For one thing, since the evidence strongly points to the fact that nearly all of the core elements of Eckankar were made up or simply stolen piecemeal from other teachings, it leaves one to ponder just what's left when these are subtracted. If there is no Ancient Order of Vairagi Masters, then Harold Klemp can't be the Living Eck Master - the only master who can take souls to heaven. So is Harold simply lying to his flock? Or is he genuinely so deluded by now that he possibly even thinks he IS God on earth? An uncomfortable number of higher initiates have confided over the years that even they don't think Harold Klemp is any kind of real master. So why do they hang on? Hoping the next one will be legitimate, I assume. They're in for a long, long wait. Then, too, there are people in Eckankar who aren't the least interested in truth, but, rather, in personal gain and prestige.

Another point that needs considering is the actual "teachings" themselves. One would have to read Twitchell's writing to understand why I put teachings in quotations. He was not a good writer, by any stretch of the imagination and an even worse thief. He irresponsibly took material from other writers and, without even trying to see if it meshed, jammed it all together. If you were to read the actual source books Twitchell stole from, you'd see he omitted many vital components and useful cautionary warnings. Not a smart practice. It's like taking pieces from 24 television sets and jamming them all together and expecting the TV to work. It isn't going to.

Another point worth addressing is how effective a teaching method is a mail order spiritual teacher? Only a tiny percentage of members have ever actually met their "master" and fewer still to shake hands. He doesn't know them and they don't really know him and there's no way to get in touch with him if something goes wrong. Scholars and educators will tell you that a real, live, in-the-flesh teacher is needed for any system to be effective.

With no screening procedures in place up front to weed out troublesome candidates and no safety net in place to catch the seekers who fall, it's reasonable to wonder whether Eckankar accomplishes more harm than good.