1A-D the Ant Story.P65

The Ant Story “Well, suppose the dad ant,” I continued, “who was An ECK parable known to have a great consciousness, explained the way of from The Book of ECK Parables, Volume 1, pp. 195–96 by Sri Harold Klemp man to the child ant. He would explain to the child ant that man was a huge thing that thundered past with big, earth- shaking steps. My daughter is in grade school. She likes little things, Man is a like snails and roly-polies and caterpillars with the fuzzies huge thing that on them that turn into moths, and she likes ants. Some- thunders past times I tease her, kid her on to a new understanding. with big, earth- “Do ants have feelings?” I teased. “Little things. They shaking steps. are so small. It makes me wonder if they have feelings.” And then I said, “They’re like children. They are so small. I wonder if they have feelings?” I said these things to help her grow up. “Oh, Dad!” she said, aware that I was teasing her.

The wise father ant would explain to the child ant that, in reality, ants know nothing more than left, right, backward, forward.

Someday, we will evolve in consciousness to where we can create great vehicles that will fly us wherever we want to go, all over the world. We will also create something that will record pictures of the past, present, and future.

I paused, studying my daughter. I could see that she was think- ing about the ant story I Gosh had been telling her. Dad, Then I continued, “The what are little child ant looked at you the father ant. She talking about? knew that her father was supposed to be wise, but what he was saying sounded crazy. ‘Gosh, Dad,’ the child ant blurted out, ‘what are you talking about?’ “It is the same way with us,” I told my daughter. “Most people see only the world directly about them. They haven’t seen what we can evolve to be. We don’t ever become God, but we can get the God Consciousness. We can become one with Spirit, and in so doing, we get the God Consciousness. Then we become a Co-worker with God. The ant story explained that there are levels of Start awareness far beyond us. If I were to talk about them, you wouldn’t understand.” Can you help the little ant Soul find his way to the Mahanta?

Apprentice to the Mahanta Hi Jeff. What It’s a robot Sure, I’ve made lots did you dog. But it’s of robot dogs. The An ECK parable make? not working secret is to add this little from The Book of ECK Parables, like I’d hoped. chip and connect Volume 1, p. 227 Can Oh! these wires here. you I see! by Sri Harold Klemp help?

When we want to learn a trade, we become an apprentice in that trade. If it is experience in the electronics field that we wish, then we seek work with a company that is staffed with excellent engineers. As a new em- I think he wants a Wow ! treat now. ployee, one hopes to be assigned to an individual who is That’s both knowledgeable and who can teach the secrets of great ! electronics. It is better to learn by experience than it is through a book, although if a book is all that is available, the book will provide a beginning. These same principles apply to our spiritual life. It is necessary that we find someone with experience to teach Can you decode this secret message? us. The path to mastership actually requires that we find ✷࠘❅✺ ✷❅ ✥❅❁ ◗❅❃❖❅❁◗ the ideal, the right teacher to equal the achievement that “ is sought. This is not found in a teacher’s physical pres- ✈❖चज ❁࠘❅ ✄✺✺❅❖ जл ◗❁❅❖, ence, because the personality can be misleading. To the Christian who seeks the ultimate in Christianity, this ✷❅ ☞❅❅✵ ❁࠘❅ज ❁च means finding a person who is a channel for the Christ च✲❖◗❅छ✧❅◗.” Consciousness. The ECKist looks to the Mahanta, who —Sri Harold Klemp, is the highest consciousness one can look to in the field The Book of ECK Parables, Volume 1, p. 233 of ECK. A л E ❅ I ✄ M ज Q ✱ U ✲ Y ▼ ✡ ✈ ❂ ✺ ❖ ✧ ✪ Apprentice—One who learns how to do something from another. B F J N R V Z Trade—What a person does to make a living, like a job or business. C ❃ G ✥ K ☞ O च S ◗ W ✷ Consciousness—Your awareness or state of being you live in daily. D ⅷ H ࠘ L छ P ✵ T ❁ X ✑✑✑

If you would like to try a Soul Travel exercise, here is an easy one that should let you meet the Mahanta or enjoy a short journey into the heavens of God. Picture yourself on a beach, walking in the sand at the edge of the water. The warm waves wash about your feet, and a light spray from the ocean leaves a refreshing mist on your face. Overhead, white gulls sail silently on the wind. Now breathe in as the incoming waves wash toward you on the beach. Then, on the outgoing breath, sing Mahanta (mah-HAHN-tah) softly in rhythm with the waves returning to the sea. If you live near the seashore, walk along the beach to get a feeling of the sounds of the ocean. Or imagine the feeling of sand under your feet, the ocean spray, and the many blue-green waters that reach the horizon. Use your impressions from the seashore in your Soul Travel exercise. In some way the Holy Spirit, the ECK, speaks to the individual through Light or Sound. The Light may be any color, but when It shows up as the Blue Light, It’s very definitely the Mahanta. —Sri Harold Klemp, How to Survive Spiritually in Our Times, Mahanta Transcripts, Book 16, p. 226

Half of this message is written in a secret code. Can you Find the name for the expression of the Spirit of God that is always decode the message to find out what it says? Use the Code with you. Key at the bottom of the page. Beginning with the first letter, circle every 5th letter in the spiral as you go around to the center. (Begin counting 1 after the circled letter, The difference between the Mahanta then circle the letter that is 5.) Write the letters here: and a savior of another religion is this: The savior tries to save you from yourself, and M______the Mahanta tries to □□□□J ❅ o ✵ □□□t [ u M START □□□□J ❅ o ✵ O L □□□□□□□□t[u❖ s ❅ o2 V OK Z ______E H _ _ _ _ N AOE A ______. A E —Sri Harold Klemp, Z W Stories to Help You See God in Your Life, E ECK Parables, Book 4, p. 380 S J B R O U S T U CODE KEY U U A A E ❅ I % M K Q ✱ U u Y t L H B ✡ F 2 J ❂ N Z R ❖ V ✧ Z 6 C ❃ G E K + O [ S s W ✷ Now go back to START and go through the spiral again, looking for these words: LOVE, SOUL, HU, WAH Z, JUST BE.

v J o ✵ ❁ XXX ANSWER: D H L P T X MAHANTA

Mahanta 4a Mahanta 4b ECK Puzzle The Way to SUGMAD Start Start with T, and then write down here every fourth letter going clockwise (V is 1). See if you can find your way to the SUGMAD. (Re- member, even if there are many twists and turns, the path always goes through the heart of the Mahanta.)

SUGMAD

Mahanta

T Start

Answer: The Living ECK Master ECK Living The

Mahanta 5a Mahanta 5b Coloring Page Coloring Page

SRI HAROLD KLEMP. The spiritual leader of ECKANKAR. The present Mahanta, the Living ECK Master. Sri Harold Klemp became the Mahanta, the Living ECK Master in 1981. The spiritual name of Sri Harold Klemp is Wah Z. It means the Imagine walking with the Mahanta by a waterfall. secret doctrine.

Mahanta 6a Copyright © 2006 ECKANKAR Mahanta 6b starfish. “But what does it matter?” he asked the boy. The boy looked at the starfish in his hand and said, “It matters to this one.” Even though in ECK it sometimes seems as if you are one person in a crowd of several thousand, the rela- tionship you have with the Inner Master is one-on-one. It does matter to him that you, as Soul, someday return to the Ocean of Love and Mercy. Because this matters, the Master is there on the beach doing whatever he can to throw the stranded starfish back in the water.

It Matters to This Starfish An ECK parable from The Book of ECK Parables, Volume 3, p. 277 by Sri Harold Klemp

An old man was walking down by the sea, and he saw a young boy throwing things back into the water. He got closer and saw they were starfish. “What are you doing?” he asked the boy. The boy said, “These starfish are going to die if they don’t get back into the water.” The old man looked up and down the beach and saw thousands and thousands of

It Matters to This Starfish

Mahanta 7c Mahanta 7d It Matters to This Starfish The old man looked up and down the beach and saw thousands and thousands of starfish. An ECK parable Adapted from The Book of ECK Parables, Volume 3, p. 277 But what by Sri Harold Klemp does it matter?

The boy looked at the starfish in his hand and said,

It matters to this one.

An old man was walking down by the sea, and he saw a young boy throwing things back into the water. He got closer and saw they were starfish.

What are These starfish are you doing? going to die if they don’t get back into the water.

Even though in ECK it sometimes seems as if you are one person in a crowd of several thousand, the rela- tionship you have with the Inner Master is one-on-one. It does matter to him that you, as Soul, someday return to the Ocean of Love and Mercy. Because this matters, the Master is there on the beach doing whatever he can to throw the stranded starfish back in the water.

Copyright © 2006 ECKANKAR Mahanta 8a Mahanta 8b Discussion Questions How do you think the starfish felt when it was back home in the ocean? Draw or write your answer here. Ask the Mahanta to 1. How do you think the Mahanta, the Living ECK help you. Master is able to help so many Souls?

2. When we see each other as Soul, it is much easier to give service with a kind and loving heart. What ways have you shared God’s love with other Souls? Can you help this “Soul-Star” find its way home to God?

START

3. In ECK we are aware that the Mahanta gives us love through family and friends. Share a time when you Home to have received the Mahanta’s love. God

Mahanta 8c Mahanta 8d MAHANTA Word Puzzle & Coloring Design

Start with the letter M. START Write down every third letter going clockwise (A is 1): Soul is trapped in the lower worlds. Ask the Mahanta what path through the maze It can take to find the Mahanta’s star. M______Mahanta 9a Mahanta 9b Wah Z Sail the cosmic sea with your friend Wah Z as you connect the dots from 1 to 10.

The Living ECK Master is the spiritual leader of Eckankar. He is Soul in a human form, just like you and me. The Living ECK Master is not God, but he is sometimes called the “Godman.” This is because he is the 3

channel that God, the Sugmad, uses to reach Souls here 8 in the lower worlds. People in physical bodies need a 10 9 Master who also has a physical body. Then they can see for themselves that it is possible to live as Soul and expe- 7 4 5 rience heaven while still on earth. 6

—The ECK Teenie 2 Discourses, p. 60

SRI HAROLD KLEMP. The spiritual leader of ECKANKAR. The present Mahanta, the Living ECK Master. Sri Harold Klemp became the Mahanta, the Living ECK Master in 1981. The spiritual Copyright © 2006 ECKANKAR name of Sri Harold Klemp is Wah Z. It means the secret doctrine. Mahanta 11 Can you find these things in the forest? A butterfly A mouse A caterpillar A flying bird A parrot A tiny man A dragonfly A frog A turtle A spotted gecko A snail A monkey 2 flowers

Jon and Erin come to a clearing in the forest. They see something there. What do they see? Draw your own picture below.

Jon and Erin are walking through a forest with their friend Wah Z. They see many interesting things in the forest. Mahanta 12a Mahanta 12b