Ancient Wisdom for Today (9 page)

The Shariyat-Ki-Sugmad

The great beauty of Eckankar is that

it is a living religion. It’s not bogged down with credos and dogmas. It evolves as our 111

consciousness evolves. We do not worship the Living ECK Master. He is a guide to be respected, loved, and honored. He is not an icon to be worshiped. You may

study many books and attend classes or lectures, but your real learning comes from inside yourself and from your experiences.

Prove It for Yourself

As reported in
The Shariyat-Ki-

Sugmad
, the ECK Master Gopal Das once said, “Those who follow the ECK take

nothing for granted, for they must prove it for themselves. Only then will they know that God so loved them that He

sent a Living ECK Master to bring Souls home to Him.”

Understand Who You Really Are

As you begin to study the teachings of Eckankar, you may accelerate your spiritual growth. By practicing the Spiritual 112

Exercises of Eckankar, you can learn to Soul Travel. You begin to understand who you really are: that you’re here for a spiritual purpose. You can let go of your fear of death. You worry less. You invite more love into your life. You feel energized and grow and change. Undesirable habits begin to fall away.

You begin to understand the nature

and importance of dreams. The dream

becomes a teaching tool. The Dream

Master is the teacher. He helps you look unabashedly at your innermost fears and desires, and helps you come to terms with them. The ultimate purpose of dreams is to bring you closer to the Light and Sound of God.

Become Liberated

from Being the Victim

In time, past lives are revealed to you.

You discover the role of karma and reincarnation in spiritual unfoldment. You become liberated from being the victim.

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You learn you are responsible, but you discover that the responsibility is not a weight. It is a key to spiritual freedom.

You are the creator of your life; and by taking responsibility for your actions and learning from your experiences, you earn wisdom and spiritual maturity.

As your relationship with the Inner

Master matures, you also become more

aware of the God Worlds. You explore

other planes, even other planets. You visit Temples of Golden Wisdom. You meet ECK

Masters, and the universe opens up for you. The process of God-Realization begins. You let God enter more fully into your life.

Life Becomes Miraculous

When you let God into your life, divine love also enters. Experiences and coinci-dences you would have discounted as

trivial before now, become miraculous.

Life itself is rich, and you discover the joy of service and charity. God’s love awak-114

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

You’ll be given the keys to the future and the past. Events and experiences will speak to you in a way you’ve never known before. You can begin to see cycles and connections between your life and timeless wisdom. The waking dream and

Golden-tongued Wisdom open your inner

eyes and ears to the Voice of God.

There Are Many Techniques, and

Always the Inner Master, to Act as

Your Light through the Darkness

Problem solving will one day cease to

be as frustrating or traumatic. You come to understand that you are never given a problem beyond your abilities. You learn to hone your existing talents and develop new ones. Although growth seldom seems comfortable, the self-mastery you gain gives you a far deeper level of self-assurance and sense of comfort. You are 115

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

To Become a

Member of Eckankar

To become a member you can visit

Eckankar’s Web site at www.Eckankar.org, call (952) 380-2222, or write Eckankar, PO Box 2000, Chanhassen, MN 55317-2000 USA.

One of the benefits of membership is

that you receive discourses, or spiritual study lessons. During your first two years, you study spiritual exercises and dreams.

You will unfold at your own pace. You can stay in your present religion. In fact, its teachings will probably become clearer than ever. You will probably notice an acceleration of change, but you’ll always have the means at hand to understand

why change is taking place.

With each year of ECK membership,

you will receive a new series of lessons 116

for your personal study. You can also join an ECK Satsang class studying any of

the lessons you have received. ECK

classes offer a comfortable setting in which class members can share experiences, insights, and questions.

It is not until the end of a two-year

period, when you’re invited to receive your Second Initiation, that you decide whether to make a more lasting commitment to

your spiritual awakening. After your

Second Initiation, your life is transformed.

You enter a new world of possibilities.

Love for and

Responsibility to All Life

Harold Klemp says that “The teach-

ings of ECK work on the simple principle that love is the divine current which

makes all life possible. We as Soul ride on this current, first of all, away from God. Then, at the farthest point away, at the very end of Its rope, Soul finds the teachings of ECK and can return home.

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“Before this, Soul has despaired of ever finding truth, of ever finding the best way home to God. Throughout Its many

sojourns, in Its many lifetimes on earth and on the inner planes, Soul has been granted boons such as instant healings and ‘undeserved’ riches. All too often the individual has been misled to believe that life is a free ride or that life gives its bounties only to the fortunate. This mis-understanding has brought confusion.

“But when we come to ECK, we find

that the games of illusion come to an

end. . . . Finally we reach the understanding that everything we do, everything

that happens to us, is for our own spiritual good and of our own making. At the end of the road we realize that the spiritual path is about love for all, self-

responsibility, and responsibility to all life.”

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How to Take the

Next Step on Your Spiritual

Journey

Discover your own answers to questions about your past, present, and future through the ancient wisdom of Eckankar. Take the next bold, adventurous step on your spiritual journey, and learn how you can join Eckankar.

Eckankar can show you why special at-

tention from God is neither random nor reserved for a few saints. It is for every individual. It is for anyone who opens the heart to Divine Spirit, the Light and Sound of God.

If you’re searching for the secrets of life and the afterlife, Harold Klemp, today’s spiritual leader of Eckankar, and Paul Twitchell, its modern-day founder, have written a series of monthly discourses that give special Spiritual Exercises of ECK and lead you in a direct way to God.

Those who wish to study Eckankar,

Religion of the Light and Sound of God, can receive these special discourses which give clear, simple instructions for the spiritual exercises.

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Through Membership in

Eckankar You’ll Discover

1.
The most direct route home to God
through Eckankar’s teachings on the Light and Sound of God. Eckankar brings the

opportunity to gain wisdom, charity, and spiritual freedom in this lifetime.

2.
The spiritual meaning of dreams
, Soul Travel techniques, and ways to establish a personal relationship with Divine Spirit through study of monthly discourses. These discourses are available to the entire family. You may study them at home or in a class with others.

3.
Secrets of self-mastery
in a special letter to members and articles by the Living ECK Master in the
Mystic World
, a quarterly newsletter. In it are also letters and articles from members of Eckankar around the world.

4.
Upcoming Eckankar seminars
and other activities worldwide, new study materials available from Eckankar, and more, through special mailings. Join the excitement and fulfillment of attending major Eckankar seminars!

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5.
The joy of the ECK Satsang
(discourse study), classes, and book discussions. These classes enable you to share spiritual experiences and find answers about the ECK

teachings with others in your community.

How to Find Out More

To request membership in Eckankar us-

ing your credit card (or for a free brochure on membership) visit Eckankar’s Web site at
www.Eckankar.org
or call (952) 380-2222, weekdays, between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., central time. Or write ECKANKAR, Dept.

BK141, PO Box 2000, Chanhassen, MN

55317-2000 USA.

How to Purchase Items

Following are some of the study materials available from Eckankar. Using your credit card, you can purchase these items by calling (952) 380-2222 weekdays between 8:00 a.m.

and 5:00 p.m., central time. For prices and shipping information you can call the above phone number or write to us at ECKANKAR , Dept. BK141, PO Box 2000, Chanhassen,

MN 55317-2000 USA. You can also pur-

chase many of these and other items at www.Eckankar.org.

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For Further Reading and Study

Those Wonderful ECK Masters

By Harold Klemp

Could you be one of the countless

people who have been touched by a

meeting with an ECK Master? These

real-life stories and spiritual exercises can awaken you to the presence and

help of these spiritual guides. Since the beginning of time they have offered guidance, protection, and divine love to help you fulfill your spiritual destiny.

Past Lives, Dreams, and Soul

Travel

By Harold Klemp

What if you could recall past-life

lessons for your benefit today? What

if you could learn the secret knowl-

edge of dreams to gain the wisdom of

the heart? Or Soul Travel, to master the shift in consciousness needed to find peace and content-ment? To ride the waves of God’s love and mercy?

Let Harold Klemp, leading authority in all three fields, show you how.

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