Dhunami is a small offshoot of Eckankar that continues the lineage of Darwin Gross, who succeeded Eckankar founder Paul Twitchell in the leadership of that group but who was deposed and erased from Eckankar history under longtime leader Harold Klemp. Gross founded his own offshoot, Ancient Teachings of the Masters (ATOM), which had largely faded away by the time of Gross’s death in 2008.
Gross had been named the 972nd Living ECK Master upon succeeding Twitchell in Eckankar, but that number was taken by Klemp after Gross’s removal from the spiritual leadership of Eckankar in 1981. Gross continued to use the title as the head of ATOM. In 2005, Paul Marché became Gross’s protégé, and after Gross’s death, he took the title “973rd Living Master” or “Living Dhunami Master.”
Dhunami claims to preserve the “original, unedited” teachings of Paul Twitchell, which followers believe were altered or “diluted” by other organizations after Twitchell’s death in 1971. Dhunami presents itself as the “direct path” to Sugmad, a term it uses to describe what it identifies as the original name of God. The group teaches that all religions and philosophies originate from its ancient teachings, which it claims are recorded in the Naacal Records. Central to its practice is the study and experience of the “Divine Dhun Spirit,” described as the voice of Sugmad.
Under Marché’s leadership, teachings emphasize a distinction between “Big Truth,” defined as synonymous with God, and “little truth,” described as the dualistic and relative nature of human consciousness. The movement also promotes the concept of “Jivan Mukti,” or spiritual liberation from cycles of karma and reincarnation. According to its doctrine, this liberation is attained by opening oneself to the Dhun Spirit in order to transcend mental and emotional planes of existence. Marché teaches that records of all existence are stored on a causal plane and can be accessed through Dhunami spiritual exercises.
Key Source:
Marché, P., & Marché, A. (2009). Dhunami dialogues: In Their Own Words! Paulji Takes Dictation and Questions the Dhunami Masters.
Encyclopedia of Cults, Sects, and New Religious Movements 