CultNEWS101 Articles: 11/10/2025

Eckankar, The Church of Immortal Consciousness, NXIVM

RNS: New Age spiritual group Eckankar will soon have its first new leader in 44 years

" ...Some of the world's ECKists, who reside in more than 120 countries, predominantly in Europe and Africa, will converge at the ... [Temple of ECK in rural Minnesota] for their annual Worldwide Soul Adventure seminar. This year, they will also celebrate 60 years since Eckankar's founding and ring in a new spiritual year, themed "the year of light and sound."

But this year's gathering is significant for another reason: Sri Harold Klemp, the living ECK master, will formally introduce his successor, marking the first leadership transition in Eckankar in more than 4 decades. An unknown male, considered to be part of Klemp's spiritual lineage, to be announced at the event, is to carry the group into the next 60-year cycle."

A Little Bit Culty: The Church of Immortal Consciousness wasn't precisely a "chess cult."

But it did produce a master chess player and tomorrow's guest, Danny Rensch.

Danny's journey within the Arizona-based group led to his affinity and passion for chess, as well as some severe mental and physical trauma.

Tomorrow kicks off our two-parter with Danny, where he covers everything from growing up in the group, how chess became his "purpose," and how he walked away from immortal consciousness.

Plus, he talks about his memoir "Dark Squares" and the role chess continues to play in his life today. Danny's story is one of the most captivating we've heard recently, and we can't wait for you to listen to it too.

Yahoo: Smallville's Allison Mack to Speak About Her Experience in NXIVM Cult for First Time in New Podcast Series

• Allison Mack, a former Smallville actress, held a high-level position in the NXIVM cult, recruiting women, branding them, and collecting blackmail "collateral" to ensure compliance.
• Mack is set to share her story in a new podcast series, Uncover: Allison After NXIVM, exploring her life before and after her involvement in the cult.
• Mack pleaded guilty to charges of racketeering and racketeering conspiracy, serving 21 months of a three-year sentence before her release in July 2023.

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IRANIAN WRITER AND TRANSLATOR SENTENCED TO DEATH

Iran News Update
March 15,  2017

Iranian Imprisoned translator Marjan Davari has been sentenced to death by Branch 15 of the so-called Tehran Revolutionary Court for ‘spreading corruption on earth’

Marjan Davari, a 50-year-old researcher and translator, has been convicted of ‘spreading corruption on earth’ and sentenced to death by  Branch 15 of Tehran Revolutionary Court. Charges such as ‘liaison’, ‘association and collusion against the state’, ‘membership in Eckankar religious group’ through translating their books, are also mentioned in court order.

Trial of the convicted translator was held in October and December 2016 in Branch 15 of Tehran Revolutionary Court presided by Judge Salavati.

It should also be noted that Davari was transferred from Evin to Shahre-Ray Prison in February this year.

Marjan Davari was arrested in her parental house in Mehrsahhr, Karaj, on September 24, 2015. She was then taken to Ministry of Intelligence’s ward 209 in Evin Prison, held in solitary confinement for three months while being interrogated without having access to a lawyer or any kind of legal consultancy. Ms. Davari was then transferred to women’s ward of Evin Prison after investigations ended on January 3, 2016.

As for the reasons and activities that led to Ms. Davari’s arrest, an informed source had told in a previous interview that “Ms. Davari is a translator. She has translated several books, mostly related to psychology, mysticism, and metaphysics. She also used to teach in an institution named ‘Rah-e Ma’refat’ (the road towards knowledge), a registered and legal institution belonging to her husband. Ms. Davari, however, separated both from her husband and the institution in early 2015. Following her ex-husband’s arrest six months later, she herself was also arrested, with all her activities as a translator and teacher being raised as charges.”

Marjan Davari is a Graphic Arts graduate from Al-Zahra University in Tehran. Her activities in Rah-e Ma’refat Institution were focused on mystical and metaphysical studies. Talons of Time by Paul Twitchell, The Seeker by Phil Morimitsu, and The Spiritual Exercises of Eck by Harold Klemp are among her published translations.

http://irannewsupdate.com/news/human-rights/3611-iranian-writer-and-translator-sentenced-to-death.html