If anyone is looking for an expansive guided spiritual path, you are soul and you exist because God loves you.. past lives, dreams and soul travel. I invite you to look at www.eckankar.org
I had a look at the website. It's a $5/months donation to join straight up. I am old-fashioned. True spirital teachers never charge any money. They teach out of compassion and love. Even Osho never charged anything but was given so much freely by the people that benefited and loved him.
So you can't sign up without giving a "donation". That tells me everything.
Of course, genuine teachers have to charge money sometimes when they offer specific talks and courses to cover overheads, travel and other expenses. They also have to live. But there is a fine line here.
Most of the genuine teachers that charge for specific events are still providing a lot of free teaching, so no-one has to pay for any events to get the teaching.
That's just my take on it. I am very suspicious when it comes to spiritual teachers and check the three main motivators for human behaviour:
1. Are they in for the power
2. Are they in for the money
3. Are they on a spiritual ego trip
Because proper spiritual teaching depends on a loving realtionship to the guru (Indian word for teacher), there is a lot of potential abuse. Know yourself, know your heart, is the best defence.
I got lots of unsubscribes for my last two articles - assumingly Christians and Jesus lovers. People don't like their belief system challanged. Many find it offensive. That only shows that their belief system stands on shaky grounds if it can't handle a challange. People should welcome these challanges because it forces them to test their belief systems. If it is solid, they have nothing to fear. But if there is a cognitive dissonace it gets painful and they run when it is pointed out. I am still amazed who highly intelligent people still sign up to the Jesus version offered by the Bible and the fantastical, irrational belief experiments required to integrated it with a modern, rational life. It just shows the indoctrinating power of the religions to make peole belief that spirituality requires magical thinking.
Interesting that you took so much time to comment and all you focused on was money. Can you tell me how any effective organization runs on no money. $5.00 ? You drive to church it costs you money, you buy a self help book it costs you money, you buy a health harming burger and fries it costs you 15.00 If you go straight to finding the scam by pointing at the costs of receiving a yearly discourse in the mail with a network of people available to connect and study with and $5.00 a month is barrier then I understand Eckankar is not for you. A Starbucks a week is 4 times more money and won’t move you on one bit. May the blessings be.
I and many others write for free. A donation, by definition, is voluntary, not a yeatly subscription of US $60, A$90. Nisargadatta Mahraj's complete work and teachings are downloadable for free for people to check out. I bought the book after I knew I like it. If course I spend money for things I want, but not for signing up for something I dont know. But thats just me. Blessings back.
You spend money for things you want.... exactly. Tell me would you explore your own dreams by writing them in a dream journal for 3 months and only do it if you knew exactly what results it would bring? Eckankar has dozens of free books which students can give away to interested people, as well as all the free content on line. The truth is that most come to the path because they are ready and are guided to it. In the past in the UK I donated whole exhibition stands at various Mind Body Spirit shows (expo's) I was happy to do so out of service to others. When you benefit greatly from knowledge and experiences then it can be very rewarding to help others along their journey. Just because you can find some "spiritual" teaching fot free......does not mean it has any value. By the time people find Eckankar they have typically tried a dozen paths and followed endless "Gurus" Read ( bought) everything in the spiritual / self help section of Amazon. You may write for free.... but you pay in so many ways in order to do, and so do those who read you posts. My first exposure to Eckankar was a book someone place in a phone box in a suberb of London 30 years ago. No I live in Los Angeles and place free books into local free street libraries to pass on the favour . Thanks for sharing. Thank you for your selfless service to others.
You are right - the value of spiritual teaching has not much to do with money. The main reason why I am not interested in Eckankar is that I already found my last Guru. I had others before. Nothing can improve on Nisargadatta, in my opinion. Not for me, at least. Enjoy Eckankar. He looks like he is the right one for you. We are both lucky.
This feels right to me. I do my best to catch myself playing Games of Outcome; it requires much awareness.
If anyone is looking for an expansive guided spiritual path, you are soul and you exist because God loves you.. past lives, dreams and soul travel. I invite you to look at www.eckankar.org
I had a look at the website. It's a $5/months donation to join straight up. I am old-fashioned. True spirital teachers never charge any money. They teach out of compassion and love. Even Osho never charged anything but was given so much freely by the people that benefited and loved him.
So you can't sign up without giving a "donation". That tells me everything.
Of course, genuine teachers have to charge money sometimes when they offer specific talks and courses to cover overheads, travel and other expenses. They also have to live. But there is a fine line here.
Most of the genuine teachers that charge for specific events are still providing a lot of free teaching, so no-one has to pay for any events to get the teaching.
That's just my take on it. I am very suspicious when it comes to spiritual teachers and check the three main motivators for human behaviour:
1. Are they in for the power
2. Are they in for the money
3. Are they on a spiritual ego trip
Because proper spiritual teaching depends on a loving realtionship to the guru (Indian word for teacher), there is a lot of potential abuse. Know yourself, know your heart, is the best defence.
I got lots of unsubscribes for my last two articles - assumingly Christians and Jesus lovers. People don't like their belief system challanged. Many find it offensive. That only shows that their belief system stands on shaky grounds if it can't handle a challange. People should welcome these challanges because it forces them to test their belief systems. If it is solid, they have nothing to fear. But if there is a cognitive dissonace it gets painful and they run when it is pointed out. I am still amazed who highly intelligent people still sign up to the Jesus version offered by the Bible and the fantastical, irrational belief experiments required to integrated it with a modern, rational life. It just shows the indoctrinating power of the religions to make peole belief that spirituality requires magical thinking.
Interesting that you took so much time to comment and all you focused on was money. Can you tell me how any effective organization runs on no money. $5.00 ? You drive to church it costs you money, you buy a self help book it costs you money, you buy a health harming burger and fries it costs you 15.00 If you go straight to finding the scam by pointing at the costs of receiving a yearly discourse in the mail with a network of people available to connect and study with and $5.00 a month is barrier then I understand Eckankar is not for you. A Starbucks a week is 4 times more money and won’t move you on one bit. May the blessings be.
I and many others write for free. A donation, by definition, is voluntary, not a yeatly subscription of US $60, A$90. Nisargadatta Mahraj's complete work and teachings are downloadable for free for people to check out. I bought the book after I knew I like it. If course I spend money for things I want, but not for signing up for something I dont know. But thats just me. Blessings back.
You spend money for things you want.... exactly. Tell me would you explore your own dreams by writing them in a dream journal for 3 months and only do it if you knew exactly what results it would bring? Eckankar has dozens of free books which students can give away to interested people, as well as all the free content on line. The truth is that most come to the path because they are ready and are guided to it. In the past in the UK I donated whole exhibition stands at various Mind Body Spirit shows (expo's) I was happy to do so out of service to others. When you benefit greatly from knowledge and experiences then it can be very rewarding to help others along their journey. Just because you can find some "spiritual" teaching fot free......does not mean it has any value. By the time people find Eckankar they have typically tried a dozen paths and followed endless "Gurus" Read ( bought) everything in the spiritual / self help section of Amazon. You may write for free.... but you pay in so many ways in order to do, and so do those who read you posts. My first exposure to Eckankar was a book someone place in a phone box in a suberb of London 30 years ago. No I live in Los Angeles and place free books into local free street libraries to pass on the favour . Thanks for sharing. Thank you for your selfless service to others.
You are right - the value of spiritual teaching has not much to do with money. The main reason why I am not interested in Eckankar is that I already found my last Guru. I had others before. Nothing can improve on Nisargadatta, in my opinion. Not for me, at least. Enjoy Eckankar. He looks like he is the right one for you. We are both lucky.