HU—the Sound of Soul Archives

How to Develop a Powerful Spiritual Practice That Can Transform Your Daily Life

HU—the Sound of Soul, Light and Sound, Spiritual Exercises of ECK

“When you sing or
chant HU,
you’re contacting a
living center of
spiritual vibration vastly
more powerful than the
human consciousness.”

In this article, you’ll discover:

Why you don’t need complicated rituals, special places, or years of study to begin experiencing meaningful spirituality today—and how the simple practice of singing HU during prayer, meditation, or contemplation, can help you release stress, connect with divine guidance, and become a light for others.
A link to the full story on the ECKANKAR Soul Adventure Podcast episode, How to Develop a Powerful Spiritual Practice, now available on YouTube.

Why a Spiritual Practice Matters

For many spiritual seekers, it’s tempting to believe that the search for growth is a quest for something out there—a special teacher, a faraway place, or even the latest app.

Sri Doug Kunin, the Mᴀʜᴀɴᴛᴀ, the Living ECK Master and spiritual leader of Eᴄᴋᴀɴᴋᴀʀ, believes the real search isn’t “out there” but “in here.” As Soul, a divine spark of God, the answers already exist within each of us. “What we need is a daily spiritual practice that unlocks it,” he says.

To hear a take on this subject given by Sri Doug before becoming the spiritual leader of Eᴄᴋᴀɴᴋᴀʀ, check out this episode of the Eᴄᴋᴀɴᴋᴀʀ Soul Adventure Podcast.

Prayer. Meditation. Contemplation.

Each one is a doorway to the same sacred goal, a response to the call of Soul. Yet every door requires a key.

For millions of seekers across time, the sacred sound of HU is the key that can turn these practices into something truly powerful. Whether you add it to a current meditation or mindfulness routine or sing it on its own, HU can and will awaken the divine love and guidance already within you.

A Spiritual Practice That Works

Doug describes HU as a universal spiritual vitamin—simple to use, nourishing to the Soul, and adaptable to life’s challenges. It calms grief, eases sadness and stress, and brings about a gentle yet transformative shift over time.

“Consistent daily practice, even just a little each day, creates a vibratory current in our own being,” he said, “and that current extends far beyond the individual. It touches other people. It touches all life.”

Doug illustrated the point with a story about a friend who encountered an excitable dog named “Tough Enough” while walking through Grand Marais, Minnesota. The dog was a whirlwind of frenetic energy—until Doug’s friend softly sang HU. The dog calmed down instantly, gazing into her eyes with quiet connection.

“That’s the power of HU,” Doug said. “It makes you a magnet of divine love.”

What is HU?

HU (pronounced like hue) is known as the sound behind all sounds—a carrier of divine love between the Creator and you. It’s not limited to any religion or belief system and can enhance any path you’re already on.

When you sing or chant HU, you’re contacting a living center of spiritual vibration vastly more powerful than the human consciousness. Your very atoms become energized and enlivened with this spiritual current from the source.”

Eᴄᴋᴀɴᴋᴀʀ teaches HU as one of many spiritual meditation techniques designed to put you in direct contact with the life-giving forces within. These creative practices are simple, natural, and free of the strenuous effort often associated with silencing the mind.

Love and Gratitude Transform Any Spiritual Practice

There’s one more essential ingredient that makes a spiritual practice truly powerful: gratitude.

Doug explained, “The active element of contemplation or a spiritual exercise is coming at it from a state of love and gratitude, and that’s only something we can do.”

This choice to approach a practice with love and gratitude is what he called “the creative element . . . that opens the doorway to higher awareness.”

That’s when the magic happens. As Doug put it, “. . . it opens the doorway so Divine Spirit can start to co-work with us in unexpected ways. It’ll meet you halfway, and the possibilities are infinite.”

The Many Benefits of Singing HU

Here are a few of the benefits of adding HU to your prayer, contemplation, or meditation practice:

✨ Releases stress and worry — Like a tree dropping its leaves in autumn, HU helps you let go of what no longer serves you.
✨ Awakens your heart — Singing HU fills you with love and gratitude, opening the door to higher awareness and miracles in your life.
✨ Enhances your path — Whatever your beliefs, HU strengthens and deepens your connection to the divine.
✨ Serves all life — The ripples of your love touch others in ways you may never know, simply by singing HU.

It can work for anyone, regardless of your beliefs or background. “But the main benefit,” Doug notes, “is to fill the seeker’s heart with divine love.”

How to Practice HU

HU is a spiritual meditation mantra you can sing anytime, anywhere. Some choose to sing for 15 minutes a day; others use it whenever they need a moment of calm or clarity.

Here’s how to try it for yourself:

💎 Find a quiet spot.
💎 Close your eyes, take a few deep breaths, and relax.
💎 With love in your heart, sing HU aloud or silently for a few minutes: HU-u-u-u-u-u…

Free HU App and Community Events

To hear HU, download the free HU App at HUapp.org. It features a how-to guide, an uplifting video, and a 20-minute recording of thousands singing HU.

If you’d like to experience HU in a group setting, Eᴄᴋᴀɴᴋᴀʀ offers Sound of Soul events around the world—warm, welcoming gatherings where people of all faiths come together to sing HU and share spiritual experiences.

Every day is a new opportunity to awaken to the love and guidance already within you. HU can help you take that first step—and every step after that.

Get started with these free Eᴄᴋᴀɴᴋᴀʀ resources:

DOWNLOAD HU APP

FIND A SOUND OF SOUL EVENT
NEAR YOU

DOWNLOAD E-BOOKLET

HU, An Ancient Spiritual Mantra

HU—the Sound of Soul, Light and Sound, Spiritual Exercises of ECK

The God Sound: A Spiritual Exercise

HERE’S A SPIRITUAL EXERCISE TO TRY IF YOU WANT TO EXPERIENCE JOY AND WONDER:

Shut your eyes and look into the Spiritual Eye. (It’s between your eyebrows, in the center of your forehead.) Sing HU, an ancient name for God, one of the most powerful words for spiritual upliftment.

As you sing HU, listen for a holy Sound. It may come in any number of ways: like the sound of a rumbling train, a singing bird, buzzing bees, a mellow flute, or even soothing guitars.

It brings joy and wonder.

The holy sounds are the creative action of the Life Force, the ECK, as It moves atoms in the invisible worlds. The Sound to reach your ears resonates with your state of consciousness.

While singing HU, imagine the holy Sound of God cascading over you, like a waterfall of sparkling pure waters. It is cleansing the blemishes of spirit.

The Sound opens a secret path to the joys of love and grace. You find peace, joy, and spiritual freedom.

—The Sound of Soul

Would you like to read more? View the free Eᴄᴋᴀɴᴋᴀʀ Soul Adventure Magazine or subscribe now.

Going Home to God

HU—the Sound of Soul

By Christopher, North Carolina

As a spiritual seeker, I found the Eᴄᴋᴀɴᴋᴀʀ website very helpful and informative. In my heart I knew this was for me. I wrestled with it for almost a month, but then I thought, What would hurt to get a one-year enrollment? After all, if I was unhappy with it or didn’t like it, I could get right back into metaphysics. So I jumped right in. I went online, made a donation, and enrolled in a Spiritual Living Course.

The next day, I decided to do the HU. I wanted to see what all the hype was about. So I started to sing HU. I felt awkward, but I continued. Still feeling awkward, I pressed through the battle in my mind. I focused on my Third Eye. I began to feel the pure vibration I had felt a short time before, when I visited an ECK Center. I began to be filled up with love. The awkwardness was certainly gone. I was raptured in Spirit.

Before my Spiritual Eye was a door. I saw light coming from it—a lot of white light, but also blue light. The door opened, and out came Sri Harold in a blue suit, just like he looks in real life. Behind him was someone else. Sri Harold greeted me and said he wanted to introduce me to a wonderful ECK Master. Out stepped a magnificent, white-robed, white-haired fellow. When he looked at me, I saw such ancient wisdom and love. My heart was so drawn to both of them. I know now the other ECK Master was Fubbi Quantz. Such love radiated from both of them to me. I felt a kinship with Fubbi, but I didn’t know what it meant. I felt Sri Harold was a much more suitable guide for me than the metaphysical spirits I had been looking to before.

They both gave me a loving welcome to Eᴄᴋᴀɴᴋᴀʀ. Fubbi assured me that he would watch over me but said that Sri Harold, as the Mᴀʜᴀɴᴛᴀ, would be my primary guide and teacher. Sri Harold assured me that if I’d follow my discourses and do my spiritual exercises, my journey to spiritual freedom would be achieved. He said I was indeed embarking on a great adventure and journey. As my contemplation was nearing an end, we said farewell. The two of them went through the door. I slowly came back.

WOW! I now knew I had become part of something very real. I was filled with such love, greater than any love I had experienced before.

It truly has been an adventure. I have found what I am looking for. I feel so satisfied in ECK. My search is over. Soul is on Its way home to God.

Searching for Truth

HU—the Sound of Soul

In the Journey of Spiritual Discovery Survey, students of Eᴄᴋᴀɴᴋᴀʀ responded to questions about their experiences. An ECKist from Canada gave the response below to, What unanswered spiritual questions did you have PRIOR to finding Eᴄᴋᴀɴᴋᴀʀ?

“What am I doing here? What’s the purpose of life? What is life? How can I know the truth of life? Why does every religion and teaching I explore seem to hit a wall? Isn’t there some teaching somewhere that goes all the way? What are the keys, the secrets, that most teachings don’t seem to know?”

Sri Harold Klemp has written eloquently about the seeker’s journey and sense of longing. In the following excerpt from his book Spiritual Exercises for the Shariyat, Book Two, he offers a way to discover your own truth.

Seeking What Is True

By Sri Harold Klemp

Open your Spiritual Eye by singing HU for a few moments. Declare yourself a pure vehicle for the unconditional love of God.

Observe the Light and Sound of ECK as It imbues the pattern of your thoughts and deeds and the actions of your heart.

* * *

By seeking truth in this way, you can find wisdom, freedom, and unfoldment in any place at any time.

The Strange Story of Help for My Son

HU—the Sound of Soul

A person is starting out at a city with their back to the camera

By Flow, Illinois

I was a recently divorced, single mom. My seventeen-year-old son, “Josh,” was a senior in high school and seemed not to care about much. He especially did not care about graduating, and he often got in trouble for skipping school. Eventually he was suspended, and when that didn’t work he was placed on probation and independent study. One more misdeed and he would be permanently expelled.

I remember sincerely asking the Mᴀʜᴀɴᴛᴀ for help—to please help Josh graduate from high school, if it’s for the good of the whole.

A few weeks later, one spring evening when it was so warm I opened all the windows, I left for a part-time job. Once I was out of the house, Josh put his earphones on, cranked up his music and focused on his homework, not realizing he hadn’t switched off the speakers. They were now blaring loud music to the whole neighborhood. Apparently the neighbor across the street came out and started yelling, “Turn that sound off!” But the earphones prevented Josh from hearing the shouting coming from across the street.

A little while later, Josh looked up and noticed a police car had pulled up in front of the house. Curious, he turned the radio off, took off his earphones, and went outside to see what was up.

By this time the teenage neighbor next door was blaring her music. The two policemen went up and started to knock on her door. But then the neighbor from across the street yelled, “Not her, HIM!” pointing to Josh. The police then proceeded to handcuff and arrest Josh. When I returned home, a police officer came to the door and told me I needed to go to the juvenile hall to pick up my son. He had been charged with carrying a weapon.

In his pants pocket, Josh carried a large box-cutting knife, which he used for work.

I was shocked. All the way to the jail I sang HU and opened my heart to the Mᴀʜᴀɴᴛᴀ’s guidance. Josh was OK but a bit shaken up. He said the only thing they took was the knife to hold as evidence. Evidence of what? I wondered to the Mᴀʜᴀɴᴛᴀ.

The next day I phoned the district attorney’s office to sort things out. I got to speak to the DA himself, which I thought was unusual.

The DA said, “Well, ma’am, your son shouldn’t have had a knife at school.” Surprised, I said, “But he wasn’t at school. He was at home.” Equally surprised, he replied, “He wasn’t at school?” I assured him my son had been at home.” The DA said, “I’ll have to look into this,” and he hung up.

The next day, when Josh came home from work, he said, “Guess what? Today while I was on campus to pick up my independent-study work, the school had a security search going on. They went through my pockets and backpack. I had to work this afternoon, so I would’ve had my box knife with me. Pretty interesting, huh?”

I knew in that moment that my request to the Mᴀʜᴀɴᴛᴀ had been answered in this roundabout way. Some might say, “That’s terrible what happened.” But I knew it was the safest and best way to protect my son so he could graduate. If security had found that large knife on Josh, he would have been arrested and expelled.

Josh graduated, and many years have passed. He is now married, with three children. I am grateful every day for the Master’s blessings of love and protection.