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→‎Books: removing 'presumably'; I'd added to fill in from source. Sources just say he burned the books because of controversial info. Period.
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→‎Bibliography: rmvd World Cat link - went to Thich Nhat Hahn page! Not sure there should be one even for Da (100 books not enough?)
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*''The Boundless Self-Confession: Essays from The Aletheon'', 2009: ISBN 978-1-57097-260-7
*''The Boundless Self-Confession: Essays from The Aletheon'', 2009: ISBN 978-1-57097-260-7
*''The Aletheon: The Divine Avataric Self-Revelation of His Divine Presence, Avatar Adi Da Samraj'', 2009: ISBN 978-1-57097-274-4
*''The Aletheon: The Divine Avataric Self-Revelation of His Divine Presence, Avatar Adi Da Samraj'', 2009: ISBN 978-1-57097-274-4
*{{worldcat id|id=lccn-n50-6399}}


==See also==
==See also==

Revision as of 15:58, 22 February 2010

Adi Da Samraj
Adi Da Samraj
Born(1939-11-03)3 November 1939
New York, New York, United States
Died27 November 2008(2008-11-27) (aged 69)
Naitaba, Lau Islands, Fiji
NationalityAmerican
Other namesFranklin Albert Jones
Occupation(s)Spiritual teacher, writer, and artist
Known forFounder of Adidam

Adi Da Samraj (Devanāgarī: अादि द समराज) (November 3, 1939 – November 27, 2008),[1][2] born Franklin Albert Jones in Queens, New York, was a controversial spiritual teacher, writer and artist, considered "one of the most interesting and outrageous sixties-generation American gurus."[3] He was the founder of a new religious movement known as Adidam. Beginning in 1972, Adi Da changed his name numbers of times, including "Bubba Free John", "Da Free John", "Da Love-Ananda", "Da Kalki", "Da Avadhoota", "Da Avabhasa", and from the 1990s until his death, "Adi Da Love-Ananda Samraj" or "Adi Da".[4]

Adi Da first gained notoriety in the counterculture of the 1970s for his books and public talks, and for the activities of his religious community. Adi Da expressed a teaching, similar to Indian non-dualism, that seeing oneself as an individual separate from a divine unitive reality is an illusion, and the cause of unhappiness. He taught that the seeking of liberation itself creates suffering, and must be transcended.[5][6][7] Distinguishing his teaching from other religious traditions, Adi Da asserted that he was an avatar embodying a uniquely liberated state beyond all dualism, and as such was the sole source of this realization for humanity.[8]

Adi Da wrote many books about his spiritual philosophy and related matters, founding a publishing house to print them.[9] His books gained praise for their breadth of knowledge and insight from respected authorities in spirituality and philosophy.[10][11] While sometimes still praising his ideas, others were more critical,[12] questioning what were perceived as Adi Da's isolation,[13] controversial behavior, and cult-like community.[14][15][16][17][18][19][20]

In the mid 1980s, allegations by former devotees of financial, sexual and emotional abuses within Adidam were reported in a number of news outlets in California,[21][22] culminating in national coverage on NBC's The Today Show. These allegations resulted in lawsuits on both sides.[23]

Biography

Adi Da as a child

Adi Da was born Franklin Albert Jones on November 3, 1939, in Queens, New York and raised on Long Island.[24] His father was a salesman, his mother a housewife, and he had a younger sister, Joanne, born when he was eight years old. He served as an acolyte in the Lutheran church during his adolescence, and aspired to be a minister, though after leaving for college in the autumn of 1957,[25] he expressed to his Lutheran pastor doubts about the religion. He graduated in 1961 with a Bachelor's Degree in Philosophy from Columbia University, and went on to complete a Master's Degree in English Literature at Stanford University in 1963.[25][26][27]

After graduating from Columbia, Jones began experimenting with the use of hallucinogenic drugs.[28] Later, in California, he was a paid test subject in drug trials of mescaline, LSD, and psilocybin that were conducted at a nearby Veterans Administration hospital.[29] He wrote that he found these experiences "self-validating" in that they mimicked ecstatic states of consciousness from his childhood, but they were necessarily problematic, often resulting in paranoia or disassociation.[30][31][32] For over a year, Jones lived with his girlfriend Nina Davis in the hills of Palo Alto, where while she worked to support them, he engaged in a period of introspection, writing daily and meditating informally.[33][34]

Responding to an intuitive impulse, Jones and Davis left California in June 1964 in search of a spiritual teacher in New York City.[35] Settling in Greenwich Village, Jones became a disciple of Albert Rudolph, or "Rudi" as he was commonly called, an oriental art dealer and self-styled spiritual guru. Having studied a number of spiritual traditions, including G.I. Gurdjieff's "Work" and Subud, Rudolph was at that time a disciple of Swami Muktananda, who named him "Swami Rudrananda". Rudi taught an eclectic blend of techniques he called "Kundalini Yoga".[36][37][38][39]

File:AdiDaandMuktananda.gif
Adi Da meditating in Mumbai, 1969

Jones' father told Rudi of his son's onetime aspiration to become a Lutheran minister. Feeling Jones needed better grounding, in 1965, Rudi insisted that Jones marry Nina, find steady employment, lose weight, end his drug use, and begin preparatory studies to enter the seminary.[40][41] As a student at Philadelphia's Lutheran Theological Seminary in 1967, he described undergoing a terrifying breakdown. Taken to a hospital emergency room, a psychiatrist diagnosed it as an anxiety attack.[42] It was the first in a series of such episodes he would experience throughout his life, each followed by what he explained as profound awakenings or insights.[43][44] Feeling none of his Lutheran professors understood this experience, Jones left and briefly attended St. Vladimir's Russian Orthodox Seminary in Tuckahoe, New York.[45] Disillusioned, he moved to back to New York City and got a job working for Pan American Airlines, in hopes this would facilitate his being able to visit Swami Muktananda's Ashram in India. He did so for four days in April 1968.[46]

Swami Muktananda encouraged Jones to end his studies with Rudi, and study with himself directly. Back in New York, he and his wife Nina became members and then employees of the Church of Scientology for more than one year,[47] and Jones wrote Rudi a letter severing all contact (they spoke again years later.)[48][49] Jones returned to India for a month-long visit in early 1969, during which Swami Muktananda formally authorized him to initiate others into the Siddha Yoga tradition.[50][51]

In May 1970, Jones, Nina and a friend from Scientology named Pat Morley, gave away their belongings and traveled to India for what they believed to be an indefinite period.[52] Three weeks after arriving, while at Swami Muktananda's ashram, Jones reported visions of the Virgin Mary, whom he felt to be a manifestation of the feminine cosmic principle, or shakti. He stated that these visions directed him to make a pilgrimage to Christian holy sites in Europe. All three then returned to New York before moving to Los Angeles in August.[25][53][54]

Realizing "The Bright" and Crazy Wisdom

Adi Da in Los Angeles, 1973

In September 1970, Jones said that while sitting in the Vedanta Society Temple in Hollywood,[55] he permanently realized "The Bright," his term for a state of complete spiritual enlightenment.[56][57][58] Jones wrote a "spiritual autobiography" titled "The Knee of Listening," which was published in 1972. With fellow former Scientology employee Sal Lucania as business partner Jones opened Ashram (later Dawn Horse) Books, a spiritual bookshop in Los Angeles. He began giving lectures there based on his autobiography, soon attracting a small following, due in part to his charismatic speaking style.[59][60] He incorporated many ideas from the Kashmir Shaivite and Advaita Vedanta schools of Hinduism, but also expressed original insights and opinions about both spirituality and secular culture.[61][62] He was one of the first westerners to become well-known as a teacher of meditation and eastern esoteric traditions at a time when these were of growing interest.[63]

With an increasing number of followers, Jones founded a new religious movement called "The Dawn Horse Communion".[64][65] In 1973, he traveled to India to meet again with Swami Muktananda to definitively discuss spiritual enlightenment and how to achieve it. They disagreed and ended their relationship, going on to later disparage each others' relative level of spiritual accomplishment.[66] Jones nevertheless maintained that he continued to appreciate and respect Muktananda as his onetime teacher.[67][68][69]

Mountain Of Attention Sanctuary in Cobb, California

Upon returning to Los Angeles, Jones directed his students that he should now be addressed as "Bubba Free John," based on a nickname for "friend" combined with a rendering of "Franklin Jones". He divorced Nina, although she remained a disciple.[70] Bubba Free John declared himself "the divine lord in human form" in January 1974,[71] and his group soon obtained an aging hot springs resort near the California town of Cobb, renaming it "Persimmon" (it is now known as "The Mountain of Attention.") There, the group experimented in communal living.[25][61][72]

In 1973, Bubba Free John began a teaching phase that came to be known as "Garbage and the Goddess" (the activities and ideas of which were documented in a book by the same title).[73] Some followers at Persimmon reported having profound metaphysical experiences in Free John's presence, attributing these phenomena to his spiritual power as guru.[74] Free John began to increasingly employ a method of teaching he called "crazy wisdom", which included directing his followers in "sexual theater", a form of psychodrama[75] that often involved public and group sex, the making of pornographic movies, and other intensified sexual practices.[76] Drug and alcohol use were often encouraged.[77]

This was part of a radical overturning of all conventional moral values and contracts[78] in order to help "shock" students into insights regarding neurotic patterns and attachments so that they could more completely "surrender" to the guru and the community.[79][80][81][82][83][84][85] Members said that experiments in everything from food to work, worship, exercise, money and sexuality were all in attempts to grow spiritually.[25][86] He had nine or more "wives" during this time, including Playboy centerfold Julie Anderson.[87]

In 1983, he moved with a group of about 40 followers to the Fijian island of Naitauba, purchased by a wealthy devotee from actor Raymond Burr.[88] He called it his "hermitage". Travel to the island is restricted to devotees and invited guests.[89] It was Adi Da's primary residence until the end of his life.

During his career, Adi Da would often change his name, which he said reflected differences or changes in the nature of his teaching and relationship to devotees. These names included Da Free John, Da Love-Ananda, Dau Loloma, Da Kalki, Hridaya-Samartha Sat-Guru Da, Santosha Da, Da Avadhoota, Da Kalki, Da Avabhasa, and from 1994, Adi Da Love-Ananda Samraj, or Adi Da. The shared element in these names is the Sanskrit syllable 'Da', which Adi Da interpreted as 'giver.'[90][25][91] His religious organization also went by many names, including the Dawn Horse Communion, the Free Communion Church, the Laughing Man Institute, the Crazy Wisdom Fellowship, the Way of Divine Ignorance, and the Johannine Daist Communion.[92] It is now known as Adidam.

Accusations of Adi Da abusing his power as a spiritual leader attracted international attention in the mid-1980's.[15][93] Adi Da and Adidam (then known as Da Free John and The Johannine Daist Communion) were subjects of almost daily coverage in the San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Examiner, Mill Valley Record, other newspapers and regional television news and talk shows over several weeks.[25][94] The story gained greater attention with a two-part expose on The Today Show.[95] In investigative reports and dozens of interviews, ex-members made numerous specific allegations of Adi Da forcing members to engage in psychologically, sexually and physically abusive and humiliating behavior, as well accusing the church of committing tax fraud. Others however claimed to never witness or be involved in such activities.[96][97][98][99][100] [101] In 1985, Adi Da and his organization were sued by one of these former members for (among other things) fraud, intentional infliction of emotional distress, false imprisonment, and assault and battery; the suit sought $5 million in damages.[22]

Adidam countered two weeks later with its own lawsuit against this former member, as well as five others who had been named in stories and interviews making allegations of abuse. The suit accused them of abuse of process, extortion, breach of fiduciary duty and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Adidam sought $20 million in damages. Adidam charged that their allegations were part of a conspiracy to extort large sums of money from the movement.[23]

Though spokespersons for the church stated controversial sexual activities had only occurred during the mid-1970's, former high ranking members claimed they had continued up to the time of the lawsuits and interviews, but had been kept hidden to all but an inner circle.[102][103] A spokesman for the church then issued a statement that "sexual experimentation" was not abandoned in 1976 as they previously claimed. "Tantra-style encounters" of the kind described in allegations were admitted to have occurred periodically and more or less secretly until at least the end of 1985.[104] [105] The church maintained that no illegal acts took place and the movement had a right to continue experiments in lifestyles.[106][107]

The lawsuit against Adidam detailed in news stories was dismissed by a Superior Court Judge in Marin County, in March of 1986.[108] Adi Da and his church were threatened with other lawsuits over the years, but cases were kept out of court with confidentiality agreements and cash settlements, which damaged the organization financially.[109][110]

"Divine Emergence"

Adi Da at The Mountain Of Attention Sanctuary, 1986

In January 1986, "burned out by months of long partying" during which he said he dealt with the "shadows" of his disciples psyches, Adi Da was frustrated and grief-stricken by what he perceived as the futility of his teaching work. He experienced a near-death episode, that he came to call his "Divine Emergence."[111] Adi Da described this event as a spiritual transformation of his body that allowed it to become a "perfect vehicle for his spiritual transmission". Before, he said he had not been fully inhabiting his body, but from then on he did so, "down to the bottoms of My feet."[112] It was then enough for disciples to simply meditate upon his image to participate in his enlightenment.[113]

File:AdiDa2000.jpg
Adi Da at Lopez Island, 2000

By the year 2000, Adi Da had publicly predicted that he would be recognized by the entire world for his enlightened status. When this failed to occur, Adi Da experienced another death-like event similar to the one in 1986, which he said signified the start of another new period in his message. His "divinity moved from the bottoms of his feet to above the top of his head, where it had been before 1986." This return was necessary because he was beset by "dark forces" that could no longer be allowed into his body. There were reports that doctors had prescribed tranquilizers for what they diagnosed as anxiety attacks.[114]

Later that year, Adi Da recruited the following of Frederick Lenz, or "Zen Master Rama", following the latter’s death in 1998. Adi Da said that he was a reincarnation of the renowned Hindu teacher Swami Vivekananda, and stated that Lenz had been a disciple in a past life. Some of these followers did join Adidam, reportedly upsetting long-time disciples who felt the new members were undeservedly privileged.[115][116]

Adi Da had four children, three biological daughters with three different women, and one adopted daughter.[117] While neither Adi Da nor Adidam denied his practice of polygamy,[118] a spokesman stated that he spent later years living a life of solitude and contemplation.[25]

Adi Da died on November 27, 2008 at his home in Fiji.[1]

Teachings and Philosophy

Adi Da said that he was "uniquely enlightened from birth, an avatar, the unique descent of the divine into a human body, God in our midst."[119] Fundamental to Adi Da's religious philosophy is the essentially "eastern" religious concept that the purpose of human life is enlightenment, an awakening to ultimate reality that is the natural state of all human beings. Adi Da said that what keeps one from experiencing this reality is the activity of ego, which is the source of all emotional, psychological, and spiritual dissatisfaction. He called this activity "self-contraction". This contraction lies somewhere beneath the normal level of conscious awareness, leading people to believe they are limited, suffering individuals. He said that fundamentally, all efforts to unite with the divine from the point of view of a separate self were futile, since that separate self itself is illusory.[120]

"Seventh Stage Realization"

Adi Da developed a map of potential human and spiritual evolution he called "the seven stages of life."[121]

  • First Stage—"individuation/physical development"
  • Second Stage—"socialization"
  • Third Stage—"integration/mental development"
  • Fourth Stage—"spiritualization/Divine Communion"
  • Fifth Stage—"spiritual ascent"
  • Sixth Stage—"abiding in consciousness"
  • Seventh Stage—"Divine Enlightenment: awakening from all egoic limitations"

The first six stages account for all permutations of religion and culture throughout history, as well as levels of personal development. Adi Da categorized the fourth, fifth, and sixth stages of life as the highest respective stages of human development. He characterized those who have reached these stages as "saints," "yogis", and "sages", including other religious figures such as the Buddha and Jesus Christ.[122] Relative to this spectrum, Adi Da declared that "Distinct from even all yogis, saints, and sages (or even all realizers in the context of the first six stages of life), I am uniquely, and avatarically born."[123]

According to Adi Da, the seventh stage of life has nothing to do with development or evolution, and does not come after the sixth stage in a sequential manner. He declared that only devotion to him as the "avatar of the age" or "The Promised God-Man"[124] could free people from "self-contraction" and reveal seventh stage realization to them.[125][126] The culminating awareness of this seventh stage is a permanent, natural state of “open-eyed” ecstasy, for which Adi Da employed the Sanskrit term Sahaja Nirvikalpa Samadhi.[127]

Adi Da stated “I Am the First (and the Only One) to Realize and to Demonstrate seventh stage Realization, which (now, and forever hereafter) I Alone, and Uniquely, Reveal and Transmit to all my formally practicing true devotees and thus potentially to all beings."[128] This assertion of exclusivity has been said to contradict Adi Da's earlier teachings that state enlightenment is the natural, original condition for all, rejecting the absolute necessity for any religious authority or belief,[129][16][130] as in statements like ""People want the Guru to be the Avatar. In fact he doesn't exist as God in any exclusive sense whatsoever. So there is no Avatar except the whole, if it makes any sense to use such words at all."[131][132]

"Crazy Wisdom"

Much of the controversy regarding Adi Da related to the years in which he said to have employed "crazy wisdom", a teaching method in which a yogic adept employs seemingly un-spiritual methods to awaken an observer's consciousness.[133] By 1986, he claimed to have generally stopped using such methods, saying "[Earlier] I had to endure and instruct immature people...and so when people refer to my "Crazy Wise" Work, they must understand that it has essentially come to an end. Now, after all these years...my devotees, generally speaking, relate to me in a formal manner."[134]

Adidam

File:Da Love-Ananda Mahal.jpg
Da Love-Ananda Mahal in Kauai, Hawaii
Adi Da Samrajashram in Naitauba, Fiji

Adidam refers to both the organization of Adi Da's devotees and the religion he taught. Adidam presupposes an “eastern” view of divinity and accepts concepts of karma, reincarnation, chakras, etc. It also employs many Sanskrit terms and concepts. God, or the divine, is seen as a principle and energy, a consciousness that predates creation but is not a willful creator itself.[135]

Though earlier manifestations were a clear if experimental variant on Advaita Vedanta, recognizing the naturally enlightened state of all humans,[136][137] over time Adidam increasingly became a messianic version of the Hindu tradition of bhakti yoga, promising salvation only to the select few who completely submit to Adi Da as guru.[138][139][25] The practice of Adidam is now defined by its emphasis on a devotional relationship to Adi Da, whom disciples see as an enlightened source of power serving as the sole gateway to the divine.[140] Through devotion and service to him, the devotee’s consciousness is gradually transformed in the image of the guru’s. Devotion to Adi Da is complemented by the study of Adi Da's and other religious teachings, physical exercises, yogic regulation of sexuality, a raw vegan diet, and other specified practices.[25][141] Adi Da's devotees often refer to him simply as "Beloved".[25]

After his death, Adi Da said there were not to be any further teachings or "revelations", and that his message was complete.[142] His artwork, writings, and the religious hermitages and sanctuaries "empowered" by his presence are to remain as expressions of his teaching and being. He was emphatic that no individual assert themselves as his representative or heir, stating that "all those who truly devotionally recognize Avatar Adi Da serve as "instruments" of His Blessing-Regard in the world."[143].[144][145]

While based on Naitauba Island, Fiji, there are five officially designated ashrams, or "sanctuaries", belonging to Adidam. Three are located in North America, with another in Hawaii. Despite ambitious and prolific dissemination of Adi Da's books and teachings, the church is estimated to have remained more or less constant at approximately 1,000 members worldwide since 1974.[146][147]

Works

Books

Adi Da wrote prolifically about his spiritual philosophy. All his books were self-published by the Dawn Horse Press that he founded in 1972, and over which he maintained complete control.[148][9] Best known among these is his autobiography,[149][150] The Knee of Listening (1972), the 1973 edition of which contained a foreword by well-known author Alan Watts. Many, including Watts, praised it as an authentic and remarkable mystical testament. Subsequent editions have undergone extensive changes and additions, however, tending toward auto-hagiography and self-mythologizing.[151][152][153] For instance, mentions of his connection to Scientology are no longer included,[154][155][156] and there are added chapters, as on "the secrets of Adi Da's "pre-history"(before his birth in 1939)."[157][158] The first edition was 271 pages; the last edition is 840 pages long.[159]

Adi Da likewise heavily reedited many of his earlier books in later years, reissuing them in "New Standard Editions" while developing a complex hierarchy of what he viewed as his primary texts.[160] One of the signatures of his later writing was an eccentric use of punctuation and irregular capitalizing of many first letters of words, indicating special meaning or import ("The only-by-Me Revealed and Given Way of Adidam is a Free Gift. But It is a Gift that Flows in the heart-relationship that exists between Me and each of My true devotees.") In a foreword to the 2004 edition of Knee of Listening, religious scholar Jeffrey Kripal describes this positively as "a new type of mystical grammar".[161] Others, including scholars Scott Lowe and Georg Feuerstein, have been critical, declaring problems with readability and accessibility for a wider audience.[162][163]

Adi Da's third book, 1974's Garbage and the Goddess: the Last Miracles and Final Spiritual Instructions of Bubba Free John, sold out its first print run and saw a second that same year. It was perhaps the least edited of all Adi Da's books. However, due to its controversial material, all available copies were suddenly retrieved and burned at Adi Da's behest.[164][165]

Art

Orpheus and Eurydice

In the last decade of his life, Adi Da produced visual art which he called "Transcendental Realism." These works were primarily photographic and digitally produced. In 2007, Adi Da had a solo exhibition in Venice, Italy curated by Italian art historian Achille Bonito Oliva[166]; the exhibit then moved to Florence. He also was represented by a commercial gallery in Culver City, California.[167]

The Spectra Suites, a book of Adi Da's art, has an introduction by American art historian and critic Donald Kuspit.[168]

Reception

Ken Wilber

From 1980 to 1990, philosophical theorist and author Ken Wilber wrote a number of published endorsements and forewords for Adi Da books, including "The Dawn Horse Testament", "The Divine Emergence of the World-Teacher", and "Scientific Proof of the Existence of God Will Soon Be Announced by the White House!"[169] Wilber also recommended Adi Da as a spiritual teacher to those interested in his own writings.

In 1996, Wilber qualified this endorsement of Adi Da in a statement on his publisher's website, stating "Da is capable of some truly exquisite insights, but in other areas, he has fared less well, and this has increasingly verged on the catastrophic."[170]

He then seemed to reverse this qualification in a letter sent privately to the Adidam community in 1998, but made available publicly on the internet in 2001: "Many people have made their way to Master Da because of my own writings. I am completely happy about that...I do not regret those endorsements, nor do I retract them...I affirm my own love and devotion to [Adi Da], and I hope my work will continue to bring students to [Adidam]."[171][172]

Acknowledging this letter, Wilber then wrote a final statement, again on his publisher's website: "I affirm all of the extremes of my statements about Da: he is one of the greatest spiritual Realizers of all time, in my opinion, and yet other aspects of his personality lag far behind those extraordinary heights. By all means look to him for utterly profound revelations, unequaled in many ways; yet step into his community at your own risk."[173]

Others

Early in his career, the yoga and religious scholar Georg Feuerstein was an admirer of Adi Da. He later amended his position, becoming publicly critical of Adi Da and the community surrounding him in Fiji. Feuerstein devoted a full chapter to Adi Da in his 1991 book Holy Madness: Spirituality, Crazy-Wise Teachers, and Enlightenment.[174] In the introduction to the 2006 edition, Feuerstein describes having edited the sections devoted to Adi Da to reflect these changes in opinion.[175]

University of Southern California religions professor Robert Ellwood wrote, “Accounts of life with [Adi Da] in his close-knit spiritual community [describe] extremes of asceticism and indulgence, of authoritarianism and antinomianism…Supporters of the alleged avatar rationalize such eccentricities as shock therapy for the sake of enlightenment.”[176][177]

Spiritual teacher Saniel Bonder, a close student of Adi Da from 1973–1993 and his biographer, says "I participated in and observed the evolution of one of the most exciting and sobering sacred experiments ever made....No matter what Adi Da tried, he couldn’t get people to realize the Divine Self on his terms, surrendering eternally to him as guru. He never really wanted us to duplicate his radical independence and creative originality in life."[178][citation needed]

In a story about Ed Kowalczyk, lead singer of the band Live, Australian music website timeoff.com reported that "In the press that went along with 1997’s Secret Samadhi [Kowalcyzk] revealed that he was a recent devotee to Adi Da, a guru that he first came into contact with via the internet. Kowalczyk was ridiculed. In spite of this reaction he continues to be open about his spirituality in the media and in his lyrics."[179]

Scott Lowe, PhD[3], was a follower of Adi Da in the 1970s.[180] In an essay analyzing what he'd witnessed, he relates a pattern of "abusive, manipulative, and self-centered" behavior, saying "does it necessarily follow that the individual who is "liberated" is free to indulge in what appear to be egocentric, hurtful, and damaging actions in the name of spiritual freedom? I personally think not, while acknowledging the subtlety and complexity of the ongoing debate.[181][182]

Author and alternative medicine proponent Gabriel Cousens wrote an endorsement for Adi Da's biography The Promised God-Man Is Here saying that "it has deepened my experience of Him as the Divine Gift established in the cosmic domain".[183][citation needed] He also mentions Adi Da in his books Spiritual Nutrition and Tachyon Energy.[184][185]

Jeffrey Kripal, Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, Israel Regardie, Ken Wilber, and Alan Watts have all written endorsements for books by Adi Da.

Bibliography

Below is a partial listing of books by Adi Da:

  • The Knee Of Listening: The Divine Ordeal of The Avataric Incarnation of Conscious Light. Book Four of the Seventeen Companions of the True Dawn Horse. 1st ed. 1972 subtitled "The Early Life and Radical Spiritual Teachings of Franklin Jones", 2nd ed. 1973, 3rd ed. 1978, 4th ed. 1984, standard ed. 1992, new ed. 1995 subtitled "The Early-Life Ordeal and the Radical Spiritual Realization of the Divine World-Teacher, Adi Da (The Da Avatar)", standard ed. 2004: ISBN-10 1570971676
  • The Method of the Siddhas: Talks with Franklin Jones on the Spiritual Technique of the Saviors of Mankind, 1st ed. 1973, 2nd printing 1973, 3rd ed. 1978, 4th ed. 1987, new ed. 1992, new ed. 1995, new ed. 2004 as My Bright Word: Discourses from The Divine Siddha-Method Of The Ruchira Avatar: ISBN 1-57097-015-7
  • Garbage and the Goddess: The Last Miracles and Final Spiritual Instructions of Bubba Free John, 1974: ISBN 0-913922-10-2
  • Conscious Exercise and the Transcendental Sun, 1st ed. 1974, 2nd ed. 1975, 3rd ed. 1977: ISBN 0-913922-30-7
  • No Remedy: An Introduction to the Life and Practices of the Spiritual Community of Bubba Free John, 1st ed. 1975, 2nd ed. 1976: ISBN 0-913922-0-X
  • The Paradox of Instruction: An Introduction to the Esoteric Spiritual Teaching of Bubba Free John, 1977: ISBN 0-913922-28-5
  • Breath and Name: The Initiation And Foundation Practices Of Free Spiritual Life, 1977: ISBN 0-913922-29-3
  • The Way That I Teach: Talks on the Intuition of Eternal Life, 1978: ISBN 0-913922-38-2
  • The Enlightenment of the Whole Body: A Rational and New Prophetic Revelation of the Truth of Religion, Esoteric Spirituality, and the Divine Destiny of Man, 1978: ISBN 0-913922-35-8
  • Love of the Two-Armed Form: The Free and Regenerative Function of Sexuality in Ordinary Life and the Transcendence of Sexuality in True Religious or Spiritual Practice, 1st ed. 1978, 2nd ed. 1985: ISBN 0913922-37-4
  • The Eating Gorilla Comes in Peace: The Transcendental Principle of Life Applied to Diet and the Regenerative Discipline of True Health, 1st ed. 1979, 2nd ed. 1987: ISBN 0-913922-19-6
  • The Four Fundamental Questions: Talks and Essays About Human Experience and the Actual Practice of an Enlightened Way of Life, 1st ed. 1980, reprinted 1984: ISBN 0-913922-49-8
  • Compulsory Dancing: Talks and Essays on the Spiritual and Evolutionary Necessity of Emotional Surrender to the Life-Principle, 1st ed. 1980, reprinted 1983: ISBN 0-913922-50-1
  • Bodily Worship of the Living God: The Esoteric Practice of Prayer Taught by Da Free John', 1st ed. 1980, 2nd ed. 1983: ISBN 0-913922-52-8
  • Scientific Proof of the Existence of God Will Soon Be Announced By The White House!: Prophetic Wisdom About the Myths and Idols of Mass Culture and Popular Religious Cultism, the New Priesthood of Scientific and Political Materialism, and the Secrets of Enlightenment Hidden in the Body of Man, 1980: ISBN 0-913922-48-X
  • The Bodily Sacrifice of Attention: Introductory Talks on Radical Understanding and the Life of Divine Ignorance, 1981: ISBN 0-913922-59-5
  • "I" Is the Body of Life: Talks and Essays on the Art and Science of Equanimity and the Self-Transcending Process of Radical Understanding, 1981: ISBN 0-913922-60-9
  • The Bodily Location of Happiness: On the Incarnation of the Divine Person and the Transmission of Love-Bliss, 1982: ISBN 0-913922-61-7
  • Raw Gorilla: The Principles of Regenerative Raw Diet Applied in True Spiritual Practice as lived by members of The Johannine Daist Communion under the guidance of the Divine Adept Da Free John, 1982: ISBN 0-913922-62-5
  • The Yoga of Consideration and The Way That I Teach, 1982: ISBN 0-913922-63-3
  • Nirvanasara: Radical Transcendentalism and the Introduction of Advaitayana Buddhism, 1982: ISBN 0-913922-65-X
  • I Am Happiness: A Rendering for Children of the Spiritual Adventure of Master Da Free John, 1982: ISBN 0-913922-68-4
  • Forehead, Breath, and Smile: An Anthology of Devotional Readings from the Spiritual Teaching of Master Da Free John, 1982: ISBN 0-913922-70-6
  • Crazy Da Must Sing, Inclined To His Weaker Side: Confessional Poems of Liberation and Love by the "Western" Adept, Da Free John, 1982: ISBN 0-913922-71-4
  • The Fire Gospel: Essays and Talks on Spiritual Baptism, 1982: ISBN 0-913922-78-1
  • The God In Every Body Book: Talks and Essays on God-Realization, 1st ed. 1983, 2nd ed. 1983: ISBN 0-913922-78-1
  • The Dreaded Gom-Boo (or The Imaginary Disease That Religion Seeks To Cure): A Collection of Essays and Talks on the "Direct" Process of Enlightenment, 1st ed. 1983, 2nd ed. 1983: ISBN 0-913922-74-9
  • Enlightenment and the Transformation of Man: Selections From Talks And Essays On The Spiritual Process And God-Realization, 1983: ISBN 0-913922-83-8
  • Look At The Sunlight On The Water: Educating Children for a Life of Self-Transcending Love and Happiness, 1st ed. 1983, reprinted 1984, 2nd ed. 1987: ISBN 913922-84-6
  • God Is Not A Gentleman and I Am That One: Ecstatic Talks on Conventional Foolishness versus the Crazy Wisdom of God-Realization, 1983. ISBN 0-913922-85-4
  • Do You Know What Anything Is?: Talks and Essays on Divine Ignorance, 1984: ISBN 0-913922-87-0
  • The Transmission of Doubt: Talks and Essays on the Transcendence of Scientific Materialism through Radical Understanding, 1984, ISBN 0-913922-77-3
  • The Illusion of Relatedness: Essays on True and Free Renunciation and the Radical Transcendence of Conditional Existence, 1986: ISBN 0-918801-01-X
  • The Holy Jumping-Off Place: An Introduction to the Way of the Heart, 1986: ISBN 0-913922-94-3
  • Vegetable Surrender (or Happiness Is Not Blue), 1987: ISBN 0-918801-02-8
  • The Sky Goes On Forever: A Book about Death for Children, 1989: ISBN: 0-918801-13-3
  • The Da Upanishad: The Short Discourses on Self-Renunciation, God-Realization, and the Illusion of Relatedness, 1989: ISBN 0-918801-16-8
  • The Lion Sutra: The "Perfect" Revelation-Book of the Divine World-Teacher and True Heart-Master, Da Avabhasa (The "Bright"). (On Perfect Transcendence Of The Primal Act, Which Is the ego-"I", the self-Contraction, or attention itself, and All The Illusions Of Separateness, Otherness, Relatedness, and Difference), previously published as The Love-Ananda Gita (The Free Song of Love-Bliss), 1st ed. 1986, new ed 1995: ISBN 1-57097-012-2
  • The Ego-"I" Is The Illusion of Relatedness, 1991: ISBN 0-918801-32-X
  • Feeling Without Limitation: Awakening to the Truth Beyond Fear, Sorrow, and Anger, 1991: ISBN 0-918801-28-1
  • The Heart's Shout: The Liberating Wisdom of Da Avabhasa, 1st ed. 1993, 2nd ed. 1996: ISBN: 1-57097-109-X
  • The Incarnation of Love: "Radical" Spiritual Wisdom and Practical Instruction on Self-Transcendending Love and Service in All Relationships by The Divine World-Teacher and True Heart-Master, Da Avabhasa (The "Bright"), 1st ed. 1993, 2nd printing 1994, 3rd printing 1994: ISBN 0-918801-86-9
  • Money: The Commitment of Life-Force in the Forms of Efforts and Love. Instructions on Financial Responsibility and the Sacred Use of Money in the Way of the Heart from The Divine World-Teacher and True Heart-Master, Da Avabhasa (The "Bright"), 1993: ISBN 0-918801-88-5
  • The Art and Yoga of Sexual Practice: Talks on the Regenerative Sexual Yoga for Beginners in the Way of the Heart, 1994: ISBN 0-918801-97-4
  • Ishta: The Way of Devotional Surrender to the Divine Person, 1994: ISBN 0-918801-98-2
  • Abide WIth Me In Faithful Love: The Heart-Word of Adi Da (The Da Avatar) on Sexual Practice and Renunciation in the Way of the Heart, 1995: ISBN 1-57097-020-3
  • The Order Of My Free Names: The Self-Revelation of the Incarnate Divine Person, Adi Da, and How to Call Him By Name, 1996: ISBN 1-57097-024-6
  • Drifted In The Deeper Land: Talks on Relinquishing the Superficiality of Mortal Existence and Falling by Grace in the Divine Depth That Is Reality Itself, 1997: ISBN 1-57097-037-8
  • The Mummery Book: A Parable Of The Divine True Love, Told By Means Of A Self-Illuminated Illustration Of The Totality Of Mind, 2005: ISBN-10 1570971757
  • Real God Is The Indivisible Oneness Of Unbroken Light: Reality, Truth and The "Non-Creator" God In The True World-Religion Of Adidam. Book One of The Seventeen Companions of The True Dawn Horse. 1999: ISBN 1-57097-055-6
  • The Truly Human New World-Culture Of Unbroken Real-God-Man: The Eastern Versus The Western Traditional Cultures Of Mankind and The Unique New Non-Dual Culture Of The True World-Religion of Adidam. Book Two of the Seventeen Companions of the True Dawn Horse. 1999: ISBN 1-57097-056-4
  • What, Where, When, How, Why, and Who To Remember To Be Happy Book: A Simple Explanation Of The Divine Way Of Adidam (For Children, and Everyone Else). Book Thirteen of the Seventeen Companions of the True Dawn Horse. 2000: ISBN 1-57097-074-2
  • I Give You The Gift Of One Another: The Call to ego-Transcending Cooperation and the Creation of Authentic Intimate (Local) and Global Community, 2000: ISBN 1-57097-083-1
  • Death Is A Living Process: The Mate Moce Guide to Serving the Dying, 2000: ISBN 1-57097-085-8
  • The Seven Stages Of Life: Transcending The Six Stages Of egoic Life and Realizing The ego-Transcending Seventh Stage Of Life In The Divine Way Of Adidam. Book Ten of the Seventeen Companions of the True Dawn Horse. 2000: ISBN 1-57097-105-6
  • The Bright Field: The Photographic Art of Adi Da Samraj, 2001: ISBN-10 1-57097-130-7
  • Aham Da Asmi (Beloved, I Am Da). Book One of The Five Books of The Heart of The Adidam Revelation. 1st ed. 1998, 2nd ed. 2000, 3rd ed. 2003: ISBN-10 1-57097-163-3
  • Da Love-Ananda Gita (The Free Avataric Gift of the Divine Love-Bliss). Book Two of The Five Books of The Heart of The Adidam Revelation. 1st ed. The Love-Ananda Gita 1989, standard ed. The Love-Ananda Gita 1990, standard ed. The Santosha Avatara Gita 1995, standard ed. 1998, standard ed. 2000, standard ed. 2005: ISBN-10 1-57097-166-8
  • Ruchira Avatara Gita (The Avataric Way of the Divine Heart-Master). Book Three of The Five Books of The Heart of The Adidam Revelation. 1st ed. The Hymn of the Master 1982, new ed. The Hymn Of The True Heart-Master 1992, standard ed. The Hymn Of The Tue Heart-Master 1995, standard ed. 1998, standard ed. 2000, standard ed. 2004: ISBN-10 1-57097-164-1
  • Hridaya Rosary (Four Thorns Of Heart-Instruction). Book Four of The Five Books of The Heart of The Adidam Revelation. 1st ed. Four Thorns Of Heart-Instruction 1997, standard ed. 1998, standard ed. 2000, standard ed. 2005: ISBN-10 1-57097-204-4
  • Eleutherios (The Only Truth That Sets The Heart Free). Book Five of The Five Books of The Heart of The Adidam Revelation. 1st ed. [The Liberator (Eleutherios)] 1982, new ed. [The Liberator (Eleutherios)], 1995, standard ed. 1998, standard ed. 2001, standard ed. 2006: ISBN-10 1-57097-187-0
  • The Dawn Horse Testament Of The Ruchira Avatar: The Testament Of Divine Secrets Of The Divine World-Teacher, Ruchira Avatar, Adi Da Samraj, 1st ed. 1985, 2nd ed. 1991, new ed. 2004: ISBN-10 1-57097-168-4
  • Easy Death: Spiritual Wisdom on the Ultimate Transcending of Death and Everything Else, 1st ed. 1983, 2nd ed. 1991, 3rd ed. 2005: ISBN-10 1-57097-202-8
  • Religion and Reality: True Religion Is Not Belief in Any God-Idea but the Direct Experiential Realization of Reality Itself, 2006: ISBN-10 1-57097-212-5
  • The Ancient Reality-Teachings: The Single Transcendental Truth Taught by the Great Sages of Buddhism and Advaitism, 2006: ISBN-10 1-57097-198-6
  • The Liberator: The “Radical” Reality-Teachings of The Avataric Great Sage, Adi Da Samraj, 2006: ISBN-10 1-57097-211-7
  • The Perfect Tradition: The Wisdom-Way of the Ancient Sages and Its Fulfillment in the Way of “Perfect Knowledge”, 2006: ISBN-10 1-57097-197-8
  • The Way of Perfect Knowledge: The “Radical” Practice of Transcendental Spirituality in the Way of Adidam, 2006: ISBN-10 1-57097-213-3
  • The Yoga of Right Diet: An Intelligent Approach To Dietary Practice That Supports Communion with the Living Divine Reality, 2006: ISBN-10 1-57097-193-5
  • The Ancient Walk-About Way: The Core Esoteric Process of Real Spirituality and Its Perfect Fulfillment in the Way of Adidam, 2007: ISBN-10 1-57097-221-4
  • Transcendental Realism: The Image-Art of egoless Coincidence With Reality Itself, 2007: ISBN-10 1-57097-227-3
  • "Radical" Transcendentalism: The Non-"Religious", Post-"Scientific", and No-Seeking Reality-Way of Adidam, 2007: ISBN-10 1-57097-226-5
  • Perfect Philosophy: The "Radical" Way of No-Ideas, 2007: ISBN-10 1-57097-231-1
  • The Spectra Suites, 2007: ISBN-10 1-5996-203-16
  • The Complete Yoga of Human Emotional-Sexual Life: The Way Beyond Ego-based Sexuality, 2007: ISBN 978-1-57097-235-5
  • The Self-Authenticating Truth: Essays from The Aletheon, 2007: ISBN-10 1-57097-245-1
  • Surrender Self By Sighting Me: Essays from The Aletheon on Right and True Devotion, 2007: ISBN-13 978-1-57097-237-9
  • The Orders Of My True And Free Renunciate Devotees, 2007: ISBN 978-1-57097-244-7
  • Reality Itself Is The Way: Essays from The Aletheon, 2007: ISBN-10 1-57097-238-9
  • Aesthetic Ecstasy, 2008: ISBN-10 1-57097-236-2
  • My Final Work of Divine Indifference, 2008: ISBN-10 1-57097-234-6
  • The Seventh Way: New Essays from The Aletheon, 2008: ISBN-10 1-57097-242-7
  • Perfect Abstraction: New Essays written for Transcendental Realism, 2008: ISBN-10 1-57097-25-08
  • The Teaching Manual of Perfect Summaries, 2008: ISBN-10 1570972540
  • Green Gorilla: The Searchless Raw Diet, 2008: ISBN-10 1570972567
  • Atma Nadi Shakti Yoga: The Intrinsically egoless Transcendental Spiritual Reality-Way of Adidam Ruchiradam, 2008: ISBN 978-1-57097-255-3
  • Not-Two Is Peace: The Ordinary People's Way of Global Cooperative Order, 1st ed. 2007, 2nd ed. 2007, 3rd ed. 2009: ISBN-10 1-57097-225-7
  • The Boundless Self-Confession: Essays from The Aletheon, 2009: ISBN 978-1-57097-260-7
  • The Aletheon: The Divine Avataric Self-Revelation of His Divine Presence, Avatar Adi Da Samraj, 2009: ISBN 978-1-57097-274-4

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b "Spiritual leader passes on". www.fijitimes.com. November 28, 2008. Retrieved February 20, 2010.
  2. ^ "An Introduction to Avatar Adi Da". www.adidam.org. Retrieved February 20, 2010.
  3. ^ Book review by Robert Ellwood (October 1997). "DA: The Strange Case of Franklin Jones". Nova Religio. Caliber, University of California. Retrieved February 19, 2010.
  4. ^ Gallagher, Eugene V. (2006). Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America, Vol.IV. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. pp. 85–109. ISBN 0275987124. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ Forsthoefel, Thomas A. (2005). Gurus in America. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. p. 198. ISBN 079146573X. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ Chryssides, George D. (2006). The A to Z of New Religious Movements. Scarecrow Press. pp. 47–48, 200. ISBN 0810855887. {{cite book}}: Text "Lanham, MD" ignored (help)
  7. ^ Daniels, Burton (November 2002). The Integration of Psyche and Spirit: Volume I: The Structural Model. Writer's Showcase Press. p. ix. ISBN 0595241816.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
  8. ^ Gallagher, Eugene V. (2006). Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America [Five Volumes]. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. p. 99. ISBN 0275987124. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ a b "The "Dawn Horse"". www.dawnhorsepress.com. Retrieved February 20, 2010.
  10. ^ http://www.amazon.com/Knee-Listening-Franklin-Jones/dp/B000JDNOWO
  11. ^ Kripal, Jeffrey J. (2004). Foreword to 'The Knee Of Listening', Dawn Horse Press.
  12. ^ Gallagher, Eugene, Ashcroft,Michael.Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America, Vol IV, p.87 Greenwood Press. ISBN 0275987124 (2006) "his religion is largely unknown outside of esoteric spiritual circles, where Jones is often considered to be a brillaint theoretician of consciousness, though his inflated, exclusivist claims tend to be viewed with considerable skepticism."
  13. ^ Gallagher... "Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America," Vol IV, p.93 "Jones has made his self-protective seclusion a defining mark of his teaching career"
  14. ^ Feuerstein, Georg (1996), “Holy Madness: The Dangerous and Disillusioning Example of Da Free John,” What Is Enlightenment? Issue 9
  15. ^ a b Lowe, Scott and Lane, David. (1996) "DA: The Strange Case of Franklin Jones". Mt. San Antonio College Philosophy Group. ISBN 1565430549 [1]
  16. ^ a b The Case of Adi Da Ken Wilber Online. October 11, 1996.
  17. ^ Lane, DC "The Paradox of Da Free John, Distinguishing the Message from the Medium," Understanding Cults and Spiritual Movements research series, vol. 1, no.2 (1985)
  18. ^ "US-Born Cult Leader on Fiji Island Treated Like a God", Fiji Sun, October 25, 2007
  19. ^ Lattin, Don "Hypnotic Da Free John - Svengali of the truth-seeking set", San Francisco Examiner/April 5, 1985
  20. ^ Morton, Thomas, "I Joined Three cults Simultaneously:Adidam", Vice Magazine http://www.viceland.com/int/v13n10/htdocs/three1.php
  21. ^ Deep Throat's Daughter, The Kindred Free Spirit, Washington Post, June 12, 2005.
  22. ^ a b "Sex Slave Sues Guru: Pacific Isle Orgies Charged" San Francisco Chronicle, April 4, 1985.
  23. ^ a b Molly Colin, "Da Free John Sect Sues 6 Ex-Members On Extortion Charge, The Mill Valley Record, April 17, 1985.
  24. ^ Lowe, Ed, "The House Where Swami Lived" Long Island Newsday Magazine, September 14, 1986
  25. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k http://www.northcoastjournal.com/011499/cover0114.html
  26. ^ Gallagher... "Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America," Vol IV, p.86-88
  27. ^ Feuerstein, Georg, "Holy Madness," 1st ed., Arkana, 1992, p. 80
  28. ^ Jones, Franklin "The Knee of Listening: The Life and Understanding of Franklin Jones," (1971), chapter 4 "He had some raw peyote, and we decided to take the drug, although neither of us had any idea what its effects would be. In the past months I had used marijuana a few times and found it very enjoyable and relaxing. And so I willingly accepted a chance for some kind of very powerful "high."" http://www.beezone.com/AdiDa/KneeofListening/book/chapter4.html
  29. ^ Jones, Franklin "The Knee of Listening..." (1971), chapter 4 “I voluntarily submitted to drug trials at the V.A. hospital in fountain. View, California. I should add that these drugs…were taken during a peculiarly experimental phase of my life in which I was seeking to understand the mechanisms in consciousness which prevent and later make possible the stable, natural condition of awareness which I had already known in childhood and lately while in college. I was aware of a problem in relation to that state which I earlier called the "bright."…At the V.A. hospital I was given a dose of drugs one day per week. I was told that I would be given mescalin, LSD, or psilocibin at three separate sessions, and, during a fourth session, some combination of these…There were also various bizarre experiences and periods of anxiety. Several times I was brought to the lunchroom at the height of the drug state…As a result of the unnecessary shock caused by the mishandling of my condition at those times I suffered anxiety attacks and occasional nervousness for perhaps a year beyond the actual tests.”
  30. ^ Jones, Franklin "The Knee of Listening..." (1971), chapter 8 "By the spring of 1965 I had begun to use marijuana frequently. I found it relaxing and particularly necessary under the pressure of work and effort that Rudi required. But the drug began to have a peculiarly negative effect...I would realize a profound anxiety and fear...I took other drugs with my old friends. We took Romilar [cough syrup] again, but now its effects seemed minor. We found the city atmosphere aggravating...I took a drug called DMT which had a remarkable and miraculous effect...Such remarkable states of awareness combined with my rising sense of anxiety, fear and reluctance in relation to drugs, so that finally, in the early summer of 1965, I determined somehow to stop their use" http://www.beezone.com/AdiDa/KneeofListening/book/chapter8.html
  31. ^ Gallagher... "Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America," Vol IV, p.88 "Jones discovered that his psychedelic drug experiences sometimes mimicked the ecstatic states he had known in childhood and was now desperate to recapture."
  32. ^ Gourley, Edmiston "Adidam Comes to the North Coast", North Coast Journal Weekly, Jan. 14, 1999 "Following a summer job as a hotel waiter, during which time he experimented with peyote, Jones entered graduate school at Stanford University...During this time, his autobiography states, Jones took "large doses" of cough medicine and was a poorly paid subject for hallucinogenic drug trials which included mescaline, LSD and psilocybin that were being conducted at the local Veterans Administration hospital. Responding to what he called a vision, Jones prepared to leave California in June 1964 in search of a spiritual teacher in New York City."
  33. ^ Jones, Knee...Ashram (1972), p. 22-23 "After my experiences at the VA hospital, I went into a period of relative seclusion...Nina worked as a schoolteacher and supported our living."
  34. ^ Gallagher... "Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America," Vol IV, p.88 "He spent 1963-64 secluded in remote cabins in northern California working on his writing…during this period of reclusive introspection he was supported by Nina Davis, a woman he later married, establishing a pattern of financial dependence that was to mark all but a few years of his life.”
  35. ^ Jones, "Knee..." Ashram (1972), p.35 "I saw pictures of a store with oriental sculpture...in New York..."
  36. ^ Swami Rudrananda [Rudi]. Spiritual Cannibalism. Links Books, New York, 1973, First Edition[page needed]
  37. ^ Historical dictionary of New Age movements by Michael York The Rowman Litterfield Publishing Group, 2004, pp 11-12
  38. ^ Gallagher... "Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America," Vol IV, p.88
  39. ^ Feuerstein, "Holy Madness," 1992 p. 81
  40. ^ Feuerstein, "Holy Madness," p. 81
  41. ^ Jones, 'Knee', 1972, chapter 8
  42. ^ Jones, "Knee...", Ashram (1972), p.62
  43. ^ Feuerstein, "Holy Madness," p. 81
  44. ^ Gallagher,New and Alternative Religions in America p. 89, “… Jones’ himself describes [this event] as … “apparent evidence of a ‘clinical breakdown.’”
  45. ^ Jones, "Knee..." (1971), chapter 9 "Then, at the end of the summer, we returned to New York, and I entered St. Vladimir's Russian Orthodoxy Seminary in Tuckahoe." http://www.beezone.com/AdiDa/KneeofListening/book/chapter9.html
  46. ^ Gallagher, Eugene, Ashcraft, Michael, Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America, Vol. V, p. Greenwood Press. (2006). ISBN 0275987124. pages 85
  47. ^ Jones, "Knee...", Ashram, 1972, p.84 "I spent that year working for Scientology..."
  48. ^ Gallagher... "Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America," Vol IV, p.90
  49. ^ Jones, "Knee...", (1971), chapter 12
  50. ^ Rawlinson, Andrew, Book of Enlightened Masters: Western Teachers in Eastern Traditions. Open Court (1997) ISBN 0812693108 page 222
  51. ^ Feuerstein, "Holy Madness,"1992 p. 81-82
  52. ^ Jones, "Knee..." Ashram (1972), p. 122
  53. ^ Feuerstein, "Holy Madness," a1992 p. 82
  54. ^ Jones, "Knee..." Ashram (1972), p. 131
  55. ^ Feuerstein, "Holy Madness," p. 82
  56. ^ Gallagher...Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America Vol. IV, p. 91
  57. ^ Rawlinson,Andrew, Book of Enlightened Masters: Western Teachers in Eastern Traditions Open Court (1997) ISBN 0812693108 page 222
  58. ^ Feuerstein, "Holy Madness," p. 82
  59. ^ Gallagher, Eugene, Ashcraft, Michael. (2006). Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America, Volume V, p.85 "...began to attract a small following"
  60. ^ "Hypnotic Da Free John - Svengali of the truth-seeking set", San Francisco Examiner/April 5, 1985
  61. ^ a b "The Gurdjieff Journal," Gurdjieff & The New Age Part IX, Franklin Jones & Rudi Part I, by William Patrick Patterson
  62. ^ Gallagher...Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America Vol. IV, p. 88-89
  63. ^ Gallagher...Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America Vol. IV, p. 88
  64. ^ Gallagher...Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America Vol. IV, p. 88
  65. ^ Lewis (2001) p. 215
  66. ^ Lowe, Scott and Lane, David. (1996) "DA: The Strange Case of Franklin Jones", Mt. San Antonio College Philosophy Group: "In his evening talks, Da Free John frequently referred to Muktananda as a “black magician.” Muktananda spoke of his former student in similar terms."
  67. ^ Jones, "Knee...", (1972), chapter 13
  68. ^ Gallagher...Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America Vol. IV, pp. 90-91
  69. ^ Feuerstein, "Holy Madness," p. 83 "[Jones] believed that his guru was settling for less than the ultimate, while Muk. dismissed [Jones] arguments as pretentious...a breach between them opened that never formally healed. [Jones] continued to criticize Muk. in talks and publications, while at the same time acknowledging his debt..."
  70. ^ Feuerstein, "Holy Madness," 1992 p. 87, 94
  71. ^ Gourley, Edmiston "Adidam Comes to the North Coast", North Coast Journal Weekly, Jan. 14, 1999
  72. ^ Feuerstein, "Holy Madness," 1992, p. 83
  73. ^ Feuerstein, 1992, p.267 Due to controversial material, "almost immediately, at the behest of Da Love Ananda, every effort was made to retrieve all existing copies" of Garbage & the Goddess.
  74. ^ Feuerstein, "Holy Madness," (1992) p.84 : "From conversations with devotees, it appears that for several months [Adi Da] did indeed use his yogic abilities to affect the psychic life of literally hundreds of his students...They experienced visions, spontaneous body movements known as kriyas, bliss states, heart openings, kundalini arousals, and several were apparently drawn into the mystical unitive state or even into temporary sahaja-samadhi"
  75. ^ Butler, Katy: "Sex Practices Did Not Cease, Marin Cult Officials Admit" San Francisco Chronicle, April 9, 1985 "Officials of the Free John group said they participate in "spiritual theater," a kind of psychodrama in which people are encouraged to release sexual and emotional problems as they travel the path to union with God."
  76. ^ Feuerstein, "Holy Madness," p. 86-87 "In 1974 he started his "sexual theater", involving the switching of partners, sexual orgies, the making of pornographic movies, and intensified sexual practices - all of which led to the temporary or, in some case permanent breakups of relationships"
  77. ^ Feuerstein, "Holy Madness," p. 90
  78. ^ Free John, Bubba, "Garbage and the Goddess: the last Miracles and Final Spiritual Instructions of Bubba Free John," DHP, 1974, p. 13 "This is what the spiritual life is all about...nothing conventional survives.")
  79. ^ Feuerstein, "Holy Madness," 2006, p. 157:"his devotees were not only exposed to the upper end of the experiential scale, they were also obliged to inspect and confront their emotional and sexual fixations as well ."
  80. ^ Feuerstein, "Holy Madness," 1992, p. 84-86; p.89:"one of the marks of a crazy-wise adept: to be able to surprise, startle, bombshell, or shock his disciples...out of complacency...to open [them] to something greater."
  81. ^ Feuerstein, Georg (1996), “Holy Madness: The Dangerous and Disillusioning Example of Da Free John,” What Is Enlightenment? Issue 9
  82. ^ Butler, Katy: "Sex Practices Did Not Cease, Marin Cult Officials Admit" San Francisco Chronicle, April 9, 1985
  83. ^ Molly Colin, Peter Seidman, and Tony Lewis, "Defectors voice several charges" Mill Valley Record/April 3, 1985
  84. ^ Neary, Walt,'Inner Circle Privy to Parties,' Lake County Record Bee, April 12, 1985
  85. ^ Channel 2 News, San Francisco, 1985
  86. ^ Today Show reporter, from transcript: "Da Free John orchestrated bizarre sexual practices, forced sex, drug use. The church admits these things happened, but it was always adults involved of their own free will." http://www.rickross.com/reference/adida/adida1.html
  87. ^ Leydecker, Mary: "Suit Shatters Calm for Sect Members," Marin Independent-Journal, April 5, 1985
  88. ^ Leydecker, Mary: "Suit Shatters Calm for Sect Members,"Marin Independent-Journal, April 5, 1985
  89. ^ "Spiritual leader passes on", Fiji Times, November 28, 2008. "Adi Da Samraj, 69, established Naitauba as his principal teaching retreat in 1983 and became a Fiji citizen in 1993...Spokesperson for the Naitauba Trust, owner of the island, Matt Wilson said Adi Da Samrajs followers from many countries around the world would continue to maintain Naitauba as a centre for quiet study and contemplation for those who come there year round. Courses at the Naitauba retreat programs focus on Samraj Adi Das teachings of spiritual self-realisation, tolerance, respect, the unity of humanity, world peace and cooperation."
  90. ^ Gallagher...Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America Vol. IV, pp. 85, 105
  91. ^ Feuerstein, Georg and Feuerstein, Patricia (1982) Remembrance Of The Divine Names of Da, ISBN 0913922722
  92. ^ "How Franklin Jones Became the Master", The Mill Valley Record/April 3, 1985 By Gary Reilly
  93. ^ Molly Colin, Peter Seidman, and Tony Lewis, "Defectors voice several charges" Mill Valley Record/April 3, 1985
  94. ^ http://www.rickross.com/groups/adida.html
  95. ^ Transcript of NBC Today Show report on Da Free John, Transcript by Steve Hassan, 2000; retrieved November 2, 2006.
  96. ^ Feuerstein, Georg (1996), “Holy Madness: The Dangerous and Disillusioning Example of Da Free John,” What Is Enlightenment? Issue 9
  97. ^ Seidman, Peter, "Sexual experiments continued after '76, JDC officiaIs admit" Mill Valley Record/April 10, 1985
  98. ^ Butler, Katy: "Sex Practices Did Not Cease, Marin Cult Officials Admit" San Francisco Chronicle, April 9, 1985
  99. ^ Molly Colin, Peter Seidman, and Tony Lewis, "Defectors voice several charges" Mill Valley Record/April 3, 1985
  100. ^ Neary, Walt,'Inner Circle Privy to Parties,' Lake County Record Bee, April 12, 1985
  101. ^ Sex Slave Sues Guru: Pacific Isle Orgies Charged San Francisco Chronicle, April 4, 1985.
  102. ^ The San Francisco Chronicle, April 9, 1985
  103. ^ Channel 2 News, San Francisco, March, 1985
  104. ^ Feuerstein, "Holy Madness," Arkana, 1992, p.90 "sexual [experiments] were for the most part confined to an inner circle. But occasionally some relative newcomers were included. This happened to one couple in 1982, who provide this fascinating extensive account...(p. 92)Tantra-style encounters of this kind occurred periodically and more or less secretly until at least the end of 1985, and led to legal difficulties..."
  105. ^ Seidman, Peter, "Sexual experiments continued after '76, JDC officiaIs admit" Mill Valley Record/April 10, 1985
  106. ^ The Mill Valley Record, April 10, 1985.
  107. ^ Channel 2 News, San Francisco, 1985
  108. ^ BEVERLY JACOBS O'MAHONY, and individual, vs. FRANKLIN JONES, aka DA FREE JOHN, CIV121999, Superior Court of California, County of Marin,3/4/86
  109. ^ Feuerstein, "Holy Madness," Arkana, 1992, p.267-268 "Over the years, [Jones] has been sued several times by disaffected students, although institutional representatives have so far succeeded in keeping him out of court. Cases were settled by arbitration, which bled the [church] financially."
  110. ^ "Deep Throat's Daughter, The Kindred Free Spirit", Washington Post, June 12, 2005. "The lawsuits and threatened suits that dogged the group in the mid-1980s were settled with payments and confidentiality agreements, says a California lawyer, Ford Greene, who handled three such cases."
  111. ^ Feuerstein, "Holy Madness," Arkana, 1992, p. 92-93 "Burned out by months of long partying, during which he dealt with the "shadows" of disciples' psyches, [Da] suffered a sudden collapse...it is now referred to as the Divine Emergence...he explained to his close devotees of his grief, sorrow, and frustration at the seeming futility of his teaching work...he wished to die."
  112. ^ Gallagher... "Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America," Vol IV, p. 94 "the most loudly trumpeted event since Jone's initial enlightenment was his so-called 'Divine Emergence', the result of an apparent 'near-death' experience Jones had in 1986. As Jones describes it, he was in such despair over the failure of his work that he prayed for an immediate end to the charade...Jone's enlightened consciousness now full inhabited his body, 'down to the bottoms of My feet.' Devotees are taught that liberation is only to found through visualizing, thinking about, viewing, and serving Jones's body or its likeness."
  113. ^ Gallagher... "Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America," Vol IV, p. 118
  114. ^ Gallagher... "Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America," Vol IV, p.95, "the year 2000 was momentous for Jones. He was not recognized by the entire world, contrary to expectations, and he died again. With this new death, Jone's divinity ascended from his feet to rest above his head, where it had been before the DE of 1986. This return was necessary, Jones claimed, because he was beset by "dark forces" that could no longer be allowed into his body...reports were that Jones was suffering from anxiety attacks and was put on tranquilizers by his physicians."
  115. ^ Gallagher... "Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America," Vol IV, p.95; adi da "actively recruited followers of [Lenz] after his highly sedated death by drowning. Lenz's followers were widely admired for their success in business and computing and represented an attractive potential "catch." From all reports, Jones pulled out all the stops, giving immediate satsang to Lenz's followers and inviting some directly into his inner circle, deeply offending his own long-suffering devotees. Jones also proclaimed that Lenz...had been a reincarnation of Swami Ramatirtha...a former disciple..."
  116. ^ Feuerstein, Holy Madness (2006), p.176
  117. ^ Feuerstein, 2006, p. 169
  118. ^ Feuerstein, 1992, p. 94
  119. ^ Gallagher... "Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America," Vol IV, p.88
  120. ^ Gallagher... "Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America," Vol IV, p.97-98
  121. ^ Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America [Five Volumes] By Eugene V. Gallagher, W. Michael Ashcraft,Greenwood Press, ISBN 0275987124, 2006, page 99
  122. ^ Samraj, Adi Da (2004). The Knee of Listening. "I (Alone) Am The Adidam Revelation)". pgs. 502-504. Dawn Horse Press. ISBN1-57097-167-6
  123. ^ Samraj (2005b) p. 93
  124. ^ http://www.amazon.com/Promised-God-Man-Here-Carolyn-Lee/dp/1570970599
  125. ^ Gallagher/Ashcraft, Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America, p. 99
  126. ^ The A to Z of New Religious Movements by George D. Chryssides, The Rowman Litterfield Publishing Group,2001,page47
  127. ^ Gallagher... "Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America," Vol IV, p.100 "Despite this state being well attested in yogic literature (for instance among the ascetic Bauls of Bengal), Adi Da portrayed it as his own exclusive state."
  128. ^ Samraj, Adi Da. Eleutherios. (2005). I (Alone) Am The Adidam Revelation, pg. 456. Dawn Horse Press.
  129. ^ Gallagher..."Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America," Vol IV, pp.98-99
  130. ^ Lowe, Scott and Lane, David. (1996) "DA: The Strange Case of Franklin Jones". Mt. San Antonio College Philosophy Group, p.23
  131. ^ John, Bubba Free, "Garbage and the Goddess: The last miracles and final spiritual instructions of Bubba Free John", 1976, Dawn Horse Press
  132. ^ Garvy, Jack, "American-born guru, Bubba Free John, retires", East West Journal, July, 1976 Vol. 6 No. 7
  133. ^ The Yoga Tradition: Its History, Literature, Philosophy and Practice By Georg Feuerstein; p25
  134. ^ http://www.beezone.com/AdiDa/crazywisdom.html
  135. ^ Gallagher... "Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America," Vol IV, p.98-99
  136. ^ Gallagher, New Religions..., p.87
  137. ^ Feuerstein 1992, pp. 87
  138. ^ Gallagher, New Religions..., pp. 87, 98-99, "Jones teachings have gradually shifted from a recognizable variant of Advaita Vedanta - based on a recognition of the already free...blissful and enlightened state of all humans - to a dark, rule-bound, messianic, "final days" devotional path that promises salvation only to the very few."
  139. ^ Feuerstein 1992, pp. 98
  140. ^ Gallagher... "Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America," Vol IV, p.93
  141. ^ "America 2004, Page 118"
  142. ^ Gallagher... "Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America," Vol IV, p.97
  143. ^ Samraj, Adi Da, "The Orders of My True and Free Renunciate Devotees", Dawn Horse Press, 2007, pg.110
  144. ^ Gallagher, The New Religious Movements Experience in America, p.97
  145. ^ Samraj, Adi Da, "The Orders of My True and Free Renunciate Devotees", Dawn Horse Press, 2007, pg.110
  146. ^ Gallagher... "Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America," Vol IV, pp.86, 105
  147. ^ Feuerstein 1992, p. 93 "[He] has a flair for drama and it has been successful in keeping the attention of [some] for years...but it evidently is not a way that holds an attraction for larger numbers of spiritually motivated people."
  148. ^ Gallagher... "Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America," Vol IV, p.107 "All of Jones' works are self-published by the Dawn Horse Press, a press over which he has complete control."
  149. ^ Feuerstein, (1992) p.80
  150. ^ Lane, DC "The Paradox of Da Free John, Distinguishing the Message from the Medium," Understanding Cults and Spiritual Movements research series, vol. 1, no.2 (1985), p.1
  151. ^ Feuerstein, (1992) pp.83, 96 "the original published version has the ring of authenticity and can be appreciated as a remarkable mystical document...Later [editions], regrettably, tend toward mythologization..."
  152. ^ Gallagher... "Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America," Vol IV, p.106 "Jones significantly modified later editions of Knee, including...""...in later editions, Jones' childhood is presented as utterly exceptional...It is clear that Jones’ autobiography might best be understood as a kind of auto-hagiography, since its purpose is to preserve for posterity a sanitized, mythologized, and highly selective account of Jones’ life and spiritual adventures."
  153. ^ "Da: The Strange Case of Franklin Jones", by Scott Lowe and David Lane, Walnut CA: Mt. San Antonio College, 1996.
  154. ^ Gallagher, Eugene, Ashcraft, Michael. (2006). Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America, Volume V, p.88-89
  155. ^ Feuerstein (2006) p.97
  156. ^ "Da: The Strange Case of Franklin Jones", by Scott Lowe and David Lane, Walnut CA: Mt. San Antonio College, 1996.
  157. ^ http://www.kneeoflistening.com/ "The secrets of Adi Da's "Pre-History" (before His birth in 1939)"
  158. ^ Feuerstein, 2006, p. 147
  159. ^ Gallagher... "Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America," Vol IV, pp.106
  160. ^ http://www.adidam.org/teaching/literature.aspx
  161. ^ Samraj, Adi Da "Knee..." 2004, foreword
  162. ^ Gallagher... "Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America," Vol IV, p.102 "Jones' has been rewriting his earlier books, reissuing them in New Standard Editions...once entertaining books have become nearly unreadable and - worse - boring. This project seems likely to destroy any positive literary legacy Jones might have hoped to leave."
  163. ^ Kripal, "Gurus in America" p. 194 "...the community has initiated an ambitious source-text publishing project designed to publish in a new format all twenty-three of the guru’s source texts: The Five Books of the Heart of the Adidam Revelation, The Seventeen Companions of the True Dawn Horse, and the master-work itself, The Dawn Horse Testament of the Ruchira Avatar. These volumes, although certainly not without their rhetorical, literary, and theological challenges, certainly rank among the most philosophically sophisticated and doctrinally extensive of all the western guru literature.
  164. ^ Feuerstein (1991) p.267
  165. ^ Kripal, "Gurus in America"
  166. ^ [2]
  167. ^ Adi Da Samraj
  168. ^ ...Welcome Books, 2007, pp 1-11
  169. ^ Wilber, Ken (1985) Review of Adi Da's The Dawn Horse Testament - www.adidawilber.com
  170. ^ The Case of Adi Da Ken Wilber Online. October 11, 1996.
  171. ^ Ken Wilber, Ken (1997) "Private" letter to the Adidam community - www.adidawilber.com
  172. ^ http://wilber.shambhala.com/html/misc/adida_update.cfm/
  173. ^ An Update on the Case of Adi Da Ken Wilber Online. August 28, 1998.
  174. ^ Feuerstein, "Holy Madness," Arkana, 1992, chapter 4
  175. ^ Feuerstein (2006), intro., chapter 4.
  176. ^ Ellwood, Robert. (1997)"Nova Religio" book review of "DA: The Strange Case of Franklin Jones", October 1997, Vol. 1, No. 1, Pages 153–153
  177. ^ Molly Colin, Peter Seidman, and Tony Lewis, "Defectors voice several charges" Mill Valley Record/April 3, 1985
  178. ^ http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Adi_Da
  179. ^ http://www.timeoff.com.au/html/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3330:eddie-kowalcyzk&catid=11:features&Itemid=29
  180. ^ http://www.uwec.edu/philrel/faculty/Lowe/index.htm
  181. ^ "Lowe, Scott and Lane, David. (1996) "DA: The Strange Case of Franklin Jones". Mt. San Antonio College Philosophy Group.
  182. ^ http://www.lightgate.net/daism/texts/TheStrangeCase.html
  183. ^ http://www.amazon.com/Adi-Da-Promised-God-Man-Here/dp/1570971439
  184. ^ Cousens, Gabriel. Spiritual Nutrition: Six Foundations for Spiritual Life and the Awakening of Kundalini. North Atlantic Books.(2005) ISBN 978-1-55643-499-0.page 193
  185. ^ Cousens,Gabriel. Tachyon Energy: A New Paradigm in Holistic Healing. North Atlantic Books.(2005). ISBN 9781556433108

References

  • Chryssides, George. (2001). The A to Z of New Religious Movements. The Rowman Litterfield Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-8108-5588-5
  • Cousens, Gabriel. (2005). Spiritual Nutrition: Six Foundations for Spiritual Life and the Awakening of Kundalini. North Atlantic Books. ISBN 978-1-55643-499-0
  • Crowley, Paul. (2005). Rahner beyond Rahner: A Great Theologian Encounters the Pacific Rim. Rowman & Litterfield. ISBN Number 074254964X
  • Daniels, Burton. (2002). The Integration of Psyche and Spirit Volume I: The Structural Model. iUniverse. ISBN 0-595-24181-6
  • Ellwood, Robert. (1997)"Nova Religio" book review of "DA: The Strange Case of Franklin Jones", October 1997, Vol. 1, No. 1, Pages 153–153.
  • Feuerstein, Georg. (2006). Holy Madness: Spirituality, Crazy-Wise Teachers, And Enlightenment, Hohm Press. ISBN 1-890772-54-2
  • Forsthoefel/Humes. (2005). Gurus in America (SUNY Series in Hindu Studies), State University of New York Press. ISBN-07914-6578-4.
  • Gallagher, Eugene, Ashcraft, Michael. (2006). Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America [Five Volumes]. Greenwood Press. ISBN 0275987124
  • Gordon, Melton, Gale J. (1999). Religious Leaders of America: A Biographical Guide to Founders and Leaders. 2nd Revised edition. Gale Research Company. ISBN 0810388782.
  • Melton, Gordon, Baumann, Martin. (2002). Religions of The World-A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices, Volume 1. ABC-CLIO Ltd. ISBN 1576072231
  • Jones, Franklin. (1972). The Knee Of Listening. CSA Press. ISBN 978-0-87707-093-1
  • Kripal, Jeffrey J. (2004). Foreword to 'The Knee Of Listening', Dawn Horse Press. ISBN 1-57097-167-6
  • Lewis, James R. (2001). Odd Gods: New Religions and the Cult Controversy Book, Prometheus Books. ISBN 1-57392-842-9
  • Lowe, Scott and Lane, David. (1996) "DA: The Strange Case of Franklin Jones". Mt. San Antonio College Philosophy Group.
  • Rawlinson,Andrew. Book of Enlightened Masters: Western Teachers in Eastern Traditions .Open Court,(1997),ISBN 0812693108
  • York, Michael. (2004). Historical Dictionary of New Age Movements. The Rowman Litterfield Publishing Group. ISBN 9780810848733
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