When Darwin Gross appointed Harold Klemp as the "Living Eck Master" in
1981 he had no idea that two years later his successor would excommunicate
him from Eckankar, ban his books from sale, and instigate a lawsuit
against him for business impropriety and copyright infringement. But that is
exactly what happened. In a "Personal and Confidential" letter dated
January 4, 1984, Harold Klemp informed Darwin Gross of his removal from
Eckankar:
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Dear Darwin:
The Order of the Vairagi ECK Masters no longer recognizes you as
an ECK Master. As the agent of the ECK, I have removed all of your
initiations in ECK as well as terminated your membership in
ECKANKAR. You are not capable or authorized to act or speak for or
about the Vairagi ECK Masters, ECKANKAR or the ECK teachings, nor are
you to hold yourself out as an ECK Master or ECK member. Do not
directly or indirectly associate yourself or your activities with the
sacred teachings of ECK or ECKANKAR in any way.
I have refrained from coming forth with this pronouncement sooner for the sake of those new to the path and still setting their
spiritual foundation. Dap Ren [spiritual name for Darwin Gross] served the ECK well at one time but the negative forces were allowed in through lack of vigilance and discipline, causing spiritual decay. No one has done this to you--you have brought this upon yourself. Will the meaning of this discipline come clear or will you remain like an actor lost in his role?
You have been given many opportunities to avoid this, but you
have continued your unseeing actions, forsaking the good of the
whole for the whimperings of the little self. Your misuse of a sacred
trust; your self-serving mismanagement of ECKANKAR; your acts against
the MAHANTA, the Living ECK Master, and against other initiates; your
false statements; all of this misconduct is the result of a fall
from grace. No one, including an Eck Master, is exempt from the laws
of Spirit.
And so it stands. The Divine plan continues unfolding while the
ages roll by and Souls make their way home to SUGMAD. IT will receive
you through the MAHANTA, the living ECK Master, when you are ready.
Sincerely,
Sri Harold Klemp [The MAHANTA, The Living ECK Master]
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Naturally, Darwin Gross did not accept Klemp's excommunication,
since it was Gross himself who appointed Klemp as the Living Eck
Master. In a letter, dated February 1984, and widely distributed
amongst interested Eck chelas, Darwin Gross presented his own version
of the breach between Klemp and himself.
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Dear One:
Many individuals who are spiritually awake are concerned about the
misguided information coming out of Menlo Park. The Vairagi Masters do
recognize me as a Vairagi Master. My initiations cannot be removed by
Harold or anyone else. Harold Klemp does not have that authority.
He was given a spiritual responsibility, which he has lost. He no
longer holds the Rod of Eck Power.
It is my duty and responsibility as a Vairagi Master to inform you
that there have been many severe charges and false accusations made
against me by ECKANKAR, the Corporation, Harold Klemp and others, at
the World Wide of Eck, 1983, and on the tape of the 1983 World Higher
Initiates Meeting. I was removed from the World Wide program, for it
would have upset their plans. The schism that has come out of ECKANKAR
was started by the ECKANKAR board, for I did not start this rift in
ECKANKAR.
ECKANKAR has initiated legal action against me, dated August 20,
1983, and I was forced to go out and find a lawye in Portland. This is
not the way of honorable and ethical human beings. . .
People have been listening to misguided Higher Initiates who have
been told by Menlo Park to remove my pictures, destroy my writings,
tapes and music, and this has not been authorized by me; it is under
the control and guise of someone working in the psychic world. Neither
Paul Twitchell nor I have planned any of This psychic negativism that
has been coming out (of) Menlo Park. It smacks of control and
fear. What has been happening is taking away the individual's freedom
of choice. Those individuals who have been reporting psychic attacks
and concern about magicians need to ask Divine Spirit or SUGMAD, where
is the spiritual protection that Eckist has? Have they been receiving
spiritual protection from Harold Klemp? It does not appear so. . .
These excerpts (sic) from letters come from Eckists around the world:
Very quietly, this was what was spoken from the Eck. "Harold has
been removed." I asked by whom? "Yaubl Sacabi." Who is the
replacement, I asked? "Darwin Gross." [January 12, 1984]
With love and blessing in Spirit,
Sri Darwin Gross
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What Went Wrong?
Darwin Gross' troubles didn't first begin in 1983; they started
twelve years earlier when he was appointed by Gail (Atkinson)
Twitchell to succeed her late husband, Paul Twitchell, as head of
Eckankar in 1971; because, regardless of Eckankar's myths to the
contrary, there is no historical basis for the "Vairagi Order of
Masters." The concept is a literary fiction invented by Paul .
Twitchell to invoke a double sense of mystery and
antiquity. Succession in Eckankar is not made on some inner, subtle
plane by a congregation of highly evolved mystics with comical
sounding names like Fubbi Quantz, Rebazar Tarzs, and Yaubl Sacabi, but
is rather the outcome of a very human process, replete with all of the
trappings that such human enterprises entail. Simply put, Paul
Twitchell as an ascended master did not appoint Darwin Gross;
Twitchell's wife Gail did, who (interpret as you want) married the
"new" master, Darwin, shortly thereafter. Likewise, Harold Klemp was
not ordained by the Vairagi Order on some illustrious night in
October, he was chosen by Darwin Gross, who for a variety of reasons
(including the fact that he had bad back problems and that he could
"control" Klemp), did not want to continue as the "Living Eck Master."
Thus, Darwin's first problem was that he was not an enlightened
being in an authentic religious tradition. Instead, he was a two-year
chela in Eckankar who "made good" by being in the right place at the
right time. Gross never lived up to the expectations that sincere
followers of Eckankar had for him. Given his real status (as that of
an ordinary student in an extraordinary, titled position), Darwin
attempted to "pose" as a fully realized master. But he could never
succeed in his charade because he lacked the necessary intellectual
and managerial skills to pull it off. In other words, Darwin Gross got
"caught" in his own web of deception. Ironically, it was Gross'
hand-picked successor, Harold Klemp, who prompted his final undoing.
According to court documents filed in the United States District
Court for the District of Oregon by Eckankar's attorneys ESLER &
SCHNEIDER, Darwin Gross breached his contract as President of Eckankar
(and his lifetime employment agreement which gave him $65,000 a year
for the rest of his life) by the following "material" respects:
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[CLAIMS MADE BY ECKANKAR AGAINST DARWIN GROSS]
A. Diverting corporate opportunities to his own private benefit and profit;
B. Using corporate assets for his own private benefit without any legitimate
or reasonable benefit to defendant [Eckankar] or its corporate purposes;
C. Regularly and habitually failing to perform his duties as an officer of
defendant [Eckankar];
D. Failing to live up to the high moral image expected of an officer and
Trustee of a religious corporation;
E. Failing to support and assist the Living ECK Master [Harold Klemp] in
spreading the message of ECKANKAR;
F. Failing to show reasonable respect and courtesy to the Living ECK Master
[Harold Klemp].
G. Converting and attempting to convert property of ECKANKAR to plaintiff's
[Darwin Gross'] advantage;
H. Transferring and attempting to transfer property of and rights outside the
direct control ofdefendant in contravention of the direct instructions of
the Living ECK Master and defendant's Board of Trustees;
I. Teaching and spreading doctrines which, in the opinion of the Living ECK
Master, are not consistent with the teachings of ECKANKAR;
J. Failing to retire when requested to do so; and
K. Failing to retire from public activities upon his termination as
defendant's president and when requested to do so by the Living ECK Master.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yet, Gross' followers do not see any impropriety in their teacher's
actions. Rather, they see him in a dual function where his spiritual
power is not stripped or questioned by his human wants and
desires. Most of Darwin's work, these chelas contend, is done on the
inner planes in his "other," higher spiritual bodies. What Darwin
presents on the outer is not what he is on the inner. Perhaps Bob
Brant summarizes this position best in his brief article, "Travels
With Darwin," which was published in the first issue of Focus,
Darwin's bi-monthly newsletter published by Sounds of Soul.
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Travels With Darwin [Excerpts by Bob Brant]
A spiritual giant can look very much like you or me, walk the
earth in normal clothes and be hard to pick out of a crowd, except for
his eyes and a presence that you feel. Why can I say this? Because
I've had the opportunity to travel around the world with a spiritual
giant, Sri Darwin Gross, a Vairagi Adept Master....
It is a real honor and privilege to be closely associated with a
Vairagi Adept Master in the physical. All your preconceived notions
and images about Masters are shattered daily as Darwin demonstrates
the true meaning of his three "L's"--Love, Life and Laughter; [He]
truly lives the principles, and teaches us by his own example. My own
personal preconditioning was shattered several years ago when I first
sat down to a meal with him, and thought, "My God, he's eating." I
didn't know Masters did such things. The image was completely
demolished as I watched him consume a chocolate crepe.
But in the physical body he puts his pants on like the rest of us
and never holds himself above anyone. He recently commented to
someone, to set the record straight regarding rumors they had heard
regarding Darwin being into drugs, alcohol, and sex: "I have taken
prescription drugs that are prescribed by the doctor, due to various
operations I've had. Alcohol? I've had a sip of schnaps now and
then. Sex? Yes, I love it. Sex has nothing to do with one's spiritual
unfoldment. It is a form of communication between lovers and for
reproduction."
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How can Gross' exodus be properly explained without usurping the
very foundation of Eckankar's belief system? How can a Living Eck
Master, who allegedly has access to the very highest plane of
Consciousness, get thrown out of Eckankar and not even be considered
an initiate? Or, more bluntly, how can "God" be dethroned?
The forthcoming answers for Klemp and the higher initiates of
Eckankar are not easy ones. For at the very least Darwin's removal
indicates that Klemp himself can "fall" from grace at any moment. The
"Rod of Power" is not infallible. Hence, for the average Eck initiate
the prospects are a bit gloomy: if the Highest Master of God
Consciousness can blow it and become a person non grata, then what
does that say about his/her chances? Darwin's excommunication points
to a fatal flaw in Eckankar's philosophy: spiritual realization is not
moral salvation. Indeed, given Darwin Gross' behavior it appears
obvious that attaining "Eck Mastership" does not in any way prevent
one from still being immoral and self-serving.
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One of the major disputes between Eckankar and Darwin Gross was
over the latter's lifetime contract. Before Darwin Gross resigned as
"Living Eck Master" in 1981 he signed an agreement with Eckankar which
would pay him $65,000 for the rest of his life, plus other perks such
as use of a company automobile (and insurance), complete medical and
dental coverage, entertainment expenses, and other assorted business
expenses. Unquestionably, the contract is a lucrative one which is
both beneficial to Gross before and after retirement. In August of
1983, however, Gross' contract with Eckankar was terminated. Today,
Darwin Gross has no official connection with the movement he once led
for ten years. Below are pertinent excerpts from the October 1981
Employment agreement.
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Employment Agreement
Agreement made this 1st day of October 1981 between ECKANKAR, a
non-profit corporation. . . (hereinafter referred to as "the
employer") and DARWIN GROSS (hereinafter referred to as "the
employee").
1. TERM OF EMPLOYMENT. The employer hereby employs the employee
and the employee hereby accepts employment with the employer for a
period beginning July 1, 1981 and terminating on the resignation of
employee. . .
2. DUTIES OF EMPLOYEE. The employee shall serve as President of
the employer. He shall do and perform all services, acts or things
necessary or advisable to manage and conduct the business of the
employer, subject always to the policies set by the Board of Directors
and act as chief executive officer.
3. COMPENSATION OF EMPLOYEE. 3.01 Salary: As compensation for
services hereunder, the employee shall receive salary at the rate of
65,000.00 per annum, payable in semimonthly installments, or in such
other installments as may be generally applicable to employer's
business during the employment. 3.02 Deferred Compensation: If the
employee remains in the employ of the employer until age 65, or on his
earlier retirement at the option of the employee, the employee shall
be entitled to receive from the employer the sum of $65,000.00 a month
(sic) pay able on the first day of each month commencing with the
first full month after he attains such age or reaches earlier
retirement and continuing for the remainder of his life. 3.03 Salary
continuance during disability: If the employee becomes disabled during
the employment term because of sickness or mental disability or for
any other reason so that he is unable to perform his duties hereunder,
the employer agrees to continue the employee's salary during such
disability for the life of the employee.
4. EMPLOYEE BENEFITS. 4.01 Use of automobile. . . coverage
(including the employee in the minimum amounts of $2,000,000.00 for
bodily injury or death to one person in one accident and $50,000.00
for property damage in one accident. 4.02 Medical and dental
coverage.
5. BUSINESS EXPENSE. Entertainment expenses: The services required by
the employer will require the employee to incur entertainment expenses
on behalf of the employer and the employer hereby agrees to make
available to the employee for this purpose the su me of $2,400.00 per
annum payable in such amounts and at such times as the employee shall
request.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
End Quote. From "Understanding Cults and Spiritual Movements," Vol 2, 1987
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