetime. But, I could not and cannot knowingly serve a lie and I am not prepared to participate in the cover-up or to settle for the palliative of “compared to other religions, Eckankar is good enough.”

As for making money, this is not a money making proposition. Instead, all of my resources will continue to be devoted to having the book widely read, which in-turn supports the Great Work. These charges only reflect the emptiness of the responses to the truth about Eckankar revealed in the book. You might take note that not one of these responses has challenged any of the facts about Eckankar’s deception, fabrication or cover-up presented in Confessions. The reason is simple, there is no refutation of facts that are so meticulously documented. All that is left is to attack the author and hope to discredit him, hoping that the faithful will follow along avoiding a confrontation with truth. This will work for a while. But in the end, divine discontent will propel the truth-seeker to find out truth behind Eckankar and to act in accordance with that truth.

Question 15:
Aren’t you afraid of the consequences of challenging the Mahanta the Living Eck Master and Eckankar?

Not in the least. In the open letter to Harold, the technique that Paul used of planting fear within the teaching as a means of control was exposed. When I am asked this question, I like to recall the story of the Wizard of Oz. You will remember that Dorothy’s journey to the Land of Oz was to meet the Wizard and find her way back to Kansas. Her travel mates had their own needs and reasons for seeking the help of the all-powerful Wizard. The essence of her journey was to pull back the curtain to discover that the Wizard was just like her, trying to find his own way back home or to Kansas along with her. He knew no more than she but had evoked awe and wonder in the denizens of Oz. They believed completely in the hype and lived in the protective aura of the Wizard who was seen to know all and to be all-powerful. Here is how L. Frank Baum, the author, told the story. It is quite instructive and bears repeating.

Chapter 15 - The Discovery of Oz, the Terrible

The four travelers walked up to the great gate of Emerald City and rang the bell. After ringing several times, it was opened by the same Guardian of the Gates they had met before.
"What! are you back again?" he asked, in surprise.
"Do you not see us?" answered the Scarecrow.
"But I thought you had gone to visit the Wicked Witch of the West."
"We did visit her," said the Scarecrow.
"And she let you go again?" asked the man, in wonder.
"She could not help it, for she is melted," explained the Scarecrow.
"Melted! Well, that is good news, indeed," said the man. "Who melted her?"
"It was Dorothy," said the Lion gravely.
"Good gracious!" exclaimed the man, and he bowed very low indeed before her.
Then he led them into his little room and locked the spectacles from the great box on all their eyes, just as he had done before. Afterward they passed on through the gate into the Emerald City. When the people heard from the Guardian of the Gates that Dorothy had melted the Wicked Witch of the West, they all gathered around the travelers and followed them in a great crowd to the Palace of Oz.
The soldier with the green whiskers was still on guard before the door, but he let them in at once, and they were again met by the beautiful green girl, who showed each of them to their old rooms at once, so they might rest until the Great Oz was ready to receive them.
The soldier had the news carried straight to Oz that Dorothy and the other travelers had come back again, after destroying the Wicked Witch; but Oz made no reply. They thought the Great Wizard would send for them at once, but he did not. They had no word from him the next day, nor the next, nor the next. The waiting was tiresome and wearing, and at last they grew vexed that Oz should treat them in so poor a fashion, after sending them to undergo hardships and slavery. So the Scarecrow at last asked the green girl to take another message to Oz, saying if he did not let them in to see him at once they would call the Winged Monkeys to help them, and find out whether he kept his promises or not. When the Wizard was given this message he was so frightened that he sent word for them to come to the Throne Room at four minutes after nine o'clock the next morning. He had once met the Winged Monkeys in the Land of the West, and he did not wish to meet them again.
The four travelers passed a sleepless night, each thinking of the gift Oz had promised to bestow on him. Dorothy fell asleep only once, and then she dreamed she was in Kansas, where Aunt Em was telling her how glad she was to have her little girl at home again.
Promptly at nine o'clock the next morning the green-whiskered soldier came to them, and four minutes later they all went into the Throne Room of the Great Oz.
Of course each one of them expected to see the Wizard in the shape he had taken before, and all were greatly surprised when they looked about and saw no one at all in the room. They kept close to the door and closer to one another, for the stillness of the empty room was more dreadful than any of the forms they had seen Oz take.
Presently they heard a solemn Voice, that seemed to come from somewhere near the top of the great dome, and it said:
"I am Oz, the Great and Terrible. Why do you seek me?"
They looked again in every part of the room, and then, seeing no one, Dorothy asked, "Where are you?"
"I am everywhere," answered the Voice, "but to the eyes of common mortals I am invisible. I will now seat myself upon my throne, that you may converse with me." Indeed, the Voice seemed just then to come straight from the throne itself; so they walked toward it and stood in a row while Dorothy said:
"We have come to claim our promise, O Oz."
"What promise?" asked Oz.
"You promised to send me back to Kansas when the Wicked Witch was destroyed," said the girl.
"And you promised to give me brains," said the Scarecrow.
"And you promised to give me a heart," said the Tin Woodman.
"And you promised to give me courage," said the Cowardly Lion.
"Is the Wicked Witch really destroyed?" asked the Voice, and Dorothy thought it trembled a little.
"Yes," she answered, "I melted her with a bucket of water."
"Dear me," said the Voice, "how sudden! Well, come to me tomorrow, for I must have time to think it over."
"You've had plenty of time already," said the Tin Woodman angrily.
"We shan't wait a day longer," said the Scarecrow.
"You must keep your promises to us!" exclaimed Dorothy.
The Lion thought it might be as well to frighten the Wizard, so he gave a large, loud roar, which was so fierce and dreadful that Toto jumped away from him in alarm and tipped over the screen that stood in a corner. As it fell with a crash they looked that way, and the next moment all of them were filled with wonder. For they saw, standing in just the spot the screen had hidden, a little old man, with a bald head and a wrinkled face, who seemed to be as much surprised as they were. The Tin Woodman, raising his axe, rushed toward the little man and cried out, "Who are you?"
"I am Oz, the Great and Terrible," said the little man, in a trembling voice. "But don't strike me--please don't--and I'll do anything you want me to."
Our friends looked at him in surprise and dismay.
"I thought Oz was a great Head," said Dorothy.
"And I thought Oz was a lovely Lady," said the Scarecrow.
"And I thought Oz was a terrible Beast," said the Tin Woodman.
"And I thought Oz was a Ball of Fire," exclaimed the Lion.
"No, you are all wrong," said the little man meekly. "I have been making believe."
"Making believe!" cried Dorothy. "Are you not a Great Wizard?"
"Hush, my dear," he said. "Don't speak so loud, or you will be overheard--and I should be ruined. I'm supposed to be a Great Wizard."
"And aren't you?" she asked.
"Not a bit of it, my dear; I'm just a common man."
"You're more than that," said the Scarecrow, in a grieved tone; "you're a humbug."
"Exactly so!" declared the little man, rubbing his hands together as if it pleased him. "I am a humbug."
"But this is terrible," said the Tin Woodman. "How shall I ever get my heart?"
"Or I my courage?" asked the Lion.
"Or I my brains?" wailed the Scarecrow, wiping the tears from his eyes with his coat sleeve.
"My dear friends," said Oz, "I pray you not to speak of these little things. Think of me, and the terrible trouble I'm in at being found out."
"Doesn't anyone else know you're a humbug?" asked Dorothy.
"No one knows it but you four--and myself," replied Oz. "I have fooled everyone so long that I thought I should never be found out. It was a great mistake my ever letting you into the Throne Room. Usually I will not see even my subjects, and so they believe I am something terrible."
"But, I don't understand," said Dorothy, in bewilderment. "How was it that you appeared to me as a great Head?"
"That was one of my tricks," answered Oz. "Step this way, please, and I will tell you all about it."
He led the way to a small chamber in the rear of the Throne Room, and they all followed him. He pointed to one corner, in which lay the great Head, made out of many thicknesses of paper, and with a carefully painted face.
"This I hung from the ceiling by a wire," said Oz. "I stood behind the screen and pulled a thread, to make the eyes move and the mouth open."
"But how about the voice?" she inquired.
"Oh, I am a ventriloquist," said the little man. "I can throw the sound of my voice wherever I wish, so that you thought it was coming out of the Head. Here are the other things I used to deceive you." He showed the Scarecrow the dress and the mask he had worn when he seemed to be the lovely Lady. And the Tin Woodman saw that his terrible Beast was nothing but a lot of skins, sewn together, with slats to keep their sides out. As for the Ball of Fire, the false Wizard had hung that also from the ceiling. It was really a ball of cotton, but when oil was poured upon it the ball burned fiercely.
"Really," said the Scarecrow, "you ought to be ashamed of yourself for being such a humbug."
"I am--I certainly am," answered the little man sorrowfully; "but it was the only thing I could do. Sit down, please, there are plenty of chairs; and I will tell you my story."
So they sat down and listened while he told the following tale.
"I was born in Omaha--"
"Why, that isn't very far from Kansas!" cried Dorothy.
"No, but it's farther from here," he said, shaking his head at her sadly. "When I grew up I became a ventriloquist, and at that I was very well trained by a great master. I can imitate any kind of a bird or beast." Here he mewed so like a kitten that Toto pricked up his ears and looked everywhere to see where she was. "After a time," continued Oz, "I tired of that, and became a balloonist."
"What is that?" asked Dorothy.
"A man who goes up in a balloon on circus day, so as to draw a crowd of people together and get them to pay to see the circus," he explained.
"Oh," she said, "I know."
"Well, one day I went up in a balloon and the ropes got twisted, so that I couldn't come down again. It went way up above the clouds, so far that a current of air struck it and carried it many, many miles away. For a day and a night I traveled through the air, and on the morning of the second day I awoke and found the balloon floating over a strange and beautiful country.
"It came down gradually, and I was not hurt a bit. But I found myself in the midst of a strange people, who, seeing me come from the clouds, thought I was a great Wizard. Of course I let them think so, because they were afraid of me, and promised to do anything I wished them to.
"Just to amuse myself, and keep the good people busy, I ordered them to build this City, and my Palace; and they did it all willingly and well. Then I thought, as the country was so green and beautiful, I would call it the Emerald City; and to make the name fit better I put green spectacles on all the people, so that everything they saw was green."
"But isn't everything here green?" asked Dorothy.
"No more than in any other city," replied Oz; "but when you wear green spectacles, why of course everything you see looks green to you. The Emerald City was built a great many years ago, for I was a young man when the balloon brought me here, and I am a very old man now. But my people have worn green glasses on their eyes so long that most of them think it really is an Emerald City, and it certainly is a beautiful place, abounding in jewels and precious metals, and every good thing that is needed to make one happy. I have been good to the people, and they like me; but ever since this Palace was built, I have shut myself up and would not see any of them.
"One of my greatest fears was the Witches, for while I had no magical powers at all I soon found out that the Witches were really able to do wonderful things. There were four of them in this country, and they ruled the people who live in the North and South and East and West. Fortunately, the Witches of the North and South were good, and I knew they would do me no harm; but the Witches of the East and West were terribly wicked, and had they not thought I was more powerful than they themselves, they would surely have destroyed me. As it was, I lived in deadly fear of them for many years; so you can imagine how pleased I was when I heard your house had fallen on the Wicked Witch of the East. When you came to me, I was willing to promise anything if you would only do away with the other Witch; but, now that you have melted her, I am ashamed to say that I cannot keep my promises."
"I think you are a very bad man," said Dorothy.
"Oh, no, my dear; I'm really a very good man, but I'm a very bad Wizard, I must admit."
"Can't you give me brains?" asked the Scarecrow.
"You don't need them. You are learning something every day. A baby has brains, but it doesn't know much. Experience is the only thing that brings knowledge, and the longer you are on earth the more experience you are sure to get."
"That may all be true," said the Scarecrow, "but I shall be very unhappy unless you give me brains."
The false Wizard looked at him carefully.
"Well," he said with a sigh, "I'm not much of a magician, as I said; but if you will come to me tomorrow morning, I will stuff your head with brains. I cannot tell you how to use them, however; you must find that out for yourself."
"Oh, thank you--thank you!" cried the Scarecrow. "I'll find a way to use them, never fear!"
"But how about my courage?" asked the Lion anxiously.
"You have plenty of courage, I am sure," answered Oz. "All you need is confidence in yourself. There is no living thing that is not afraid when it faces danger. The True courage is in facing danger when you are afraid, and that kind of courage you have in plenty."
"Perhaps I have, but I'm scared just the same," said the Lion. "I shall really be very unhappy unless you give me the sort of courage that makes one forget he is afraid."
"Very well, I will give you that sort of courage tomorrow," replied Oz.
"How about my heart?" asked the Tin Woodman.
"Why, as for that," answered Oz, "I think you are wrong to want a heart. It makes most people unhappy. If you only knew it, you are in luck not to have a heart."
"That must be a matter of opinion," said the Tin Woodman. "For my part, I will bear all the unhappiness without a murmur, if you will give me the heart."
"Very well," answered Oz meekly. "Come to me tomorrow and you shall have a heart. I have played Wizard for so many years that I may as well continue the part a little longer."
"And now," said Dorothy, "how am I to get back to Kansas?"
"We shall have to think about that," replied the little man. "Give me two or three days to consider the matter and I'll try to find a way to carry you over the desert. In the meantime you shall all be treated as my guests, and while you live in the Palace my people will wait upon you and obey your slightest wish. There is only one thing I ask in return for my help--such as it is. You must keep my secret and tell no one I am a humbug."
They agreed to say nothing of what they had learned, and went back to their rooms in high spirits. Even Dorothy had hope that "The Great and Terrible Humbug," as she called him, would find a way to send her back to Kansas, and if he did she was willing to forgive him everything.

Question 16:
In your open letter to Harold Klemp you write, “We have long since past the point where silence, ‘get it on the inner,’ or warnings about reading anything that questions Eckankar will suffice.” Are you saying that the RESA’s and other Eck spiritual leaders are doing this?

I believe that you have misread the intentions in the letter. It speaks about there being fear in Eckankar. The fear is not stimulated by intimidation. As such it is more a fear of saying or reading something against the Mahanta, or saying something that might be perceived as negative. Eckists are very reluctant to raise any issue, which may appear to disagree with or question the validity of any of the teachings. If you have read the Shariyat and the various warnings that Paul Twitchell has placed in it, you would be well aware of the fear that is spoken of. I have included at the end of my response several examples of the types of fear tactics that Paul injected into the teachings along with the page numbers of these sources. You may or may not have read these. Many in Eckankar have, and those who have now share deep seated fear of saying, or doing, or even reading anything that might bring any consequence to them. In effect, nothing in the letter was intended to convey that RESAs or any of the leaders in Eckankar are responsible for these. Quite the contrary, I have never met a RESA or an Eckist who has by himself openly tried to teach fear or intimidation. What the letter to Harold speaks to is the fear and intimidation that Paul Twitchell intentionally built into the teaching, which does permeate the thinking of those who have been in it long enough to have encountered these expressions and to have had an impact on their subconscious thoughts and actions. Here are a few of the passages on fear that Paul Twitchell planted and that Harold Klemp has allowed to remain within the teaching.

From “Confessions of a God Seeker: A Journey to Higher Consciousness,” by Ford Johnson, pp. 145-148.

Device Seven: The Techniques of Fear and Deception

In a particularly revealing passage from a letter sent to his chelas, Paul provides sound advice on avoiding the tricks of fear that other masters use to trap their followers. Yet, even this advice is part of another device. When someone warns you of tricks others may play, he builds your trust and perhaps even lessens your suspicion that he is a trickster himself. Here is how Paul uses this device:
The oldest technique of keeping the loyalty of the chela by many teachers is with fear. This is true in the methods of those teachers on the lower plane levels. Because they grow afraid of losing their chelas to a Master on the higher level, the old fear tactics will be drummed into those who desire to move away from the psychic plane elements into the God planes. These threats are very common. They usually go like this: “If you leave me, you will get caught in the astral and won’t get out.”(Paul Twitchell, Eckankar: Illuminated Way Letters 1966-1971 (San Diego: Illuminated Way Press, 1975), p. 94.)

After warning the chela of what to look for and why some teachers indulge in fear tactics, Paul invokes the very same tactic:
The wrath of the ECK crashes down upon anyone who is still a slave to the ego and deserts the master. Not once will he see the connection between his betrayal of the ECK and the horrendous troubles that strike him down like a plague on every hand. And thus he goes downward on the spiral of awareness until he leaves this body in hopeless despair, still wondering why the fates have treated him so cruelly. (See Harold Klemp, The ECK Satsang Discourses, Third Series, Letter 8. See also http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/1756/eck/txt. )

A threat of violence is added:
Whosoever . . . shall divulge the secrets of his initiation . . . shall be deprived of his sight and tongue in order to never again be able to say anything about the degrees of initiation in ECKANKAR. (Twitchell, Shariyat-Ki-Sugmad, II: 150.)

And:
To ridicule, to scorn, to speak mockingly of the words of the Mahanta, and not to have faith in him and the cause of ECK is to bring woes on the advocator of doubt. It brings his karmic progress to a halt, increases his incarnations in this world, and causes him to suffer untold hardships. The ignorant and the naive will never understand, nor shall they learn by experiencing the slow death brought about by their own overt acts against the Mahanta and the ECK. This is actually creating overt acts against the SUGMAD. (Twitchell, Shariyat-Ki-Sugmad, I: 107.)

And finally:
But once the chela has become a member of the inner circle, he cannot resign. . . . Those few have found that spiritual decay sets in immediately, affecting the health, material life, and spiritual life, and brings death more swiftly. (Twitchell, Shariyat-Ki-Sugmad, II: 166.)

And for those who have the temerity to see Paul’s deception and revolt in an effort to free themselves from it, he has planted a final land mine:
When the Living ECK Master’s position is attacked by revolt, or by dissatisfaction by the followers of ECK, he will defend himself. Not in the way many would expect, but in ways that few can recognize. The defense will come from the inner planes, and by means of the ECK. Those who revolt or become dissatisfied cannot bring about any attack upon the Living ECK Master or his position in life. If they do, there is always the swiftest of retribution, which is not always recognized by the receiver nor [sic] those who might have observed the occasion. (Twitchell, Shariyat-Ki-Sugmad, I: 119.)

Many years ago, as a Peace Corps volunteer in Africa, our housekeeper refused to come to work because the local witch doctor had placed a curse that made her fear for her life. None of our confidence boosters could persuade her to return to work. Finally, she went to another juju man, who cast a powerful spell that she believed overpowered the first one. She then returned, much relieved that the power of the first curse had been dissipated.

What Paul has working here is the same technique employed by the witch doctor. It is a technique used by those in power to keep people in check and frighten them into staying. Paul was not above this. But the more important point for those who desire to break this spell is to know that no master, or any other person, has control or power over us, unless we believe in his power and doubt the control we have over our own lives. There are countless stories circulating among Eckists about those who have left the teaching and fallen into harm’s way. But these experiences, if true, are of their own making. They were infected by the curses that Paul had created and this infection (belief) caused the curses to manifest in their lives.