As an ECK leader, you quickly learn that there are at least two sides to most stories, so you seek them out.
But some stories also have an undercurrent. It adds richness and character to a situation’s dimensions, so look for it. If one exists, the Mᴀʜᴀɴᴛᴀ may then open your eyes to see it.
“Glenda’s” outer story is that at age nineteen she suddenly stopped going to ECK events. Perhaps her mother, an H.I., was the only one to know the reason. But Glenda had kept up her ECK membership. She’d put her spiritual life in a bottle, corked it, and set it on a shelf.
For later.
Every so often the ECK would knock on her door and politely ask, “Do you want to stay on the path? You know you can start doing your spiritual exercises at any time.”
Glenda declined the Master’s offers.
Why had she so abruptly quit all ECK activities? What was the real story behind the outer appearance? She simply wanted time to deal with her arrogance and anger. As a nineteen-year-old, she’d been angry over not receiving an automatic Third Initiation. Didn’t she deserve it as a reward? She had studied and participated in ECK all along.
Then she graduated from college and moved back home. Her mother was fully supportive of her daughter’s “sabbatical.”
One day, Glenda got a strong urge to attend a HU Chant with her mom. There, she remembered how good it felt to just sing HU. Her heart opened. It was as if she were taking that bottle from the shelf and uncorking it, then trying a sip of its contents. She liked the taste.
That HU Chant replaced her anger with a moment of understanding. She learned that there was no need to worry about her level of initiation.
In the grand scheme of her spiritual life, ECK initiations would come when she was ready. Nor was the elapsed time between them significant. The duration was no reflection of her worthiness or ability to accept divine love and guidance into her life.
Glenda noted, “The last year has been a breath of fresh air from everything I was going through.”
Soon after, she attended her first ECK seminar in years. Her arrogance had fled. The sabbatical was over.
“Nancy’s” story also has an undercurrent of sorts.
She is the Arahata of an ECK Satsang class in a distant Canadian city. She usually has the class in a hotel and stays overnight before driving home the following day.
After class one day, she was accompanying two class members to the hotel’s parking lot. A distraught and shaken man with a stutter approached them. He’d lost his carry-on luggage on the train in the city. His wallet was in it.
A journeyman lineman for the power company, he had missed his flight home.
He’d tried to talk to three others, but they had become angry with him and had stalked off. Now he said repeatedly, “Please, don’t get angry at me!”
He needed forty dollars to buy a bus ticket home. Nancy rushed back to her room and grabbed a hundred dollars to give him. But as she ran back out of the hotel, another man approached her. He’d left his wallet at his girlfriend’s place and had run out of gas. He needed to buy a jerrican and gas.
The whole time he kept repeating, “I’m not a vagabond or a bum, but I might need thirty or thirty-three dollars.” She handed him forty dollars. He thanked her. Could he have her address, to repay her?
“Don’t worry about it,” she said.
Turning on her heel, Nancy then dashed to the waiting lineman, whose stammer had now gone. She handed him the remaining sixty dollars. “You’re a godsend!” he said over and over.
Nancy thought, At least he has twenty dollars to get something to eat for the long ride home.
Back in her hotel room, she understood that the power of the ECK had drawn these two men, who were truly in need, to the three ECKists.
Given time, you’ll quickly pick up on the undercurrent of situations.
—Sri Harold Klemp
* * *
Being an ECK Initiate expands the scope of your vision. Your inner hearing is much like a muscle you can strengthen by listening for the inner Word of the Mᴀʜᴀɴᴛᴀ.
Look for such occasions of inner knowing as you go about your day.
Recently in the news, a crowd of people where looking for a missing man.
After a few hours without success, the crowd stopped searching. Suddenly someone recognized the missing man inside the crowd. The missing man was completely drunk into a stupor looking around trying to find himself.
Only the Mahanta could help me understand things. Without the Mahanta I am just another drunkard trying to find myself.
It pay to verify with the ECK.
Thank you Mahanta.
Until we hear or read about another Soul’s experience, we think we are the only one with “situations”.
Imagine my surprise to find that I have identified with Glenda and Nancy’s situations. No, I didn’t bottle up my participation in ECK activities, and I can’t recall rushing off to get the means to the comfort of others. But my mind has dwelt on what appears to be a stagnation in my spiritual growth. In response, I zeroed in on my inability to extricate myself from the Kal’s trappings (a number of ‘hold back habits’) and irregular devotions to ECK times as causes.
While the opportunities to be a channel for the expression of divine love such as came Nancy’s way abounds in my little corner of the world, the many instances of proven insincerity often germinates prejudice doubts in my mind. subdues my heart’s yearnings. Thus, I forget the golden advice to forego mental judgements and always do the heart’s bidding in the name of the Mahanta or the SUGMAD.
Both stories reaffirm for me, the timeless admonition: “In God’s Own Time” and the realization of the long journey to the heart of God.
It can’t be rushed, and it can’t be forced. The Master will always appear when the student is ready.
Thank you, dear Mahanta for leading me in thy truth and teaching me.
Since joining the path of ECK I have become more discriminate whenever I am bombarded by persons asking for help financially. I would usually go within and ask the Mahanta for guidance and then act accordingly because one never knows when its a scam. I am glad that you were able to make the right decision with the help of the Mahanta.
Yes there is an undercurrent in every event, situation, or circumstance, just like a golden contract where all matters and Love is that all. A friend called me today saying that people he brought to the path and taught have gotten pink slip for 5th while he did not not. So I had a sit out with him to encourage him to look deeper and have patience with the Mahanta. What I said to him was equally for myself. Thank you Zee.
So Wonderful to be a clear vehicle for the Mahanta , to give love to others Souls in Needs
May The Blessings Be
I was drawn to read this and now I know why. Thank you very much MAHANTA for these beautiful stories. Thank you to all those who shared, for it serves as golden threads shared for others to weave colours of love in their lives. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. My love to you.
Just yesterday, I spoke with a friend and junior classmate from University wishing him a happy birthday and we spoke about our travels to the States. He remarked it must be for the ECK for me. I was amazed and know now that you are working with Souls uniquely, all I have to be is myself, my True Self.
While leading a monthly spiritual discussion for seekers, with my wife in our local area, I noticed that the woman sitting next to me (I’ll call her Sarah) did not engage in what was quite a vibrant discussion about some of the benefits of spiritual exercises. I recognised her as a returning guest so I wondered if this discussion had brought up a spiritual principle that she just wasn’t ready to accept.
Afterwards, as we brought out refreshments to offer the 8 to 10 guests, I was about to talk to those who seemed most interested in the topic when the Mahanta nudged me to approach Sarah instead.
“Was the discussion helpful to you in any way?” I asked. In the pause that followed, I realised that the Mahanta wanted me to see beneath the surface.
“More than words can say,” she began. “I was afraid to speak in case I burst into tears.”
Her first experience of an ECK event, which included singing HU, gave her just enough inner strength and confidence in Spirit to cope with the breakup of her marriage (a few days later) and all the change triggered by that. She had been counting the days to that second opportunity to be with like-minded people in an atmosphere of such healing, unconditional love. Now she was ready to face the next month with more spiritual tools.
I had the good fortune to witness the love of the Mahanta in Sarah’s journey of unfoldment for the year or so that followed. Sarah’s gratitude was so sincerely expressed, it is as real to me today as ever. Being an ECK Vahana is a gift beyond compare.