Eckankar is a
nonprofit religious organization and church with headquarters
in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The spiritual home of Eckankar is the Temple
of ECK in Chanhassen, Minnesota completed in 1990.
The religion
of Eckankar became known to the modern world in 1965 when Paul Twitchell
began writing and speaking about it. In his many articles and books, Paul
emphasized personal spiritual unfoldment and the direct experience of God.
In 1981
American-born Harold Klemp became the spiritual leader of Eckankar. Known
as a pioneer of today's focus on "everyday spirituality," he speaks at
Eckankar seminars around the world. His teachings uplift all. They help
people recognize the power of their own intimate experiences with God.
Harold Klemp writes extensively, adding new titles to his more than thirty
published works to date.
Eckankar
teaches that a spiritual essence, the Light and Sound, connects everyone
with the Heart of God. This Light and Sound is the ECK, or Holy Spirit.
A key teaching
of Eckankar is that each human being is an individual Soul, a divine spark
of God that lives throughout eternity. Eckankar teaches that, through many
lifetimes in the physical world, each of us progresses to a full realization
and manifestation of our innate godlike qualities, especially divine love.
The primary principle of Eckankar is: Soul exists because of God's love
for it.
Members
of Eckankar, referred to as ECKists, regard Soul Travel as another tool
to help them experience Divine Spirit. Soul Travel can be a general expansion
of awareness and knowingness or a conscious experience of the heavenly
worlds. The ECKist places a high value on the spiritual insights to be
gained from dreams, and many ECKists maintain dream journals to record
dream and Soul Travel experiences.
The ECKist
aspires to live by the highest attributes: total awareness, responsibility,
and spiritual freedom. The ECKist acts within the laws of man while placing
attention upon the worlds of God, and serving a useful function in society
fulfilling commitments to family, employer and country. The ECKist accepts
full personal responsibility for all his decisions and acts.
Eckankar acknowledges
the important role of other religions and recognized religious
leaders. Members are expected to respect the privacy and beliefs of others
when discussing religious matters.
Eckankar
has members in over one hundred countries, and facilities in North America,
Europe, Africa, Australia and Asia. Membership is renewed annually, and
at the time of membership renewal, a donation is requested to help support
the ECK teachings.
For
information on Eckankar, please contact any of the following:
1)
Phone 1-800-LOVE-GOD for free material
2)
Visit Eckankar's Web site at http://www.eckankar.org
