The Truth Seeker

Footnotes with source documents available at www.thetruth-seeker.com

Chapter 6 — Eckankar: Revealed by Truth

Why I Looked Deeper into Eckankar

In my more than thirty years in Eckankar, I spoke before thousands of aspirants and Eckists in numerous talks, workshops, and presentations. Many told me that they joined or remained because of something that spirit had communicated through me. If they were influenced by these contributions, I feel a deep commitment to them. My work was in earnest, with the belief that I was communicating truth. After my long research into Eckankar, I am happy to say that, in large part, what I learned and communicated still stands the test of truth. However, as the real story behind the books, doctrines, and beliefs of Eckankar are revealed for all to see, some of it must be corrected.

The incongruities in Harold’s rejection of Graham’s journal prompted me to examine carefully the second assumption underlying Eckankar: that the concepts and principles in Paul’s books are true. David Lane’s exposé of Eckankar¹ did not irrevocably taint its fundamental precepts. When I first encountered Lane’s work, I was willing to overlook Paul’s plagiarism (though I had not fully grasped its extent) as long as the content of the materials was true. But Graham’s journal raised many issues about Paul and Harold that placed the veracity of Paul’s writings in question.

In his August 8, 2001 journal entry, Graham describes a ceremony where he was to receive the Fourteenth Initiation. Yaubl Sacabi advised him:

This has been decided to be given because of the falling level of power under Sri Harold. . . . The difference that you are aware of between the inner and outer Master is caused by this, the two are no longer in tune with each other. ²

Sacabi explained further that Sri Harold would be informed that the time had come for him to step down. He then instructed Graham to send his journal, with all its revelatory content, to Harold, who had already been informed on the inner that the materials were coming. When Graham inquired about Eckankar as a religion, he was told:

ECKANKAR is not, was not, and never will be a religion. ECKANKAR is a Spiritual philosophy in the way of the Eternal Light and Sound of GOD.³

Yaubl Sacabi’s statement is consistent with but falls short of the even more restrictive standards that Paul had proposed for Eckankar, which was to be run as a for-profit business.⁴ Indeed, Paul was quite insistent that Eckankar should not be a religion or even a tax-exempt group.⁵ Yet, he later established Eckankar’s legal status as a non-profit, tax-exempt church. This status has been continued by Darwin and Harold, in spite of Paul’s earlier warnings about the dangers of organizing spiritual works as churches, orders, or institutions.

In the afternoon of September 15, 2001 Graham was told:

Because of the falling power of Sri Harold, He cannot hand over the Rod of ECK Power to you, it has been taken from Him. ⁶

Later, Graham was informed that the ceremonial transfer of the Rod of Eck Power might not take place on the outer. Seeking additional insight on this point, Graham was told that the Rod of Eck Power had been removed from Harold and that, in response, Harold turned Eckankar into a full-fledged religious institution to ensure its survival and his own. Graham also learned that, if the succession of the new Mahanta were acknowledged, Eckankar could be returned to its original purpose, that of a spiritual path not a doctrinaire religion.

In addition to these significant revelations, Graham had many spiritual encounters with Chungchok, the spokesman for the Nine Silent Ones. Paul wrote extensively on these beings and their spiritual roles:

These strange beings are responsible for the running of the planes of God on a mechanical basis. . . . They come and go like the wind to carry out the will and wishes of the Lord of the universes. . . . The Silent Ones are in command of the great Sound wave, in the worlds of the universes. . . . They have immense powers and great wisdom to carry out the assignments of the SUGMAD and, of course, unlimited freedom. . . . Outside the SUGMAD, these Silent Ones are the most powerful beings in all the worlds. . . .⁷

Given the importance of the Nine Silent Ones in Eckankar’s hierarchy, Chungchok’s statements take on immense importance. Indeed, they go to the very validity of Eckankar. Chungchok explained to Graham that both the Temples of Golden Wisdom and the Rod of Eck Power existed only in Paul’s writings. Graham was deeply troubled by this. How did it fit with his other experiences? Sensing this, Chungchok elaborated:

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.⁸

These revelations and Harold’s reaction to the journal led to my investigation into Eckankar. Were there untruths and deceptions that somehow I had failed to see? If so, had I unwittingly become part of an ongoing deception that had mixed the seeker’s sincere quest for spiritual enlightenment with a competing, though unrevealed, plan for spiritual control and power? I had to know for myself and for the many Eckists whom I have known. I owed it to them to uncover the truth about the path to God that we had chosen and faithfully served with both love and steadfastness.

I began with in-depth research. I read the books that were the basis for Paul’s many writings. I examined the texts discovered by David Lane to have been plagiarized by Paul. I explored the Ruhani Satsang, founded by Kirpal Singh, which Paul had followed for almost ten years before founding Eckankar. I researched the works of his spiritual master during these years and those of the Radhasoami Beas line of masters. I searched other spiritual paths that claimed to be a direct path to God. I hunted down every resource possible to learn the true sources of the Eckankar teaching.

My research also led me to investigate the legal framework of Eckankar and the litigation in which it had been involved. I puzzled over the comments of Paul’s wife, Gail, to understand why she rejected Eckankar and wanted no more association with it. Reading an explosive correspondence between Harold and Darwin, I tried to understand how one Living Eck Master could legally, financially, and spiritually destroy his predecessor. I talked to High Initiates, some who had reached the Seventh and Eighth Initiations, to understand why they left the teaching. I visited Paul’s hometown (Paducah, Kentucky) and pored over the Twitchell Collection, which Paul had aided in establishing by assiduously sending news clipping, pictures, and other papers to his hometown library. I interviewed friends and acquaintances who had known Paul prior to his creation of Eckankar. I even sought Paul’s military record and requested other official documents to determine the truth of his background.

At times, the research was painful. I often felt deceived, even gullible. If you are a member of Eckankar, you might also feel that way. If you are not an Eckist, I hope these revelations will cause you to look into whatever path or religion you are following, for what this research has found in Eckankar was also found to exist in other religions and spiritual teachings. The only difference was that the dust of history had covered the latter’s origins and evolution more completely than the mere decades that protected Eckankar from its historical record.

Exploration of this more recent trail leading to the truth behind Eckankar will be challenging at times. This is how we grow spiritually. This is the only way that a loving, vulnerable, and beautiful soul can see and know Eckankar for what it really is. Only then, can the God-seeker decide how he may wish to continue his journey to God-Realization.

Standards of Religious and Spiritual Scrutiny

While writing this book, several friends asked me why I would risk my standing as a well-known speaker and Seventh Initiate in Eckankar. The answer was quite simple. Standing is unimportant if it is not of truth. The God-seeker looks to truth as the infallible guide to higher states of spiritual awareness. But truth is often difficult to discern above the cacophony of prattle posing as true spiritual teachings.

In examining the words and actions of Eckankar leaders, we are apt to judge them by ordinary standards. In Eckankar, the spiritual leader considers his position to represent the highest state of spiritual consciousness that can be expressed in the physical world. Indeed, Paul said:

Each Living ECK Master has served as the Mahanta, which is God made flesh on earth. Therefore, we look to the Mahanta, for he is the representative of SUGMAD [God] in our midst today.⁹

This description is the official definition for the spiritual leader of Eckankar. It is reinforced throughout the Eck works, especially the Shariyat-Ki-Sugmad, the Bible of the Eckists. It has never been modified or reduced by Paul Twitchell, Darwin Gross, or Harold Klemp — Eckankar’s line of spiritual masters.

A spiritual master of this stature should be held to standards that transcend those of average people. For if he were allowed their foibles, then what would there be to recommend the higher spiritual life to a God-seeker? What would be the point, if the “representative of God on earth” could not overcome the simple temptations and faults that mortals grapple with and often conquer? Certainly honesty, morality, and ethics are to be expected of such a spiritual master. As a parent, corporate president, and teacher of spiritual subjects, ethical standards for the good of the whole are essential to me. Lying and distortion are simply unacceptable when a seeker is looking to you for truth. Thus, every Eckist is justified in expecting the Mahanta, the Living Eck Master, “the representative of Sugmad [God] in our midst today,” to live by these simple standards, if not substantially higher ones.

When a person comes to a spiritual teaching, listens to the words of its spiritual leader, and reads its sacred texts, he is in a vulnerable state: he might well be too trusting. Many who come to Eckankar do not question it. They believe that they are being told the truth and that a highly developed spiritual leader would not deceive them. All teachers carry great responsibility. A relationship of trust exists akin to that of parent to child. How much more sacrosanct, then, is the relationship between a spiritual leader and a student, especially if the former purports to be the manifestation of God? The student is apt to believe what he is told, especially if facile answers are readily available to assuage his concerns.

The Four Zoas of Eckankar

The Zoas are laws that govern our actions while in this world. Paul set forth four such laws by which the Mahdis,¹⁰ those who serve as the right-hand of the Mahanta, are to live their lives. Unless the Mahanta, the Living Eck Master, is above these laws, then we would assume that the Zoas should apply equally, if not more so, to the Mahanta, for he is, presumably, the living embodiment of all that we seek to become. The Zoas are:

(1) The Mahdis shall not use alcohol, tobacco, drugs; he must not gamble or be gluttonous in any way. No Mahdis shall be existent on the animal level. He is a leader, and he must fix his attention above the psychology of the brute.

(2) The Mahdis shall not speak with tongue of vanity or deceit or unhappiness, criticize the actions of others, blame others for wrong-doings, quarrel, fight, or inflict injury. He shall at all times be respectful and courteous to his fellowman and show great compassion and happiness.

(3) The Mahdis shall have humility, love, and freedom from all bonds of creeds. He shall be free from the laws of karma which snare him with boastfulness and vanity. He shall have love for all people and all creatures of the SUGMAD.

(4) The Mahdis must preach the message of ECK at all times, and prove to the world that he is an example of purity and happiness.¹¹

These are beautiful and noble sentiments — a worthy set of precepts for any God-seeker. Certainly, they are standards to which those who claim the mantle of Mahanta, the Living Eck Master, must adhere and demonstrate in all aspects of their lives.

The Standard of Truth

Paul set other important standards in Eckankar. They compose its foundation and are what attracted me to the teaching. This is how he put it:

Man is able to tell what comfortable lies he likes to others but he must beware of telling them to himself — not because it is immoral but because, unfortunately, he will not be able to deceive himself. One cannot live happily with a person he knows is a liar.¹²

Having warned us about the liar, Paul then identifies the standard, indeed the imperative, for truth in our lives. He writes:

Before you can give Truth to others, Truth must be known as the absolute need in your life. We must see Truth and know Truth and think Truth always.¹³

This is the time for Truth, “the Truth, the whole Truth and nothing but the Truth.” This is no time for half-Truths, for bewilderment and lack of understanding. These constitute the soil in which grief grows. In Truth alone is there comfort, understanding and courage.¹⁴

He even spoke of the untoward circumstances that befall anyone who fails to heed this adm onition:

Refuse to see Truth, pretend that it is impossible to know what is true and what is not, distort Truth, seek to mix it with Untruth, attempt to deceive both ourselves and others, give Truth in an unattractive manner, then chaos will reign in our lives. ¹⁵

These are the principles by which the history of Eckankar and its leadership will be examined. Looking at this history will not be easy. It may even be painful. We all struggle to defend our beliefs and those in whom we have placed our trust. Indeed, we should not abandon these loyalties quickly. However, the God-seeker must choose between holding on to the familiar and moving on toward truth. Some will choose the familiar, at least until the call of soul shepherds them beyond their comfort zone into the unfamiliar, the unknown, where the next step in spiritual growth lies. Let us remember what Paul said:

We must have Truth in order to have power. Be truthful in your thoughts. Never shy away from a critical thought from a sense of mistaken kindness to yourself. Never make a deliberate effort to forget something unpleasant. It is our responsibility to face the things we have created.¹⁶

Paul Twitchell and the Real History of Eckankar

Paul Twitchell faced a great dilemma. He had studied under his spiritual master for about ten years and had numerous inner experiences that spoke of a great spiritual role for him. Eager to tell his master, Kirpal Singh, of the experiences they had shared in the inner worlds of God, he sent a manuscript (later published as The Tiger’s Fang), seeking his approval. But Kirpal Singh rebuffed him, saying his experiences were incomplete or inaccurate. (In this respect, Paul’s experiences with Kirpal Singh were similar to Graham’s with Harold.) Upset, he asked Kirpal Singh to return the manuscript and terminated his study with him.

In 1971, Paul completely disavowed his former Master in the harshest terms:

I have never recognized you as a master, or that you give initiations, and that your work is not in the best interest of spirituality. Your teachings are orthodox, and as a preacher you are not capable of assisting anyone spiritually.¹⁷

Rather strong words for a master who earlier had evoked admiration and praise:

My Saints are Kabir...Rumi, Hafiz, Shamusi-Tabriz and Kirpal Singh of India.¹⁸

I have studied under many teacher [sic]. . . . I have so far had seven, some outstanding ones, including Sri Kirpal Singh, of Delhi, India.¹⁹

Paul eventually denied that Kirpal Singh had initiated him. Eckankar officially confirmed this in 1977 when Darwin Gross, the Living Eck Master of the time, through his secretary, stated:

Kirpal Singh and the Radha Swoami [sic] group tried to “claim” Paul Twitchell and use him for their own purposes, as have other groups from the East and the West. Paul . . . wrote a letter to Kirpal Singh and . . . stating that he, Paul, would take Singh . . . to court if necessary. Due to the threats and harassment and material Kirpal Singh . . . tried to use against Paul Twitchell by faking Paul’s signature on many papers. . . . Sri Darwin Gross, the MAHANTA, the Living ECK Master of ECKANKAR has stated that he knows for a fact that Paul Twitchell only had two ECK Masters during his earthly stay here: the Tibetan Rebazar Tarzs, and Sudar Singh, and no one else.²⁰

Darwin was of course mistaken in his assertion that Paul only had two masters. He was also mistaken about letters from Paul to his then master presumably forged by Kirpal Singh’s group. This was part of the official story line of Eckankar until Harold had to admit that Paul had studied under Kirpal Singh — so clear and incontrovertible was the evidence.

How Paul, and subsequently Eckankar, believed for so long that he could hide the truth is baffling. It is an ironic aside to this whole affair that Paul died of a heart attack around the time Kirpal Singh received his letter. His death occurred five, if not fifteen, years before he predicted that he would die, vitiating his own proclamation that a master dies only when ready and in a natural and predictable manner. This added to speculation about whether Paul was actually a master or something else entirely.

Paul Twitchell After the Break: The Idea is Born

Singh’s rejection was a turning point in Paul’s life. His reaction to this rebuff set him on a course that would forever be the bane of his newly formed religion, Eckankar. It started as a philosophy of what Paul called “the Cliff-Hanger,” a person facing imminent death who suddenly sees life in a new way. Rather than being an ancient religion, it began as a philosophy drawn from his experiences:

ECKANKAR, which I formed out of my own experience, is the term used for the philosophy I have developed for the Cliff-Hanger. It is based on Shabd-Yoga, a way out form of yoga. The word is Hindu locution for the cosmic sound current which is known in our vernacular as the cosmic river of God.²¹

In an article he wrote entitled “The Square Peg,” Paul commented on the Cliff-Hanger and Eckankar that he had just started to formulate:

This zany character is called the vanguard of a new religion, entitled “Eckankar,” a Hindu word meaning Union with God.²²

And in an advertisement for a talk on bilocation²³ in San Diego, Paul wrote that his philosophy

. . . brings new techniques to those interested in Bilocation. Taking the old and putting together new ideas he has codified a system called ECKANKAR, for those concerned with out-of-the-body experiences.²⁴

In connection with his biography, In My Soul I Am Free, written by Brad Steiger, Paul was asked when he started to formulate the message of Eckankar. He responded, “Probably when my sister, Kay-Dee, died in 1959.”²⁵When asked when he changed from being a Cliff-Hanger to a spiritual adept, he replied:

The switchover from the Cliff-Hanger to ECK began taking place after I met my present wife, Gail. She insisted that I do something with my knowledge and abilities.²⁶

The Creation Begins

This simple story behind the creation of Eckankar would probably have been quite acceptable to the millions who learned about and studied Paul’s new religion. Initially, he readily admitted what he was doing and why he was doing it. Then something changed. Paul was not satisfied with creating just another eclectic path for those seeking new expressions of spirituality in 1960s California. Instead, with Gail’s urging, he developed a westernized version of a teaching he had studied for almost ten years and imbued it with a storyline that made it unique. Paul claimed Eckankar to be the precursor and progenitor of every religion known to man. This statement might sound like an exaggeration of Paul’s words, but it is not. His grandiloquence coupled with his desire to “one up” all other religions led him to write:

ECKANKAR created and comprises all the religious ideas of the lower worlds. Art, writing, music, and sculpture are only developments of the higher ideals of ECKANKAR.... The major religions of the world have sprung out of ECKANKAR.²⁷

Quite an accomplishment for a religion that had existed less than ten years! Paul knew that the best way to build up Eckankar was to make fabulous and gigantic claims that could neither be proved nor disproved. Paul was no amateur when it came to the art of the “big lie.” Not content to claim credit for the formation of all world religions, Paul expanded the history of Eckankar to encompass the lives of everyone and anyone of any historical significance:

The famous line of prophets in the Israelite tribes were trained in the teachings of ECKANKAR, as their prophecies well show. The Greek Masters Apollonius, Dionysius, Pythagoras, Socrates, Aristotle, and Plato were taught the art of ECKANKAR by the ancient Adepts. Practically every man who has contributed to civilization has spiritually been a chela, or student, of the hidden teachings of ECK.²⁸

The Historical Rewrite Continues

Paul’s account of the founding of Eckankar, “the Ancient Science of Soul Travel,”²⁹ laid the foundation for the extraordinary position he was to create for himself. From the lone Cliff-Hanger who was the avatar of a new religion, Paul ascended to the 971st Living Eck Master in a long line of masters that he asserted had guided mankind from its genesis.³⁰

Having disavowed his association with Kirpal Singh, Paul changed the historical record by substituting the names of invented masters such as Rebazar Tarzs. Similarly, he never disclosed his association with Scientology and its founder, L. Ron Hubbard, who had been a mentor of sorts and whose start-up likely provided a blueprint for Eckankar. This association foreshadows his use of many tactics and techniques that would be employed in the creation and promulgation of the new religion of Eckankar.

He also dissociated himself from the spiritual path and the lineage of masters comprising the Radhasoami Satsang Beas, out of which the Ruhani Satsang, founded by Kirpal Singh, had emerged. In their place, as we shall see, he created his own line of masters, complete with dubious histories and lineages. This fabrication was necessary to round out a history that started as an admitted creation of Paul and became the “Ancient Science of Soul Travel,” the “only path to God.”

Once Paul embarked on this dissembling course, he was forced to weave a web of stories whose persuasiveness was rooted in their magnitude and audacity. Weaving such a fiction took a type of unprincipled genius with which he had been abundantly blessed. It took a mindset that could abandon the fundamental principles of truth that he had propounded so eloquently. This is the paradox of Paul Twitchell: to convey spiritual truth, he created an elaborate lie.

I am not an analyst and do not pretend to understand fully the psychological motivations that prompted him to do what he did. However, an analysis of his actions and pronouncements suggests a psychological explanation that will be explored once we better see his amoral genius at work. To understand what Paul did requires a deeper look into the devices he used to make up the spiritual history, cosmology, and spiritual hierarchy, which form the basis of the religion of Eckankar today.

Links:

Chapter 10 Footnotes

See the first open letter from Ford Johnson to Harold Klemp

See the second open letter from Ford Johnson to Harold Klemp

Click here for a free copy of a chapter from The Higher Consciousness Spiritual Discussion Series

Chapter 6	Eckankar: Revealed by Truth
Chapter 7	Twitchellian Techniques of Spiritual Creativity: The Ten Devices
Chapter 8	The Origins of Eckankar Doctrine
Chapter 9	The Psychology of Paul Twitchell
Chapter 10	Eckankar Following the Twitchell Years

Chapter 6 Footnotes:

1. See David C. Lane, The Making of a Spiritual Movement: The Untold Story of Paul Twitchell and Eckankar (Del Mar: Del Mar Press, 1993).

2. Graham Forsyth, In the Many Hands of God (Silver Spring: “ONE” Publishing, 2003), journal entry, August 8, 2001.

3. Ibid., journal entry, August 11, 2001.

4. “I do not run Eckankar as a non-profit organization. Most people in this line of work do indeed use the religious non-profit organization provisions as an escape clause on their taxes. Eckankar is licensed in the state of Nevada as a business organization. I do this because I feel that it is only proper and fitting that I make my own way instead of trying to get under a tax shelter. It is hard, of course, but I manage to do it.” Paul Twitchell quoted in Brad Steiger, In My Soul I Am Free (Menlo Park, CA: Illuminated Way Press, 1983), p. 69.

5. “There is too much dishonesty among those who try to get tax shelters because they claim to be religious groups. God didn’t establish non-taxable foundations, so why should I try to get under such claims? If ECK cannot take care of itself, then it can be of little value to anyone else.” Paul Twitchell quoted in ibid., p. 70.

6. Forsyth, In the Many Hands of God, journal entry, September 15, 2001.

7. Paul Twitchell, Eckankar: The Key to Secret Worlds (Crystal: Illuminated Way Publishing, 1987), pp. 104-106.

8. Forsyth, In the Many Hands of God, journal entry, October 8, 2001.

9. Paul Twitchell, The Spiritual Notebook (Golden Valley: Illuminated Way Publishing, 1990), p. 223.

10. “Mahdis – The INITIATE of the FIFTH CIRCLE (SOUL PLANE)....” Harold Klemp, A Cosmic Sea of Words: The Eckankar Lexicon (Minneapolis: Eckankar, 1998), p. 132. “The works of Eckankar depend mainly upon the Mahdis.” Paul Twitchell, The Shariyat-Ki-Sugmad, Book Two (Menlo Park: Eckankar, 1986), p. 49.

11. Paul Twitchell, Shariyat-Ki-Sugmad II: 48.

12. Paul Twitchell, Shariyat-Ki-Sugmad, Book One (Minneapolis: Eckankar, 1987), p. 215.

13. Paul Twitchell, The Flute of God (Menlo Park: Illuminated Way Press, 1982), p. 127.

14. Ibid., p. 128.

15. Ibid., pp. 127-128.

16. Ibid., p. 127. (emphasis added).

17. Lane, The Making of a Spiritual Movement, p. 63. From an article by Dorothe Ross, “All That Glistens is Not Gold,” Leadership in ECK (July-August-September, 1976).

18. Ibid., p. 63. Paul Twitchell, “The Cliff-Hanger,” Psychic Observer.

19. Paul Twitchell, “The Flute of God,” Orion Magazine (March-April 1966), p. 32.

20. Letter from Bernadine Burlin, Secretary to then Living Eck Master Darwin Gross, to David Lane, April 5, 1977. See http:// vclass.mtsac.edu:940/dlane/doc2.htm.

21. Lane, The Making of a Spiritual Movement, p. 34. Twitchell, “The Cliff-Hanger.”

22. See Dean McMakin, “The Life Of Paul Twitchell, Modern-Day Founder of Eckankar,” (Documents from the McCracken County Public Library Special Collections, Paducah, Kentucky, 1992). See also http://www.thetruth-seeker.com.

23. Paul used the term “bilocation” to describe the ability of his body to be in one place as his soul body (awareness) was located elsewhere. He later calls this phenomenon “soul travel.”

24. Paul Twitchell, “New Concepts on the Ancient Teachings of Bilocation,” SCP Journal 3 (1979): 51.

25. Steiger, In My Soul I Am Free, p. 63.

26. Ibid., p. 64.

27. Twitchell, The Spiritual Notebook, pp. 11-12.

28. Ibid., p. 1.

29. Ibid., p. 62.

30. Ibid., pp. vii-2.