Harold Klemp

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sri Harold Klemp (b.1942, Wisconsin) is the American spiritual leader of Eckankar, a religious organization and religion defined as The 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. He assumed leadership from Darwin Gross in 1981. Klemp's spiritual name, according to his books and the official Eckankar website, is "Wah Z".

Contents

[edit] 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.[1]

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 Yokata Air Base, in Japan where he first encountered Eckankar.[2]

Klemp received religious education in Milwaukee and Fort Wayne, Indiana. By his own account, Klemp struggled with mental illness in the 1960s, and was committed to a mental institution for some time [1]In 1981, he became the ECK master; a spiritual figurehead of Eckankar, but struggled for supremacy within the organization with Twitchell's successor Darwin Gross, who maintained the title of Mahanta and as such was Klemp's superior at the time. In 1983, amid court challenges and other conflicts, Klemp legally achieved both titles.[3] The official Eckankar website does not mention Gross.

As the author of over 40 books on spirituality, Klemp has been credited with Westernizing the teachings of Eckankar (although Eckankar, as a new religious movement, was always based in the United States, it is influenced by Eastern philosophies). Klemp has also been credited with urging Eckists to be self reliant and involved in community service. [4] During his tenure, Eckankar moved its offices to from Menlo Park, California and established its offices, Temple of Eck and spiritual campus in Chanhassen, Minnesota.[5]

Sri Harold Klemp and his wife, Joan, currently reside in Minnesota.

[edit] Books

Harold Klemp's autobiographical writings include the following:

Other books by Harold Klemp, which often consist of edited transcripts of his seminar talks, include the following:

[edit] References and notes

  1. ^ bio reprinted from Who's Who of Intellectuals, 9th edition Accessed September 23, 2006
  2. ^ Klemp, Harold (1987) "Soul Travelers of the Far Country", Chapter one, Library of Congress Catalog Number: 87-82675
  3. ^ Religious movements Accessed September 21, 2006
  4. ^ religious movements Accessed September 21, 2006
  5. ^ http://www.eckankar.org/Harold/ Harold Klemp biography

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../h/a/r/Harold_Klemp_c3c8.html"