Q: What is Urantia’s views and outlook on Eckankar religion and the Eck Masters?

A: The Urantia Book makes no mention of either Eckankar, nor Eck Masters…these are fairly modern belief systems, and so, all I can do is filter what they profess to believe through what I have learned through my study of Urantia Book teachings. Mind you, these are my personal opinions. We are here to help as we can, and I strongly suggest that you do more reading through The Urantia Book, so that you can make these determinations for yourself, rather than getting second-hand opinions.

I had a brief look at Eckankar, and it looks fairly benign to me. At least they profess a belief in God, and preach closeness with him—the name “Eckankar” supposedly means “Co-worker with God.” That’s nice. Here’s a Urantia Book quote that echoes this belief:

132:7.9 …That which the enlightened and reflective human imagination of spiritual teaching and leading wholeheartedly and unselfishly wants to do and be, becomes measurably creative in accordance with the degree of mortal dedication to the divine doing of the Father’s will. When man goes in partnership with God, great things may, and do, happen.

One thing that I noticed that is inconsistent with Urantia Book teachings is the belief in past-lives, and also the belief in soul travel. While neither of these beliefs will keep anyone out of heaven, in my opinion…there is a better and more enlightened way.

Reincarnation of human beings back into this planet is not supported by The Urantia Book—Jesus mentions it more than once, but even in his day, he had a hard time convincing people that their souls did not have recurring existences here on earth. Instead, The Urantia Book teaches that our soul is a joint creation of the mortal and the mortal’s connection with God, and it is grown throughout a lifetime through the mortal’s decisions in alignment with God’s will. The soul becomes the spiritual counterpart of the finite being, and it is the soul that survives the death experience and goes on to experience eternal life. There are no Urantia Book teachings that support the ability of the soul to “travel…” To what end, I wonder? Please see our topical study on the SOUL…

As for the Eck Masters: These appear to me to me way-showers from history—I never heard of any of these people, but it seems somewhat like the gallery of saints and other holy historical figures who have been way-showers to others on a spiritual path. One thing that caught my eye: “The spiritual travelers are agents of God, vehicles for Divine Spirit.” I really don’t have much of an opinion about these figures, except to say that through Urantia Book teachings, we learn that human beings are indwelt by a fragment of God, and carry this Presence throughout a lifetime. So, we are ALL “vehicles for Divine Spirit”.

There is no need to rely on the authority of any supposedly holy persons to realize one’s spiritual potential. There is no need for any middle-men (or women) to stand between the individual and God. Jesus came to demonstrate this truth, among other reasons…and he was killed for his trouble. Jesus was a human being, but he was also a divine being—a Creator Son of God who sojourned on this planet as a divine revelation of God to mankind. None of the ECK Masters can make that claim. Even today, people look to human sources for spiritual truth, when they carry within them the only guide they could ever need: the presence of God, and living faith.

159:3.8 The world is filled with hungry souls who famish in the very presence of the bread of life; men die searching for the very God who lives within them. Men seek for the treasures of the kingdom with yearning hearts and weary feet when they are all within the immediate grasp of living faith. Faith is to religion what sails are to a ship; it is an addition of power, not an added burden of life. There is but one struggle for those who enter the kingdom, and that is to fight the good fight of faith. The believer has only one battle, and that is against doubt—unbelief.

The Urantia Book is not a religion. It does foster the growth of religion, and supports the pursuit of spiritual reality by the individual. In this world, there are so many religions, so many belief systems. Some are good, some not so good…but here is a measure by which you can evaluate them for yourself:

103:5.12 When a member of a social religious group has complied with the requirements of such a group, he should be encouraged to enjoy religious liberty in the full expression of his own personal interpretation of the truths of religious belief and the facts of religious experience. The security of a religious group depends on spiritual unity, not on theological uniformity. A religious group should be able to enjoy the liberty of freethinking without having to become “freethinkers.” There is great hope for any church that worships the living God, validates the brotherhood of man, and dares to remove all creedal pressure from its members.

Such a church may be hard to find—maybe Eckankar is one such church, but I can’t say for sure, as I have not explored it fully. But, I see nothing wrong with belonging to any church that provides you with spiritual fellowship, hope, joy, and helps give you a larger view of your human existence. Membership in a positive “evolutionary religion” has definite benefits for the individual. However, once one fully reads and absorbs the teachings of The Urantia Book, one can easily enjoy such membership while also pursuing the search for truth, beauty and goodness within their own soul, without having to compromise any of these values when they differ from that church’s authority. And this is a demonstration of “revelatory religion”—the kind of religion that is unique to each individual, as they become ever nearer to realizing their own connection to the personal, loving, heavenly Father. See this link for an explanation of the difference between the two kinds of religious experience..

Hope this was helpful to you today…Thanks for writing!