Signed, The Master. Another former Eckist named Gary Olsen started the MasterPath. It never existed. Finally, in 1992, Garland, a publisher of hardback reference books, accepted Lanes manuscript for its library series. Theres no calm center to this storm. And it continues to rain. He does that all the time. . Star Wars was no ordinary action flick, we concluded, but a profound spiritual saga. People always say, Leave us alone; Eckankar works. I do leave those people alone. She agrees to provide us with an official photograph of Gross at the vibes, and I leave to find Lane. It was a P.O. Gross was in the habit of wearing light-blue leisure suits, and men throughout the audience mimicked his attire. Yelmans studies at UCSD brought her to San Diego in 1974. The Kal is similar to Satan, representing everything that is materialistic and evil, a being of vileness, wrath, and vengeance. Six DC firefighters, EMS personnel on leave after video shows Yet it has a sweetness to it. When I called to sign up, they told me that I never had to go to a class if I didnt want to. I open the door to a boyish 38-year-old with a full head of healthy brown hair. I could almost picture the legendary Rod of Power in Darwins hand. I have a nightmare in which Lane and I go to the wedding reception of a couple we do not know, and Lane abandons me. We close our eyes and chant Hu together for several minutes. The Living Eck Master gives support and guidance for the things that we choose to do. Yelman pauses for emphasis. Eckankar took off like wildfire, growing from three students to thousands in less than three years. He extends his hand and smiles broadly. And curtain after curtain of gauze was quietly removed, and I saw stars behind stars behind stars, as in the magical Odeons of my youth. Hes got his music. I was excited 20 years old, in the moment of discovering something new. They sent letters about me claiming I was the negative force, that I. Garland decided to withdraw it. Susan Rice to leave White House domestic policy post 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). Dropping out, of a religion, one in which one attempts to focus ones every thought, every action on those teachings, is a horrible experience. Hes told me he surfs, and in his knee-length khaki shorts, plum-colored T-shirt, and sandals, he looks like a surfer. Apparently, says Lane, Darwin took $2.5 million and put it into a front corporation in Oregon called Dharma Corporation. He looks professional but not stuffy in his blue suit jacket, gray shirt, and black boots. Besides working as a therapist, Richards has taught at the University of Humanistic Studies and is an adjunct staff member of the Center for Creative Leadership in La lolla, an organization that specializes in executive management training. But he refuses to reveal details for publication and will only repeat the facts as listed on the death certificate. 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. Its even available for community events. Around the same time, the Spiritual Counterfeits Project published its own journal, Eckankar, a Hard Look at a New Religion, based largely on lines manuscript, which they distributed to nearly every Eck center i in the world. Murdochs obsession with water suddenly makes sense. Paul Twitchells the past; weve evolved out of that. Recently I have had a spiritual crisis where I stopped believing in the concept of the Abrahamic God. The teachings of Eckankar are presented to the public through books, free brochures, advertised meetings and lectures, and, of course, word of mouth. But he was describing my experiences. It lacks the wit, passion, and narrative drive of his other books. In Understanding Cults, Lane published The Criminal Activities of John-Roger Hinkins, a laborious account of Hinkinss alleged break-in and smear campaign. Twitchell married his second wife, Gail Atkinson, in San Francisco in 1964. As the great Houdini wrote, The yellow thread of exposure seems to be inextricably woven into all fabrics whose strength is secrecy. Houdini, like Lane, was a man whose obsessions drove him to expose religious frauds. But Eckists are such sweet people, I insist. I ask, ever so casually, Is it true that you have some friends who are Eckists?, How do they justify that you are doing things that might damage the group?, They differentiate the message from the medium. Its a bitchin house.. McMahon generously drives me to my interview with holistic health practitioner Bettina Yelman, whose Del Mar office is just down the hall from Richardss. You know, just a natural progression. The walls are covered with Andrea Zuills dramatically lit oil paintings of monstrous chalky-fleshed zombies. I had huge phone bills, because I had called this professor or this person. Within two years Klemp fired Gross, accusing him of negativity, spiritual decay, and embezzlement. But its my vivid imagination, the projections of my own mind, my own day-to-day experiences. The transaction was conducted ethically but the Left's attacks on Justice Thomas have nothing to do with ethics. Their divorce was final in 1960. The inner form of the Living Eck Master, known as the Mahanta, works with students in the dreamstate and during their spiritual exercises. Im talking about the very form of that truth being copied. Twitchell claimed that Eckankar was based on his own bilocation experiences and those of previous saints in various religions. Thats his axe to grind with Eckankar. What do Eckists believe? What is Eckankar? - CompellingTruth.org I ask him how his research into cults has affected his own beliefs. In Texas, she says, a disembodied being began visiting her. Two figures emerge from the stilted style: the protean Paul Twitchell and his young, vivacious wife Gail, who, after Twitchells death, married his successor, Darwin Gross, in a Dynasty-like power play that troubled and thrilled the faithful. Lane tells me that former Living Eck Master Darwin Gross is appearing February 11 at the Best Western Hanalei Hotel. I think that in Eckankar skepticism is healthy, he continues. I dont remember it being this nice. Home study discourses and musical tapes are also available. Toni Atkins wife Jennifer LeSar to bid on Todd Gloria's downtown project. David Lanes critiques of Eckankar may be well documented and rational, but religious devotion is not about rationality. He wanted to know every dirty piece of laundry on Twitchell and Eckankar. Lane and I drive to La Jolla for leaden upscale Mexican food. It wasnt like this last time around. 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. 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 turn on the stereo and stare out the window. When she begins her next selection, My Funny Valentine, I lose all objectivity*. I lean and whisper to him, You are so opaque. I am surprised by my cruelty. In their own words, "The ECK is spirit. I still have those notes. Theyve made an open-eyed decision. Theres contradictions and scandals in every religion, Christianity included. Do you think it would be an easy thing to do?".