Adi Da

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Adi Da : biography

November 3, 1939 – November 27, 2008

Lowe and others have also criticized Adi Da’s claims toward the exclusivity of his realization. In part, critics point to his earlier message strongly rejecting the necessity for any religious authority or belief, due to "enlightenment" being every individual’s natural condition.Gallagher…"Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America," Vol IV, pp.98–99Lowe, Scott and Lane, David. (1996) "DA: The Strange Case of Franklin Jones". Mt. San Antonio College Philosophy Group, p.23

Adi Da heavily edited subsequent editions of his books, for which they have been criticized as auto-hagiography and self-mythology.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…""Da: The Strange Case of Franklin Jones", by Scott Lowe and David Lane, Walnut CA: Mt. San Antonio College, 1996.

University of Southern California religion 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."Ellwood, Robert. (1997)"Nova Religio" book review of "DA: The Strange Case of Franklin Jones", October 1997, Vol. 1, No. 1, Pages 153–153

Endorsements

In a foreword to the 2004 edition of Adi Da’s autobiography The Knee Of Listening, religious scholar Jeffrey Kripal described Adi Da’s total corpus as being "the most doctrinally thorough, the most philosophically sophisticated, the most culturally challenging, and the most creatively original literature currently available in the English language."

Psychiatrist Gabriel Cousens wrote an endorsement for Adi Da’s biography The Promised God-Man Is Here, saying, "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.

Psychiatrist Elizabeth Kübler-Ross wrote an endorsement for Adi Da’s book Easy Death, referring to it as a "masterpiece".

Biography

Youth (1939–70)

In 1973, Adi Da began to use more unconventional means of instruction he called "crazy wisdom", likening his methods to a tradition of yogic adepts who employed seemingly un-spiritual methods to awaken observer’s consciousness.The Yoga Tradition: Its History, Literature, Philosophy and Practice By Georg Feuerstein; p25 Some followers reported having profound metaphysical experiences in Adi Da’s presence, attributing these phenomena to his spiritual power.Feuerstein, "Holy Madness," (1992) p.84 "(students) 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" Others present remained skeptical, witnessing nothing supernatural."Not only had I seen nothing out of the ordinary, but no one within my earshot had mentioned anything at all about the miracle at the very time it was supposedly happening…It slowly emerged that I was not alone in missing this miracle; my skeptical cohorts on the community’s fringe were similarly in the dark. Within several days, we were drawn aside, individually, for somber meetings with the ashram authorities in which we were told that it had been a mistake to accept us into the community without testing."

Adi Da said that this behavior was part of a radical overturning of all conventional moral values and social contractsFeuerstein, "Holy Madness," 1992, p. 84-86; p.89Free 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." in order to help shock students into insights regarding habitual patterns and emotional attachments so that they could more completely surrender to him and the community.Feuerstein, "Holy Madness," 2006, p. 157Feuerstein, Georg (1996), Holy Madness: The Dangerous and Disillusioning Example of Da Free John, What Is Enlightenment? Issue 9Molly Colin, Peter Seidman, and Tony Lewis, "Defectors voice several charges" Mill Valley Record/April 3, 1985Neary, Walt,Inner Circle Privy to Parties, Lake County Record Bee, April 12, 1985 Conventional marriage received Adi Da’s particular criticism, and many couples were forced to split up or switch partners.Bubba Free John, "Garbage and the Goddess" (Lower Lake, CA: Dawn Horse Press, 1974), pp. 16, 31.Feuerstein, "Holy Madness," (1992) p.84…Gurdjieff Journal: "In particular, Bubba attacked the “cult of pairs” and notions of marriage in particular, which he said only serves the seeking and separateness which at root are the denial of the Divinity of the simple here and now…Bubba first told them: "The instant you marry, you must discard it. Otherwise marriage is another cultic form, a sex contract, in which you become medievally involved with personality forms, making yourself strategically unavailable to the rest of life, and again mutually create the sensation of separate existence, including “poor me” or “fantastic me.”… The cult of marriage is a principal obstacle in the affair of the spiritual Community…" .