Adi Da Samraj-Realized or/and Deluded? Paperback – Illustrated, 1 January 2012

As a long time student of counter culture religion and mysticism, I was introduced to Bubba Free John (as he was then known in the early 1970's) by reading the first two of about six total of his books that I eventually read were the first edition publications of The Knee of Listening and The Method of the Siddhas. His books were intriguing to say the least because he was American born and his genius seemed apparent to me even after reading these two initial books. In addition, his choice of multiple names which were unlike any spiritual master then or since plus the photos of him in his books seemed to demonstrate that he marched to the beat of his own drummer as transcendental as that rhythm apparently was to readers like me who were used to reading Zen, Yoga and Suffi masters. When I discovered this book, it certainly seemed to me that this was a must read no matter what the author's own spiritual tradition or background history was or was not. The fact that he is a student of Gurdjieff seemed to make the book all the more intriguing because Gurdjieff was himself enigmatic and non traditional himself. In that sense Gurdjieff apparently had a significant similarity to Da. In my opinion, there are two distinct sides to Da's story as it is represented in this book. One as a brilliant exponant of our timeless spiritual history and destiny (they are both identical and ultimately illusury) and two, as a perplexing and often times as confusing a spiritual master as anyone could ever possibly encounter. Da was even for many of us who have not read this book but knew about him I would think agree that he was purely and simply stated - outrageous! I recommend that anyone interested contemporary spirituality read this book but please read it with an open mind and without passing judgment either way. Rather, reserve judgment and allow what you read just sit easily with you and as you continue reading it ask yourself why would any spiritual master with his best and highest interests for his students behave as Da apparently did? If his behavior towards apparently many of his students was uncalled for and unecessary then we, in my opinion, should separate his written and spoken words from his behavior because his words are, again in my opinion, brilliant. However, if his behavior was inexplicably appropriate for his teaching to be realized by his students then we can assess and allow, if we so choose, his written and spoken words sink in and lend themseles to assisting and in supplementing our own growth process. For what behavior is warranted or unwarranted is now, at least for me moot. In any case, we can, in my opinion, all benefit from reading his books and viewing his lectures because they can and should stand on their own merit. As for those of his students/disciples still with us whether they have or are able to acknowledge it or not have been changed immeasurably. One last word, in my opinion, the author does a terrific job in the last chapter and in his afterword in summing up his assessment of Da's life, meaning and contributions for the reader's consideration which, again in my opinion, makes the whole book worth purchasing and reading.

The author has done some research, but this book is like a travelogue that has been written by someone who has never been to the country they are writing about. If you wanted to know what a foreign country is really like would you prefer to read the account of someone who has actually been there, visited the sights, eaten the food, interacted with the people, experienced the weather and the traffic etc? Or would you prefer to consult a writer who has only collected information about that country from whatever sources they could find and then compiled a book from that information?The appearance of an adept such as Adi Da Samraj requires much deeper evaluation than merely asking a lot of journalistic-type questions designed to provoke doubt. We all start from a position of doubt relative to spiritual adepts, and understandably so. If you are interested in discovering some of the reality of Adi Da, I suggest you consult these accounts written by long-time devotees who have real experience to report. Beyond the Illusion  by Antonia Vidor Tasting the Moon: Adventures in the Meaning of Life  by Meg Fortune McDonnellI have been a formal student and devotee of Adi Da for almost 40 years. My own first hand experience, accompanied by much consideration is that Mr Patterson's book does not convey the full truth about Adi Da Samraj.Although I have been enthusiastic about Adi Da and his work from my beginning days with him, since I had received a college training that proposed rational thinking and the attitude of doubt until what is true and real is scientifically proven, the scientific method has been important to me as the final arbiter of truth. So I managed to hang on to some skepticism about Adi Da for many years. At times I was exalted by spiritual ecstasies. At other times I felt bewildered and confused.One significant thing about Adi Da is that He does not require belief in him. He points out that belief is not useful at all. Belief is merely a state of mind; as such it is temporary, unstable and untrustworthy. True spiritual life is founded in the reality that is beyond the mind, and this is what Adi Da Samraj reveals to any who seriously examine his teaching.I had to reconcile all kinds of conflicts within myself in order to come to a real understanding of Adi Da, and to be in a right spiritual relationship with him. It has taken time to do this. It does not happen overnight -- for anyone.I have been privileged to know and interact with many other devotees of Adi Da. My life has been enriched beyond my wildest imaginings by truly wise and loving men and women. We help each other through the inevitable and numerous trials of spiritual practice.I consider myself amazingly fortunate to have come into the spiritual company of Adi Da Samraj as he has awakened me to awareness of the transcendental divine reality -- in spite of my doubts along the way. And he has done nothing but bless me in all kinds of ways. There have been numerous occasions of transmission of transcendent ecstasy from Guru to devotee, from my Master's Heart to my own. These awakenings to what is beyond and prior to everyday experience continue to this day. His awakening power is completely compatible with everyday life, in fact it empowers and enables.As for the reports of Adi Da's unusual behavior at times, I refer to the well-known traditional axiom: you cannot determine the degree of realization of an awakened person by observing some, or even all of their behavior. It is not possible. All Spiritual Masters, male or female spontaneously behave in unpredictable ways that are often difficult to understand. The Master may seem harsh at times, esp. to the person on the receiving end. Consider the famous Marpa-Milarepa story, and the following story from recent times (20th century)When Meher Baba, as a young man (then called Merwan) first approached his Master-to-be Upasani Baba, Upasani threw a rock that hit Merwan in the forehead making him bleed. Most Westerners in Merwan's position would have been outraged and would have sued for assault, but Merwan continued to approach the Master, embraced him joyfully and, over time became a great spiritual master himself through the blessing transmission awakening power of his guru.A good place to begin reading Adi Da's own work is his autobiography:  The Knee Of Listening: The Divine Ordeal of the Avataric Incarnation of Conscious Light: The Spiritual Autobiography of The Ruchira Avatar, Adi Da SamrajBeyond the IllusionTasting the Moon: Adventures in the Meaning of LifeThe Knee Of Listening: The Divine Ordeal of the Avataric Incarnation of Conscious Light: The Spiritual Autobiography of The Ruchira Avatar, Adi Da Samraj

Franklin Jones, also known as Bubba Free John, Da Love Ananda, Adi Da, and many other appellations besides, was quite the character. Even as a relatively young man he was lauded by spiritual elites; Ken Wilber, in 1979, wrote of him:"Whatever else might be initially said, the event of Bubba Free John is an occasion for rejoicing, because -- without any doubt whatsoever -- he is destined to be recognized as the first Western-born Avatar (World Teacher) to appear in the history of the world. For the other great avatars -- Christ, Gautama, Krishna -- all have been Asian. But here, for the first time, is a Western-born Spiritual Master of the ultimate degree."At the same time he was the quintessential cult figure, an abusive, predatory and whimsical sexual-spiritual bully who lorded it over his god-besotted, harebrained disciples. Wrote Mark Miller, the former boyfriend of one of Jones' "spiritual wives":"DFJ [Da Free John] gave her herpes and told her it was prasad [spiritual food] from the Guru to help her work through her bad c**t karma... He also gave it to a lot of other women, and you can't really say it was by accident. He knew he was contagious but he had sex anyway because he could just explain it as a form of blessing for the women he gave it to... DFJ made another friend of mine give three guys oral sex, one after the other, and then he had sex with her himself. She was molested as a child and had some sexual hang-ups, so this really traumatized her, making her do this group thing" (91).William Patrick Patterson's book is the first assessment of this man of many sides and extremes.I've long been curious about Franklin Jones--how could one not be after Wilber's hyperbolic, laudatory ejaculations?--so when I found this volume on Amazon I snatched it up with hardly a thought, even though the book did not appear to have been properly published. Indeed, no reputable publisher makes a book cover like that; mine has "review copy" stamped on the inside cover, plus there are a zillion typos and sentences needing to be rewritten. Clearly this is not a finished product. I don't know if a polished edition will ever emerge--I certainly hope so--but I still read the work with relish and plowed through it at a pace. I suspect you'll do the same.So, what's inside?The actual biography is a mere five chapters at around a hundred pages. While a lot more could certainly have been said, Patterson manages to give you the gist of the man in this relatively short space. There is almost nothing about Jones' boyhood, which is a shame because one really has to wonder what sort of upbringing might have formed such a thoroughly narcissistic, exploitive and charismatic personality. (The suggestion of sexual molestation by his Lutheran minister is made, almost as an afterthought, on page 135. Jones' autobiography The Knee of Listening supports this.) By page two he's already in college. Clearly, Jones was a gifted student--he went to Columbia and thence to Stanford, and the snippets from his master's thesis on Gertrude Stein (at the back of the book) indicate not only a born writer but a subtle intellect as well. During this time he participated in drug experiments and flung himself headlong into hedonism before finally recognizing that way as a dead end. And here begins his real story.To make it short: he connected up first with an Asian imports store owner and kundalini yoga master named Albert Rudolph (aka "Rudi"), through whom he was introduced to Swami Muktananda. Under Muktananda's tutelage Jones came into his own--and then left him. Finally, at the Vedanta Society Temple in Hollywood he attained his final realization:"It was as if I had walked through myself. Such a state is perfectly spontaneous. It has no way of watching itself. It has no way to internalize or structure itself. It is Divine madness. The Self, the Heart is perfect madness. There is not a jot of form within it. There is no thing. No thing has happened. There is not a single movement in consciousness. And that is its blissfulness" (26).Jones made his career afterwards as a guru and self-proclaimed Avatar. He self-published on a massive scale, made the evening news with sex scandals, got fatter and fatter, and finished his days hiding out on a private Fijian island with a gaggle of flunkies, er...I mean groupies. Finally, the rock star lifestyle caught up with him and he died of a massive heart attack at the oh-so-appropriate age of 69.Those are the general biographical details. But what makes the story particularly compelling is the man's bona fide yogic energy--his shakti--and his often brilliant insights into the contemplative life. Franklin Jones was amoral. He was a narcissist and megalomaniac, a wife batterer, sexual pervert and drug addict. He was even, perhaps, delusional and psychotic. But he was not a fraud; he was too brilliant to need to fake. Meaning, I have no doubt he was a natural born spiritual genius, though often malevolent, abusive and manipulative as the worst cult leader can be. (He learned much of his art from Scientology, after all.) Meaning, while you would never want to join his club, reading his books, especially their earliest editions, may not be a bad idea. His entire lineage--that of the Kashmiri siddhas--has much to teach and is filled with fascinating characters. In addition to the aforementioned Rudi and Muktananda is the greatest of them all, Bhagwan Nityananda.So, let this rough cut biography be a starter for you. You can learn something from rogues as well as saints, so why not a rogue saint? This story points out how sublime and how horrific the human situation really can be; we are all, in our own little ways, Franklin Jones.