Darwin Gross
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Darwin Gross (1928-) is an American spiritual teacher who succeeded to the leadership of Eckankar in 1971 at the death of its previous leader Paul Twitchell. Gross held the positions of ECK master from 1971 to 1981 and Mahanta from 1971 to 1983, when he was removed from his position of supremacy in 1983. He continues as a spiritual teacher and musician.
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[edit] Biography
According to Gross's website, he was born in North Dakota. He served with the United States Eleventh Airborne in Japan following World War II. His childhood by his account was filled with encounters and learning from many of the spiritual teachers of Eckankar. Gross became the ECK master in 1971, succeeding Paul Twitchell on the latter's death, and allegedly received his position on the strength of a dream of Twitchell's widow Gail, whom he later married.
Gross appointed his own successor Harold Klemp as Living Eck Master in 1981, but retained the spiritual title of Mahanta. Under this arrangement, Gross led Eckankar in its finances while Klemp minded religious questions. According to former-Eckist and Eckankar critic Ford Johnson in Confessions of a God Seeker: A Journey to Higher Consciousness ("One" Publishing, Inc., 2003, ISBN 0-9728835-8-4), a rivalry between the two only became apparent when Gross vetoed Klemp's request for his own computer. Johnson also alleged Gross led a self-indulgent leadership. In 1983, amid numerous court challenges and other conflicts, Klemp achieved both titles and Gross was dismissed. [1] The official Eckankar website does not mention Gross. Barred from using any of the copyrighted Eckankar terminology, he named his now independent spirituality ATOM: "Ancient Teachings of the Masters," and his materials refer to Eckankar ideas and concepts but with his own terminology.
[edit] Legacy
Over the decade when he led Eckankar, Gross expanded the physical organization and, by his account at least, left it in sound financial condition. His move to share authority with Harold Klemp did not succeed, and his dismissal from the organization and removal of his status as Eck Master caused some consternation within the organization. However, under Klemp's leadership Eckankar continues to grow and flourish. Given Eckankar's focus on the positive, it is not surprising that neither the official Eckankar website nor any current Eck publications mention Gross. His legacy within Eckankar is thus uncredited but still present.
[edit] Books
- From Heaven to the Prairie, an autobiography (published while Eck Master)
- Your Right to Know (published while Eck Master)
- Power of Awareness
- The Atom
- Awakened Imagination
- Forbidden Knowledge
- You Can't Turn Back
- Hero by Gross's lifelong secretary and former Eckist, Bernadine Burlin
