Paul Twitchell

Paul Twitchell (born Jacob Paul Twitchell) (died September 17, 1971) was an American spiritual lecturer and writer, and founder of the religion known as Eckankar. He was accepted by the Eckankar members as the "The Mahanta, the Living ECK Master" from October 22, 1965 until his death. He created and directed the development of Eckankar as a new spiritual teaching. He stated in his writings that his spiritual name was "Peddar Zaskq."

Sri

Paul Twitchell

ji
Other namesPeddar Zaskq
Personal
Born
Jacob Paul Twitchell

22 October 1908 or 1909
Paducah, Kentucky, USA
Died17 September 1971
Cincinnati, USA
ReligionEckankar
CitizenshipUSA
Notable work(s)The Far Country. The Spiritual Notebook. The Tiger's Fang.
Known forFounder and Master of ECKANKAR.
Other namesPeddar Zaskq
Occupationfreelance writer, religion founder
Senior posting
Period in office1965–71
SuccessorDarwin Gross
InitiationSurat Shabd Yoga
1955
USA
by Kirpal Singh

Birth and early life

Paul Twitchell obscured many details of his life. His year of birth is disputed, with 1908, 1910, 1912, 1920 and 1922 being suggested.[1][lower-alpha 1] It is given as 1908 in the Library of Congress Name Authority File.[3] He was born in Paducah, Kentucky, to Effie Dorothy and Jacob Noah Twitchell.[4]

Twitchell attended high school in Paducah. He then attended Murray State College, a teacher's college, for two years, before going to Western Kentucky State Teachers College until 1934. He failed to graduate from either of those colleges.[5]

His first marriage was to Camille Ballowe, from Paducah, in Providence, Rhode Island, on August 12, 1942.[6] He served in the United States Naval Reserve during World War II, from February 1942 until August 1945 when as Lieutenant Jg. he was honorably discharged. Twitchell became a correspondent for Our Navy magazine after the war for a short time. He later went on to become a freelance journalist.[7]

Eckankar

Twitchell investigated a number of diverse spiritual movements and became an avid reader of spiritual, philosophical, religious and occult books at the Library. In 1950, he joined Swami Premananda Giri's Self-Revelation Church of Absolute Monism, an offshoot of Paramahansa Yogananda's Self-Realization Fellowship. He lived on the grounds of the church, and edited its periodical, The Mystic Cross. He was asked to leave the church in July 1955, due to personal misconduct. A few months later he formally separated from his wife, who stayed on at the fellowship for a time. Their divorce was finalized in 1960.[8]

Twitchell was initiated into the Surat Shabd Yoga by Kirpal Singh, Master of the Sant Mat group named "Ruhani Satsang," in October 1955 in Washington DC. He immediately became a devoted student of Singh, acknowledged experiences during Initiation and later on wrote to his master of his appearing in Twitchell's apartment and dictating discourses to him which he would type up and mail to Singh in New Delhi, India. By 1966 reports to Singh that Twitchell was teaching a program very similar to Sant Mat caused a serious disagreement between them which was never repaired. Weeks before Twitchell died he sent a letter to Singh denying he ever saw him as a 'master,' denied that he ever received any initiation from Singh because Singh had no power to give initiation, and claiming that Twitchell's spiritual achievements were gained years before they met. Twitchell also suggested that he never spiritually benefited from his connection with Singh.

However, in December 1963 Twitchell reportedly asked Singh to allow him to dedicate a book, The Tiger's Fang, in Singh's name. Twitchell wanted Singh's help to get it published and sent the manuscript for Singh's approval. Twitchell never received a positive response from Singh and following their disagreement in 1966 he asked for its return. He published it himself in 1967.

Hubbard's beliefs and practices, drawn from a diverse set of sources, influenced numerous offshoots, splinter-groups, and new movements.

Twitchell's first known connection with L. Ron Hubbard (also a US Naval Reserve Officer during WW2 and pulp fiction author) was around 1950 during the Dianetics period. He again became involved in the Church of Scientology from about 1956 to 1959, becoming a member of the Church's staff and one of the first Scientologists to achieve the status of clear it was claimed. Twitchell taught classes, audited others, wrote articles for the magazines, and other activities for Scientology. He made many long term friendships during this time with the exception of Hubbard himself who later, circa 1968, listed Twitchell and Eckankar on their Suppressive Persons/Groups list.[1][7]

Moving to Seattle, Washington in late 1960 after the death of his sister Kaydee (Katharine) in 1959, he met Gail Ann Atkinson in 1962. She was working part-time at the Library, where they met, while doing an under-graduate degree. Twitchell later introduced her to the Ruhani Satsang teachings, as well as others, and Gail was also formally initiated by Singh in early December 1963 in San Francisco, during his second tour of the USA. At the same time Twitchell relocated to San Francisco permanently. They married soon after on January 16, 1964, when Twitchell began more seriously writing and compiling materials about his new teaching, Eckankar. The first draft manuscript for The Far Country was written during this year. Twitchell also began having articles about Eckankar published in various newspapers and magazines.

In late 1964, they moved south to San Diego, where Twitchell gave his first lectures on Eckankar and what was then termed the "bilocation" technique, which he would later call "Soul Travel." Gail quit her studies to work full-time so that Twitchell could dedicate himself to establishing Eckankar as a new business venture. In spring 1965, he began a long-term series of regular lectures and workshops on Eckankar at the California Parapsychology Foundation in San Diego and also started selling monthly "Discourses" to interested students.[9] By late 1965 the Twitchells had together founded the Eckankar Corporation as well as Illuminated Way Press, registering both as companies in California.

It is believe it was Twitchell's second wife who suggested that he adapt some of his spiritual education into a new religion. Twitchell said her encouragement was a spark for him to do something more with his writings. Critics state that at first Twitchell claimed his teachings were new but that he eventually referred to them as an ancient science that pre-dated all other major religious belief systems.[10] Others say this interpretation is based on comments Twitchell made before he officially started Eckankar, when he was promoting what he called his "Cliff-Hanger" philosophy, which was an "outsider's" view on modern society. Those were indeed his own views and ideas. However, once he launched Eckankar in October 1965, he always referred to it as being an ancient teaching.[11] In his book Eckankar: The Key to Secret Worlds, Twitchell lays out wide-ranging examples of the teaching down through history, while also explaining his own personal experiences with his teacher, "ECK master Rebazar Tarzs." The actual existence of "Rebazar Tarzs," like that of other Theosophical and ECK masters, remains disputed, since there is no evidence that anyone has seen Tarzs, other than the faith claims of Twitchell and his followers.

After founding Eckankar, Twitchell wrote and published a series of books and personal study discourses, as well as giving talks around the world, writing thousands of letters to students, and continuing to write articles for magazines. He wrote a series of articles shortly after starting Eckankar that some critics have raised concerns about. In a series that Twitchell referred to as "The Man Who Talks To God," he poked fun at gurus, including himself. He says that he wrote the series in exchange for getting a booklet printed on Eckankar, during a time when he couldn't afford it himself.[12] In that column he gave out spiritual advice, claiming to communicate with God about the problems of those who wrote to him. He included prophecy, predicting that the Vietnam War would end in 1968 and that Lyndon Johnson would be elected President of the United States for a second time. Many of his answers were concluded with the words "I HAVE SPOKEN!"[13]

As a writer

In 1984, Harold Klemp, the current spiritual leader of Eckankar—which keeps an archive of Twitchell's writings—commented on Twitchell as a writer: "He was an avid letter-writer, and he always kept a carbon copy... At one time Paul made his living by writing for pulp magazines. He also wrote public-relations copy for the Navy... He sincerely cared about spiritual unfoldment and growth. He went through volumes of books on consciousness, a subject which was not in vogue in those days... he thrived on the study of different philosophies." [14]

Klemp also describes Twitchell as a master compiler: "The high teachings of ECK had been scattered to the four corners of the world. The different masters each had parts and pieces of it, but they attached little requirements... You must be a vegetarian, or you have to meditate so many hours a day... Paul gathered up the whole teaching and took the best. Though it may be strange to say, in this sense I see him as a master compiler. He gathered the golden teachings that were scatted around the world and made them readily available to us." [15]

In Paulji, A Memoir, Patti Simpson reveals how Twitchell put her in charge of a monthly communication to students called the Mystic World. It often contained many mistakes: stories that were supposed to continue on a certain page but didn't, stories stopping in mid-sentence, or the wrong names under pictures. Twitchell told her, "You have no idea... how much help it will be to me if you can learn how to take care of this publication for me. I have so many books to get out, and I need to spend time on them." [16]

Twitchell told famed writer on the paranormal Brad Steiger that he expected The Tiger's Fang to be controversial, having announced that it "would shake the foundation of the teachings of orthodox religions, philosophies, and metaphysical concepts."[17]

Allegations of plagiarism

In a 2006 article published in the 5 volume Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America, David C. Lane, a follower of Sant Mat, stated that some of Twitchell's Eckankar books contained passages from other authors' books without proper citation. In particular, Lane claims Twitchell's 1966 book The Far Country plagiarizes over 400 paragraphs from the books With a Great Master in India[18] and The Path of the Masters by Julian Johnson without any acknowledgement. Three other books of Twitchell's, including The Tiger's Fang, Letters to Gail, and Shariyat-Ki-Sugmad, contain "almost verbatim" extracts from Johnson's 1939 book The Path of the Masters according to Lane. Lane notes that Twitchell wrote in at least two publications that he considered a book edited by Johnson—Sar Bachan—to be his "Bible".[19][20]

Harold Klemp has responded to the plagiarism allegations by stating that Twitchell's role was that of "master compiler", saying "He gathered the golden teachings that were scattered around the world and made them readily available to us."[21] In 2007, a member of Eckankar's clergy and Eckankar apologist since 1983, Doug Marman, published The Whole Truth, a biography of Paul Twitchell that disputes claims Lane made in The Making of a Spiritual Movement.[22] Lane has published commentary on Marman's book, reaffirming his view that Twitchell plagiarized several authors.[23][lower-alpha 2]

Lane has also alleged that Twitchell lied about his past and tried to cover up his earlier associations.[24][25] Marman has responded by presenting documentation related to Twitchell's career and personal information.[22][26]

Sampling

A sampling of three significant passages from Julian Johnson's The Path of the Masters (1985–1988 pagination), appearing in Twitchell's and Darwin Gross's works, displays the prose which has proven appealing to Western seekers:

The Path of the Masters Twitchell, The Far Country

(1987 pagination)

 Twitchell, The Tiger's Fang

(1969 pagination)

"Each and every man, when properly trained, is able to detach himself from the physical body while still living in that body in perfect health, and then travel to all parts of the outlying universe." — p 343"Each and every man, when properly trained, is able to detach himself from the physical body, while still living in that body in perfect health, and travel to all parts of the outlying universe." — p 101"Man, when properly trained, is able to detach himself from the physical body to travel to all parts of his outlying universe." — p 117
The Path of the Masters Twitchell, The Spiritual Notebook

(1979 pagination)

 Darwin Gross,

Your Right to Know

"... if you live rightly among men, and then devote yourself to the practice of the Surat Shabd Yoga, you will enter the kingdom of heaven while you are still living in the body. And that constitutes a world of difference between the spiritual science of the Masters and all religions." — p 57"... if the chela faithfully practices the spiritual exercises, he will enter the Kingdom of Heaven while still living in the human body. This is the fundamental difference between ECK and all other religions." — p 170"... if the chela faithfully practices the spiritual exercises, he will enter the kingdom of heaven while still living in the human body. This is the fundamental difference between ECK and all other religions." — p 27
The Path of the Masters Twitchell, The Far Country

(1987 pagination)

 Darwin Gross,

Your Right to Know

"The student leaves his body much in the same way a dying man leaves it, except that the student does it voluntarily and the process is always under his own control, and he can come back into the body any moment he wishes to return. Otherwise, his passing out of this body is practically the same as that of the dying man. He thus learns what death means, and also what lies beyond death–even becoming acquainted with his future home to which he is to go when he finally leaves his body. He may also converse with friends who have long ago left their bodies. This masterful achievement cannot fail to interest the student since it solves the gravest problems of life and destiny. This is one phase of the great work of the Masters. They have broken the seal of death, and so to them and their students there is no more death. And all of this is positive knowledge, not speculation or guess. Neither is it interpretation of any book." — p 418"The charges leave their bodies, much in the same way a dying man leaves, except the neophyte does it voluntarily. The process is always under his own control and he can come back into the body at any moment he wishes to return. Otherwise, his passing out of the body is practically the same as that of the dying man. He thus learns how to use the shottama, what death means, and also what lies beyond death,–even becoming acquainted with the future home to which he is to go, when he finally takes leave of his physical body. He may also converse with friends and family who have long ago left their bodies. This achievement cannot fail to interest the neophyte, since it solves the gravest problems of life and destiny. It is one phase of the great work of the ECK travelers. They have broken the seal of death, and so to them and their charges there is no more death. All of this is positive knowledge, not speculation or guess work. Neither is it the interpretation of any book." — p 199–200"The students in ECKANKAR learn to leave their bodies much in the same way a dying man leaves his shell, except the neophyte does it voluntarily and the process is always under his control, and he can come back into the body at any moment he wishes to return. Otherwise his passing out of the body is practically the same as that of a dying man. He understands what death means and views what lies beyond death. He may even become acquainted with the astral home to which he is to go when he finally takes leave of his physical body. He may even converse with friends and family who have long before left their physical bodies. This achievement cannot fail to interest the neophyte since it solves the gravest problems of life and destiny. It is one phase of the great work of the Spiritual Travelers in ECKANKAR. They have broken the seal of death and so to them and their charges there is no more death. All of this is positive knowledge, not speculation or guess work. Neither is it the interpretation of any book." — p 82

Death

Twitchell died of a heart attack on September 17, 1971 in Cincinnati while attending an Eckankar seminar.[27] Despite having formulated the Eckankar doctrine of named succession, he had not in fact designated anyone as his successor and his sudden death created difficulties for the movement's leadership group. It fell upon his widow to make the final decision, and she selected Darwin Gross, who was himself succeeded later by Harold Klemp.

Books
  • Twitchell, Paul (1939, 1972) Coins of Gold. First edition: Paducah, Ky.: Press Pub. Co. Second edition Illuminated Way Press.
  • Twitchell, Paul (1966) Introduction to ECKANKAR. First edition Illuminated Way Press. no ISBN.
  • Twitchell, Paul (1967, 1988) The Tiger's Fang. First edition Lancer Books. Second edition ECKANKAR. ISBN 0-88155-063-9
  • Twitchell, Paul (1968, 1985) The Key to ECKANKAR. First edition Illuminated Way Press. Second edition ECKANKAR. ISBN 1-57043-034-9
  • Twitchell, Paul (1969, 2010) The Flute of God. First edition Illuminated Way Press. Second edition ECKANKAR. ISBN 1-57043-032-2
  • Twitchell, Paul (1969, 1987) Eckankar: The Key to Secret Worlds. Foreword by Brad Steiger. First edition Lancer Books. Second edition ECKANKAR. ISBN 0-88155-045-0
  • Twitchell, Paul (1969, 1987) Anitya. First edition Illuminated Way Press. Second edition ECKANKAR. ISBN 0-914766-01-5
  • Twitchell, Paul (1970) The Drums of ECK. First edition Illuminated Way Press. ISBN 0-914766-04-X
  • Twitchell, Paul (1970) The Way of Dharma. First edition Illuminated Way Press. ISBN 0-914766-18-X
  • Twitchell, Paul (1970, 1972, 1990) Dialogues with the Master. First edition Stockton-Doty Trade Press. Second edition Illuminated Way Press. Third edition ECKANKAR. ISBN 0-914766-78-3
  • Twitchell, Paul (1970, 1971, 1990) The Far Country. First edition Stockton Trade Press. Second edition Illuminated Way Press. Third edition ECKANKAR. ISBN 0-914766-91-0 PDF
  • Twitchell, Paul (1970, 1976, 1987) Stranger by the River. First edition Illuminated Way Press. Second edition Illuminated Way Press (non-standard). Third edition Eckankar. ISBN 1-57043-136-1
  • Twitchell, Paul (1970, 1987) The Shariyat-Ki-Sugmad, Book I. First edition Illuminated Way Press. Second edition Eckankar. ISBN 1-57043-048-9
  • Twitchell, Paul (1971, 1988) The Shariyat-Ki-Sugmad, Book II. First edition Illuminated Way Press. Second edition Eckankar. ISBN 1-57043-049-7
  • Twitchell, Paul (1971, 1990) The Spiritual Notebook. First edition Illuminated Way Press. Second edition ECKANKAR. ISBN 1-57043-037-3 PDF
  • Twitchell, Paul (1971, 1986) Herbs: The Magic Healers. First edition Illuminated Way Press. Second edition ECKANKAR. Library of Congress Catalog Number: 86-80814
  • Twitchell, Paul (1972, 2010) The Eck-Vidya: Ancient Science of Prophecy. First edition Illuminated Way Press. Second edition ECKANKAR. ISBN 1-57043-030-6
  • Twitchell, Paul (1973, 1987) Letters to Gail, Volume I. First edition Illuminated Way Press. Second edition ECKANKAR. ISBN 0-914766-73-2
  • Twitchell, Paul (1974) Talons of Time. First edition Illuminated Way Press. No ISBN or LCCN.
  • Twitchell, Paul (1975) Eckankar: Illuminated Way Letters, 1966-1971. Letters he wrote until his death in 1971. ISBN 0-914766-25-2
  • Twitchell, Paul (1975) Eckankar: Compiled Writings, Volume 1. First edition Illuminated Way Press. ISBN 0-914766-26-0
  • Twitchell, Paul (1975) Eckankar Dictionary. First edition Illuminated Way Press. ISBN 0-91476-605-8
  • Twitchell, Paul (1977, 1987) Letters to Gail, Volume II. First edition Illuminated Way Press. Second edition ECKANKAR. ISBN 0-914766-33-3
  • Twitchell, Paul (1978) East of Danger. First edition Illuminated Way Press. Copyright Gail Twitchell Gross. ISBN 0-914766-38-4
  • Twitchell, Paul (1978) The Three Masks of Gaba. First edition Illuminated Way Press. ISBN 0-914766-98-8
  • Twitchell, Paul (1980) Difficulties of Becoming the Living ECK Master. First edition Illuminated Way Press. Compiled by Burnadine Burlin. ISBN 0-914766-63-5
  • Twitchell, Paul (1980) The Wisdom Notes. First edition ECKANKAR. ISBN 0-914766-63-5
  • Twitchell, Paul (1990) Letters to Gail, Volume III. First edition ECKANKAR. Library of Congress Catalog Number: 90-83659.
  • Twitchell, Paul (1999) Talons of Time. Graphic Novel. Authorized Eckankar edition. Illustrated by Mar Amongo. Ed. Harold Klemp and Joan Klemp. No ISBN or LCCN.
  • Twitchell, Paul (2004) The Tiger's Fang. Graphic Novel. Authorized Eckankar edition. Illustrated by Mar Amongo. Ed. Harold Klemp and Joan Klemp. ISBN 1-57043-212-0

Notes
  1. He is listed as being six months old in the 15 April 1910 census.[2]
  2. Marman's book The Whole Truth was published in January 2007. David Christopher Lane, in the Notes section of his article published in 2006 in Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America, states that he is responding to Marman's book part of which was available online at the time Lane wrote his piece.

References
  1. Bacon, Nicole (2001-08-30). Hadden, Jeffrey K. (ed.). Eckankar: The Religion of Light and Sound. University of Virginia Library, The Religious Movements Page. Archived from the original on 31 August 2006. Retrieved 10 July 2010.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  2. "Paul Twitchell in household of J N Twitchell, Paducah Ward 2, McCracken, Kentucky, United States". FamilySearch. Retrieved 18 August 2017., citing enumeration district (ED) ED 126, sheet 5A, family 105, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 493; FHL microfilm 1,374,506.
  3. "Twitchell, Paul, 1908-1971". Library of Congress Name Authority File. 23 February 2007. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
  4. Marman, The Whole Truth, p. 55.
  5. Johnson, Confessions of a God Seeker, 2003, pp. 98.
  6. Johnson, 100.
  7. "John Paul Twitchell", Religious Leaders of America, 2nd ed., Gale Group, 1999. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center, Farmington Hills, Michigan: Gale, 2009. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC.
  8. Lane, The Making of a Spiritual Movement
  9. Marman, p 159.
  10. Johnson, 93-94.
  11. Marman, pp 164.
  12. Marman, pp 314.
  13. Johnson, 180-181.
  14. Klemp, The Secret Teachings, 1989, pp. 139-40.
  15. Klemp, Harold. The Secret Teachings: Mahanta Transcripts, Book 3. Eckankar, 1989, pp. 159-60. LCCN 89-84193
  16. Simpson, 1985, pp. 60-61. LCCN 85-81716.
  17. Steiger, Brad. In My Soul I Am Free. Eckankar, 1968, p. 60, ISBN 0-914766-11-2.
  18. Julian Johnson. Beās: Radha Soami Satsang Beas, 1934, 1982, 1988, 1994. ISBN 81-8256-036-5
  19. Lane 2006, p. 124-125.
  20. "I have a book in my collection called the Sar Bachan written by Sardar Seva Singh, which is the teachings of the Sound Current, and acts as practically my Bible!" —Paul Twitchell in a letter to Gail Twitchell, July 8, 1963; in Paul Twitchell, Letters to Gail, volume II, Menlo Park: ECKANKAR, 1977, page 149. (Seva Singh was the Radha Soami Satsang Beas translator of the Sar Bachan into English.)
  21. Klemp, Harold (21 April 1984). "The Writing of Paul Twitchell". eckankar.org. Retrieved 20 Jul 2017.
  22. Marman, Doug (2007). The Whole Truth: The Spiritual Legacy of Paul Twitchell. Ridgefield, WA: Spiritual Dialogues Project. ISBN 978-0-9793260-0-4. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  23. Lane, David Christopher (2006). "Eckankar". In Gallagher, Eugene V.; Ashcraft, W. Michael (eds.). Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America. Metaphysical, New Age, and Neopagan Movements. Volume 3. Greeenwood Press.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  24. Lane 2006.
  25. Marman 2000, Chapter 11.
  26. Marman, Doug (2000), Dialogue in the Age of Criticism, retrieved 20 July 2017CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  27. Marman, pp 179.

Bibliography
  • Jarvis, Jack, "Paul Twitchell, Man of Parts" in Seattle Post-Intelligencer, July 9, 1963.
  • Johnson, Ford. Confessions of a God Seeker: A Journey to Higher Consciousness. "One" Publishing, 2003.
  • Johnson, Julian, The Path of the Masters: The Science of Surat Shabd Yoga: The Yoga of the Audible Life Stream, France, 1939; USA, 1957; Beās, East Pañjāb: Radha Soami Satsang Beas, 1972, 1985, 1993. ISBN 81-8256-019-5
  • Klemp, Harold. The Secret Teachings: Mahanta Transcripts, Book 3. Eckankar, 1989. LCCN 89-84193
  • Lane, David Christopher, The Making of a Spiritual Movement: The Untold Story of Paul Twitchell and Eckankar, Del Mar Press, 1993. ISBN 0-9611124-6-8
  • Marman, Doug (2007), The Whole Truth: The Spiritual Legacy of Paul Twitchell. First edition, Spiritual Dialogues Project. ISBN 0-9793260-0-1
  • Simpson, Patti, Hello, Friend. Illuminated Way, 1981. ISBN 0881550310. 2nd edition, Eckankar, 2002.
  • Simpson, Patti (1985), Paulji, A Memoir. First edition, ECKANKAR. Library of Congress Catalog Number 85-81716.
  • Steiger, Brad (1968), In My Soul I Am Free. First edition, Illuminated Way Press. ISBN 0-914766-11-2 (Note: Almost 35% of the text is Paul Twitchell's own words.)
  • Sykes, Joe, 2020, The Truth About Eckankar, 3rd edition. Independently published. ISBN 9781691598519
  • Wilson, George Tipton, "From Paducah to Eckankar" in The Courier-Journal, Louisville, Kentucky, 1982.
Eckankar
Preceded by
Position created		 ECK Master
1965 – 1971		 Succeeded by
ECK Master Gross
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