Harold Klemp

Harold Klemp (b. 1942, Wisconsin US) is the spiritual leader of Eckankar, "Religion of the Light and Sound of God". He holds the titles of Mahanta (spiritual leader) and Living ECK Master. Eckists (followers of Eckankar) believe he is the 973rd Living Eck Master in an unbroken line of Masters. He is the third American to hold this position since the founding of the organization in 1965 by Paul Twitchell. Klemp's spiritual name, according to his books and the official Eckankar website, is "Wah Z" (pronounced Zee). He is also known as Sri Harold Klemp. In India,"Sri" is a conventional Sanskrit title of respect, used when addressing or speaking of a distinguished person. [ [http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sri] Merriam-Webster Dictionary - "Sri" definition]

Life and work

Harold Klemp was raised on a small farm in Wisconsin. He attended high school at a religious boarding school in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. [ [http://www.eckankar.org/Harold/bio.html bio reprinted from Who's Who of Intellectuals, 9th edition] Accessed September 23, 2006]

After preministerial college in Milwaukee and Fort Wayne, Indiana he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force where he trained as a language specialist at Indiana University and a radio intercept operator at Goodfellow AFB, Texas. Afterwards, he completed a two-year tour at Misawa Air Base and later at Yokota Air Base in Japan, where he was first exposed to the teachings of Eckankar. [Klemp, Harold (1987) "Soul Travelers of the Far Country", Chapter one, Library of Congress Catalog Number: 87-82675]

In 1981 Klemp was appointed to a leadership role in Eckankar by Eckankar's spiritual leader, Eckankar's 972nd Living Eck Master, Darwin Gross. In 1984 leadership challenges, including accusations of misappropriation of Eckankar funds and other conflicts, brought the two leaders of Eckankar into formal legal battles in court. [ [http://www.thetruth-seeker.com/scanindexsubtitleAcss.asp?SubtitleNo=28] United States District Court, District of Oregon July 12, 1984] At that time, Klemp was allowed public use of the two Eckankar titles of distinction - the title "Living Eck Master" and the title "Mahanta." [ [http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/nrms/ecka.html Religious movements] Accessed September 21, 2006] After court settlements, Gross began ATOM - Ancient Teachings of the Masters [ [http://www.atomshop.org/main/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=28] Atom - Ancient Teachings of the Masters] based on the teachings of Eckankar founder, Paul Twitchell. In Eckankar the "Living Eck Master" refers to the "spiritual leader of Eckankar". [ [http://www.eckankar.org/glossary.html] Eckankar online glossary of terms] The term "Mahanta," while translating historically in Indian Sanskrit, Tamil and Pahlavi as the "superior of a monastery," [ [http://webapps.uni-koeln.de/tamil/] Colgne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon - add term "Mahanta"] refers in the Eckankar lexicon to "the highest state of God Consciousness on earth." [ [http://www.eckankar.org/glossary.html] A Glossary of Eck Terms] The official Eckankar website today does not mention or refer to any of the written works of Darwin Gross as former spiritual leader of Eckankar.

As the author of over 40 books on spirituality, Klemp has been credited for shifting the focus of the Eckankar teachings from a largely esoteric movement to what is known today in Eckankar as "Everyday Spirituality." Klemp has changed the use of words in the Eckankar vernacular from "The Ancient Science of Soul Travel" to a new term - the "Religion of the Light and Sound of God." This corresponded with Klemp's shift, as leader, in focus with Eckankar from the meta-scientific approach of Paul Twitchell, and later Darwin Gross, to a more "religious" focus with the Eckankar teachings. Along these lines Klemp encourages Eckists to be self reliant, yet involved in community service. [ [http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/nrms/ecka.html religious movements] Accessed September 21, 2006] During his tenure Eckankar moved its offices from Menlo Park, California and established its offices, Temple of Eck and spiritual campus in Chanhassen, Minnesota. [http://www.eckankar.org/Harold/ Harold Klemp biography]

Harold Klemp and his wife, Joan currently reside in Minnesota. He speaks at major ECK seminars held in Minneapolis.

Books

Harold Klemp's autobiographical writings include the following:
* "Autobiography of a Modern Prophet", ISBN 1-57043-163-9
* "The Wind of Change" ISBN 0-88155-055-8
* "Child in the Wilderness" ISBN 0-88155-080-9

Other books by Harold Klemp, which often consist of edited transcripts of his seminar talks, include the following:
* "Truth Has No Secrets", (2005) Eckankar, ISBN 1-57043-218-X
* "Those Wonderful Eck Masters", (2005) Eckankar, ISBN 1-57043-217-1
* "Animals Are Soul Too!" (2005) Eckankar, ISBN 1-57043-214-7
* "Past Lives, Dreams and Soul Travel" (2003) Eckankar, ISBN 1-57043-182-5
* "Love: The Keystone of Life" (2004) Eckankar, ISBN 1-57043-208-2
* "The Language of Soul" (2003) Eckankar, ISBN 1-57043-195-7
* "How to Survive Spiritually in our Times" (2001) Eckankar, ISBN 1-57043-167-1
* "Spiritual Laws of Life" (2002) Eckankar, ISBN 1-57043-176-0
* "Is Life a Random Walk?"(2002) Eckankar, ISBN 1-57043-172-8
* "The Art of Spiritual Dreaming" (1999) Eckankar, ISBN 1-57043-149-3
* "Our Spiritual Wake-up Calls (Mahanta Transcripts XV)" (1998) Eckankar, ISBN 1-57043-135-3
* "Journey of Soul (Mahanta Transcripts I)" (1997) Eckankar, ISBN 1-57043-003-9
* "The Spiritual Exercises of Eck", (1997) Eckankar, ISBN 1-57043-001-2
* "The Slow Burning Love of God (Mahanta Transcripts XIII)" 2nd edition (1997) Eckankar, ISBN 1-57043-130-2
* "How to Find God (Mahanta Transcripts II)" (1997) Eckankar, ISBN 1-57043-004-7
* "The Golden Heart (Mahanta Transcripts IV)" (1997) Eckankar, ISBN 1-57043-002-0
* "Cloak of Consciousness (Mahanta Transcripts V)" (1997) Eckankar, ISBN 1-57043-006-3
* "Unlocking the Puzzle Box (Mahanta Transcripts VI)" (1997) Eckankar, ISBN 1-57043-007-1
* "The Eternal Dreamer (Mahanta Transcripts VII)"(1997) ISBN 1-57043-008-X
* "The Dream Master (Mahanta Transcripts VIII)" (1997) Eckankar; 2nd edition ISBN 1-57043-009-8
* "The Secret of Love (Mahanta Transcripts XIV)" (1997) Eckankar, ISBN 1-57043-114-0
* "The Drumbeat of Time (Mahanta Transcripts X)" (1995) Eckankar, ISBN 1-57043-011-X
* "What is Spiritual Freedom? (Mahanta Transcripts XI)" (1995) Eckankar, ISBN 1-57043-101-9
* "How the Inner Master Works (Mahanta Transcripts XII)" (1995) Eckankar, ISBN 1-57043-103-5
* "We Come as Eagles (Mahanta Transcripts IX)" (1994) Eckankar, ISBN 1-57043-010-1
* "The Secret Teachings (Mahanta Transcripts III)" (1989) Eckankar, ISBN 1-57043-005-5
* "A Cosmic Sea of Words: The Eckankar Lexicon" (1998) Eckankar, ISBN 1-57043-142-6
* "Ask the Master"
* "Spiritual Wisdom on Relationships" (2007) Eckankar, ISBN 978-1-57043-242 2
* "Spiritual Wisdom on Prayer, Meditation and Contemplation" (2008) Eckankar, ISBN 978-1-57043-282 8

References and notes

External links

* [http://www.eckankar.org Eckankar Official website]