What the Master Offers

By Harold Klemp

Q: You have spoken about being a holding tank for our karma, to the point where it makes you physically sick.  Also, your wife, Joan, wrote about the unique value of the Master to the chela.

In a culture imbued with the tradition of messianism, it’s hard to imagine what may lie beyond the concept of a savior who needs to sacrifice himself to save mankind.  What are some of the differences between the role of a savior and the way the Mahanta, the Living ECK Master helps people with their karma?

A: Faith and belief are based on feelings instead of reason.  So it’s pointless to argue with someone of another religion about the validity of Eckankar over his beliefs.

This being so, it greatly simplifies the matter for us.  We do not wish to convince anyone about anything.

It’d largely be a waste of precious time.

To begin with, a fundamental premise in ECK is that reincarnation is a fact.  A main tenet of this Christian society is the principle of one life, one time.  These two positions are miles apart.  They can never be in agreement.

So what does the Mahanta, the Living ECK Master offer an ECK chela (spiritual student)?

It’s first and foremost the chance for spiritual liberation.  And what’s more, it’s possible in this very same lifetime.  That is a significant benefit.  By the time a seeker comes across the ECK teachings, he has reached a state of consciousness that realizes the real need for self-responsibility.  It is within the order of Soul’s evolution.

For example, what loving parent would knowingly punish one child for the misdeeds of another?  Each child is responsible for his own deeds.

The main benefit the Master then offers is freedom from the wheel of karma and reincarnation.  That is salvation in Eckankar.

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Excerpted from A Modern Prophet Answers Your Key Questions about Life, Book 2.