Eckankar and the St Paul Affair: Interview with Jean Maunick

Eckankar and the St Paul Affair…

Interview with Jean Maunick, head of the Eckankar movement in Mauritius, on the subject of the tragedy of St Paul…

By Nad Sivaramen and Elwyn Chutel

Registered in Mauritius since 1997, it is only today that the religious movement Eckankar is making itself talked about. Its founder in Mauritius, Jean Maunick, insists that Eckankar’s teachings condemn suicide without reserve, and lifts the veil on his organisation…

Do you know the victims of the St-Paul tragedy?

Of the ten dead, I knew only Rajesh Dhayam. He was a member of Eckankar from 1990 to 1996. He distanced himself from the movement for personal reasons. I saw him again when he came to attend a seminar of our movement in 1999, held at the Max Boullé gallery. We barely greeted each other, as I was very busy that day. We never saw him again at our functions. I have said it over and over: I know nobody else. What happened at St-Paul has nothing to do with Eckankar.

How do you explain that two of the victims were wearing Eckankar medallions?

Perhaps Dhayam had his own medallion and had a copy made for his companion. Anyone can go to a jeweller and have one made. In Eckankar, wearing the medallion is not obligatory. Anyone can wear one without being a member. It proves nothing, absolutely nothing.

Could there be a movement parallel to yours?

We officially represent the only branch of Eckankar in Mauritius. There is no affiliation or anything whatsoever with any other group. Eckankar is the unique religion of the light and sound of God…

When and how did you launch Eckankar in Mauritius?

It was in 1986, on my return from Australia (where I had emigrated in 1968), that I launched the Eckankar movement. This ancient science of “Soul Travel”, which counts thousands of followers throughout the world, I discovered by chance in my reading in Sydney. Interested by this philosophy, I joined a movement of this religious obedience, whose teachings changed my life. On my return to my native country, I told myself I had to share this immeasurable experience.

How many followers did you have at the start?

I began with two members. They were people who had read articles on Eckankar that I had had published. And they wanted to join the movement. Little by little, by word of mouth, the number of followers increased appreciably. Today, we are about fifty.

Only about fifty?

It is not the number that counts. Eckankar does not advocate proselytism. Anyone can come and attend our talks without having to change religion. And then, we are not a profit-making organisation, so it is not our objective to draw crowds and amass money.

At what rhythm are your meetings held?

Normally it is once a week, on Sundays. There are about twenty who come regularly. We have only just opened our centre, thanks to the support of our members. It is modest, with a few chairs and a few books. That is all we possess.

How do these weekly sessions unfold?

Our sessions begin with a short reading drawn from an Eckankar work or from our bible, The Shariyat-Ki-Sugmad. Then we do the collective HU, which is a love song to God. Lasting twenty minutes, it is in fact a silent contemplation, which opens consciousness. And we finish with a free discussion on a subject of a spiritual order: the love of life, the journey of the soul. The objective is to master the changes in our life, to learn to love, to serve one’s neighbour, to listen in order to learn to survive spiritually in the present time. Make no mistake: we have no rituals out of the ordinary. We have chairs, and we sit to pray. There is no guru, no spectacular ceremonies, no worship of any kind…

You are not the guru - what then is your rank?

I did the studies and I am what is called the high initiate. In reality, I am only a servant to help the faithful better receive the sound and light of God. We all have a single spiritual leader, whom we call the Mahanta. That is Sri Harold Klemp, who made Eckankar an international religion, today in full expansion in a hundred countries and legally recognised as a non-profit organisation in forty countries.

Do Eckankar’s teachings approve of suicide?

No, no and no. It is the very opposite of our philosophy. We consider that life is a gift, better, a present from God. And consequently suicide goes against the spiritual law. Each person is a soul, a divine particle, sent to earth to acquire the maturity of consciousness. Those who give themselves over to suicide have understood nothing. Life is in fact a school where we learn to face ourselves. Every problem has a spiritual solution, which is certainly not suicide.

You who launched Eckankar in Mauritius, how did you react on learning that the movement was probably linked to the mystery of the ten corpses?

It was like a sledgehammer blow. Believe me, it hurts, when people who do not know Eckankar’s teachings at all begin to say anything whatsoever, to make the most far-fetched allegations. Never could I have thought that men, women and children could die in that way. What happened is very unfortunate. I can tell you that this whole tragedy has nothing to do with Eckankar, for as I told you before, life is a divine spark, and we respect it more than anything. Eckankar teaches us to control the negative and destructive passions such as lust, gluttony, attachment to material things and vanity. We advocate virtues such as forgiveness, tolerance, detachment and humility. I can assure you that I have nothing to hide, hence this interview…

But Eckankar is classified a “dangerous cult” in France…

Since certain religious organisations experienced problems in France, the media have led a virulent campaign against several of them, with a tendency to generalise. The enquiry conducted by the French authorities is today contested by several European countries… It is a breach of religious freedom, at least as far as Eckankar is concerned.

Does the appellation cult seem inappropriate to you?

We are not a cult, for we do not live in community, we have no guru, we have no financial interests. And then, Eckankar imposes nothing. On the contrary, we recognise the importance of the spiritual role of the other religions and of their spiritual leaders, such as Jesus, Buddha and Muhammad. Members are required to respect the religious beliefs of other people. Consequently, we do not gather the basic characteristics of a cult. We do not indoctrinate.

Since when have you been registered in Mauritius?

Since 25 June 1997. To register the Mauritius Eckankar Satsang Society, we fulfilled all the conditions. The Prime Minister’s Office took a year to study our file and gave us its approval. We are registered at the Registrar. Our documents can be consulted there. We have nothing to hide…

Read also the development of the enquiry in our “News” section, and the evident media manipulation leading to the condemnation of a cult from the very first hours of the affair…