Ancient Wisdom

Religion of the Light and Sound of God�

ECKANKAR • P.O. Box 27300 • Minneapolis, Minnesota 55427(952) 380-2200 • Fax (952) 380-2295 • www.eckankar.org

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Dear Seeker of Truth,

The purpose of ECKANKAR is to make God an everyday reality in your life.

It is to tie in the divine teachings with things that go on here on earth.This gives you a greater understanding of how the Holy Spirit works in your life.

As Soul, you have the God-knowledge within you. My main job is toawaken the knowledge and love for the divine things that are already in yourheart. You are Soul. You are a child of God. And your spiritual destiny is to be-come a Co-worker with God, to spread divine love to all those around you.

We are students in life; the education goes on all around us, every second ofthe day. Part of the learning comes from the ECK discourses sent to those who areready for these highest teachings of God.

Before you can improve your life and find a measure of happiness, you mustlearn to do one thing every day out of pure love. That means, don’t expect any-thing in return—neither thanks nor happiness. Pick that occasion carefully.Then, whatever that one act of giving of yourself to someone else is, do it with allyour heart.

You need to learn to give, without ever thinking of a reward. That’s how tofind the treasures of heaven.

Along with the daily practice of the spiritual exercises, study of the ECKdiscourses brings Soul closer to the constant guidance and protection of theMahanta, the Inner Master, which is extended to all who sincerely love truth.

The enclosed materials may help you decide if the benefits of ECK can meet yourspiritual needs.

With blessings in ECK,

Harold Klemp

ECKANKAR Ancient Wisdom (cover) # 011129 4/9/02 9:53 am

TodayAncient WisdomECKANKAR

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How past lives,dreams, and Soul Travel

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he Voice of God speaks to ustoday. And you don’t need to be a

prophet or saint to hear It. Are you oneof the millions who have heard Godspeak to you through a profoundspiritual experience? Did you under-stand it or find it puzzling?

After reading this book, you willemerge with a new perspective on theway you see life. The timeless wisdomof Eckankar can help you understandyourself as Soul, an infinite, spiritualbeing. Try simple spiritual exercises tohelp you connect with the Light andSound of God, for a richer, happier life.

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ECKANKARAncient Wisdom for Today


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This book has been reviewed and pub-lished under the supervision of theMahanta, the Living ECK Master,Sri Harold Klemp.


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ECKANKARAncient Wisdom for Today

�ECKANKARMinneapolis


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ECKANKAR—Ancient Wisdom for TodayCopyright © 1993, 1995 ECKANKAR

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced,stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form byany means, whether electronic, mechanical, photocopying,recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission ofEckankar.The terms ECK ANK A R, ECK, EK, MAHANTA,SOUL TRAVEL, and VAIRAGI, among others, aretrademarks of ECKANKAR, P.O. Box 27300, Minneapolis,MN 55427 U.S.A.

Printed in U.S.A.

Compiled by Todd CramerDoug Munson

Edited by Joan KlempAnthony MooreMary Carroll Moore

Text photos (pages ix and x) by Bree RenzSecond Edition—1995Fourth Printing—2002

Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication(Prepared by Quality Books Inc.)

Eckankar : ancient wisdom for today / compiled byTodd Cramer and Doug Munson.

p. cm.Includes bibliographical references and index.ISBN: 1-57043-110-8

1. Eckankar (Organization)—Doctrines. I. Cramer,Todd II. Munson, Doug

BF605.E3E25 1995 299’.93QBI95-20494


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Contents

1. What Is Eckankar? ............................. 1Experience God for Yourself • Eckankar HasAncient Roots • There Is Always a LivingECK Master • Paul Twitchell IntroducedEckankar in 1965 • The Mission of the LivingECK Master Is to Help People Find Their WayBack to God • The Message of ECK Is neitherOrthodox nor Evangelical • What Are ECKistsLike? • Defining Eckankar

2. Soul Travel ........................................ 13You Are Soul • A Classic Soul Travel Experi-ence • Worry Less, Know More Love, FeelEnergized, Change Bad Habits • Spiritual Ex-ercises Are Different from Prayer and AstralProjection • A Spiritual Exercise to Try

3. Dreams .............................................. 25Soul Never Sleeps • The Mahanta Is theDream Master • Dreams Help Us in DailyLife • Dreams Help Spiritual Unfoldment •Karma Can Be Resolved in the Dream State •Dream Symbols Are Individual • Dream Char-acters Represent Aspects of the Dreamer•There Are Many Levels of Dreaming•Dreams Can Prophesy • Keep a Dream Jour-nal • The Purpose of Dreams Is to Bring theIndividual Closer to the Light and Sound ofGod


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4. Karma ................................................ 37The Law of Karma Is Scientific and Logical •Understanding Karma Can Liberate Us fromBeing a Victim • You Can Be Free of Karma •Karma Metes Out Perfect Justice • We AreResponsible • Experience Teaches Us • Spiri-tual Maturity Comes When We Realize WeAre the Creator of Our Own Life

5. Reincarnation.................................... 45Near-Death and Out-of-Body ExperiencesHave Helped People Live Life More Fully •Heaven Exists on Other Planes • Reincarna-tion Helps Explain Aspects of Our Personali-ties • Reincarnation Is a Widely Held Belief •Soul Is Always Moving Forward • We’ve BeenHere Before • There Is a Reason for the VeilSeparating Us from the Past • We OftenReturn to Be with Family and Friends fromBefore • Past-Life Memory Is Accessible •The Physical Plane Is a School of Life

6. The God Worlds of ECK .................... 55Soul Travel Makes It Possible to AchieveGod-Realization in This Lifetime • The SoulPlane • Gain Spiritual Understanding fromthe Temples of Golden Wisdom • The AstralPlane • The Causal Plane • The Mental Plane• The Etheric Plane

7. Love ................................................... 65Divine Love Needs No Words to Communicate• What Can We Learn from Norman aboutDivine Love? • Love Is Simple • Know GreaterLove through the Golden Heart


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8. The ECK-Vidya ................................. 73Man Always Wants to Know the Future • AllLife Is Cyclical • ECK-Vidya Looks into SoulRecords—Past, Present, and Future • This Isa Warring Planet, but That’s OK • Never UseKnowledge to Manipulate Others • Golden-tongued Wisdom • The Waking Dream

9. Solving Problems .............................. 83The Fine Art of Knowing When to Give Up •HU Will Help You • Use the Shariyat Tech-nique for Well-Being and Happiness

10. Initiations .......................................... 91Initiation Links Soul to the Audible LifeStream • How Many Initiations Are There? •Each of Us Enters Eckankar with a DifferentState of Consciousness • The Initiation Pro-cess • Initiation Pace and Frequency Vary •Each Initiation Corresponds to a DifferentPlane of Existence • Consciousness Has to BeEarned Moment to Moment • The RulesChange from Plane to Plane • The Real Initia-tion Occurs Inside • Initiations Are Privateand Sacred • Each Initiation Is an Invitationfrom the Living ECK Master to Take the NextStep on the Way Home to God

11. The ECK Masters ........................... 101The Living ECK Master Belongs to the Orderof the Vairagi, Providing Guidance Home toGod • Harold Klemp’s Link with a Long Lineof Living ECK Masters • You Can Be Freefrom Fear • We Are Never Given More ThanWe Can Handle • The Living ECK Master


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Grants Total Spiritual Freedom to His Stu-dents • There Is Always a Living ECK Master• Few Religions Resemble the Spiritual Teach-ing Given by the Founders • With the LivingECK Master as Guide, We Experience OnlyWhat Is Necessary for Spiritual Growth • TheMahanta Is the Inner Form of the Living ECKMaster • The Living ECK Master Is NotWorshiped • The Living ECK Master Takes onKarma but Doesn’t Relieve It • It’s Natural toQuestion • The ECKist’s Goal Is SpiritualMastery

12. The Play of Soul .............................. 111Eckankar Is a Living Religion • Prove It forYourself • Understand Who You Really Are •Become Liberated from Being the Victim •Life Becomes Miraculous • There Are ManyTechniques, and Always the Inner Master, toAct as Your Light through the Darkness •To Become a Member of Eckankar • Love forand Responsibility to All Life

How to Take the Next Step onYour Spiritual Journey ................... 119Through Membership in Eckankar You’llDiscover • How to Find Out More • How toPurchase Items • Introductory Books andTapes on Eckankar • There May Be anEckankar Study Group near You

Bibliography.......................................... 131

Index ...................................................... 133

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Thousands discover spiritual truth at ECK seminars around the world.


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The spiritual leader of Eckankar isSri Harold Klemp, the Mahanta, the LivingECK Master. His inspiring and practicalapproach to spirituality helps thousands ofpeople find greater freedom, wisdom, andlove. His teachings uplift and help themrecognize their own experiences with theLight and Sound of God.


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1What Is Eckankar?

here are many routes we can taketo heaven. God has established so

many different paths and means for usthat there is a way for everyone. . . .

If you are ready, the Spiritual Exer-cises of ECK will help you to find yourown custom-made approach to the King-dom of God.

Harold KlempThe Golden Heart

This earth is a big old schoolhouse. Infact, so is this entire material level ofexistence called the physical plane. How-ever, we’re here to learn more than just


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reading, writing, and arithmetic. We’rehere to find our way back to God.

Our teachers have been many: Moses,Jesus Christ, Muhammad, Confucius,Buddha, Krishna, Zoroaster, Socrates,Copernicus, Martin Luther, Shakespeare,Emerson, Einstein, the list goes on. Thecourses we’ve taken range from WhoAm I? 101 to Meaning of Life 404. Textsinclude the Old and New Testaments,the Apocrypha, the Torah, the Cabala,the Koran, the Tao Te Ching, the Book ofChanges (I Ching), the teachings of theBuddha, the Bhagavad Gita, the Book ofMormon, the daily news, and even nurs-ery rhymes.

The purpose of ECKANKAR—AncientWisdom for Today, as was the purpose ofthe old schoolhouse primer, is to teach thebasics. To give you the tools to explore yourdreams. To help you have more love andunderstand past and present relation-ships. And to gain the spiritual insightsthat improve the quality of your life everyday. It’s a spiritual adventure of a lifetime.


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Experience God for Yourself

A cornerstone of Eckankar is the valueof personal spiritual experience. Read-ing a book or listening to a friend willgive you only a small understanding ofthe spiritual worlds and your role in them.

To master your life, you must applyself-discipline and have a true desire toexperience God for yourself. Your experi-ence with the spiritual Light and Soundof God will enrich your life and help youput daily problems into loving perspec-tive.

Eckankar Has Ancient Roots

There’s a common golden thread run-ning through all religious and spiritualteachings. It’s called the ECK. It is alsoknown as the Holy Spirit, the Word ofGod, and the Audible Life Stream.

Though the teachings of Eckankarhave ancient roots, they are timeless.They’re a living teaching. They speak tous through books and through experience


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in both the dream and waking states.Humans have been inspired by the HolySpirit to reach spiritual understandingsince the beginning of civilization.

A basic text is the Shariyat-K i-Sugmad, which means Way of the Eternal.It is the holy scriptures of Eckankar. Sev-eral chapters of ECKANKAR—AncientWisdom for Today open with a quote fromThe Shariyat.

There Is Alwaysa Living ECK Master

The key teacher and mentor inEckankar is the Living ECK Master.Eckankar is never without a livingMaster. This ensures the religion remainspure and appropriate for the conscious-ness of the day. It avoids the theologicaldisputes and political maneuverings socommon in large organizations. And it al-lows the spiritual student to see and heara teacher who has traveled the path toSelf- and God-Realization.


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Paul Twitchell IntroducedEckankar in 1965

When Paul Twitchell introducedEckankar to the modern world in 1965,he separated spiritual truths from thecultural trappings which had surroundedthem. Average people could begin to ex-perience the Light and Sound of God whilestill living a happy, balanced, and pro-ductive life.

Paul Twitchell was born in Kentuckyin the early part of the twentieth centuryand served in the U.S. Navy during theSecond World War.

A seeker from an early age, he wasintroduced to a group of spiritual Masterswho would change the course of his life.These were the Vairagi ECK Masters.While they trained Paul to become theLiving ECK Master, he explored a widerange of spiritual traditions under dif-ferent teachers. The high teachings ofECK had been scattered to the four cor-ners of the world. Paul gathered these


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golden teachings of Light and Sound andmade them readily available to us.

It was these God experiences hechronicled in his book The Tiger’s Fang.Paul Twitchell eventually joined theVairagi Order and was given the task ofbringing Eckankar to the world. He be-came the Living ECK Master.

By 1965, Paul was conducting SoulTravel workshops in California and of-fering discourses on the teachings ofEckankar. A community of ECKists be-gan to grow, and in 1970, Eckankar wasestablished as a nonprofit religious orga-nization. Paul Twitchell died in 1971, butnot before he initiated many into the ECKteachings.

The Mission of theLiving ECK Master

Is to Help People FindTheir Way Back to God

The present Living ECK Master isHarold Klemp. He grew up on a Wisconsin


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farm, attended divinity school, and com-pleted four years in the U.S. Air Force.While stationed in Japan, he discoveredEckankar. Initiated by Paul Twitchell in1969, Harold earned his way into theGod Worlds. He later chronicled theseexperiences in his book Autobiography ofa Modern Prophet.

Harold Klemp speaks to many thou-sands of seekers each year at ECK semi-nars around the world. Some seventyvideocassettes and over one hundredaudiocassettes of his public talks areavailable. He has authored more thanforty books, and he continues to write,including many articles and spiritual-study discourses. His inspiring and prac-tical approach to spirituality helpsthousands of people find greater free-dom, wisdom, and love. His teachingsuplift and help them recognize their ownexperiences with the Light and Soundof God.


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The ECK Message Is neitherOrthodox nor Evangelical

Eckankar is a religion but not anorthodox religion. Eckankar is a religionfor the individual—what many of ushoped religion would be. It is designed tohelp individuals find their own way backto God through direct personal experi-ences.

There is no desire to convert people toEckankar. Though many ECKists sharetheir spiritual enthusiasm with others,there is an abiding respect for the beliefsystems of all people. The ECK messagetherefore tends to be offered in a quietand steady way. The teachings are writ-ten to speak to the inner being, Soul.They don’t play off the emotions or thefears of spiritual seekers.

The best way to f ind out aboutEckankar is to read one of the more thanninety books on the subject offered byEckankar. Many of them mention theSpiritual Exercises of ECK, which you


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can try in private and at your own pace.Some of these books are available in asmany as nine languages.

What Are ECKists Like?

ECKists come from all walks of life.Their only common denominator is a loveof God and a commitment to spiritualunfoldment. They are of every race andreligious background. They are respon-sible members of their community andare not restricted by any special dietaryrules, ascetic practices, or dress codeswhich would differentiate them from theirneighbors.

Most people who have come intoEckankar have done so because theirquestions about life were not beinganswered by orthodox and traditionalteachings.

Defining Eckankar

To aid your understanding ofEckankar, a few def initions are in


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order. We use certain words to definespiritual principles, either because theyare more descriptive or because they donot carry the same connotation or stereo-type as some more commonly used words.

ECK— (EHK) The Divine, or Holy, Spirit;the Audible Life Stream; the essence ofGod which supports and sustains all life;the Life Force.

Eckankar— (EHK-ahn-kahr) Religionof the Light and Sound of God. Also meansCo-worker with God.

Light and Sound of God—The HolySpirit. The two aspects through whichGod appears in the lower worlds. TheHoly Spirit can appear to us as Light,which is a reflection of the atoms of Godmoving in space, or as Sound, which isthe Audible Life Current that carriesSoul back home to God. The SpiritualExercises of ECK show people how tolook and listen within themselves forthese qualities of Divine Spirit forupliftment and guidance.


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Mahanta— (mah-HAHN-tah) The innerform of the Living ECK Master whoguides the spiritual student on the innerplanes. An expression of the Spirit of Godthat is always with you.

Soul—The True Self. The inner, most sa-cred part of each person. As a spark ofGod, Soul can see, know, and perceive allthings.

Soul Travel—A natural way to expandthe consciousness, to experience thehigher viewpoint of yourself as Soulthrough spiritual exercises.

Sugmad— (SOOG-mahd) A sacred namefor God, the source of all life. It is neithermasculine nor feminine.

This book will give you a brief overviewof the religion of Eckankar. The teach-ings are actually quite simple and do notrequire any formal training or academicrigor. In fact, the basic beliefs of Eckankarcould easily be summarized as:

• Soul is eternal and is the individual’s


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true identity• Soul exists because God loves It• Soul is on a journey of Self- and God-

Realization• Spiritual unfoldment can be acceler-

ated by conscious contact with the ECK,Divine Spirit

• This contact can be made by the use ofthe Spiritual Exercises of ECK and bythe guidance of the Living ECK Master

• The Mahanta, the Living ECK Masteris the spiritual leader of Eckankar

• Spiritual experience and liberation inthis lifetime is available to all


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2Soul Travel

oul Travel is an individual expe-rience, a realization of survival. It

is an inner experience through whichcomes beauty and love of all life. It cannotbe experienced in rituals or ceremonies,nor bottled in creeds.

The Shariyat-Ki-SugmadBook One

You Are Soul

The traditional concept of Soul is thatyou have one, but It is distant from youreveryday life and becomes important onlywhen your physical body ceases to exist.The ECKist believes, however, that eachperson is Soul and that Soul is the es-sential and permanent center of our being.

S


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It can never be lost.The pressures of the modern world

make it easy to forget who we are. Ourphysical senses and emotions becomeoverwhelmed, and we lose Soul’s spiri-tual view. Regaining this view is calledSoul Travel. And Soul Travel is accom-plished by practicing the Spiritual Exer-cises of ECK on a daily basis.

Many people experience Soul Travelas an expansion of awareness andknowingness: an inner nudge to call afriend, or seeing beyond your currentdifficulties to a deeper meaning. Othersmay have dramatic experiences full ofspiritual majesty. In Eckankar, you learnto prove spiritual truths yourself throughpersonal experience.

A Classic Soul Travel Experience

“A single pinpoint of white lightappeared in the depths of the darkuniverse before me. It was far off in thedistance but exploded toward me at a


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fantastic speed, like a brilliant sunracing from the other side of the universeto swallow me in the hotness of its light.Now I f lew toward it, like a tiny dot oflight racing to meet a planet of unspeak-able radiance.”

Harold Klemp recounts this classicSoul Travel experience in his book Auto-biography of a Modern Prophet. It oc-curred while he was in training to becomethe Living ECK Master. On this visit tothe God Worlds accompanied by the ECKMaster Rebazar Tarzs, he would learnhow the ECK helps people with burdensof the heart. Harold continues:

“It was like f lying into the sun, pass-ing through a curtain of light, and com-ing out on the other side to a world ofgorgeous colors. I hung suspended inspace, a splendid light (the glorious Soulbody) of seeing, knowing, and being.

“Below me lay the dazzling white sandsof a beach, with a multiplicity of blue-and-green ocean waters; the waveswashed mildly upon the sand. Small birds


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ebbed and f lowed with the tide, mirror-ing the give-and-take of life. The brightblue sky was unclouded by haze of anykind. This must be heaven, I thought.

“In the next instant, I was atop a highcliff overlooking the ocean. How can onedescribe the perception of Soul, since,despite this great height, it was possibleto see and hear as if my feet were walk-ing in the warm sands of the beach below?

“ ‘Look, in the distance!’ commanded adeep baritone voice beside me.

“Startled, I looked around. It wasRebazar Tarzs, the Tibetan ECK Master,who no doubt was my benefactor in pro-viding this trip to a most beautiful heavenof God. Gripped in his powerful right handwas a stout walking staff of shoulderheight. With his left, he pointed far downalong the beach, where two dark figureswere walking.

“Suddenly, from our vantage point onthe steep cliff, the distance between usand the two specks collapsed. Time andspace had both crumbled. My spiritual


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vision jumped to the two figures in atwinkling and showed a man and a womanslowly walking the beach toward us. Tomy surprise, the smallish man was myfriend and Master, Paul Twitchell— theMahanta. The other person was a youngwoman in a f lowing white gown thatbillowed softly around her in the gentlesea breeze. Slender, with brunet hair, shestood somewhat shorter than Paul. Painand trouble had drawn her face into atight band, and she plodded beside him asif in a daze.

“The two beach walkers passed wellbelow our observation point on the cliff.A cloak of light surrounded us, andRebazar made the comment, ‘This warmlight that bathes us is from the Ocean ofLove and Mercy. It is the Holy Spirit andis a reflection of the light from the atomsof God.’ Rebazar ’s ruby red robe wasbarely to be seen in this mist of goldenlight, which seemed to enwrap me too,although I could not see myself.

“ ‘This sphere of golden light is the


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Soul body,’ he said, ‘the highest of theforms of man.’

“On the beach below, the heavyheartedwoman trudged beside Paul. A shuff lingtrail in the sand marked their slow pas-sage, meandering footsteps at the edge oflapping wavelets. Paul saw us on the cliffand waved his hand, but an invisiblescreen shielded us from the woman. Theyinched along the beach, slowly shrinkingin the distance. A long way off stood alighthouse, their destination.

“ ‘The sorrows of life have cut sharplyinto the spirit of that young one,’ Rebazarremarked, compassion modulating hismusical voice. His speech was not in outertones, yet it came through the electricatmosphere of this remote world of God asclear as a bell. . . .

“The woman had tried to commit sui-cide, but the Mahanta stepped in to pre-vent it. For months thereafter, he took herout of the body at night and brought her tothis serene paradise by the sea for spiri-tual healing.


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“ ‘Her emotional and mental repair willtake time,’ concluded Rebazar. ‘Come, letus go.’

“I took a last look at the ocean and thebeach, and suddenly understood that thesparkling, celestial waters of this oceanwere inexperienced Souls who awaited theright conditions for rebirth into the physi-cal world. Then, in an instant, I was homein my room.”

The following are ways Soul Travelhelps us live a healthier, more spirituallyfulfilling life.

Worry Less, Know More Love,Feel Energized, Change Bad Habits

What can Soul Travel do for you? Thebenefits are both subtle and far-reaching.When you realize through personal expe-riences that you live beyond the physicalbody, you are released from the fear ofdeath. You worry less. When you realizethrough experience that you are a cre-ative part of a loving God, you invite


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more love into your life. You feel less lonelyor alienated. When you realize throughexperience that your life has a spiritualpurpose, you will feel energized.

When filled with the excitement andjoy which comes with these spiritualexperiences, you are more able to changethe habits of the past. Instead of exertingwillpower or fighting deprivation, youmay find old habits often just drop away.

Eckankar teaches that Soul is a happybeing. It is not guilty of anything. It isthe cause of all Its life circumstances.This shifts the emphasis from blamingothers to going within to find root causes.And with this newfound strength it isoften easier to serve others and not be soconcerned with your own limitations.

Spiritual Exercises Are Differentfrom Prayer and Astral Projection

You can Soul Travel by learning theSpiritual Exercises of ECK. A spiritualexercise is different from prayer becauseit encourages us to listen to God. In other


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words, we let the Creator talk to us, in-stead of the other way around. A spiritualexercise differs from meditation in that aspiritual exercise is more active. TheECKist actively joins in a higher state ofconsciousness rather than passively wait-ing to receive it. And a spiritual exercisediffers from traditional religious ritualsbecause no props or physical movementsare required.

Soul Travel also differs from the now-popularized astral projection. To travelout of the physical realm using your Astralbody limits you to the Astral Plane. Rec-ognizing the awareness of Soul goes fur-ther. It allows you to explore any of theGod Worlds, from the Astral, Causal,Mental, Etheric, and on to the variousplanes of Soul. These distinctions will bediscussed further in chapter 6, “The GodWorlds of ECK.”

A Spiritual Exercise to Try

The Spiritual Exercises of ECK helpyou open your heart to the Light and


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Sound of God. Eckankar teaches over onehundred different exercises, all designedto give you a greater understanding ofyourself and of God.

One of the basic Spiritual Exercises ofEckankar is to sing HU (pronounced likethe word hue), the holy name of God. Topractice this technique, find a quiet placeto sit or lie down. Relax and think abouta spiritual quotation or someone you love.Close your eyes. Sing HU silently or aloudfor a few minutes and then listen quietly.You may experience the divine ECK, orHoly Spirit. Or you may gain a new in-sight into your life. These experiencesare not the privilege of a select few. Withself-discipline and commitment, you canbuild your own foundation of spirituality.

Eckankar teaches that our destiny isto become a Co-worker with God. Thismeans that we will be a channel for theECK, Divine Spirit, in our lives, givingjoy and spiritual upliftment to thosearound us. The individual is never lostin Eckankar. This differentiates Eckankar


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from Buddhism or Hinduism, which de-scribe their final goal as a dissolution ofthe individual into God. Eckankar’s re-spect for the sanctity of the individualshows itself in how Eckankar is taughtand honors the rights, privacy, and per-sonal space of others.


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D

3Dreams

reams touch every level of ourlife. They may let us glimpse the

future, or give suggestions for healing,or share insights into our relationships.Above all, they can and will steer usmore directly toward God.

Harold KlempThe Art ofSpiritual Dreaming

Soul Never Sleeps

Soul never sleeps. It is a unit of aware-ness. While the body sleeps, the conscious-ness of Soul is awake. The memory ofthis experience is often called a dream.

Dreams are as real and valid as the


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waking state. They simply occur on adifferent plane of existence. The reasonso many of our dreams are confusing isthat our memory becomes distorted. Uponwaking, the dream experience is runthrough the dream censor, a function ofour own mind, and we remember onlypieces of the event. Or the dream is cam-ouflaged with symbols because of ourdiscomfort or lack of understanding.

The Mahanta Isthe Dream Master

The Mahanta, the inner form of theLiving ECK Master, is the Dream Master.One way he guides his spiritual studentsis through their dreams. He uses thedreams of an individual to help work outkarma and to impart spiritual understand-ing. The goal of an ECKist is to move atwill between the outer, or physical, worldand the inner spiritual worlds. This canbe done via the Spiritual Exercises ofECK and by the conscious use of dreams.


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Dreams Help Us in Daily Life

The following story, taken from HaroldKlemp’s book The Eternal Dreamer, is adelightful example of how dreams canhelp us in our daily lives. Dreams can giveus symbols to work with, and they cangive an opportunity for Soul-to-Soulcommunication.

Once a couple bought a horse theynamed Sid. Their plan was to train thehorse, and when it reached a certain age,they would resell it. Of course, it neveroccurred to them to wonder what Sidthought of all this.

About a year later, the husband hadan unusual dream in which he foundhimself entering a crowded bar. Seeingone unoccupied table, he went over andsat down. A man came over and intro-duced himself. “Hi,” he said. “I’m Sid,your horse.”

The dreamer thought this was thefunniest thing he’d ever seen. “My horsein a dream, looking like a man,” he said.


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“This is wild.”The only thing that bothered him about

the dream was that this man had a toothmissing, whereas his horse did not.

The dreamer and his horse got to talk-ing. Sid said, “You know I love you andyour wife. I’d like to stay with you. I’venever had owners like you before whocould Soul Travel and meet with me in thedream state so we could talk things over.”

“Sid,” he asked, “I notice you’ve beenlimping on one of your hind legs. Is some-thing wrong?”

“I’m having a problem with that foot,”said Sid. “It’s just a minor thing, but ifyou can get a farrier to trim my hoof, Icould walk better.” And they continuedtalking.

When the man awoke and told his wifeabout the dream, they shared a good laughover it. She thought the part about themissing tooth was really hilarious.

Later that morning as they walked tothe stable, they saw a crowd around Sid’sstall. The ECKists rushed over, concerned


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for the welfare of their horse.The owners saw a little bit of blood on

the door of the stall, but Sid seemed tobe all right. The husband put a halter onthe horse and led him outside. “If youplan to ride him, just don’t put a bit inhis mouth,” one of the grooms advisedhim. “Your horse somehow got his mouthcaught on the door lock, and his toothbroke off.”

Husband and wife looked at each other.“The missing tooth in your dream,” shesaid. Without another word, they leanedover to check the horse’s hind foot. Justas Sid had said in the dream, his hoofneeded trimming.

The Dream Master, the Mahanta,sometimes adjusts the dream state sothat one Soul may communicate withanother, whatever Its form. Since the manmight have totally discounted a dreamabout a talking horse, the Master changedthe image to one the dreamer could ac-cept. This is just one of the ways theDream Master works.


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Dreams HelpSpiritual Unfoldment

Dreams play an important role in spiri-tual unfoldment. They are a look into theheavenly worlds. In many cases, the dreambecomes a teaching tool. An ECKist is al-ways interested in learning, and the dreamcan be a message about reaching a higherconsciousness. In dreams our personalities,with their fears and desires, are exposedfor us to look at. We admit things to our-selves in dreams which we would be un-able to be honest about in our waking state.

Karma Can Be Resolvedin the Dream State

Karma, or past spiritual debts, can beresolved in the dream state. The purposeof karma is to open our consciousness andteach us a spiritual lesson. If we are ableto learn a spiritual lesson by having theexperience in a dream, we’d have littleneed to repeat the experience whileawake. The main requirement is that wecontinue our spiritual growth.


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This can save a great deal of wear andtear on our bodies. For instance, the InnerMaster could move the experience of anautomobile accident from the Physical tothe Astral Plane, allowing the experienceto happen during a dream. It could stillbe a frightful experience, but much easierto handle there than here.

Dream Symbols Are Individual

Many people claim the images andsymbols we have in dreams are commonto everyone and can be easily interpreted.You can find books in your local librarytelling you that water means this or thathorses mean that. The dream teachings ofEckankar do not follow such a simplisticmodel.

In ECK, each person is a unique indi-vidual. Therefore, the dream symbols usedby each person are also unique. Swimmingin a river may well have a different mean-ing for one person than it would foranother. The key for the dreamer, then,is to go within and determine what each


32

of these symbols may mean. This caneven become a type of spiritual exercise.

Dream Characters RepresentAspects of the Dreamer

The plot and characters in dreams arenot always significant in themselves. Achilling nightmare can hold a very uplift-ing message for the dreamer. For the mostpart, though, the characters in a dreamrepresent the dreamer himself. These arekeys to understanding who we are andwhat our purpose is. Eckankar explainsthat we are to look for a positive messagewhen trying to understand the meaning ofour dreams. The Dream Master is alwaysworking for your benefit.

There Are ManyLevels of Dreaming

There are many levels of dreaming. Ifthe dreamer becomes aware that he is ina dream, he may be able to take controlof the experience. The dreamer may call


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upon the Mahanta and request spiritualinstruction. Or the dreamer may chooseto visit a Temple of Golden Wisdom onone of the other planes. In these cases,the experience can become more SoulTravel than dreaming.

Dreams Can Prophesy

There are also dreams of prophecy.You can view life from above the normaltrack of time and get a glimpse of thefuture. It is best, however, to restrictyour use of prophecy to your own per-sonal life. The opportunity for misunder-standing the symbols is great. If youdream of an earthquake and then run towarn your friends of the upcoming cata-clysm, it would probably be embarrassingwhen nothing happens.

Such a dream, more likely, is foretell-ing a personal shift, perhaps indicatingthe approach of a sudden change in cir-cumstances or consciousness. The dreammay indeed be prophetic, but you couldmiss the real meaning.


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Keep a Dream Journal

Keeping a dream journal can behelpful. This provides a bridge betweenthe inner and outer worlds. Most ofour dreams are forgotten very quickly.After reading their own dream journals,many people are amazed at how much theydream.

A dream journal also gives us an oppor-tunity to see any patterns in our dreams.Certain symbols may tend to appear regu-larly. In recognizing them, we are betterable to make sense of these experiences.

And finally, the process of writingthe dream down allows us to synthe-size and let go of the experience. As thisbaggage is released, we gain both under-standing and spiritual freedom.

The Purpose of Dreams Isto Bring the Individual Closerto the Light and Sound of God

The ultimate purpose of dreams is tobring the individual closer to the Light


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and Sound of God. In this way, dreamshave the same purpose as life itself. TheMahanta can communicate in a dreamwith the new student who has not yetbeen able to open their conscious mind tothe Inner Master.

A dream is a step on the path of spiri-tual unfoldment. It can also be an inspi-ration to the average person, as in SoulTravel. All things are possible. Life is nolonger a mundane, random experience.


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T

4Karma

he universality of the Law ofKarma is one of the chief factors

which binds life together, and not onlyhuman life but animal, plant, and min-eral life as well. All these compose one bigfamily, with a complicated and insepa-rable history and an inseparable karma.


Sir Isaac Newton was twenty-threeyears old when he watched an apple fallto the ground in his mother ’s orchard.The apple never really hit him on thehead. It did, however, support his theoryof universal gravitation.

At the time, in 1665, Sir Isaac hadalso just formulated his three laws of


38

motion, one of them being that for everyaction, there is an equal and oppositereaction.

Newton’s explanations are usuallyapplied to the interaction of physicalforces and objects. However, the sameaction /reaction principle applies to theforces of emotion and thought.

The Law of KarmaIs Scientific and Logical

The Law of Karma is scientific andlogical. It is the spiritual form of thephysical Law of Cause and Effect. Everyaction creates an equal and oppositereaction. The Law of Karma helps usunderstand the effect of our actions. Theprocess helps Soul mature. The law’spurpose is to teach love and to uplift, notto punish.

Karma applies itself in the most ex-acting and clever of ways. If we deprivedanother human being of freedom in aprevious life, we’d probably have our free-


39

dom curtailed in this life. This experi-ence would give us time to reconsider ourviews and learn the Law of Love.

Understanding Karma CanLiberate Us from Being a Victim

Once we accept the Law of Karma inour lives, we are liberated from being thevictim. We begin to see underlying spiri-tual causes and act accordingly. Prob-lems become opportunities for spiritualgrowth.

Karma differs from fate or destinybecause it encourages us to take an activerole in life. The Law of Karma requiresthe spiritual seeker to follow the highestcode of ethics. The rules are simple.Eckankar is not a passive path to God.

You Can Be Free of Karma

When you achieve the exalted state ofSelf-Realization, you’ll still be held ac-countable for your actions in your daily life.


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However, you will have worked off thekarma built up from past lives. And whenyou finish your mission in this life, unlessyou choose to come back to this plane toteach or to serve, you need not return.

Perhaps you will maintain this ex-panded consciousness throughout yourlifetime. Perhaps you’ll hold on to it foronly a moment at a time. You will learn,however, that there is always a risk oflosing the 360-degree viewpoint. You earneach step toward God Consciousness mo-ment to moment.

Most ECKists want to be free of kar-ma. They would like to balance theirkarmic account by the end of their presentlifetime. The Mahanta helps them do this.By practicing the Spiritual Exercises ofECK, they drop the attitudes and habitsbinding them to the past. They can fulfilltheir spiritual destiny without having tobe reborn. Thus they are freed from end-less rounds on the Wheel of the Eighty-Four. The ECKist calls this spiritualliberation.


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Karma Metes Out Perfect Justice

The Law of Karma metes out perfectjustice. This is reassuring in a worldwhich can appear to be unjust. One dutyof the ECKist is to show compassion andkindness to all, regardless of their posi-tion on the spiritual ladder. We are all ona spiritual journey together.

Our suffering is not always punish-ment for past actions. There are manysubtle processes at work. If you experi-enced fear and persecution in a past life,you may still carry these feelings in yourpsychic memory. You may experienceunwarranted fear and anxiety in yourcurrent life. These fears may persist untilyou remember the eternal nature of Souland surrender your concerns to the HolySpirit.

We Are Responsible

Eckankar teaches us to be responsible.On a physical level, this means we makeevery effort to support ourselves. On a


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spiritual level, this means we earn ourown state of consciousness.

This seems illogical if we view onlyone life at a time. In a single life wesuffer or are blessed for no apparentreason. God seems arbitrary and random.The ECK principle of spiritual responsi-bility makes more sense as we accept theprinciples of karma and reincarnation.Reincarnation teaches that we are bornagain and again until we learn the spiri-tual lessons of life. The Law of Karmaensures that we link our behavior withits inevitable results. We reap in one lifewhat we have sown in another.

If we impede the development of an-other human being, we will incur a karmicdebt. By our actions, it’s clear we haven’tyet learned the Law of Love. The debtwill have to be paid, and a lesson willhave to be learned. The suffering whichmay follow is not the act of a vengefulGod. We are just reaping what we havesown. It is the loving God which helpseach Soul develop Its highest spiritual


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potential through experience.Perhaps the most serious of karmic

infractions is to misuse spiritual powerfor personal gain. History brims withexamples of those who used psychic in-sight for personal advancement. Falseteachers have incurred a debt to theirfollowers and at some point, that debtmust be paid.

Experience Teaches Us

Experience teaches us. When a lessonis learned, particularly a spiritual les-son, we no longer need the experience.The karma is finished. We can move onto the next step. This is not absolution orforgiveness. It is spiritual growth.

Spiritual Maturity ComesWhen We Realize We Are

the Creator of Our Own Life

We cannot purchase God Conscious-ness in a marketplace, nor can it be


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granted to us by another. Our mistakesor sins of the past cannot be absolved atthe last minute simply by request. Weearn spiritual wisdom by taking respon-sibility for our actions and by learninghow the ECK, the Holy Spirit, works.Spiritual maturity comes when we real-ize we are the creator of our own life. Welearn to be a Co-worker with God byunderstanding how to create what ishighest and most beneficial for the whole.


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You’re like a hamster going aroundand around in a wheel. This wheel

is called the wheel of reincarnation. Lifeafter life you come back trying to solve themystery, wondering how to love God, thenhow to love yourself.

The answer to that mystery is calledspiritual freedom. And the way to spiri-tual freedom is simply to sing HU withlove. That is where you begin.

That’s the doorway to a new life, a life

5Reincarnation

of love.Harold KlempWhat Is Spiritual Freedom?

Another scientific principle is the con-servation of matter and energy. Thisnatural law states that matter can neither


46

be created nor destroyed; it can only bechanged from one form to another.

French chemist Antoine-LaurentLavoisier discovered this principle in thelate eighteenth century shortly before los-ing his head in the French Revolution. Sincethen, several scientists, including JohnDalton and Albert Einstein, refined andexpanded on the principle. They found thatthe total amount of matter and energy inthe universe always remains the same.The parts are just reassembled into newcombinations.

Every aspect of the universe is partof a phenomenal recycling effort. We,as Soul, are divine sparks of God. Thatwhich can never be created nor destroyed.This doesn’t mean that the human popula-tion on earth remains the same. Not allSouls incarnate as humans at the sametime.

We evolve in consciousness throughmany different forms of life, even in theplant and animal kingdoms, before we takehuman form. Our goals are to learn how


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to survive, how to love, how to achieve self-mastery, and how to find our way home toGod.

Near-Death and Out-of-BodyExperiences Have Helped

People Live Life More FullySome people have had near-death expe-

riences. They were able to view their in-jured body from above and had a glimpseof the higher worlds. Most have extremelyhappy and uplifting experiences.

Soul never dies. It does not grievefor Its physical body. Many tell of meetingold friends or relatives who have passed onor of encounters with great majestic beingswho greet them but say the time for theirdeath has not yet arrived. Those who re-turn to their physical body often feel to-tally different about their lives. They arenow free of the fear of death and are ableto live life more fully.

And there are those who’ve had out-of-body experiences. These experiences


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are similar to the near-death experiencebut can occur under more ordinarycircumstances. The person is able to shifthis spiritual attention away from thephysical realm and travel in the Soulbody. After such experiences it is hard tobe afraid of death because the continuityof life becomes so apparent.

Heaven Exists on Other Planes

When the physical body dies, Soul con-tinues to exist on the other planes of God.Soul may stay on these other planes for aday, a thousand years, or more. This isdependent on Soul’s mission, Its karmicobligation, and Its level of spiritual unfold-ment. For many, this in-between time isheaven. The Astral Plane, for example, hassections which resemble all of the heavensdescribed in the major religious traditions.You might find Saint Peter and the pearlygates, or the happy hunting grounds, oreven visit the palace of Zeus or Jupiter.On the Astral Plane you find what youexpect, what you hope for, or what you fear.


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Reincarnation Helps ExplainAspects of Our Personalities

Reincarnation provides an explanationfor various elements of our personality.Why does a young child show greatmusical talent when his parents havenone? The reason could be that thesetalents were developed in a previous lifeand a subtle memory persists.

If the awareness of Soul is maintained,living in the physical world can be joyous.However, members of Eckankar aspire tospiritual freedom. This means they maychoose to reincarnate but are not com-pelled to do so. The Mahanta can guideSoul out of the worlds of illusion and helpIt rise above the Laws of Karma andReincarnation.

Reincarnation Isa Widely Held Belief

Reincarnation is a widely held belief.Hundreds of millions of people, including


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most Hindus and Buddhists, believe thatSoul inhabits many bodies over the courseof time. ECKists believe that Soul entersthe body at or around the time of birth.Without the entrance of Soul, the bodycould not survive.

Soul Is AlwaysMoving Forward

Soul is always moving forward. It isnever punished. It must simply obey theLaw of Karma and will eventually learnfrom Its experience. It is rare for an in-dividual who has attained the humanstate of consciousness to be reborn as ananimal. This would slow the ability tolearn, to unfold, and to graduate from theschool of life.

We’ve Been Here Before

Most of us have lived before. Soulreincarnates on the physical plane againand again until It graduates from theschool of physical life.


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By choosing different bodies and dif-ferent life experiences, Soul learns to viewlife from all sides. Living as male or fe-male, as black or white, as rich or poor, forexample, Soul tests and purifies Itself.

There Is a Reason for the VeilSeparating Us from the Past

If we could remember all of our previ-ous lives, the confusion would be over-whelming. To survive on this earth, wemust be able to focus on our currentidentity and deal with day-to-day events.Divine Spirit protects us from confusionby pulling the veil over our memory whenwe are reborn.

We Often Return to Be withFamily and Friends from Before

The patterns of karma often bring usinto contact with those we have knownbefore. This is a thread which runs be-tween family and friends, neighbors andbusiness associates. Your sister fromancient Egypt may be your father-in-law


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today. Your adversary from the Civil Warmay be your friend in this life.

Past-Life Memory Is Accessible

Through the Spiritual Exercises ofECK, you can remember past lives. Youwould remember those which have abearing on this life, the ones which giveyou insight into your current spiritualproblems. These records are stored onthe Causal Plane. They can be viewed aseasily as you would visit a library on thePhysical Plane, as long as you are de-tached enough to handle the information.

The Physical PlaneIs a School of Life

We often return to the school of life onearth, or some other physical arena, tocontinue our spiritual education. Soul, inharmony with the Law of Karma, choosesIts next incarnation. We choose our par-ents and our circumstances because they


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suit our spiritual needs. From this per-spective, Soul is not concerned with painor pleasure, riches or power. It simply islooking for Its next spiritual experienceand is compelled to balance Its karmicaccount.

Similarly, those of us who find our-selves on a spiritual quest have probablypursued these interests before. Many onthe path of Eckankar have studied withprevious ECK Masters. We find a glint ofrecognition in this life. Others have ledlives committed to spiritual unfoldmentand now find themselves ready to con-tinue with the next step.

ECKists are not frantic to escape thisworld or avoid rebirth. As a Co-workerwith God, Soul is never finished with Itswork. But at a certain point It may nolonger need to inhabit a physical body.Reincarnation will only continue for thosewho need or choose it. The Mahanta canguide Soul out of the worlds of illusionand help It rise above the laws of karmaand reincarnation.


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The pure positive worldsof Spirit

Soul

Etheric (Unconscious)Mental (Mind)

Causal (Memory)

Physical(Body)

Astral (Emotion)

(54)

It is in these worlds that you take thejourney from Self- to God-Realization.

SpiritualPlanes

MaterialPlanes

Metaphysics

Psychic Phenomena


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he best hotels and the most luxu-rious accommodations on earth

seem like dark huts compared to the thingsyou see on the inner planes. The worldsof God are light and spacious, and the joythat Soul experiences there is beyondhuman understanding. This is what Soulis trying to get to, and it comes throughthe spiritual exercises.

Harold KlempCloak of Consciousness

Years ago, a lone ECKist stood on abridge over a river in Wisconsin. His storyis a dramatic example of the ultimateexperience of the Light and Sound, God-Realization. “From out of the night,” he

6The God Worlds of ECK

T


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recounts, “as if from a distant lighthouse,came a searing bolt of blue-white light thatpierced my heart. . . .

“A heavy roll of thunder shook thebridge, as if a locomotive were sweepingpast a railroad crossing at high speed. Itrembled at the power of the sound. . . .

“All became still. The sound of thunderceased, but the Light and Sound of Godpoured endlessly into my heart as It sweptdown from the God planes, from the verycenter of creation. . . .

“Then it came, barely a breath of soundgliding over the water. . . . The soft ripple ofsound washed in again. Without a doubt, itwas ocean waves upon a peaceful shore. . . .

“The sound of waves grew still.A pause, then again the ocean swell, butthis time more compelling. . . .

“The tide must be coming in, I thought.Faster, louder came the surging. Thunder-ous, booming, crashing. . . . With eachtidefall I reeled. The full Ocean of Loveand Mercy was crushing me, cleansing,scouring, blessing. . . .


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“The Sound was All. It filled my everyatom. The sweet and holy Current of Godcradled me with Its fierce love. Therewas no part of me where it was not. Thiswas the ECK, the ancient, ageless Voiceof God, giving new life to Its creation.”

That ECKist who stood on the bridgeis Harold Klemp. This experience, ex-cerpted from his book Autobiography ofa Modern Prophet, occurred while he wasin training to become the Mahanta, theLiving ECK Master. His experience wasdramatic and unique. Yet it shows whatis possible for the seeker who loves Godwith all his or her heart.

Soul Travel Makes It Possibleto Achieve God-Realization

in This Lifetime

Learning to recognize, understand, andwork with the Light and Sound of God isone of the most unique and excitingaspects of Eckankar. Becoming attunedto the sounds, visual characteristics, and


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vibrational rates of the God Worlds viaSoul Travel makes it possible for the seekerto achieve Self-Realization and even God-Realization in this lifetime.

The God Worlds can best be describedas planes of reality. Each plane corre-sponds to a certain state of consciousnessand vibration. God, or the Sugmad, is thesource of all the planes. From out of theSugmad flows the ECK. It is the ECK,Divine Spirit, which supports and sustainsall life in all planes.

Harold Klemp experienced the Ocean ofLove and Mercy in the pure spiritual worldsof God while physically on that bridge inWisconsin. Sugmad exists at the heart ofthe spiritual worlds, in the Ocean of Loveand Mercy, beyond matter, energy, space, ortime. It is in these worlds that you take thejourney from Self- to God-Realization.

The Soul Plane

Self-Realization is achieved on the SoulPlane, just across the division between


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the higher (spiritual) and lower (psychic)worlds. The Soul Plane is the only planein the higher worlds where Soul is stillcloaked with a form or body. Each plane,whether psychic or spiritual, can be rec-ognized by its own particular sound. Thesound of the Soul Plane is the single noteof the f lute.

The ECK continues to f low outwardfrom the heart of God, even to thefar reaches of the lower worlds. Theseworlds are where we spend most of ourtime. They are the worlds of matter,energy, space, and time. The coarsestmaterial level, operating at the lowestfrequency of vibration, is the PhysicalPlane.

Life is short here, and the understand-ing of the spiritual laws is usually lim-ited to a very few. As an ECKist, however,you learn that your experience is no longerlimited to this plane. You also reach apoint where, at the end of this lifetime,you may have a choice whether or not youwish to return.


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Gain SpiritualUnderstanding from

the Temples of Golden Wisdom

Often we gain wisdom and spiritualunderstanding by visiting Temples ofGolden Wisdom. There are Temples oneach plane, each with an ECK Masterserving as guardian of the Shariyat-Ki-Sugmad, the holy scriptures of ECK.Most notable on the physical plane arethe Katsupari Monastery in Tibet(Fubbi Quantz, guardian); the Gare-HiraTemple at Agam Des in the Hindu Kushmountains (Yaubl Sacabi, guardian); theFaqiti Monastery in the Gobi Desert,(Banjani, guardian); and the Temple ofECK, in Chanhassen, Minnesota (HaroldKlemp, guardian). The sound of thePhysical Plane is often heard as thunder.

The Astral Plane

As you dream, you may spend a greatdeal of time in a more refined state of con-sciousness called the Astral Plane. Yourbody is lighter and functions at a higher


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vibration. The Astral Plane is the source ofhuman emotion, psychic phenomena,ghosts, and UFOs. The Astral Plane is alsohome for most humans upon the death oftheir physical body.

The Astral Plane is much larger andmore beautiful than the Physical Planeand often mistaken for man’s final rest-ing place, or heaven. The spiritual beingswho reside there seem angelic by earth’sstandards, and the rulers of the AstralPlane appear as gods to those unfamiliarwith the planes above the Astral.

This is the highest plane reached bythose practicing astral projection and mostoccult sciences. Askleposis, the Temple ofGolden Wisdom on this plane, is located inSahasra-dal-Kanwal (Gopal Das, guardian).You can often recognize the Astral Plane bythe sound of the roaring sea.

The Causal Plane

Memories of past lives are stored onthe next higher plane of existence, the


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Causal Plane. If you are looking for theseeds of your current life, you could visitthe Causal Plane and read the Akashicrecords. The Causal Plane contains morespiritual matter than does the physical,but it is still governed by the laws ofduality. The Sakapori Temple of GoldenWisdom is located here in the city of Honu,and the guardian of the Shariyat-Ki-Sugmad there is Shamus-i-Tabriz. Youcan recognize the Causal Plane by thesound of tinkling bells.

As you travel into a higher state of con-sciousness, the magnificence of whatyou behold can be overwhelming. This initself can be a trap, because the tempta-tion to linger is strong. The impressionis always that you have reached the higheststate. This is why the Mahanta, the InnerMaster is so important. He will always benear to give you a little nudge, to remindyou to continue on your spiritual journey.

The Mental Plane

The source of the mind and its con-


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structs—philosophy, ethics, and moralteachings— is the Mental Plane. It isa grand place populated by advancedspiritual beings. The word Aum, chantedby those in many religious groups, origi-nates from the Mental Plane. Althoughthis is a very spiritual plane, resi-dents of this plane are still subject toreincarnation. This is because theMental Plane is still part of the lowerworlds.

To pass into the true spiritual planes,we must drop the mind. Soul uses themind as a tool, but cannot be guided byit. The mind cannot understand the truenature of God. God can only be experi-enced, and descriptions of God are mostoften inaccurate because they depend onthe power of the mind.

The Temple of Namayatan, the Templeof Golden Wisdom on this plane, is lo-cated in the city of Mer Kailash, and theguardian is the Koji Chanda. You canrecognize the Mental Plane by the soundof running water.


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The Etheric Plane

Marking the border between the lowerand higher worlds of Divine Spirit is theEtheric Plane. This is the source of oursubconscious, and primitive thoughts. TheDayaka Temple of Golden Wisdom islocated here in the city of Arhirit, andthe guardian of the Shariyat-Ki-Sugmadis Lai Tsi. You can recognize the EthericPlane by the sound of buzzing bees.

As you unfold spiritually, you’ll travelthrough the various God Worlds of ECK.This journey will be a unique experiencebecause we are all individuals, each at adifferent point in our unfoldment.


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7Love

The very heart of the doctrine ofECK is love. This love is that

divine essence which unites all reality andbrings together all Souls. The higher Soulgoes into the other worlds the greater thisbecomes. Love is the bond which holds theworlds together.


A Minneapolis, Minnesota, newspaperonce reported the story of a dog namedNorman. Norman is very special. He’s ashining example of divine love in action.

Norman, a curly haired cockapoo withweak knees, sports a different brightlycolored scarf around his neck each day.He is a caregiver at a south Minneapolisnursing home. An odd occupation for a


66

dog? Not really, if you think about it.He’s good at what he does. Residents

look forward to his arrival every day. Hearrives in the morning with the activitiesdirector. He moves from lap to lap, dayafter day, giving self less love and bring-ing joy to his patients.

Divine Love NeedsNo Words to Communicate

One patient in particular, who suffereda stroke, is especially appreciative ofNorman’s attention. She always welcomeshim with a big smile and outstretchedarms. They often set off for an adventur-ous ride in her wheelchair. The stroketook away her ability to speak, so shecan’t communicate with him verbally, butshe scratches him on the head. Neitherneeds words to express the love they share.

Why does Norman take his job so se-riously? Why does he do it so well andwillingly? Because of the love he’s beengiven.

When Norman was a pup many years


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ago, he was abandoned on a doorstep. Aloving Soul, his former master, rescuedhim. When it was discovered that he hadleukemia, she invested over two thou-sand dollars of her own money to savehim and nursed him back to health. Itwas then he began his career as pettherapist.

His master was associate director fora nursery and early childhood center.Many of the children were developmen-tally disabled. Norman’s owner saw abright future for him as a caregiver. Hecharmed and inspired the children untilhis master died. That could have spelledthe end of his career, but Divine Spiritand his master’s sister saw more need forhis gift of love. She started taking himto the nursing home where she worked,to continue his mission.

What Can We Learnfrom Norman about Divine Love?

The love given Norman by his mastertranscended the love most people give


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an animal. The love she gave was givenwith no thought of return. It was lovegiven straight from the heart. Totallyself less.

This type of love keeps on giving,building on itself. Speaking of divine love,The Shariyat says, “One does not see andgrasp it at first glance but it grows withinhim like the acorn of the oak in the earth.Gradually it opens the consciousness ofthe receiver and f lows through to theworld, changing all about it.”

Further, it says, “The wise man is onewho stores up the ECK within himselfand at the same time distributes the spiri-tual love which is within himself. He isnot one who gives his compassion to afew but to all, whether or not many un-derstand this. He is able to live amongthe wretched, the thieves, the unhappy,robbers and fools, for he accepts life forwhatever it is and gives love to all. Heis the wise one who is able to give all thathe has to his fellowman. He finds love forthose who greedily accept what he gives,


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and they shall be blessed a thousandtimes for his love.”

Life in the lower worlds is made pos-sible by the interaction of two powerfulforces: the ECK force and the Kal force.Positive and negative. Love and power.The ECK force descends from the purepositive worlds of God giving love andlife to all that exists in the worlds below.

Love Is Simple

In Cloak of Consciousness, HaroldKlemp says, “It is no secret that the powerof love is stronger than the power of themind. The mind enjoys little games andpsychic adventures, such as the use ofcrystal power. Someone who wants theGod Consciousness no longer cares forthese things. We care about the Lightand Sound of God. For this one musthave the Golden Heart, which means aheart filled with love.

“Someone told me about how well hisyoung daughter took to having a new


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baby in the family. Whenever the babywants the rattle or needs the bottle backin its mouth, the little girl simply helpsthe baby in whatever way she can.

“She doesn’t question the reason forthe baby’s needs or wait to be told whatto do. She does it simply because sheloves the baby, with none of the pettyjealousies that can make things compli-cated in a family or a group. . . . Lovemakes things very simple.”

Know Greater Lovethrough the Golden Heart

The key to love is the Golden Heart.If you have it, it is very easy to SoulTravel. Let’s take a moment to look withinand experience the radiant love of theGolden Heart.

Begin to visualize a growing, goldenlight surrounding you. It may be verysubtle at first. It embraces you, f lowswith you.

Soon you are riding currents of lightinto the vastness of the cosmic sea. A


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place you’ve long forgotten. It’s a placedeep within your inner being, the dwell-ing place of Soul.

Now your consciousness settles on thesurface of the sea. Now the sea of loveand light begins to emanate from you,expanding. It’s deeper than the mind canconceive. You’ve moved beyond the re-gions of space and time.

Ever so lightly, you sense a breeze. Youhear the sound of a wind from deep within.It creates tiny ripples on the surface ofthe sea. Suddenly you realize you’re ex-periencing the Light and Sound of God.You can stay here for a while if you choose,basking in this radiant, soothing ocean ofLight and love.

When you’re ready, slowly come back.It should be easy enough to speak of thiskind of experience, but words often failus. We can try to share our experience,but it’s up to each of us to open up thatawareness within ourselves.

Truth is not gained through observa-tion, it’s gained through experience. The


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path of Eckankar offers each of us theopportunity to open our consciousness andour hearts to greater awareness, to be-come the Golden Heart. We can each feelthe love that passes on from one world tothe next, into the higher planes of reality.But the awakening has to start withinyour heart.


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I

8The ECK-Vidya

f you are open to the Holy Spirit, youwill find truth coming to you through

the actions and words of other people.This is a facet of the ECK-Vidya, the an-cient science of prophecy. I call it theGolden-tongued Wisdom.

When God speaks to you through oth-ers, the words may even come via the elec-tronic media. . . . Suddenly a sentencepops out that is precisely for you. It maymean nothing to anyone else, but for youit has a significant meaning.

Harold KlempThe Drumbeat of Time

In his book Journey of Soul, HaroldKlemp gives several important insights


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into the ECK-Vidya and the nature ofprophecy through the following story:

“An individual had a question aboutthe role of the ancient oracles in the spiri-tual life of man in the time of the Oracleof Delphi. To learn and open up, he de-cided to study the ECK-Vidya. First hewent into a contemplative state andasked, ‘What is this all about?’ He thenvisualized himself in ancient Greece,sitting on the side of a mountain. Aftera while, an ECK Master came along andasked him what he wanted. He said hewanted an understanding about the roleof oracles in the spiritual life.

“He came to understand that theoracles were used in those early timesbecause the consciousness of man was solow. They were not able to go to the templewithin directly, through the SpiritualExercises of ECK, and meet the InnerMaster to get the information on what-ever they were looking for. So the ECKMasters at the time would work throughoracles. What has come to us in history


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is a poor shadow of the original messagethat was given; it’s merely a rehashingof the psychic and occult techniques whichhave lost their original meaning.

“As he sat there on the mountainsideand got insight into his question, theECK Master showed him some incidentsfrom his past lives, revealing somethingthat was of importance to him in thislifetime, something which had a directbearing on his spiritual unfoldment.Little objects that looked like electromag-netic cards were pulled out of a file. Youmay either read them directly, or theymay display pictures that give the com-plete scope of the individual and of thoselives which were of importance. TheECK Master pulled these out for him andgave him a look. He considered thisan added bonus, but it happened throughhis own efforts. He worked with his cre-ativity to figure out how he could go aboutgetting a deeper, more penetrating in-sight into his own life, and this is how hedid it.”


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Man Always Wantsto Know the Future

Men and women have long wanted toknow what their future holds. They askif they will be happy, find love, or becomewealthy. They want to know about theirhealth or their careers. Corporationsspend millions of dollars trying to figureout the future. For the most part, theyemploy traditional forecasting methods.If they believed in the power of prophecy,they’d spend millions more to take ad-vantage of it.

Many seekers of truth have the pro-cess of unfoldment in reverse order. Theybelieve if one learns how to work withcrystals, symbols, numerology, etc., theywill unfold spiritually. In Eckankar, webelieve one must first be linked with theLight and Sound of God. This processpurifies Soul and enables us to becomeCo-workers with God. Once this occurs,we are able to work with the various toolsand symbols offered by the ECK-Vidya.


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Without spiritual understanding, theseitems become playthings for psychicexperimentation and do not lead to spiri-tual liberation.

All Life Is Cyclical

The ECK-Vidya teaches us that all oflife can be divided into cycles. Thesecyclical patterns have their origins in theECK, or Holy Spirit. Daily cycles arecontained within monthly cycles, monthlywithin yearly, and so on. Because weunderstand earthly, physical cycles, wecan predict when the moon will again befull. This would seem like a miracle tosomeone unfamiliar with the movementof the earth around the sun and the moonaround the earth.

It is the same with spiritual cycles. Alllife is governed by spiritual cycles, andthe ECK-Vidya adept comes to under-stand them. Prophecy becomes a naturaltalent. The cycles governing ideas, na-tions, and individuals become more clear.


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ECK-Vidya Looks into SoulRecords—Past, Present, and Future

Those trained in the ECK-Vidya areable to delve into the past and the future.These adepts can look into the Soulrecords to understand what has happenedand why. They can also look into thefuture and see what is likely to happen.They can do this because they have cometo understand the cycles of life.

This goes beyond astrology, which isthe study of planetary inf luences only.Planetary inf luences are often over-whelmed by other spiritual forces at work.Knowledge gained from astrology origi-nates from the Astral Plane, only oneplane above the physical. The same canbe said of other psychic procedures, likenumerology or channeling.

This Is a Warring Planet,but That’s OK

What does the future hold? Unfortu-nately for those utopians who believe we


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can have heaven on earth, our planet isa warring planet. Any period of peacewill be followed by one of conf lict. It isthe nature of the lower worlds to have lifeand death, joy and suffering. The onlyway we can have heaven on earth is if ourconsciousness resides on the Soul Plane.Though we are in a physical body, ourattention is on the love of God. Thus weare in this world, but not of it.

Never Use Knowledgeto Manipulate Others

The ECK-Vidya has identified thevarious cycles which govern man’s lifehere on earth. The responsibility of work-ing with the ECK-Vidya is great, becausethe information gained can be so easilymisused. Many people would be knockedout of balance if they knew what wasgoing to happen to future generations.Others would try to take the informationand use it for their personal financialadvantage. A rule of Divine Spirit is that


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we must never use our knowledge tocontrol or manipulate others.

Golden-tongued Wisdom

There are two elements of the ECK-Vidya which play a role in the life of theaverage person. These are called theGolden-tongued Wisdom and the wakingdream.

The Golden-tongued Wisdom is a phe-nomenon which trains people to look forspiritual guidance in the most mundaneof events. For instance, you could beshopping in a store when the clerk sud-denly makes a casual remark to you.Though innocent enough in itself, the com-ment has some specific spiritual meaningto you.

It’s as if the ECK is speaking to youthrough the unwitting channel of thestore clerk. Or perhaps you turn on theradio and begin listening to the lyrics ofa popular song. The message inspires you,and you see the solution to a current prob-lem. With an open heart, you can hear


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Divine Spirit speaking to you through theGolden-tongued Wisdom.

The Waking Dream

A variation on the principle of theGolden-tongued Wisdom is the wakingdream. The waking dream is anothervehicle through which Divine Spirit com-municates to you. But these experiencesare more couched in symbols, similar todream experiences.

Say a man is shown a picture of abutterfly, but in his mind it looks like abee. A few hours later, he hears his wifemention the letter B. A week later, a friendasks if he is getting enough B vitamins.Now the connection between all threeevents becomes clear to him. He startstaking extra B vitamins, and a healthproblem he’d asked for help with improves.

Soul, the higher self, made sense ofthe symbolic events, and the messagemade its way to the conscious mind. Thisis an example of the waking dream.


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To learn more about the theory andpractice of the ECK-Vidya, you can readThe ECK-Vidya, Ancient Science ofProphecy by Paul Twitchell. More spe-cific information on the Golden-tonguedWisdom and the waking dream can befound in Harold Klemp’s books The Artof Spiritual Dreaming, The EternalDreamer, and The Dream Master.


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9Solving Problems

he spiritual life is not meant tofinally end the succession of prob-

lems, for they are given as opportunitiesfor Soul's unfoldment. What the spiritualstudent does develop, however, is the in-ner link with the ECK, the Holy Spirit.Thus he taps into the Supreme CreativeForce that guides him around all theblocks in his path that once defeated him.

One's ability to take charge of his ownlife increases. This is a solid step towardself-mastery and that state of conscious-ness called the kingdom of heaven.

Harold KlempA Modern Prophet Answers YourKey Questions about Life

T


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In any subject you take in school,whether it’s science, math, history, orart, the secret to success is problem solv-ing. Generally, the solution is containedwithin the problem. The more experi-enced you become, the more problems yousolve, the more you grow in mastery andconfidence, especially with problem solv-ing on a mental level.

The same is true in the school of life.Sometimes, however, the problems we faceseem beyond our abilities. Here is ouropportunity to grow spiritually. Knowinghow to work with the ECK, Divine Spirit,helps us overcome the fear of facing some-thing that seems beyond our ability. Welive a much more joyful, fulfilling life.Knowing how to strike a balance betweendoing everything within our power toaddress a problem and handing it over tothe ECK is the secret of problem solvingfrom a spiritual perspective.

Whether the problems we face arefinancial or health related or spring froma lack of self-discipline, there are spiri-


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tual exercises to help us addressthem. The following are a couple ofexamples.

The Fine Art ofKnowing When to Give Up

A short while ago, an ECKist foundhimself in a discouraging financial posi-tion. He looked at the stack of bills on hisdesk for mortgage, car payment, utilities,and credit cards. Then he looked again athis checkbook balance and projected hisincome for the month. He felt numb whenhe discovered he would be short severalhundred dollars at least. Even if he paidsome of the bills late, it wouldn’t solve theproblem. It seemed impossible.

To complicate matters, he soon foundthat his position with a large corporationwas to be eliminated in several monthsbecause of downsizing. The companyhad just undergone a merger and waseliminating duplication. He’d beenworking diligently to seek out new oppor-tunities for the survival of his family.


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They loved their little home in the coun-try and the quaint community in whichthey lived. But it seemed nothing wasworking out.

Finally, he reached a point of surren-der. “Mahanta,” he said, “I’ve done all Ican. I surrender this situation into yourhands.” Then he let go of his attachmentto all of the problems he faced. He put histrust totally in the ECK and the InnerMaster.

When he received his next paycheck,he discovered to his amazement that itincluded an extra two weeks’ salary. Anote accompanying the check explainedthat this was money that had been heldout at the beginning of his employ by theold company he worked for before themerger. To help simplify bookkeeping, em-ployees of that company were being reim-bursed. The check contained enoughmoney to cover the deficit he faced, withenough left over to get a jump on thefollowing month.

In addition, he found a new perma-


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nent position with another company thatturned out to be the best job he’d everhad. It meant leaving the large corpora-tion, giving up his cherished home, andmoving halfway across the country. Butit also meant a more secure and spiritu-ally fulfilling future for his whole family.

HU Will Help YouThere is little more frightening for a

parent than the thought of a child gettinglost or disappearing. A family of four wasvisiting Minnesota for the first time. Theywere from a small New England townand were unaccustomed to large, crowdedshopping malls. One day during theirvisit, they decided to visit one of the hugemalls the area had to offer. The twochildren, both boys, love to ride escala-tors. The boys spotted a long one, allsilver and glass with black handrails.Steps rose out of the f loor, moving grace-fully and invitingly, one by one, up to thesecond f loor. The boys begged to ride theescalator.


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After they rode the escalator up, theboys took another back down. Then, amidthe confusion of the crowds, the youngestboy got separated from his family. Hedisappeared. Dad, Mom, and the olderbrother scoured the mall for over a halfhour with no success. It seemed aneternity. Finally, Mom did a spiritualexercise. She sang HU. She took two stepsthen heard a tearful little voice behindher cry, “Mommy!” Her little boy stoodwith a security guard in exactly the samespot where she had sung HU.

Use the Shariyat Techniquefor Well-Being and HappinessIf you have a problem you’re having

trouble solving using other techniques,this one has proved to be helpful to manyECKists. It’s especially helpful if you aredown-to-earth by nature. Called theShariyat technique, this is g ivenin Harold Klemp’s book Unlocking thePuzzle Box.

First, simply look at your problem. What


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is its nature? Is it a spiritual matter, ordoes it involve physical health, finances,or a broken heart?

Second, open Book One or Two of TheShariyat-Ki-Sugmad at random and reada paragraph.

The third step is to chant HU andcontemplate upon what you have just readin The Shariyat. Don’t contemplate onyour problem or try to make some kindof a bridge between your paragraph andyour problem. This is very important. Justcontemplate upon the paragraph fromThe Shariyat while chanting HU.

After you have completed the contem-plation, the fourth step is to open TheShariyat, again at random, and readanother paragraph. At this point, you cantry to see how the first and second para-graphs relate to your problem. The entireexercise shouldn’t go much longer thanfifteen or twenty minutes.

The following day, if you still don’thave an answer, do this spiritual exerciseagain. If you do get an answer, then you


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can use the same technique on anotherproblem bothering you.


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10Initiations

At the time of initiation the chela[spiritual student] is imparted vi-

tal secrets, which facilitate his growth andspeed up his karma. The highest, perfectdirections for the Spiritual Exercises ofECK are given. These help him to unfoldhis inner hearing and inner sight, and withthem he begins his ever growing inwardand upward pilgrimage to the Sugmad.


A new ECKist from Australia had beenwondering what her First Initiation wouldbe like. When she was ready for it, aHigher Initiate in ECK came to her inthe dream state and said, “Come, let usgo see the Master.” Together the newECKist and the Higher Initiate journeyed


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to one of the worlds of the Astral Plane,chatting as they walked along. Soon theMaster appeared in the Light body, andthe First Initiation was given.

The individual went on to completeher second year of study, at which timeshe was ready for the Second Initiation.This one is both an outer and inner ini-tiation. This is where the full linkup withthe Holy Spirit occurs.

As she sat with the ECK Initiator incontemplation, she became aware that theInitiator was leading her down a beach.The setting was very familiar; she had beenthere in dreams many times since child-hood. Is this real or am I imagining it?she wondered.

All of a sudden her consciousness wasfully on the inner plane. She and theInitiator were met by the ECK MasterRebazar Tarzs, who joined them in theirwalk along the beach.

Ahead of them on the sand was ablanket spread with fruit. The InnerMaster, the Mahanta, was waiting for


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them. In his hands he held a goblet madeof precious jewels. “This is the water oflife,” he said to her. “Take it, and drink.”

This water of life is actually the ECK,which is the Light and Sound of God.Once a person drinks of it, he will neverbe the same. This is the sort of thing thatoccurs during the ECK initiation. Youbecome aware that ECK is the path oflove. When this connection between Souland the Holy Spirit is made, it is simplyto give the person the best opportunityto live his life in the most fruitful waypossible.

Initiation Links Soulto the Audible Life Stream

The ECK is the essence of Sugmad, orGod. It f lows from the Creator down intothe lower worlds and then returns againto the Source. It supports and sustainsall life. Over the centuries It has beengiven many names. The Holy Spirit, HolyGhost, Logos, the Word, Divine Spirit,


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the Bani, and the Vadan are a few ofthese names. Many religious traditionsrefer to the ECK in some way.

Divine Spirit is also called the Au-dible Life Stream, because It can be ex-perienced audibly, as Sound. It isawareness of this Sound that distin-guishes Eckankar from many other reli-gions. When Soul is ready, the Mahantalinks It with this Sound. This allows Soulto travel at Its own pace back to God.

As individuals progress spiritually,they become eligible for further initia-tions. Each initiation strengthens thebond of love between the individual andGod.

How ManyInitiations Are There?

The inability of the mind to compre-hend those areas beyond the Soul Planelimits us in our understanding of thevarious heavens and their correspondinginitiations. From the physical perspec-


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tive, we can identify fourteen levels ofinitiation. Yet there is always a plus factorin Eckankar. There is no end to the spiri-tual universe. The God Worlds are notfinite areas surrounded by borders.

Each of Us EntersEckankar with a Different

State of Consciousness

Harold Klemp says in How to SurviveSpiritually in Our Times,“Your ECK ini-tiation can open the window of heaven.Your state of consciousness means noth-ing more than your state of acceptance.”

Each of us enters the path of Eckankarwith a different state of consciousness.Our own level of unfoldment depends onour experience in this life and in previ-ous incarnations. Some have studied theECK teachings in past lives and there-fore take to the path quite easily. Forothers it may be their first contact withthe teachings of Light and Sound, and


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they may feel more comfortable proceed-ing slowly.

The Initiation Process

Beyond the First Initiation, whichoccurs in the dream state, initiations inECK are given both physically andspiritually. The Living ECK Masterauthorizes each initiation. A letter is sentto the ECKist, which is an invitation toreceive the initiation. The ECKist thenmakes an appointment with an ECKInitiator.

The initiation takes less than an hourto complete, and includes instruction andcontemplation. In some initiations, a newspiritual word is given, to be sung duringspiritual exercises.

Initiation Paceand Frequency Vary

The pace of spiritual progress variesfrom person to person. A number of years


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normally pass between ECK initiationsto ensure that each person has builtstrong spiritual foundations at each level.

Some may experience their next ini-tiation inwardly six months or morebefore they receive the outer invitationfrom the Master. For others, the signifi-cance of the initiation may not be fullyunderstood for months after the initia-tion.

Each Initiation Correspondsto a Different Plane of Existence

Each initiation corresponds to a spe-cific plane. The Second Initiation is re-lated to the Astral Plane, the Third to theCausal Plane, the Fourth to the MentalPlane, and so on. The Fifth Initiation isespecially significant, because it corre-sponds to the Soul Plane. This is thebeginning of the pure spiritual worlds,above space and time. At the Fifth Plane,the usual laws of karma and reincarna-tion no longer hold sway.


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Consciousness Has toBe Earned Moment to Moment

Of course, obtaining the Fifth Initia-tion in Eckankar does not guaranteespiritual balance or understanding. Con-sciousness always has to be earned mo-ment to moment. Regardless of spiritualstature, a person can become confused,experience a spiritual setback, and haveto start on the path again. The roadbecomes narrower as we move into thehigher worlds. With greater spiritualfreedom comes greater responsibility andaccountability.

The Rules Changefrom Plane to Plane

The initiations of ECK can have adramatic effect on our spiritual lives. If,as a Second Initiate, we become accus-tomed to operating on the Astral Plane,we may expect the rules and systemslearned there to work for us everywhere.Many who take the Third Initiation are


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puzzled to find that the Causal Planeoperates in a different manner. They mustlearn the new rules. This process consti-tutes part of our spiritual growth.

The Real Initiation Occurs Inside

Only the Mahanta, the Living ECKMaster can link up Soul with the ECKthrough initiation. The outer initiation issimple and easy. As with many experi-ences in Eckankar, the real event occursinside each of us. The outer initiation isa physical acknowledgment of the innerspiritual event. It is the inner event whichmakes all the difference.

Initiations Are Private and Sacred

The clergy of Eckankar are from theranks of the Higher Initiates, those in theFifth Circle or above. And teachers ofEckankar classes must have received atleast their Second Initiation. Yet theseare not distinctions which one ECKistuses to compare himself to another, or to


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gain status in the community. The initia-tions of ECK are private and sacred.

Each Initiation Is anInvitation from the Living ECKMaster to Take the Next Step on

the Way Home to God

The Living ECK Master is the onlyone who can approve an initiation for anECKist. The First Initiation usuallycomes within the first year of study. It isentirely an inner initiation. Sometimesthe student of ECK will remember this,and sometimes not. It can occur in thedream state, or it can be experiencedduring a spiritual exercise. There is noouter ceremony to mark the First Initia-tion.

Each person, regardless of his outerinitiation, is capable of spiritual great-ness. Each initiation is an invitation fromthe Living ECK Master to take the nextstep on the way home to God.


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These ECK Masters are also on everyplane and planet in the universes

of God. Their work is to help forward theevolution of humanity, to find and traindisciples. They see that these disciplescome to the Living ECK Master so that hecan take them under his charge to bringabout the qualities of love and wisdom inthis world.

The Shariyat-Ki-SugmadBook Two

Much has been written about guardianangels. In fact, there have been so manyreports of angelic visitations that nationalresearch groups have been formed torecord and investigate the phenomenon.

11The ECK Masters


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Sometimes these angels appear physi-cally during a life-threatening episode,then disappear. Other times, accompa-nied by blue or white light, they appear inan inner vision or a dream. Sometimesthey appear as invisible friends to chil-dren. One common thread in all theseappearances is that, through the experi-ence, people’s lives were changed for thebetter.

In Eckankar, these angels are ECKMasters. You’ve read about several of themalready. Eckankar literature is richwith the stories of people who were helpedby the ECK Masters. They include innerhealings by Lai Tsi, an ancient ChineseECK Master, and help during hardshipby a female ECK Master, Kata Daki. Andaccounts of animals or favorite pets be-ing protected by Prajapati, another ECKMaster. Their appearance makes an im-pression that lasts a lifetime. Often theseoccurrences took place before people dis-covered Eckankar for themselves.

Probably the most common occurrence is


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the appearance of the “man in blue” or theappearance of a blue light. This is theLiving ECK Master.

The Living ECK Master Belongsto the Order of the Vairagi,

Providing Guidance Home to God

When the Living ECK Master stepsdown from his position, he usually takeson a different mission in the heavenlyhierarchy. Shamus-i-Tabriz, who servedas the Living ECK Master over fourhundred years ago, now teaches in awisdom temple on one of the other planes.

The brotherhood of ECK Masters aremembers of the Order of the Vairagi. TheSanskrit word vairag means “detached.”These Masters are detached from thepassions of this world. Their only missionis to guide Soul home to God. They do nothave a social agenda and usually stayaway from political and other causes.Through the Spiritual Exercises of ECK,many ECKists work with some of theseECK Masters.


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Harold Klemp’s Link with aLong Line of Living ECK Masters

The present Living ECK Master,Harold Klemp, studied under PaulTwitchell, who studied under numerousteachers, including the Tibetan RebazarTarzs. This unbroken chain reachesback through time. There have been count-less ECK Masters in this lineage. Somehave been historical f igures, but mosthave worked silently or with small groups.

You Can Be Free from Fear

A common expression in Eckankaris that the Master is always with you.The Mahanta gives spiritual protectionin a number of ways. Just like on earth,the inner heavens contain both good andbad elements. Some of us stumble ontocertain areas of the Astral Plane and be-come frightened. Without knowing why,other people are plagued by fears through-out their life. And still others, particu-larly in the developing nations, have


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serious concerns about witchcraft andvoodoo. The Mahanta provides a cloak ofprotection for his students so they cangrow and learn spiritually without fear.

We Are Never GivenMore Than We Can Handle

The Mahanta also works with eachECKist in the dream state. When we dream,we simply operate in a different state ofconsciousness. We have less resistance toDivine Spirit, and we can more easily re-ceive the guidance of the Master. TheECKist finds many spiritual issues are re-solved while dreaming, and Eckankar pro-vides instruction which helps us rememberand understand our dreams.

The Living ECK MasterGrants Total Spiritual Freedom

to His Students

The prime mission of the Mahanta,the Living ECK Master is to lead Soul


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home to God. The Master always grantstotal spiritual freedom to his students.They are never controlled or manipulated,and they have complete freedom of choicein every aspect of life. The ECK Mastershave attained spiritual freedom for them-selves and would like to share this joy withas many Souls as want it.

There Is Alwaysa Living ECK Master

Eckankar always has a living Master.The Living ECK Master makes sure thespiritual essence of the teachings re-mains pure even though the outer formand shape of Eckankar might change.

Each Living ECK Master is respon-sible for training and appointing hissuccessor. There are always a number ofindividuals who are quietly in trainingto become the next Living ECK Master.The spiritual training is rigorous, andmany do not pass the required tests. Onlyone is chosen.


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Few Religions Resemblethe Spiritual Teaching Given

by the Founders

Very few religions of today resemblethe spiritual teaching given by theirfounders. Christianity has gone throughmany changes, and the Bible has seenmany edits. As a result, what is writtenmay bear little resemblance to whatChrist actually said. The purpose of aliving Master is to prevent such mis-direction of the original spiritual truths.The Master is the Living Word.

With the Living ECK Master asGuide, We Experience Only WhatIs Necessary for Spiritual Growth

The ECK Masters have made the samespiritual journey and have come tounderstand the road. They know theshortest route. We can save enormouswear and tear by following their lead backto God. Without a spiritual guide, thejourney home can be long and arduous.


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With the Living ECK Master as our guide,we experience only what is necessary forour spiritual growth. The purpose of theLiving ECK Master is to show us the wayhome to God.

The Mahanta Is the Inner Formof the Living ECK Master

The Mahanta, the Living ECK Masteris the spiritual leader of Eckankar. TheMahanta is the inner, or spiritual, formof the Living ECK Master, which mostECKists work with on a daily basis. Fewcan physically converse with the LivingECK Master because of physical-worldlimitations. But the Mahanta is avail-able to all at every moment.

The Living ECK MasterIs Not Worshiped

In Eckankar, the Living ECK Masteris not idolized. He is given respect andlove, but he is not worshiped. It is theMaster’s function, not his personality, that


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is important. Thus when the Mastershipis passed from one person to another, thespiritual life of the ECKist need notchange.

The Living ECK Master Takes onKarma but Doesn’t Relieve It

The Mahanta also takes over thekarma of his followers. This does not meanhe will relieve anyone of their karma, forthis could mean they would be deprivedof an experience they may need. But itmeans their karmic experience will beorganized in such a way they can betterunderstand the lessons being offered.

If we open our hearts, we will be ableto see what our experiences are tellingus about our attitudes and our own spiri-tual nature. The Mahanta also tells uswe will never receive more than we canhandle. Our karma is regulated in sucha way that, if we listen to our spiritualguidance, we won’t be overloaded, loseour balance, and fall off the spiritual path.


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It’s Natural to Question

The God Worlds of ECK are vast andcan be quite confusing to the uninitiated.Am I on the Astral Plane? Am I on thebest path? Is this a true spiritual experi-ence, or am I deluding myself ? Where arethe signposts? How far is the goal? Whatis the goal? It is natural under such cir-cumstances to seek out a guide. We lookfor someone who has traveled the roadbefore and can now show us the way.

The ECKist’s GoalIs Spiritual Mastery

The goal of every ECKist is to expe-rience life to the fullest. That is spiritualmastery. Some of us may eventually serveon earth as “guardian angel” ECKMasters, while others will pursue spe-cialized interests in the spiritual worlds.


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12The Play of Soul

The play of Soul is like a drama inwhich Soul is both the actor and

audience. On entering the theater the au-dience knows that it is about to see a play,but the actor creates maya, an illusion ofreality which gives the audience extremeemotions of joy or terror, laughter or tears.It is in the joy and sorrow of all beingsthat Soul, as audience, is carried away byItself as the actor.


Eckankar Is a Living Religion

The great beauty of Eckankar is thatit is a living religion. It’s not bogged downwith credos and dogmas. It evolves as our


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consciousness evolves. We do not wor-ship the Living ECK Master. He is a guideto be respected, loved, and honored. Heis not an icon to be worshiped. You maystudy many books and attend classes orlectures, but your real learning comesfrom inside yourself and from your expe-riences.

Prove It for Yourself

As reported in The Shariyat-Ki-Sugmad, the ECK Master Gopal Das oncesaid, “Those who follow the ECK takenothing for granted, for they must proveit themselves. Only then will they knowthat God so loved them that He sent aLiving ECK Master to bring Souls hometo Him.”

Understand Who You Really Are

As you begin to study the teachings ofEckankar, you may accelerate your spiri-tual growth. By practicing the Spiritual


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Exercises of Eckankar, you can learn toSoul Travel. You begin to understand whoyou really are: that you’re here for aspiritual purpose. You can let go of yourfear of death. You worry less. You invitemore love into your life. You feel ener-gized, and grow and change. Undesirablehabits begin to fall away.

You begin to understand the natureand importance of dreams. The dreambecomes a teaching tool. The DreamMaster is the teacher. He helps you lookunabashedly at your innermost fears anddesires, and helps you come to terms withthem. The ultimate purpose of dreams isto bring you closer to the Light and Soundof God.

Become Liberatedfrom Being the Victim

In time, past lives are revealed to you.You discover the role of karma and rein-carnation in spiritual unfoldment. Youbecome liberated from being the victim.


114

You learn you are responsible, but youdiscover that the responsibility is not aweight. It is a key to spiritual freedom.You are the creator of your life; and bytaking responsibility for your actions andlearning from your experiences, you earnwisdom and spiritual maturity.

As your relationship with the InnerMaster matures, you also become moreaware of the God Worlds. You exploreother planes, even other planets. You visitTemples of Golden Wisdom. You meet ECKMasters, and the universe opens up foryou. The process of God-Realization be-gins. You let God enter more fully intoyour life.

Life Becomes Miraculous

When you let God into your life, divinelove also enters. Experiences and coinci-dences you would have discounted astrivial before now, become miraculous.Life itself is rich, and you discover the joyof service and charity. God’s love awak-


115

ens your heart. You find this love in theeyes of the Living ECK Master and in theeyes of friends and family.

You’ll be given the keys to the futureand the past. Events and experiences willspeak to you in a way you’ve never knownbefore. You can begin to see cycles andconnections between your life and time-less wisdom. The waking dream andGolden-tongued Wisdom open your innereyes and ears to the Voice of God.

There Are Many Techniques, andAlways the Inner Master, to Act asYour Light through the Darkness

Problem solving will one day cease tobe as frustrating or traumatic. You cometo understand that you are never givena problem beyond your abilities. You learnto hone your existing talents and developnew ones. Although growth seldom seemscomfortable, the self-mastery you gaingives you a far deeper level of self-assurance and sense of comfort. You are


116

never alone. There are many techniques,and always the Inner Master, to act asyour light through the darkness.

To Become aMember of Eckankar

To become a member you can visitEckankar's Web site at www.eckankar.org,call (952) 380-2222, or write Eckankar,P.O. Box 27300, Minneapolis, MN 55427U.S.A.

One of the benefits of membership isthat you receive discourses, or spiritualstudy lessons. During your first two years,you study spiritual exercises and dreams.You will unfold at your own pace. You canstay in your present religion. In fact, itsteachings will probably become clearerthan ever. You will probably notice anacceleration of change, but you’ll alwayshave the means at hand to understandwhy change is taking place.

With each year of ECK membership,you will receive a new series of lessons


117

for your personal study. You can also joinan ECK Satsang class studying any ofthe lessons you have received. ECKclasses offer a comfortable setting inwhich class members can share experi-ences, insights, and questions.

It is not until the end of a two-yearperiod, when you’re invited to receive yourSecond Initiation, that you decide whetherto make a more lasting commitment toyour spiritual awakening. After yourSecond Initiation, your life is transformed.You enter a new world of possibilities.

Love for andResponsibility to All Life

Harold Klemp says that “The teach-ings of ECK work on the simple principlethat love is the divine current whichmakes all life possible. We as Soul rideon this current, first of all, away fromGod. Then, at the farthest point away, atthe very end of Its rope, Soul finds theteachings of ECK and can return home.


118

“Before this, Soul has despaired of everfinding truth, of ever finding the bestway home to God. Throughout Its manysojourns, in Its many lifetimes on earthand on the inner planes, Soul has beengranted boons such as instant healingsand ‘undeserved’ riches. All too often theindividual has been misled to believe thatlife is a free ride or that life gives itsbounties only to the fortunate. This mis-understanding has brought confusion.

“But when we come to ECK, we findthat the games of illusion come to anend. . . . Finally we reach the understand-ing that everything we do, everythingthat happens to us, is for our own spiri-tual good and of our own making. At theend of the road we realize that the spiri-tual path is about love for all, self-responsibility, and responsibility to alllife.”


119

How to Take theNext Step on Your Spiritual

JourneyDiscover your own answers to questions

about your past, present, and future throughthe ancient wisdom of Eckankar. Take thenext bold, adventurous step on your spiritualjourney, and learn how you can join Eckankar.

Eckankar can show you why special at-tention from God is neither random nor re-served for a few saints. It is for everyindividual. It is for anyone who opens theheart to Divine Spirit, the Light and Soundof God.

If you’re searching for the secrets of lifeand the afterlife, Harold Klemp, today’sspiritual leader of Eckankar, and PaulTwitchell, its modern-day founder, havewritten a series of monthly discourses thatgive special Spiritual Exercises of ECK andlead you in a direct way to God.

Those who wish to study Eckankar,Religion of the Light and Sound of God, canreceive these special discourses which giveclear, simple instructions for the spiritualexercises.


120

Through Membership inEckankar You’ll Discover

1. The most direct route home to Godthrough Eckankar’s teachings on the Lightand Sound of God. Eckankar brings theopportunity to gain wisdom, charity, andspiritual freedom in this lifetime.

2. The spiritual meaning of dreams, SoulTravel techniques, and ways to establisha personal relationship with Divine Spiritthrough study of monthly discourses. Thesediscourses are available to the entire fam-ily. You may study them at home or in aclass with others.

3. Secrets of self-mastery in a special let-ter to members and articles by the LivingECK Master in the Mystic World, a quar-terly newsletter. In it are also letters andarticles from members of Eckankar aroundthe world.

4. Upcoming Eckankar seminars andother activities worldwide, new study ma-terials available from Eckankar, and more,through special mailings. Join the excite-ment and fulfillment of attending majorEckankar seminars!


121

5. The joy of the ECK Satsang (discoursestudy) experience through classes and bookdiscussions. These classes enable you toshare spiritual experiences and find an-swers about the ECK teachings with othersin your community.

How to Find Out MoreTo request membership in Eckankar us-

ing your credit card (or for a free brochureon membership) visit Eckankar's Web site atwww.eckankar.org or call (952) 380-2222,weekdays, between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.,central time. Or write ECKANKAR, Att: In-formation, P.O. Box 27300, Minneapolis, MN55427 U.S.A.

How to Purchase ItemsFollowing are books and audiocassettes

available from Eckankar. Using your creditcard, you can purchase these items by calling(952) 380-2222 weekdays between 8:00 a.m.and 5 p.m., central time. For prices andshipping information you can call the abovephone number and/or write to us atECKANKAR, Att: Information, P.O. Box27300, Minneapolis, MN 55427 U.S.A.

5/6/02 1:23 pmECKANKAR Ancient Wisdom for Today WIP# 011129

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Introductory Booksand Tapes on Eckankar

FPORules DO Print

FPORules DO Print

Autobiography of aModern ProphetBy Harold Klemp

Master your true destiny.Learn how this man's journey toGod illuminates the way for youtoo. Dare to explore the outer lim-its of the last great frontier, yourspiritual worlds! The more youexplore them, the sooner you come

to discovering your true nature as an infinite,eternal spark of God. This book helps you get there!A good read.

The Art of SpiritualDreamingBy Harold Klemp

Dreams are a treasure. A giftfrom God. Harold Klemp showshow to find a dream's spiritualgold, and how to experience God'slove. Get insights from the pastand future, grow in confidence,and make decisions about career

and finances. Do this from a unique perspective:by recognizing the spiritual nature of your dreams.


123

The Mahanta TranscriptsSeriesBy Harold Klemp

This collection of talks fromaround the world by the LivingECK Master contains hundreds ofstories and spiritual exercises toshow you how:

• to experience yourself as Soul• God speaks to you• Divine Spirit works with you• to live a more loving and creative life• to replace your fears with God’s love• to open yourself to new spiritual horizons• to learn from your dreams• you are the creator of your own worlds

A Modern Prophet AnswersYour Key Questions aboutLifeBy Harold Klemp

A pioneer of today's focus on"everyday spirituality" shows youhow to experience and under-stand God's love in your life—anytime, anyplace. His answersto hundreds of questions help

guide you to your own source of wisdom, peace, anddeep inner joy.


124

The SpiritualExercises of ECKBy Harold Klemp

This incredible little book is astaircase with 131 steps. It’s a veryspecial staircase, because you don’thave to climb all 131 steps to getto the top. And what awaits you at

the top? The doorway to spiritual freedom, self-mastery, wisdom, and love.

Titles include:Journey of Soul, Book 1How to Find God, Book 2The Secret Teachings, Book 3The Golden Heart, Book 4Cloak of Consciousness, Book 5Unlocking the Puzzle Box, Book 6The Eternal Dreamer, Book 7The Dream Master, Book 8We Come as Eagles, Book 9The Drumbeat of Time, Book 10What Is Spiritual Freedom? Book 11How the Inner Master Works, Book 12The Slow Burning Love of God, Book 13The Secret of Love, Book 14Our Spiritual Wake-Up Calls, Book 15How to Survive Spiritually in Our Times,Book 16


125

The ECK Dream DiaryUse this dream journal to cre-

ate a bridge between your innerand outer worlds by recording yourdreams in this beautiful two-hundred-page spiral-bound note-book. Includes quotes on the ECKdream teachings.

A Cosmic Sea of Words:The ECKANKAR LexiconBy Harold Klemp

The ultimate companion bookfor all Eckankar literature. An easy-to-use guide to over 1,700 key spiri-tual terms and concepts for today'sreader.

ECK Wisdom Temples,Spiritual Cities, & Guides:A Brief HistoryBy Harold Klemp

This fascinating guidebook de-scribes Golden Wisdom Templesand their locations and guardians,including the ten spiritual citieson earth to help this world. It

includes charts of historic data for over seventyECK Masters. Use it as creative inspiration foryour spiritual exercises.

TheECK

DREAMDIARY

�


126

How to Master Change inYour Life: Sixty-sevenWays to Handle Life'sToughest MomentsBy Mary Carroll Moore

Embrace each challenge youface with courage and grace. In-cluded are sixty-seven powerfultechniques to help you understandchange, plan the future, conquer

fear and worry, and resolve problems of the past.

ECKANKAR—The Key to Secret WorldsBy Paul Twitchell

One of the f irst texts onEckankar and the Ancient Sci-ence of Soul Travel. It offers yousimple exercises to understandthe hidden forces at work in yourdaily life.

35 Golden Keys to WhoYou Are & Why You'reHereBy Linda C. Anderson

Discover thirty-five goldenkeys to mastering your spiritualdestiny. The dramatic, true sto-ries in this book show you ways toimmediately bring more love,peace, and purpose to your life.


127

HU: A Love Song to GodThis two-tape set is designed to

help listeners of any religious orphilosophical background benefitfrom the gifts of the HU. It includesan explanation of the HU, storiesabout how the HU works in dailylife, and exercises to uplift you spiri-tually.

The Spiritual NotebookBy Paul Twitchell

Learn what saints and mysticsknew about God and the DivineForce — the inspiration for allmyths and religions. Whateveryour religious belief, this book caninspire the beginning of your owninner journey.

The Tiger’s FangBy Paul Twitchell

Paul Twitchell ’s teacher,Rebazar Tarzs, takes him on ajourney through vast worlds ofLight and Sound, to sit at the feetof the spiritual Masters. Theirconversations bring out the se-cret of how to draw closer toGod — and awaken Soul to Itsspiritual destiny.


128

Earth to God,Come In Please . . .Books One & Two

A collection of stories andtechniques from people who havebecome aware of a greater forceoperating in their lives. Their re-markable experiences broughtprofound lessons in love andspiritual freedom that changedtheir lives.

The ECK-Vidya, AncientScience of ProphecyBy Paul Twitchell

The ECK-Vidya teaches us thatall of life can be divided into cycles.This book introduces ways to rec-ognize the flow of Divine Spirit inthe cycles of your life.

The Shariyat-Ki-SugmadBooks One and Two

These books contain the wisdomand ecstatic knowledge of the spiri-tual worlds beyond the regions of timeand space. Studying this highly in-spired book gives insight into thescriptures found in the Temples ofGolden Wisdom.


129

There May Be an EckankarStudy Group near You

Eckankar offers a variety of local andinternational activities for the spiritualseeker. With hundreds of study groupsworldwide, Eckankar is near you! Manyareas have Eckankar centers where youcan browse through the books in a quiet,unpressured environment, talk with otherswho share an interest in this ancient teach-ing, and attend beginning discussion classeson how to gain the attributes of Soul:wisdom, power, love, and freedom.

Around the world, Eckankar studygroups offer special one-day or weekendseminars on the basic teachings ofEckankar. Check your phone book underECKANKAR, or call (952) 380-2222 formembership information and the locationof the Eckankar center or study groupnearest you. Or write ECKANKAR, Att:Information, P.O. Box 27300, Minneapo-lis, MN 55427 U.S.A. Or visit Eckankar'sWeb site at www.eckankar.org.


130

Please send me information on the near-est Eckankar center or study group inmy area.

Please send me more information aboutmembership in Eckankar, which includesa twelve-month spiritual study.

Please type or print clearly 141

Name

Street Apt. #

City State/Province

ZIP/Postal Code Country


131

Bibliography

Harold Klemp, The Art of Spiritual Dreaming (Min-neapolis: Eckankar, 1999)

——————, Autobiography of a Modern Prophet(Minneapolis: Eckankar, 2000)

——————, Cloak of Consciousness, Mahanta Tran-scripts, Book 5 (Minneapolis: Eckankar, 1991)

——————, The Dream Master, Mahanta Tran-scripts, Book 8 (Minneapolis: Eckankar, 1993,1997)

——————, The Drumbeat of Time, Mahanta Tran-scripts, Book 10 (Minneapolis: Eckankar,1995)

——————, The Eternal Dreamer, Mahanta Tran-scripts, Book 7 (Minneapolis: Eckankar, 1992)

——————, The Golden Heart, Mahanta Tran-scripts, Book 4 (Minneapolis: Eckankar, 1990)

——————, How to Survive Spiritually in OurTimes, Mahanta Transcripts, Book 16 (Minne-apolis: Eckankar, 2001)


132

(132)

——————, Journey of Soul, Mahanta Transcripts,Book 1 (Minneapolis: Eckankar, 1988)

——————, A Modern Prophet Answers Your KeyQuestions about Life, (Minneapolis: Eckankar,1998)

——————, Unlocking the Puzzle Box, MahantaTranscripts, Book 6 (Minneapolis: Eckankar,1992)

——————, What Is Spiritual Freedom? MahantaTranscripts, Book 11 (Minneapolis: Eckankar,1995)

Paul Twitchell, The Spiritual Notebook (Minneapo-lis: Eckankar, 1971, 1990)

——————, The Shariyat-Ki-Sugmad, Book One(Minneapolis: Eckankar, 1970, 1987)

——————, The Shariyat-Ki-Sugmad, Book Two(Minneapolis: Eckankar, 1971, 1988)


133

Index

Angels, 101–2Astral Plane, 21, 48,

60–61, 78, 97, 98,104

Astrology, 78

Causal Plane, 52,61–62, 97, 99

Clergy, ECK, 99Cycles, 77, 115

Death, 19, 47Divine love, 19, 65–72,

114–15Dream(s), 25–35, 60–

61, 105, 113, 116journal, 34symbols, 26, 31–32

Dream Master, 29, 32, 113

ECK, 10, 93–94Eckankar, 10, 116ECKists, 9, 40, 41ECK Masters. See

Vairagi ECK MastersECK-Vidya, 73–82

Etheric Plane, 64Ethics, 39Experience, personal,

3, 43, 109

Fear(s), 19, 41, 104–5

God. See also SugmadCo-worker with, 22,44, 76listening to, 20–21

God-Realization, 55–58,114

God Worlds, 21, 48, 55–64, 95, 110, 114

Golden Heart, 69, 70, 72Golden-tongued

Wisdom, 80–81,115

Golden WisdomTemple(s), 60, 61,62, 63, 64, 114

Guidance, spiritual, 109

Heaven, 48. See alsoGod Worlds

Holy Spirit. See ECK


134

HU, 22, 87–89

Initiation, 91–100

Kal force, 69Karma, 30–31, 37–44,

51–52, 109, 113Law of, 38, 41, 50

Klemp, Harold, 6–7, 57,104

Light and Sound of God,10, 55–56, 57, 70–71,113

Living ECK Master, 4,11, 99, 103, 105– 6,108, 112, 115

Mahanta, 11, 26, 40,108, 109

Meditation, 21Mental Plane, 21, 62–63,

97

Near-death experiences,47–48

Out-of-body experiences,47–48

Past lives, 40, 52, 75Prayer, 20Problem solving, 83–90,

115Prophecy, 33–34, 76

Rebazar Tarzs, 15–19,92, 104

Reincarnation, 42, 45 –53, 113

Responsibility, 41–42,98, 114, 118

Self-Realization, 39, 58Shariyat-Ki-Sugmad,

the, 4, 60Shariyat-Ki-Sugmad,

The, 89, 112Shariyat technique, 88–

90Soul, 11, 12, 13–14, 25,

46, 47, 48, 117–18Soul body, 17–18Soul Plane, 58–59, 79,

94, 97Soul Travel, 11, 13–23,

33, 70, 113benefits of, 19–20

Spiritual Exercises ofECK, 20–23, 40,52, 112–13, 116

Spiritual liberation, 12, 40Spiritual teachers, 2Sugmad, 11

Twitchell, Paul, 5–6,17–18, 104

Vairagi ECK Masters, 5,53, 60, 74–75,101–2, 103, 104,106, 107, 110

Waking dream(s), 81–82, 115

ECKANKAR Ancient Wisdom (cover) # 011129 4/9/02 9:53 am

TodayAncient WisdomECKANKAR

for

How past lives,dreams, and Soul Travel

help you find God

E

EC

KA

NK

AR

—A

ncient Wisdom

for Today

$4.95

he Voice of God speaks to ustoday. And you don’t need to be a

prophet or saint to hear It. Are you oneof the millions who have heard Godspeak to you through a profoundspiritual experience? Did you under-stand it or find it puzzling?

After reading this book, you willemerge with a new perspective on theway you see life. The timeless wisdomof Eckankar can help you understandyourself as Soul, an infinite, spiritualbeing. Try simple spiritual exercises tohelp you connect with the Light andSound of God, for a richer, happier life.

T

~<(sl&r!=edbbae< +Ö-U-Y-^-ÖISBN 1-57043-110-8

Amiracle is a changedconsciousness. You are Soul, aconscious spiritual being, a

creative, divine spark of a loving God. Yourpurpose on earth is to grow spiritually—togain experience, find truth, and learn how togive and receive love. To put it another way,your main purpose here is to once more findyour way home to God.

A true religion makes a link between Godand you. And it provides a guide to help makeyour journey as easy and direct as possible.

Eckankar has an inner and outer livingguide. He has made the journey into theheart of God but has returned to help us onour own way home. This guide is theMahanta, the Living ECK Master.

When you linkup with himthrough membershipin Eckankar, you canstart to seewonderful changesin your state ofconsciousness. Andyour life becomesone of meaning. Youwill then experiencethe awesomemiracle of realspiritual growth.

See the biggerpicture of life

In Eckankar you can explore the manyfacets of divine truth through dreams, SoulTravel, and your own contemplative exercises.You’ll also develop a deeper and moreprofound appreciation for the many cycles oflife that directly affect you. As a member ofECK, you may enjoy spiritual fellowship ofothers who, like you, desire peace, wisdom,spiritual freedom, and God’s grace and love.

Harold Klemp,the Mahanta, the

Living ECK Master

Experience the miracleof spiritual growth

There’s no need to make dramaticchanges to your lifestyle. You’ll get spiritualtraining and experience, including the ECKdiscourses. They are by the Living ECKMaster and carry a power and wisdom farbeyond the written word.

These sacred letters employ a languageand rhythm that awaken Soul to theopportunity for spiritual growth here andnow. They feature spiritual exercises to helpyou catch a larger and more sweeping visionof life around you.

Climb the stairway to spiritualfreedom

Members reach for higher states ofawareness via the initiations of ECK. Eachinitiation is a true awakening. It opens youto a whole new world of God’s Light andSound. It also imparts to you a new sense ofspiritual stability and strength.

The ECK initiations make a directconnection between you and the Holy Spirit,the Audible Life Stream of God. The goal isspiritual liberation in this lifetime. Eachinitiation is a sacred and joyous occasion for aspiritual seeker, for it brings an ever-increasing knowledge of and love for God.And it gives new insights into why certainthings in your life play out as they do.

Most ECKists receive their First Initiationduring the first year of membership, and it

often comes in a dream.After two years of ECK membership, you

may request your Second Initiation. Thisinitiation is most important, for it marks amajor turning point in your spiritual life.

Take the next step on yourspiritual journey

With ECK membership, you receive adiscourse series for your personal study. Youstudy one lesson a month. You may share itwith your family.

You may also join an ECK Satsang classand there study any discourse series youhave received. ECK classes offer acomfortable setting where class members canshare insights and experiences and askquestions of the teacher.

At some point, you may have received allthe ECK discourses available in yourlanguage(s). To continue your spiritualunfoldment under the guidance of theMahanta, the Living ECK Master, you mayrenew your membership and then study:

• a previous discourse series or• a book in the Mahanta Transcripts

series (or another book byHarold Klemp)

You can also attend an ECK classstudying that book or discourse.

There are now seventeen years of ECK

As a chela of the Mahanta, the Living ECKMaster, I have experienced more love and beautyand understanding of life on every level—physical,mental, and spiritual—than I could ever havedreamed of. . . .

The works of ECK have given me theopportunity to experience God directly, in thislifetime. These experiences are too personal to refuteand are the essence of the truth I follow. . . .

They have changed my conscious view of lifeand of myself, deeply and profoundly, and havemade me a better person, better father, husband,employee, and member of my community. — Ontario, Canada

Eckankar is the clearest discipline for the Lightand Sound of God. After twenty-five years ofreading, meditating, and being initiated by a guru,I was still not feeling as if progress was beingmade. The Living ECK Master was missing.

—Oregon, U.S.A.

I have Soul Traveled using the HU Song andfound a connection and trust with the Mahanta.

—Stuttgart, Germany

I’ve been in Eckankar for 5 1/ 2 years, and I amextremely happy with your writings and discourses.Each month I am touched at a deeper level.

—Pennsylvania, U.S.A.

discourses for you to explore. Some of theseECK discourses are also in Chinese, Dutch,French, German, Italian, Japanese, Polish,Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Swedish.

The discourses include:The Easy Way DiscoursesThe ECK Dream 1 DiscoursesThe ECK Dream 2 DiscoursesLetters of Light & Sound 1Letters of Light & Sound 2Soul Travel 1—The Illuminated WaySoul Travel 2The Secret WayThe Precepts of ECKANKARThe ECK Satsang Discourses, First SeriesThe ECK Satsang Discourses, Second SeriesThe ECK Satsang Discourses, Third SeriesThe ECK Satsang Discourses, Fourth SeriesThe Master 1 DiscoursesThe Master 2 DiscoursesThe Master 3 DiscoursesThe Master 4 Discourses

Membership facts1. Membership in Eckankar is renewable

once a year.2. You may request an individual

membership in Eckankar if you areeighteen or older. An individualmembership means one person or oneparent/guardian with children living inthe same household. Each person listedon the application will have an Eckankarmembership card and personal record.

3. Or you may request family membershipfor a couple and children living in thesame household. Each person listed onthe application will have an Eckankarmembership card and personal record.The ECK member farthest along in thediscourse sequence gets the discoursesplus special mailings to share with thefamily.

By Harold Klemp

The Easy WayDiscourses

Continued on back panel

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EC

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Eckankar is a nonprofit religious organization

and church w

ith mem

bers in more than one

hundred

countries. The international head

quartersis in M

inneapolis, Minnesota.

To meet EC

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find out about

local ECK

activities, check your phone book under

ECK

AN

KA

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2222, Mond

ay through Friday, 8:00 a.m

. to 5:00 p.m.,

central time.

You are invited to join in the follow

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ECK

Worsh

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ervices. They offer you a chance

to celebrate the experience of the Light andSound of G

od. About an hour long, services

may include m

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Introd

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CK

teachings havehelped

them in their lives.

•B

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iscussion

classes. Joining a discussion

on an Eckankar book can help you see how

Divine Spirit guid

es and helps you in your life.

•M

ajor EC

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inars. A

golden opportunity tohear H

arold Klem

p speak. Workshops, talks,

and creative arts aid your spiritual growth.

•R

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out the world

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Copyright ©

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. The term

s ECK

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ECK

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040354

Name of spouse____________________________ Membership #_____________________Male Female Birth date _____/ _ _/____

Name of child______________________________Membership #_____________________Male Female Birth date _____/ _ _/____



Name ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Membership # __________________________ Birth date _____/ _ _/____ Male Female

Address _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

City_______________________________ State/Prov. ____________________ Zip/Postal Code _______________ Country _______________

Phone # ( ) _________________________________ ( ) ________________________________

Discourse language preference _______________________________________ __________________________________________________

Can you study English discourses if your first and second choices are not available? Yes No

first (given) middle name last (surname)

Please check if new mailing address

1st choice 2nd choice

daytime evening

if renewing mo. day yr. circle one

mo. day yr.

mo. day yr.

I have requested _____ additional discourse set(s) and have enclosed an additional $_____.

Membership DonationYour membership donation helps Eckankar

bring the message of the Light and Sound toyou and others around the world. The donationamounts below are suggestions.

Step 1—Membership Type Individual—Can be one person or one

parent/guardian with children living in thesame household.

Family—Family is considered to be acouple and any children living in the samehousehold.

I have a life membership. (New life member-ships are not offered.)

Step 2—Membership Donation (select one)Annual

Individual—$130/year Family—$160/year

Annual donation enclosed/authorized is

US$__________Credit CardWe accept Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express.

Card# _________ ________ _________ _________

Expires ___________________________________________

Cardholder Signature ______________________________

Your signature will authorize the dona-tion in the amount you specified to be postedto your credit card.

Donations must be in U.S. dollars.Please make all funds payable to Eckankarthrough a U.S. or Canadian bank. Alldonations are nonrefundable.

If you are unable to donate the sug-gested amount, you may request member-ship by calling or writing Eckankar.

Please only list your mate and/or children who live under the same roof with you and want to share your membership. Place a check inthe box in the right-hand column only for those adults who wish to receive their own set of discourses. To help cover mailing and handlingexpenses, Eckankar suggests a donation of $15 per set.

Eckankar membership is available toindividuals age eighteen and older.

mo. day yr.

mo. day yr.

ECKANKAR Membership Application (Please print or type.)

You can begin or renew your ECKANKAR membership via the Internet at www.eckankar.org; by phone, call 952-380-2222, Monday–Friday,8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m., central time; by fax, (952) 380-2295, twenty-four hours; or mail this form to: ECKANKAR, Att: ECK Membership, PO Box 2000,Chanhassen, MN 55317-2000, USA.

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Ancient Wisdom