Eckankar
Short answer: Eckankar is a modern religious movement founded in 1965 by Paul Twitchell, who claimed to be the Mahanta, the living ECK Master. It teaches that salvation or spiritual freedom comes through the Light and Sound of God, through reincarnation, and through the guidance of the living ECK Master, not through Jesus Christ alone. Colossians 2:8-10 warns, Be careful that you don’t let anyone rob you through his philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the elements of the world, and not after Christ (Colossians 2:8). Because Eckankar is not after Christ in the apostolic sense, it is not a Christian path but a different one. Scripture calls believers to test every spirit and to hold fast to the one name given for salvation, Jesus Christ.
What Eckankar teaches about God
Eckankar describes God as the Supreme Being, sometimes called Sugmad, a distant, impersonal source that expresses itself through the ECK, the Holy Spirit or life force. It speaks of the Light and Sound of God as the two aspects of the divine current that can be experienced through spiritual exercises and initiation. The path is said to lead souls back to God through many lifetimes.
This differs from the biblical portrait of God who has revealed himself definitively in Christ. Colossians 2:9 says, For in him all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily. The God of Scripture is not an abstract force but a personal Father who sent his Son. He is not known through inner sound currents but through the apostolic witness to Jesus of Nazareth, crucified and risen.
When Eckankar says God can be reached by any sincere path, it is echoing the ancient philosophy Paul warned against in Colossians 2:8. That warning is not against careful thinking; it is against thinking that is not after Christ. If a teaching makes Christ one master among many, it has already moved away from the apostolic gospel. The issue is not sincerity but whether the object of faith is the crucified and risen Lord.
The role of the Mahanta and the living ECK Master
Eckankar centers on the Mahanta, the living ECK Master. The movement teaches that this figure is the spiritual leader for the times, an inner and outer guide who can appear in dreams and in the inner worlds. Paul Twitchell claimed this role, and subsequent leaders have taken it up. Members speak of the Mahanta as a channel of divine love and as one who helps souls become aware of their true spiritual nature.
This is where Eckankar and Christianity divide most sharply. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me (John 14:6). The New Testament never presents a succession of living masters through whom believers must approach God. It presents one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, and one Spirit who applies his work to his people.
To place the Mahanta alongside or above Christ as mediator and guide is to repeat the error of the false apostles whom Paul describes: For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as Christ’s apostles (2 Corinthians 11:13). The test is not whether a teacher claims spiritual power but whether he points to the apostolic Christ. The true shepherd does not draw attention to himself; he leads sheep to the one who laid down his life.
Is Eckankar a path to salvation?
Eckankar generally does not speak of salvation the way the New Testament does. It speaks of spiritual freedom, enlightenment, and return to God through soul travel and reincarnation. There is no emphasis on the cross, no atonement for sin by the death of Christ, and no bodily resurrection as the ground of hope. Sin is often reframed as lack of spiritual awareness rather than guilt before a holy God.
Scripture presents salvation as rescue from the wrath to come and reconciliation with God through the work of Christ. Acts 4:12 says, There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven that is given among men, by which we must be saved. That name is Jesus, and the salvation is his. If we add other mediators, we lose the gospel.
Some Eckists speak of Jesus as one of many wayshowers, an advanced soul who learned his lessons well. But the Jesus of the Gospels is not one teacher among many. He receives worship, forgives sins, and speaks with divine authority. To demote him to a spiritual guide is to reject the Christ the apostles preached. The question is not whether Eckankar produces sincere devotees; it is whether it leads to the Father through the Son.
The weight of Colossians 2:8-10
Paul wrote to a church tempted by a mixture of philosophy, asceticism, and angel worship. He did not forbid thinking; he forbade a certain kind of thinking. Colossians 2:8 warns against philosophy and vain deceit that is after the tradition of men, after the elements of the world, and not after Christ. The phrase after Christ is the hinge. A teaching may be ancient, earnest, and internally consistent, and still be off if it is not after Christ.
Paul then gives the remedy: For in him all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily (Colossians 2:9). If all fulness dwells in Christ, no other master must carry it. And you are made full in him, who is the head of all principality and power (Colossians 2:10). The believer is not incomplete, waiting for an initiation or a master’s inner guidance. Union with Christ is full and sufficient.
This is why the apostolic response to Eckankar is not merely a list of differences. It is the reminder that Christ plus anything equals less than Christ. When someone claims a new path to the Light and Sound, the apostolic answer is that God has already spoken in his Son, and in him we have fullness. The warning is pastoral, not paranoid: do not let anyone rob you through his philosophy and vain deceit (Colossians 2:8).
Testing the spirits, not the sincerity
First John gives the church a simple test. Beloved, don’t believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world (1 John 4:1). The test is not whether a teacher seems wise or calm or spiritually alive. It is whether he confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh and whether he points to him as the one sent from the Father.
Eckankar’s teachers are often sincere, and many members are kind and seeking. Sincerity is not the issue. A person can be entirely sincere and still be following a spirit that does not come from God. The apostolic church did not chase away seekers; it called them to the one in whom fulness dwells. The call is to test, then to turn to Christ.
Some who leave Eckankar describe a deep sense of having been searching for God. The gospel does not mock that search; it says God has come near in Christ. The Light and Sound that Eckankar speaks of may mimic genuine spiritual longing, but the Word made flesh is not a current to be experienced; he is a person to be trusted. Testing the spirits is an act of love for the truth and for the people caught in error.
Reincarnation and the finished work of Christ
Eckankar teaches that souls progress through many lifetimes, learning lessons until they are free. This shapes how it understands the human problem. The problem is ignorance and karma; the solution is experience over time. The Bible tells a different story. The problem is sin, and the wages of sin is death. The solution is not endless cycles but a substitute who dies in our place and rises again.
Hebrews 9:27 says it is appointed for men to die once, and after this, judgment. That verse is not in the supplied text, but the theology of Eckankar stands or falls on the once-for-all nature of death and judgment. Reincarnation makes the cross unnecessary and even unintelligible. If we can pay our own debt over many lives, why would the Son of God die? The finished work of Christ is the end of every cycle of self-salvation.
The grace of God does not require a long ascent through planes of consciousness. It comes to us in our helplessness, while we were still sinners, and it gives what we could never earn. Eckankar offers a ladder; the gospel offers a Savior. The ladder flatters the climbing soul; the Savior humbles it and then lifts it. One leads to a lifetime of spiritual technique; the other leads to rest in Christ.
What Scripture equips us to do
Paul’s warning in Colossians 2:8 is not the only tool God gives his church. Second Timothy 3:16-17 says, Every Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness. The word of God is not a set of suggestions but the very breath of God, sufficient to equip the man of God for every good work. That includes the work of discernment.
When a friend or family member is drawn to Eckankar, the first response should not be a lecture but a loving return to Scripture. Read Colossians 1 and 2 together. Ask who Christ is in those chapters and what he has done. Ask whether any teacher or experience is presented as necessary for fullness. Let the text do its work. The Holy Spirit uses the Word to correct, and correction is a form of love.
At the same time, we should speak with gentleness. A person exploring Eckankar may be hurting, curious, or lonely. The goal is not to win an argument but to point to the one who is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). The same Jesus who said no one comes to the Father except through me also said, him who comes to me I will in no way throw out. That invitation stands for every sincere seeker.
Biblical fidelity check
Colossians 2:8-10 does not teach that all philosophy is evil or that Christians should avoid thinking hard about ideas. It teaches that any teaching which is not after Christ will rob those who follow it. It establishes that the fulness of deity dwells bodily in Christ and that believers are made full in him. It does not establish that Eckankar’s members are wicked or that every experience they have is demonic. It also does not give us a license to be rude or dismissive.
A common misreading is to treat the warning as a blanket command to reject anything unfamiliar or intellectually demanding. That is not Paul’s point. His concern is the object of faith: is this teaching after Christ or after the elements of the world? Another misreading is to assume that because Eckankar uses the name Jesus, it must be Christian. The New Testament itself warns of false apostles who masquerade as Christ’s apostles (2 Corinthians 11:13). The name can be used while the apostolic content is denied. Faithfulness requires us to test the spirits and to hold fast to the Christ of Scripture.
Other passages that speak to Colossians 2:8-10
Colossians 2:8-10 stands in a wider biblical call to unity, humility, and discernment. The letter to the Corinthians opens with a plea that the church be united in the same mind and judgment, which matters when competing spiritual claims divide believers. You can read more in What Does 1 Corinthians 1:10 Mean? Context, Theology, and Application. The same opening chapter grounds Christian confidence in God’s faithfulness, as explored in What Does 1 Corinthians 1:9 Mean? Context, Theology, and Application. For a broader survey of the letter’s first chapter, see 1 Corinthians 1: Called, United, and Boasting in the Lord. And because every generation faces teaching that mixes truth with error, the warnings of 1 Corinthians 10: Warnings and Freedom help us learn from Israel’s failures and flee idolatry while holding to Christ.
Frequently asked questions
What is Eckankar in simple terms?
Eckankar is a modern religious movement founded in 1965 by Paul Twitchell. It teaches that souls can experience the Light and Sound of God and return to God under the guidance of a living ECK Master, called the Mahanta. It uses the language of spirit, karma, and reincarnation. It presents itself as a path to spiritual freedom rather than as a Christian church. Because it treats Jesus as one wayshower among many rather than as the unique Son of God, it is not a Christian denomination.
Does Colossians 2:8-10 specifically mention Eckankar?
No. Colossians was written long before Eckankar existed. Paul was addressing a first-century mixture of philosophy, tradition, and spiritual practices that was not after Christ. The principle applies to every later movement that adds other mediators or techniques to Christ. The verse does not name Eckankar, but it gives the church a standard for testing any teaching. If a path is not after Christ in the apostolic sense, it falls under the same warning.
How should a Christian talk with a friend in Eckankar?
Begin with respect and genuine curiosity about what your friend has experienced. Ask what drew them and what they are looking for. Then gently read Colossians 2:8-10 with them and ask who Christ is in those verses and what fulness means. Avoid ridicule; it closes doors. Point to Jesus as the way, the truth, and the life, and let the Word do its work. Pray for them, and keep the relationship warm. Faithful witness is patient and honest.
