Adi Da Samraj (born Franklin Albert Jones, at , on November 3, 1939 in Jamaica, New York) is a highly controversial modern spiritual teacher and religious guru and the founder of the new religious movement known as Adidam. At various times, Adi Da has also used names such as Bubba Free John, Da Free John, and Da Love-Ananda, to correspond with changes in his work as a spiritual teacher (see the section on name changes below). For clarity, in this article he will be referred to simply as Adi Da, as this is the name he is currently known by.
Life
Adi Da was born and raised in Queens, New York. He attended Columbia College, where he received a degree in philosophy, and Stanford University, where he completed his M.A. in English literature. In 1965, Adi Da (then still Franklin Jones) became a disciple of Swami Rudrananda, also known as Rudi , and, later, in 1968, a disciple of the Indian teacher Swami Muktananda. Adi Da temporarily broke with Muktananda in May of 1968, and also severed his relationship with Rudi, when he became involved with Scientology until the Spring of 1969, and then permanently broke with Muktananda after a meeting in India in 1973. [1]. He founded his own group in April of 1972, operating out of a bookstore in Los Angeles, California. Initially known as the Dawn Horse Communion, the movement founded by Adi Da has been through several name changes: previous names have included The Free Primitive Church of Divine Communion, The Johannine Daist Communion, and Free Daism. It is now known as Adidam, or The Way of the Heart.
Teaching
While some of Adi Da's teaching bears a close similarity to aspects of Hinduism, Buddhism, the messianic traditions of Judaism and Christianity, and other spiritual traditions (subjects with which Adi Da is said to be closely familiar), Adi Da argues that his teaching is based on his own direct spiritual realization. Adi Da states that his realization, although hinted at by a few historical religious figures and traditions, is unprecedented here on Earth or anywhere in the manifest universe, and that he is the unique means for sentient beings to attain such realization now and for all future time.
Adi Da's notion of the "Divine" or "God" is strikingly different from the most familiar Judeo-Christian notion. In his view, there is no "creator God", no "God in charge of everything", no God that is either omniscient or omnipotent. Instead, God is understood to be the "Source" or "Ground" of everything and everyone.[2]
Adi Da teaches that, in reality, there is only God, and we are all living in a state of delusion, presuming that our own personal self and the "things" and "others" that appear so real have absolute reality. This portion of his thought closely resembles the concept of Atman in Advaita Hinduism. Adi Da teaches that the greatest purpose of human life is to awaken from this "dream" to our real state of identity with God. But he also teaches that one cannot Realize the Divine through one's own efforts; one cannot awaken oneself out of the dream. This is inherently so because of the nature of egoity. One must be awakened out of this "dream" by the Divine Principle itself, appearing in human form as the guru.[3]
Adi Da describes his own appearance on Earth as the result of a rare conjunction of circumstances, which he describes in his 2003 autobiography, Adi Da, that led God to appear in human form. He says that the primary purpose of his appearance is not specifically to communicate a teaching but rather to provide a direct revelation of true reality through his devotees' devotional and spiritual relationship with him. Adidam is, according to Adi Da, a "Divine Revelation never given before"[4]. Adi Da has repeatedly emphasized that Adidam is based on the revelation of who he is, which he contrasts with religions that he considers to be "belief-based", such as Christianity.
According to Adi Da, through advance in the practice of Adidam, focusing on the contemplation of and direct service to Adi Da's "bodily (human) form", the devotee eventually is led to complete "awakening" from the unhappy and mortal dream of "separate self" and "conditional reality". This practice is similar to one prescribed by the 19th century Indian guru Shirdi Sai Baba: "Meditate on me as pure bliss, but if you cannot do this, meditate on this 'Sai' body as you see it with your physical eyes." A traditional view of the guru-devotee relationship is that the human guru is a "doorway" that is constantly transmitting the revelation of higher levels of reality, and that is why contemplation of the guru is an important practice. In a number of books in the Adidam literature, such as the 2003 book, Adidam, Adi Da's devotees provide testimonials about their own spiritual experiences.
Response
Adi Da has sometimes complained about the smallness of the response to his ministry: "Why have people been so unresponsive to me? Why is there such destruction of my work? After thirty years there still aren't any missionary results. So what is the source of this non-event? What is defeating it? Why are there no signs of this resistance changing?" (July 25, 2000). [5] This is perhaps similar to the words of the Hindu guru Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, who would pace the roof of his house yearning for devotees to come to him as he muttered, "My anxiety has no limit...Where are you, my children? Do come, one and all. I cannot do any more without seeing you." (However, notable differences exist also between Adi Da and renunciate ecstatics such as Ramakrishna, including Adi Da's reported hospitalization for a "paralyzing anxiety attack" [6], as well as his appetite for sensory and material pleasures which his devotees are endlessly asked to support [7].)
Adi Da's devotees number approximately one thousand worldwide. There are a number of Adidam communities around the world. In order to support the growth of Adidam in the world, devotees are generally expected to tithe at least 15% of their gross income and pay numerous additional fees [8]. Devotees also voluntarily take part in fundraisers, the purpose of which is to provide Adi Da with various gifts that he requests [9]. The number of formally practicing devotees in Adidam has hovered around one thousand since the mid-1970's, with substantial turnover; the number of ex-devotees has been estimated on the order of 10,000 or more, even as the number of people who appreciate Adi Da's teaching but have not yet made the decision to become his devotee is estimated to be about the same. A similarly high turnover is reported in many new religious movements.
Like many other new religious movements, Adidam has been the target of allegations primarily by disaffected former students [10], and secondarily by journalists and anti-cult activists, including Christian organizations such as The Apologetics Index [11] and The Spiritual Counterfeits Project [12]). The substance of these allegations is that Adi Da and/or the organization engage in typical cult-like behavior, including severe emotional manipulation[13], financial exploitation, casual violence, milieu control , and sexual abuse of members [14]. Critics also point to certain of Adi Da's behaviors that are considered unconventional from a Western standpoint, e.g., Adi Da had nine wives at one point, and more recently has created a formal process wherein female devotees may apply to be his consorts, with one stage of that process being posing for photographs in sexy lingerie, or what one insider called "slut outfits" [15]. Some critics note that such behaviors closely parallel those of other charismatic gurus with Narcissistic Personality Disorder.
In 1985 Adi Da was the target of a lawsuit alleging (among other things) assault and battery, false imprisonment, fraud, and intentional infliction of emotional distress, and seeking $5 million dollars in damages [[16]]. The church, claiming extortion, counter-sued for $20 million [[17]], and eventually settled out of court for an undisclosed sum. In 1986, Adi Da was again sued for fraud and intentional infliction of emotional distress [[18]], and again an out-of-court settlement was reached. The advent of the internet has seen an increase in public and heated debate regarding Adidam and Adi Da [[19]], with such debate welcomed as free speech by critics, and condemned as hate speech by supporters.
Popular author Ken Wilber has repeatedly and enthusiastically endorsed Adi Da's realization and spiritual importance, despite never at any point in his life having been involved as a formal member of Adidam. However, after the allegations against Adidam were made public, and Wilber "received an enormous amount of grief, from personal and professional quarters, for my endorsements" [20], he then made a point of adding many cautions and caveats to his endorsements for his reading public [21], even while in private letters to his Adidam friends, he confessed "I have not, and have never, renounced Da as Realizer, nor have I in any way abandoned my love and devotion for Him. . . I hope my work will continue to bring students to the Way of the Heart." [22] When his private letters became public, he explained the contradiction in the following way: "Contradictory? Perhaps, but only because Da is contradictory. Contradictory and problematic—deeply problematic. This is why, as a blanket statement, I can no longer—and do no longer—recommend Da’s community for the typical spiritual aspirant, and I have asked his community to cease using my name in this regard. Nonetheless, for those individuals who realize full well the extremely risky nature of the adventure, but who feel a strong pull toward complete and total surrender of their lives to a spiritual Master, I can certainly recommend Adi Da—with all the caveats of which I have written." [23]
Teaching Literature
Although Adi Da has authored over 70 books on spirituality and the process of God-Realization over the last 35 years, his full and complete teaching argument is now contained in a 23 book canon, known as his "Source Texts". The texts comprising this body of work—the Dharma (or Scripture) of the Way of the Heart—are distinct from other general or introductory Adidam books. While such introductory books are merely about the process of Adidam, the Source Texts, in their study, are a neccesary component of that process. Although these texts may be beneficially studied by anyone, they are primarily directed to formal students of Adi Da.
The structure of this canon is as follows:
The Dawn Horse Testament
The Dawn Horse Testament Of The Ruchira Avatar - The "Testament Of Secrets" Of The Divine World-Teacher, Ruchira Avatar Adi Da Samraj
This is the core text providing full instruction for the entire process of the Way of Adidam.
The Five Books Of The Heart Of The Adidam Revelation
1. Aham Da Asmi (Beloved, I Am Da) - The "Late-Time" Avataric Revelation Of The True and Spiritual Divine Person (The egoless Personal Presence Of Reality and Truth, Which Is The Only Real God)
2. Ruchira Avatara Gita (The Way Of The Divine Heart-Master) - The "Late-Time" Avataric Revelation Of The Great Secret Of The Divinely Self-Revealed Way That Most Perfectly Realizes The True and Spiritual Divine Person (The egoless Personal Presence Of Reality and Truth, Which Is The Only Real God)
3. Da Love-Ananda Gita (The Free Gift Of The Divine Love-Bliss) - The "Late-Time" Avataric Revelation Of The Great Means To Worship and To Realize The True and Spiritual Divine Person (The egoless Personal Presence Of Reality and Truth, Which Is The Only Real God)
4. Hridaya Rosary (Four Thorns Of Heart-Instruction) - The "Late-Time" Avataric Revelation Of The Universally Tangible Divine Spiritual Body, Which Is The Supreme Agent Of The Great Means To Worship and To Realize The True and Spiritual Divine Person (The egoless Personal Presence Of Reality and Truth, Which Is The Only Real God)
5. Eleutherios (The Only Truth That Sets The Heart Free) - The "Late-Time" Avataric Revelation Of The "Perfect Practice" Of The Great Means To Worship and To Realize The True and Spiritual Divine Person (The egoless Personal Presence Of Reality and Truth, Which Is The Only Real God)
These 5 texts summarise the essential process of the Way of the Heart.
The Seventeen Companions Of The True Dawn Horse
Paradigms of Reality: The Real Nature of God, Cosmos and Realization
1. Real God Is The Indivisible Oneness Of Unbroken Light - Reality, Truth, and The "Non-Creator" God In The True World-Religion Of Adidam
2. 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
3. The Only Complete Way To Realize The Unbroken Light Of Real God - An Introductory Overview Of The "Radical" Divine Way Of The True World-Religion Of Adidam
Original Writings and Talks
4. The Knee Of Listening - The Divine Ordeal Of The Avataric Incarnation Of Conscious Light--The Spiritual Autobiography Of The Divine World-Teacher, Ruchira Avatar Adi Da Samraj
5. The Divine Siddha-Method Of The Ruchira Avatar - The Divine Way Of Adidam Is An ego-Transcending Relationship, Not An ego-Centric Technique
6. The Mummery Book - A Parable Of The Divine True Love, Told By A Self-Illuminated Illustration Of The Totality Of Mind
Esoteric Principles and Practices
7. He-and-She Is Me - The Indivisibility Of Consciousness and Light In The Divine Body Of The Ruchira Avatar
8. Ruchira Shaktipat Yoga - The Divine (and Not Merely Cosmic) Spiritual Baptism In The Divine Way Of Adidam
9. Ruchira Tantra Yoga - The Physical-Spiritual (and Truly Religious) Method Of Mental, Emotional, Sexual, and Whole Bodily Health and Enlightenment In The Divine Way Of Adidam
Stages of Life: The six potential stages of ego-based life, and the Divine seventh stage of life
10. 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
11. The All-Completing and Final Divine Revelation To Mankind - A Summary Description Of The Supreme Yoga Of The Seventh Stage Of Life In The Divine Way Of Adidam
Process of Adidam: Five Comprehensive Views of the Practice of Adidam
12. What, Where, When, How, Why, and Who To Remember To Be Happy - A Simple Explanation Of The Divine Way Of Adidam (For Children, and Everyone Else)
13. No Seeking—Mere Beholding - The Always Primary Practice Of The Divine Way Of Adidam
14. Santosha Adidam - The Essential Summary Of The Divine Way Of Adidam
15. The Lion Sutra - The "Perfect Practice" Teachings In The Divine Way Of Adidam
16. The Overnight Revelation Of Conscious Light - The "My House" Discourses On The Indivisible Tantra Of Adidam
Great Tradition: The Total Spiritual "Effort" of Humanity as a Unified (and Progressive) Process
17. Basket Of Tolerance - The Perfect Guide To Perfectly Unified Understanding Of The One and Great Tradition Of Mankind, and Of The Divine Way Of Adidam As The Perfect Completing Of The One and Great Tradition Of Mankind
These 17 texts either elaborate and refine key aspects of the Dawn Horse Testament, or else provide additional information to serve the overall practice of the Way of the Heart.
The essay "First Word"[24] appears at the beginning of each Source Text as a way of orienting the reader to the right understanding of the "point of view" expressed in the text, and to counter the inevitable cultic mind-set that most "unenlightened seekers" bring to their approach.
Name changes
Adi Da is noted for his frequent name changes in the past [25]. As a student of Muktananda, he was given the name Dhyanananda. Shortly after becoming an independent teacher, he took the name Bubba Free John, "Bubba" being a colloquialism for "brother" and "Free John" a loose translation of "Franklin Jones". In 1979, he began calling himself Da Free John, "Da" meaning, in Sanskrit, "the giver". From 1986 to 1990, he was known primarily as Da Love-Ananda, "Ananda" meaning, in Sanskrit, "bliss". From 1990 to 1991, he was known as Da Kalki, in reference to the Hindu avatar Kalki, the 10th and final incarnation of Vishnu, and from 1991 to 1994 as Da Avabhasa, "Avabhasa" meaning "brightness". The title his devotees currently use for him is the Ruchira Avatar, Adi Da Samraj , literally "the radiant avatar, primordial giver, universal ruler".
Opinions
"It is obvious, from all sorts of subtle details, that he knows what IT's all about ... a rare being" — 1973, Alan Watts, Author, The Way of Zen[26]
"...For me, a breaking point had arrived. Although I respected Franklin as a genius in spirituality, I also knew that he was a fallible man with limits. Months had gone by and I had learned much - more, in fact, than I realized at the time. Of the many spiritual authorities and sources I had dealt with over the years, Franklin alone had spoken to me directly and deeply. He was genuine, substantial and, for me, ultimate. By comparison, all the rest had been only preparatory. But I was not at rest. I did not want to become part of a disciple collective, a worker in a hive, or a permanent follower. I had come to Franklin for direct personal spirituality. A lifetime of endless, tedious effort and servitude did not make sense. At one point I expressed this feeling to Franklin privately and told him that I felt understanding alone was sufficient. He didn't respond for a while, and when he did, his answer was equivocal. "Yes," he said, "but effort is still necessary." But at that time, the small, quiet inner voice that had always been my most reliable spiritual guide was telling me to leave. Franklin once said that those who ended their relationship with him went back to zero. But I didn't believe that. I trusted that the true guru was within and that the external guru was only a manifestation of the inner. When I stopped by the ashram a few months later to buy a book, the disciple behind the counter chastised me in a distant, dreamy and blissful voice about how much I was missing since I had left. But I recalled that Franklin, through word and action, taught his disciples to remain awake and to be present to reality. The disciple's other-worldly mannerisms only confirmed the validity of my decision. My inner voice had not failed me. I never returned." - Dennis Trunk, Author "Spirituality Happens" [27]
"...my opinion is that we have, in the person of Da Free John, a Spiritual Master and religious genius of the ultimate degree. I assure you I do not mean that lightly. I am not tossing out high-powered phrases to 'hype' the works of Da Free John. I am simply offering to you my own considered opinion: Da Free John's teaching is, I believe, unsurpassed by that of any other spiritual Hero, of any period, of any place, of any time, of any persuasion." - Ken Wilber, 1980 (full text)
"The teaching is one thing, the teacher, quite another ... 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." - Ken Wilber, 1996 (full text)
"Do I believe that Master Adi Da is the greatest Realizer of all time? I certainly believe He is the greatest living Realizer. Anything beyond that is sheer speculation...If Da is the living Sat-Guru, then why did I say that I can no longer automatically recommend people to his Church? Only because, in this culture—where the guru principle is mightily feared and resisted, and where strategic legal and political forces are dedicated to its eradication—I cannot, as a blanket and public statement, recommend to people that they pursue that noble Path without also informing them of what a culturally and personally hazardous course it is indeed...But for those students who are ready, and who fully understand the gravity of the decision, I speak of Master Da as the Sat-Guru, and recommend that they pursue that Way to the extent that they are capable: student, disciple, devotee." - Ken Wilber, 1998 (full text)
"I regard the work of Adi Da and his devotees as one of the most penetrating spiritual and social experiments happening on the planet in our era." — Jeffrey Mishlove , Ph.D., Host, PBS Series Thinking Allowed, Author, The Roots of Consciousness [28]
"For a long time I couldn't figure out why certain people, who seemed no more intelligent or spiritually qualified than many other people in Adidam, continually held the top positions and simply traded posts amongst themselves in round-robin style. Then I simply began to see that those with the least moral scruples and the greatest willingness to compromise themselves and others were selected for the top positions by some kind of natural, darwinian process. And then I noticed that it wasn't darwinian at all, it was actually selection by the hands of a deity, Adi Da, who rewarded certain types of behavior and punished others. Duplicity and craven fealty were rewarded, and honesty and integrity were punished." - "Broken Yogi", a former student of Adi Da from ca. 1975-2003
full text, mirror
"Adi Da's Teaching is neither utopian nor dissociative; it is simply a radically new human politics based on the Truth. Even as He transcends the common bonds of the human, Adi Da remains the Great Teacher of the pragmatic human situation. How incredibly blessed that He is here at the moment when we need Him most!" — Dan Hamburg, former member of the U.S. Congress [29]
"Frank's claim of exclusivity is enough to demonstrate to anyone who has a grasp of what realization is all about, that he is a 'befuddled' spiritual teacher who, for reasons we may never fathom, is driven to impose himself as an idol between his followers and the One Divine Reality. He takes the words of the Buddhas (steals them, really) and uses them to preach that all the Buddhas past present and to come must worship him and the supreme conditional expression of the One Divine Reality." - "Elias", a former student of Adi Da (full text)
"I've been a student of Adi Da's since 1973 and have had a great deal of personal contact with Him over that time. I've had the opportunity to observe Him under an amazingly wide variety of circumstances, since He has no real personal life and keeps no secrets. I've found His behavior to be consistent with His Teaching: He practices what He preaches. His written Teaching is as good as Ken Wilbur says it is. His behavior is as upsetting as was any of the Realizers' of the past, and for the same reasons. His behavior towards me has always been honest and compassionate. I've never seen Him spare Himself to serve His devotees. His devotees (myself included) have not responded by Realizing what He offers. Having observed their efforts (including my own and the thousands who have abandoned their relationship to Him) I would have to say that our response has been mediocre. This is historically typical of almost all devotees of genuine Masters. (Just think of how Jesus must have felt about His disciples' abandonment of Him when He most needed them.)"- Godfree Roberts.
"The life and teaching of Avatar Adi Da Samraj are of profound and decisive spiritual significance at this critical moment in history." — Bryan Deschamp , Senior Advisor at UNHCR (the United Nations High Commission for Refugees) [30]
"There exists nowhere in the world today, among Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, native tribalists, or any other groups, anyone who has so much to teach, or speaks with such authority, or is so important for understanding our situation. If we are willing to learn from him in every way, he is a pole around which the world can get its bearings." — Henry Leroy Finch ,
Author, Wittgenstein—The Early Philosophy and Wittgenstein—The Later Philosophy [31]
"Da’s whole non-dual perspective was clearly developed in relation and response to the Vedantic non-dualism of Kashmir Shaivism, and the Advaitic non-dualism of Ramana, along with the whole of the Upanishadic tradition, including the Ribhu Gita and the Astavakra Gita. He read these books during his sadhana, and carried them around absorbing their teachings. His claim is that they only served as “bridge” to his unique seventh stage realization, but it’s virtually impossible to actually distinguish his seventh stage teachings and descriptions from the highest of the Advaitic teachings and examples, such as Ramana. ... The one key distinction that is supposed to exist between sixth and seventh stage realization - an exclusive concentration in consciousness apart from phenomena - simply doesn’t exist in these Advaitic teachings or teachers. Which reduces criticism of them to the absurd lengths of suggesting that their lack of crazed self-indulgence and worldly exploitation of possibilities is somehow a sign that they haven’t reached the highest realization." - "Broken Yogi", a former student of Adi Da from ca. 1975-2003
full text
"A great teacher with the dynamic ability to awaken in his listeners something of the Divine Reality in which he is grounded, and with which he is identified, and which, in fact, he is." — Israel Regardie, Author, The Golden Dawn [32]
"One of them [a former Adidam student] said that he thought that Da had gone astray and was on the biggest possible ego trip imaginable and gotten paranoid and abusive and he said that even if Da were the World Teacher that he wasn't interested in having him as a teacher. My thoughts exactly. A bird was chirping from a high branch." - David Chadwick, 2004 (full text)
Selected writings
- Adi Da and Adidam (2003) [33]
- Adi Da (2003) [34]
- The Way Of Adidam (2003) [35]
- The Knee of Listening (1972, 2004) [36]
- The Dawn Horse Testament (1985,2005)[37]
- Drifted in the Deeper Land (1996)[38]
- The Transmission of Doubt (1985)[39]
- The Bodily Location of Happiness (1977) [40]
- The Seven Stages Of Life (2000) [41]
- The Method Of The Siddhas (1995, ISBN 0913922013_
External links
Last updated: 08-24-2005 08:01:50
