The Eckankar Religion

What's Up With Eckankar Religion?

Please, is the 'Eckankar' we sing of in our Christian songs the one that exists today?  Because they are growing in their numbrs and they are very proud of it.  In fact, the Eckankar Student Fellowship members in my school (UNN) are one of the boldest.

If you are curious about any religion or have some kind of doubt, it is your responsibility to find OuT. I'm sure you can go to one of those students and interview them; oh you  might not believe them, cos you think they will lie to you.

Well try and read some of their literatures and then figure out what they are talking about. Only you can say what it sound like to you.

I had a friend in my University days who was a member of Eckankar, he was the best guy in my group of friends then.  At first i discriminated him a lot due to what I  already have in mind about his religious background but as time goes on I found out that he was even better than myself in terms of observing the laws of God. I do the talking and the quoting of the bible but he does the practice. He is More knowledgeable, more serious with his job and studies, more eager to listen to people, never said anything bad about people, just high moral standard. The most outstanding of all is that he has this boldness and a sense of freedon about him that amazed me.  All I did was pass judgment on him for not being Christian, I told him he was going to hell if he did not become a Christian etc. I used to go about the street destroying Eckankar posters, thats how much i hated the group , but as time goes on I figured I'm the one without love, im the ignorant one who is acting baseless, I was doing a "Jihad" for Christ .

At one time I thought ; if Christ was here today will he go about tearing peoples posters and post cards and passing judgment on them? or will he try to show them some love and then try to guide them to the right part if he thinks they are doing wrong?

I learned not to judge others just because they are from a different background. I am not Saying that everybody in Eckankar is as nice as my friend, im sure there aresome crazy ones too. The thing is to find out what their teaching say about God.

I have read several books on Eckankar and one thin I can tell you is:  No matter what any  book say,  there is But One God and the way to God is by being Holy and by Loving yourself and others. Everything else is a mind Game

Easy on the swear words ok This a religous room

Eckankar is ancient wisdom for today. Its teachings, which resurfaced in 1965, emphasize the value of personal experiences as the most natural way back to God. Whatever your religious background, they show how to look and listen within yourself—to expand your consciousness and enjoy spiritual freedom. See, perhaps for the first time, how to lead a happy, balanced, and productive life and put daily concerns into loving perspective.

Eckankar teaches simple spiritual exercises to experience the Light and Sound of God. These exercises also help us Soul Travel, to move into greater states of consciousness. A spiritual exercise can be as simple as relaxing and singing the word HU, an ancient name for God. As we practice these spiritual exercises, we learn to recognize the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We learn that each of us is Soul, a spark of God sent to this world to gain spiritual experience. And as we unfold spiritually, we learn to express the love of God through service to others.

    Re: Please, is the 'Eckankar' we sing of in our Christian songs the one that exists today?



Em,,, Can I say something?

If the question is about the correlation between Eckankar and Christianity, then my answer is that these are worlds apart. Eckankar is not the same as Christianity. There may be many admirable things in Eckankar that seem to be outwardly 'Christian', but on closer observation of what they teach you'll see that they don't lead to the same destiny. Consider the following:

1. HU: an ancient name for God?

Neither the Jews nor early Christians called God by that name (excuse my ignorance about what language the word or name 'HU' derives from; but it finds no mention in Christianity). It is as easy to claim that the ancient name for the Holy Spirit is 'ECK' , but there again it has no bearing on historical Christianity or Judaism. At best, Jesus' teaching on prayer is that we should not use vain repetitions because that is what pagans (or, the heathen) do - Matt.6:7. "Father" is the singular Name Jesus taught Christians to call God, and that is the same Name that speaks of Love - "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not." (I John 3:1).

2. Beliefs and Practices

Compare the teachings of the New Testament with the beliefs and practices of Eckankar, and anyone would see clearly that they are not the same. Where in the teachings of Christ do we find such concepts as Soul Travel or the singing of the word 'HU' as the means to a closer relationship with the true and living God? Infact, you will not find Jesus Christ as the central figure in Eckankar, because their website clearly states that "The Mahanta is the inner, or spiritual, form of the Living ECK Master" who "gives inner guidance through dreams, Soul Travel, and the Spiritual Exercises of ECK" to adherents of the Eckankar religion (see it here: http://www.eckankar.org/Harold/). What does this mean for the Christian? It means that someone else (Sri Harold Klemp) is trying to usurp the rightful place of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit in the hearts and lives of Christians. The seriousness of not recognizing the place of Christ in our lives is underscored in the Bible: "Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?" (2 Cor.13:5).

3. Sin and Salvation

I have wearied myself in search of the Eck teachings on sin, salvation, and the redemption that Jesus Christ offered in His death and resurrection. If these are even taught at all, they do not appear to feature as prominently as the apostles taught in the Bible. The emphasis is on 'leading a happy, balanced, and productive life as well as gaining a spiritual experience' or the other. I think this is very suspect, because people may experience a lot of good things in this life and still end up lost on resurrection day. It pays to heed the warning of God's Word: "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." (I John 1:8). Yet, God has provided redemption from sin through the blood of His Son Jesus Christ: " Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Rom.3:24).

This is my submission - Eckankar and Christianity have no connection.

My post was in response to Ceekay's enquiry: "Please, is the 'Eckankar' we sing of in our Christian songs the one that exists today?"   My last line is a summary of the 3 points in my reply: "This is my submission - Eckankar and Christianity have no connection."

If, to you, it sounded like judging others, then you missed my point and probably did the same as judging others in your reply: "it is a totally new thing and has no connections with Christianity."

I wish you luck and send lots of love 

4gt_m.

Only Jesus Christ can Save you. Eckankar, like other religions are not the right paths leading to God. Please stay away from those groups