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Adi Da Samraj
Adi Da Samraj
Born	(1939-11-03)3 November 1939 New York, New York, United States
Died	27 November 2008(2008-11-27) (aged 69) Naitaba, Lau Islands, Fiji

Adi Da Samraj (Devanāgarī: अादि द समराज) (November 3, 1939 – November 27, 2008), 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." 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".

Adi Da wrote many books about his spiritual philosophy and related matters, founding a publishing house to print them. He first gained notoriety in the counterculture of the 1970s for his books and public talks, and for the activities of his religious community. His early books gained praise from respected authorities in religion and philosophy, including Alan Watts. In later years, while he continued to garner praise for his ideas, he was also criticized for what some perceived as his increased isolation, eccentric behavior, and cult-like community.

In his books and in public discourses, Adi Da initially expressed a theory (similar to Indian non-dualism) that seeing oneself as an individual, separate from others and a divine reality, is an illusion, and that seeing through this illusion would result in an experience of freedom. He taught that the seeking of liberation itself creates suffering, and must be transcended. Uniquely, however, Adi Da later asserted that he alone fully embodied a liberated state beyond this dualism, and as such was the sole source of this realization for humanity.

In the mid 1980s, allegations by former devotees of financial, sexual and emotional abuses within Adidam were reported in a number of regional newspapers, television news reports, and talk shows, culminating in national coverage in a two-part expose on NBC's The Today Show. These allegations resulted in lawsuits on both sides. Adidam said that these allegations were part of a conspiracy to extort large sums of money from his movement.

Biography

Youth and spiritual search

Adi Da was born Franklin Albert Jones on November 3, 1939, in Queens, New York and was raised on Long Island. 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, 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.

After graduating from Columbia, Jones began experimenting with the use of hallucinogenic drugs. 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. 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. 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.

Responding to an intuitive impulse, Jones and Davis left California in June 1964 in search of a spiritual teacher in New York City. 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 dubbed him "Swami Rudrananda". Rudi taught an eclectic blend of techniques he called "Kundalini Yoga".

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. 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. 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. Feeling none of his Lutheran professors understood this experience, Jones left and briefly attended St. Vladimir's Russian Orthodox Seminary in Tuckahoe, New York. 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.

Muktananda encouraged Jones to end his studies with Rudi and study with himself directly. Back in New York, he and wife Nina became members and then employees of the Church of Scientology for more than one year, and Jones wrote Rudi a letter severing all contact (they spoke again years later.) 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.

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. Three weeks after arriving, while at Muktananda's ashram Jones reported visions of the Virgin Mary, whom he felt to be a manifestation of the cosmic feminine principle or shakti. He stated 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.

Realizing "The Bright" and Crazy Wisdom

In September 1970, Jones said that while sitting in the Vedanta Temple in Hollywood, he permanently realized "The Bright," his term for a state of complete spiritual enlightenment. 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 the Ashram bookstore in Los Angeles. He began giving lectures based on his book, and soon attracted a small following due in part to his charismatic speaking style. 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. He was also one of the first westerners to become well-known as a teacher of meditation and eastern esoteric traditions that were becoming increasingly popular.

With a growing following, Jones began developing a new religious movement initially called "The Dawn Horse Communion". In 1973, he traveled to India to meet again with Muktananda. Over a confrontation regarding the actual nature of enlightenment and how to achieve it, they would end their relationship, later disparaging each others' relative level of spiritual accomplishment. Jones nevertheless maintained that he continued to appreciate and respect Muktananda as his onetime teacher.

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 the meaning of "Franklin Jones". He divorced Nina, but she remained in his life for another decade as a disciple. Bubba Free John declared himself "the Divine Lord in human Form" in January 1974, 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.

In 1973, Bubba Free John began a new teaching cycle he called Garbage and the Goddess, (the underlying philosophy of which was documented in a book of his lectures by the same title). During this time he used his spiritual abilities such that hundreds of his students experienced "visions, spontaneous body movements known as kriyas, bliss states, heart openings, kundalini arousals, and sahaja-samadhi. He also directed his followers in "sexual theater", a form of psychodrama that often involved public and group sex, the making of pornographic movies and other intensified sexual practices. Drug and alcohol use were also encouraged. The purpose of this teaching period was that all experience, high (mystical) and low (sexual) were simply that - experiences, and as such, deserved to be transcended . Members said that experiments in everything from food to work, worship, exercise, money and sexuality were all aspects of their spiritual practice. Free John had nine or more "wives" during this time, including Playboy centerfold Julie Anderson. Many of these women abandoned their partners for the guru, sometimes leaving the men that they were with confused and upset. The guru said that his followers "were obliged to confront their sexual and emotional fixations in very concrete ways"

In 1983, he moved with a group of about 40 followers to the Fijian island of Naitauba, purchased by a wealthy devotee for the group from actor Raymond Burr. It became his primary residence until the end of his life.

During his career, Adi Da would often change his name, he said to reflect differences in the nature of his message. After Bubba Free John, from 1979 to 1985 he was called Da Free John. Subsequent names included Dau Loloma, Da Love-Ananda, Da Avadhoota, Da Kalki, Da Avabhasa, and from 1994, Adi Da Love-Ananda Samraj, or Adi Da. His religious organization also went by many names, including the Free Communion Church, the Laughing Man Institute, the Crazy Wisdom Fellowship, the Way of Divine Ignorance, and the Johannine Daist Communion. It is now known as Adidam.

Legal disputes and media attention

Accusations of Adi Da abusing his power as a spiritual leader attracted international attention in the mid-1980's. 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. The story gained greater attention with a two-part expose on The Today Show. 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. 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.

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.

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. 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. The church maintained that no illegal acts took place and the movement had a right to continue experiments in lifestyles.

A Washington Post article reported that "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." One lawsuit was dismissed by a Superior Court Judge in Marin County, in March of 1986.

"Divine Emergence"

In January 1986, "burned out by months of long partying", frustrated and grief-stricken by what he perceived as the futility of his teaching work, Adi Da experienced what he characterized as a near-death experience, that he came to call the "Divine Emergence." He felt that from this time forward his body became a "perfect vehicle for his spiritual transmission" and that it was enough for disciples to simply meditate upon his image to participate in his enlightenment.

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,” which he said signified the start of another new period in his message. Claiming to be beset by “dark forces”, there were reports from his community that doctors had prescribed tranquilizers for what they diagnosed as anxiety attacks.

Later that year, Adi Da actively recruited the following of “Zen Master Rama”, aka Frederick Lenz, following the latter’s death in 1998. Adi Da claimed that he was a reincarnation of the renowned Hindu swami Vivekananda, and stated that Lenz had been a disciple in a past life. Some of these followers did join Adidam, creating some measure of conflict among long-time disciples within the community who felt the new members were overly privileged.

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

Adi Da died of a heart attack on November 27, 2008 at his home in Fiji.

Teachings and Philosophy

Adi Da said that he was "uniquely enlightened from birth, an avatar, the unique descent of of the divine into a human body, God in our midst." 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; this is despite the paradox that human beings must seem to "search" for truth at times.

"Seventh Stage Realization"

Adi Da developed a theory of potential human and spiritual evolution he called "the seven stages of life."

• 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. 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."

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" could free people from the activity of "self-contraction" and reveal the seventh stage to them. He 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." The culminating awareness of this seventh stage is a permanent, natural background state of “open-eyed” ecstasy, for which Adi Da employed the Sanskrit term Sahaj Samadhi.

Some have criticized that this assertion contradicts Adi Da's earlier teachings stating that enlightenment is the natural, original condition for all, rejecting the absolute necessity for any religious authority or belief,citing 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."

"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. By 1986, he claimed to have generally stopped using such methods, saying " 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."

Adidam

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, auras, etc. It also employs many Sanskrit terms and concepts. God, or the divine, is a principle and energy, a consciousness that predates creation but is not a willful creator itself or being to be worshiped.

Though earlier manifestations were more eclectic and experimental, over time, Adidam increasingly came to resemble the Hindu tradition of bhakti yoga. It's practice is now primarily defined by its emphasis on a devotional relationship to Adi Da as guru, whom followers believe to be an enlightened source of power who serves as a gateway to the divine. He's often called "Beloved" by his devotees. Through serving the guru and sitting in his presence, the devotee’s consciousness is gradually transformed in the image of the guru’s.

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

Practitioners of Adidam also observe specific recommended disciplines, including study of Adi Da's and other religious teachings, physical exercises, yogic regulation of sexuality and a mainly raw, vegan diet.

While based on Naitauba Island, Fiji, there are five officially designated ashrams or sanctuaries belonging to Adidam, three of which are located in North America, including the Mountain of Attention in Lake County, California. 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 1000 members worldwide since 1974.

Works

Books

Adi Da wrote prolifically about his spiritual philosophy, creating the Dawn Horse Press in 1973 to publish his books. It continues to print many Adi Da-authored titles. Best known among these is his autobiography, "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 mythologizing for which it has been criticized. For instance, mentions of his connection to Scientology are no longer included, and there are added chapters, as on "the secrets of Adi Da's "pre-history"(before his birth in 1939)."

Art

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; the exhibit then moved to Florence. He also was represented by a commercial gallery in Culver City, California.

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

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!" 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."

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 , and I hope my work will continue to bring students to ."

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."

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. In the introduction to the 2006 edition, Feuerstein describes having edited the sections devoted to Adi Da to reflect these changes in opinion.

University of Southern California religions professor Robert Ellwood wrote, “Accounts of life with in his close-knit spiritual community 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.”

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."

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 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."

Scott Lowe, PhD, was a follower of Adi Da in the 1970s. 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.

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". He also mentions Adi Da in his books Spiritual Nutrition and Tachyon Energy.

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

See also

• Shawnee Free Jones, a daughter
• Advaita Vedanta
• Nondualism
• Avatar

Notes

1. ^ Spiritual leader passes on, Fiji Times, November 28, 2008.
2. Adidam home page
3. http://caliber.ucpress.net/doi/abs/10.1525/nr.1997.1.1.153.1
4. Gallagher, Eugene, Ashcroft,Michael.Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America . Greenwood Press. ISBN 0275987124 (2006). pages 85–106
5. ^ http://www.dawnhorsepress.com/
6. http://www.amazon.com/Knee-Listening-Franklin-Jones/dp/B000JDNOWO
7. 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)
8. ^ The Case of Adi Da Ken Wilber Online. October 11, 1996.
9. Feuerstein, Georg. (2006). Holy Madness: Spirituality, Crazy-Wise Teachers, And Enlightenment, Hohm Press.
10. Morton, Thomas, "I Joined Three cults Simultaneously:Adidam", Vice Magazine http://www.viceland.com/int/v13n10/htdocs/three1.php
11. ^ Lowe, Scott and Lane, David. (1996) "DA: The Strange Case of Franklin Jones". Mt. San Antonio College Philosophy Group. ISBN 1565430549
12. "US-Born Cult Leader on Fiji Island Treated Like a God", Fiji Sun, October 25, 2007
13. Lattin, Don "Hypnotic Da Free John - Svengali of the truth-seeking set", San Francisco Examiner/April 5, 1985
14. Forsthoefel/Humes.(2005).Gurus in America (SUNY Series in Hindu Studies), State University of New York Press.ISBN-07914-6578-4.page 198
15. The A to Z of New Religious Movements by George D. Chryssides,The Rowman Litterfield Publishing Group,pages 47-48,200
16. Daniels,Burton.(2002).The Integration of Psyche and Spirit Volume I: The Structural Model.iUniverse.ISBN 0-595-24181-6.Preface IX
17. Gallagher/Ashcraft.(2006). Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America .Greenwood Press. ISBN 0275987124.page 99
18. ^ Deep Throat's Daughter, The Kindred Free Spirit, Washington Post, June 12, 2005.
19. ^ "Sex Slave Sues Guru: Pacific Isle Orgies Charged" San Francisco Chronicle, April 4, 1985.
20. ^ Molly Colin, "Da Free John Sect Sues 6 Ex-Members On Extortion Charge, The Mill Valley Record, April 17, 1985.
21. Lowe, Ed, "The House Where Swami Lived" Long Island Newsday Magazine, September 14, 1986
22. ^ http://www.northcoastjournal.com/011499/cover0114.html
23. Gallagher, Eugene, Ashcroft,Michael, Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America, Vol. V, p.86-88, Greenwood Press. ISBN 0275987124 (2006)
24. Feuerstein, Georg, "Holy Madness," 1st ed., Arkana, 1992, p. 80
25. 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
26. 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.”
27. 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 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
28. Gallagher, Eugene, Ashcraft, Michael. (2006). Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America, Volume V, 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."
29. 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."
30. 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."
31. Gallagher, Eugene, Ashcroft,Michael, Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America, Vol. V, 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.”
32. Jones, "Knee..." Ashram (1972), p.35 "I saw pictures of a store with oriental sculpture...in New York..."
33. Swami Rudrananda . Spiritual Cannibalism. Links Books, New York, 1973, First Edition
34. Historical dictionary of New Age movements by Michael York The Rowman Litterfield Publishing Group, 2004, pp 11-12
35. Gallagher, Eugene, Ashcraft, Michael. (2006). Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America, Volume V, p.88
36. Feuerstein, "Holy Madness," 1992 p. 81
37. Feuerstein, "Holy Madness," p. 81
38. Jones, 'Knee', 1972, chapter 8
39. Jones, "Knee...", Ashram (1972), p.62
40. Feuerstein, "Holy Madness," p. 81
41. Gallagher,New and Alternative Religions in America p. 89, “… Jones’ himself describes as … “apparent evidence of a ‘clinical breakdown.’”
42. 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
43. Gallagher, Eugene, Ashcraft, Michael, Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America, Vol. V, p. Greenwood Press. (2006). ISBN 0275987124. pages 85
44. Jones, "Knee...", Ashram, 1972, p.84 "I spent that year working for Scientology..."
45. Gallagher, Eugene, Ashcraft, Michael. Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America . Greenwood Press. (2006). ISBN 0275987124. pp. 85-109
46. Jones, "Knee...", (1971), chapter 12
47. Rawlinson, Andrew, Book of Enlightened Masters: Western Teachers in Eastern Traditions. Open Court (1997) ISBN 0812693108 page 222
48. Feuerstein, "Holy Madness,"1992 p. 81-82
49. Jones, "Knee..." Ashram (1972), p. 122
50. Feuerstein, "Holy Madness," a1992 p. 82
51. Jones, "Knee..." Ashram (1972), p. 131
52. Feuerstein, "Holy Madness," p. 82
53. Gallagher...Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America Vol. V, p. 91
54. Rawlinson,Andrew, Book of Enlightened Masters: Western Teachers in Eastern Traditions Open Court (1997) ISBN 0812693108 page 222
55. Feuerstein, "Holy Madness," p. 82
56. Gallagher, Eugene, Ashcraft, Michael. (2006). Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America, Volume V, p.85 "...began to attract a small following"
57. ^ "Hypnotic Da Free John - Svengali of the truth-seeking set", San Francisco Examiner/April 5, 1985
58. ^ "The Gurdjieff Journal," Gurdjieff & The New Age Part IX, Franklin Jones & Rudi Part I, by William Patrick Patterson
59. Gallagher...Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America Vol. V, p. 88-89
60. Gallagher...Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America Vol. V, p. 88
61. Gallagher...Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America Vol. V, p. 88
62. Lewis (2001) p. 215
63. 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."
64. Jones, "Knee...", (1972), chapter 13
65. Gallagher...Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America Vol. V, pp. 90-91
66. Feuerstein, "Holy Madness," p. 83 " believed that his guru was settling for less than the ultimate, while Muk. dismissed arguments as pretentious...a breach between them opened that never formally healed. continued to criticize Muk. in talks and publications, while at the same time acknowledging his debt..."
67. Feuerstein, "Holy Madness," 1992 p. 87, 94
68. Gourley, Edmiston "Adidam Comes to the North Coast", North Coast Journal Weekly, Jan. 14, 1999
69. Feuerstein, "Holy Madness," 1992, p. 83
70. Feuerstein, "Holy Madness," 2006 p.155 : 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
71. 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 - which led to the temporary or, in some case permanent breakups of relationships"
72. Feuerstein, Georg (1996), “Holy Madness: The Dangerous and Disillusioning Example of Da Free John,” What Is Enlightenment? Issue 9
73. Butler, Katy: "Sex Practices Did Not Cease, Marin Cult Officials Admit" San Francisco Chronicle, April 9, 1985
74. Molly Colin, Peter Seidman, and Tony Lewis, "Defectors voice several charges" Mill Valley Record/April 3, 1985
75. Neary, Walt,'Inner Circle Privy to Parties,' Lake County Record Bee, April 12, 1985
76. Channel 2 News, San Francisco, 1985
77. Feuerstein, "Holy Madness," p. 90
78. Feuerstein, "Holy Madness," 2006, p. 157:"In Adi Da's teaching , they are simply experiences and as such deserve to be transcended. ...his devotees were not only exposed to the upper end of the experiential scale, they were also obliged to inspect and confront their sexual fixations as well ."
79. 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
80. Leydecker, Mary: "Suit Shatters Calm for Sect Members," Marin Independent-Journal, April 5, 1985
81. Feuerstein, "Holy Madness," p. 87 " "married" numerous female devotees, leaving their husbands or lovers to sort out their wild emotions and confusion."
82. "guru hit by sex slave suit", San Francisco Examiner, April 3, 1985
83. 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 ."
84. Leydecker, Mary: "Suit Shatters Calm for Sect Members," Marin Independent-Journal, April 5, 1985
87. http://www.rickross.com/reference/adida/adida1.html
88. Feuerstein, Georg and Feuerstein, Patricia (1982) Remembrance Of The Divine Names of Da, ISBN 0913922722
89. "How Franklin Jones Became the Master", The Mill Valley Record/April 3, 1985 By Gary Reilly
90. Molly Colin, Peter Seidman, and Tony Lewis, "Defectors voice several charges" Mill Valley Record/April 3, 1985
91. http://www.rickross.com/groups/adida.html
92. Transcript of NBC Today Show report on Da Free John, Transcript by Steve Hassan, 2000; retrieved November 2, 2006.
93. Feuerstein, Georg (1996), “Holy Madness: The Dangerous and Disillusioning Example of Da Free John,” What Is Enlightenment? Issue 9
94. Seidman, Peter, "Sexual experiments continued after '76, JDC officiaIs admit" Mill Valley Record/April 10, 1985
95. Butler, Katy: "Sex Practices Did Not Cease, Marin Cult Officials Admit" San Francisco Chronicle, April 9, 1985
96. Molly Colin, Peter Seidman, and Tony Lewis, "Defectors voice several charges" Mill Valley Record/April 3, 1985
97. Neary, Walt,'Inner Circle Privy to Parties,' Lake County Record Bee, April 12, 1985
98. Sex Slave Sues Guru: Pacific Isle Orgies Charged San Francisco Chronicle, April 4, 1985.
99. The San Francisco Chronicle, April 9, 1985
100. Channel 2 News, San Francisco, March, 1985
101. Feuerstein, "Holy Madness," Arkana, 1992, p.90 "sexual 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..."
102. Seidman, Peter, "Sexual experiments continued after '76, JDC officiaIs admit" Mill Valley Record/April 10, 1985
103. The Mill Valley Record, April 10, 1985.
104. Channel 2 News, San Francisco, 1985
105. BEVERLY JACOBS O'MAHONY, and individual, vs. FRANKLIN JONES, aka DA FREE JOHN, CIV121999, Superior Court of California, County of Marin,3/4/86
106. Feuerstein, "Holy Madness," Arkana, 1992, p. 92-93
107. Gallagher, Eugene, Ashcraft, Michael. (2006). Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America, Volume V, p.95, para.2
108. Gallagher, Eugene, Ashcraft, Michael. (2006). Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America, Volume V, p.95, para.3: adi da "actively recruited followers of after his highly sedated death by drowning."
109. Feuerstein, Holy Madness (2006), p.176
110. Feuerstein, 2006, p. 169
111. Feuerstein, 1992, p. 94
112. Gallagher, Eugene, Ashcraft, Michael. (2006). Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America, Volume V, p.88
113. Gallagher, Eugene, Ashcraft, Michael. (2006). Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America, Volume V, p.97-98
114. Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America By Eugene V. Gallagher, W. Michael Ashcraft,Greenwood Press, ISBN 0275987124, 2006, page 99
115. Samraj, Adi Da (2004). The Knee of Listening. "I (Alone) Am The Adidam Revelation)". pgs. 502-504. Dawn Horse Press. ISBN1-57097-167-6
116. Samraj (2005b) p. 93
117. http://www.amazon.com/Promised-God-Man-Here-Carolyn-Lee/dp/1570970599
118. Gallagher/Ashcraft, Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America, p. 99
119. The A to Z of New Religious Movements by George D. Chryssides, The Rowman Litterfield Publishing Group,2001,page47
120. Samraj, Adi Da. Eleutherios. (2005). I (Alone) Am The Adidam Revelation, pg. 456. Dawn Horse Press.
121. Gallagher...New Religions, 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."
122. Gallagher, Eugene, Ashcroft,Michael, Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America, Vol. V, pp.98-99, Greenwood Press (2006) "
123. Lowe, Scott and Lane, David. (1996) "DA: The Strange Case of Franklin Jones". Mt. San Antonio College Philosophy Group, p.23
124. John, Bubba Free, "Garbage and the Goddess: The last miracles and final spiritual instructions of Bubba Free John", 1976, Dawn Horse Press
125. Garvy, Jack, "American-born guru, Bubba Free John, retires", East West Journal, July, 1976 Vol. 6 No. 7
126. The Yoga Tradition: Its History, Literature, Philosophy and Practice By Georg Feuerstein; p25
127. http://www.beezone.com/AdiDa/crazywisdom.html
128. Gallagher, The New Religious Movements Experience in America, p.98-99
129. Gallagher, The New Religious Movements Experience in America, p.98-99
130. Feuerstein 1992, p. 98
131. Gallagher, The New Religious Movements Experience in America, p.97
132. Samraj, Adi Da, "The Orders of My True and Free Renunciate Devotees", Dawn Horse Press, 2007, pg.110
133. Gallagher, The New Religious Movements Experience in America, p.97
134. Samraj, Adi Da, "The Orders of My True and Free Renunciate Devotees", Dawn Horse Press, 2007, pg.110
135. Gallagher, Eugene. (2004). The New Religious Movements Experience in America. Greenwood Press . ISBN 9780313328077, page 118
136. "America 2004, Page 118"
137. Gallagher, Eugene, Ashcraft, Michael. (2006). Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America, Volume V, p.86, 105
138. Feuerstein 1992, p. 93 " has a flair for drama and it has been successful in keeping the attention of for years...but it evidently is not a way that holds an attraction for larger numbers of spiritually motivated people."
139. Feuerstein, (1992) p.80
140. 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
141. Feuerstein, (1992) pp.83, 96 "the original published version has the ring of authenticity and can be appreciated as a remarkable mystical document...Later , regrettably, tend toward mythologization..."
142. Gallagher, Eugene, Ashcraft, Michael. (2006). Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America, Volume V, 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."
143. "Da: The Strange Case of Franklin Jones", by Scott Lowe and David Lane, Walnut CA: Mt. San Antonio College, 1996.
144. Gallagher, Eugene, Ashcraft, Michael. (2006). Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America, Volume V, p.88-89
145. Feuerstein (2006) p.97
146. "Da: The Strange Case of Franklin Jones", by Scott Lowe and David Lane, Walnut CA: Mt. San Antonio College, 1996.
147. http://www.kneeoflistening.com/ "The secrets of Adi Da's "Pre-History" (before His birth in 1939)"
148. Feuerstein, 2006, p. 147
150. Adi Da Samraj
151. Welcome Books , 2007, pp 1-11
152. Wilber, Ken (1985) Review of Adi Da's The Dawn Horse Testament - www.adidawilber.com
153. The Case of Adi Da Ken Wilber Online. October 11, 1996.
154. Ken Wilber, Ken (1997) "Private" letter to the Adidam community - www.adidawilber.com
155. http://wilber.shambhala.com/html/misc/adida_update.cfm/
156. An Update on the Case of Adi Da Ken Wilber Online. August 28, 1998.
157. Feuerstein, "Holy Madness," Arkana, 1992, chapter 4
158. Feuerstein (2006), intro., chapter 4.
159. Ellwood, Robert. (1997)"Nova Religio" book review of "DA: The Strange Case of Franklin Jones", October 1997, Vol. 1, No. 1, Pages 153–153
160. Molly Colin, Peter Seidman, and Tony Lewis, "Defectors voice several charges" Mill Valley Record/April 3, 1985
161. http://en.wikiquote.org/Adi_Da
162. http://www.timeoff.com.au/html/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3330:eddie-kowalcyzk&catid=11:features&Itemid=29
163. http://www.uwec.edu/philrel/faculty/Lowe/index.htm
164. "Lowe, Scott and Lane, David. (1996) "DA: The Strange Case of Franklin Jones". Mt. San Antonio College Philosophy Group.
165. http://www.lightgate.net/daism/texts/TheStrangeCase.html
166. http://www.amazon.com/Adi-Da-Promised-God-Man-Here/dp/1570971439
167. 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
168. 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 . 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

External links

• Adidam.org: Official Adidam website
• Da Plastique: Adi Da's "Transcendental Realism" art
• The Case of Adi Da by Ken Wilber
• Rick Ross Institute page on Adi Da/Adidam: material compiled by anti-cult activist Rick Ross (includes mirrored news articles)

• Misplaced Pages neutral point of view disputes from February 2010
• 1939 births
• 2008 deaths
• American spiritual teachers
• New religious movements
• American spiritual writers
• Spiritual teachers
• Former Scientologists