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To: alt.magick.tyagi,alt.consciousness.mysticism,alt.zen,alt.meditation,alt.meditation.shabda
From: thistruth999@yahoo.com (ThisTruth)
Subject: The Scandals of Adi Da Samraj
Date: 22 Dec 2001 15:29:09 -0800

Twisted Examples of "Crazy Wisdom" From Adi Da's Fantasy World
originally posted by “Connie” on the Daism Forum

Many of the published accounts and other documents referenced below
can be found online at
http://lightmind.com/library/daismfiles/

The following list of events represents a very small sampling of the
questionable "crazy wisdom" activities of guru Adi Da, aka Franklin
Jones, Bubba Free John, Da Free John, Da Love-Ananda, Da Kalki, Da
Avabhasa, Ruchira Avatar Adi Da Samraj, etc. These are just the "tip
of the iceberg" when it comes to describing the insanity he has
created. On the other hand, these questionable events and examples of
abusive behavior do not represent the full range of Adi Da's
personality. Like anyone else, his intentions and actions are all over
the board, good and bad, up and down, by whatever measure one wants to
use. He is not a diabolical and systematic tyrant who is only out to
hurt people. Rather, what fundamentally drives and characterizes Adi
Da is (1) the agressive pursuit of the fulfillment of his every
personal impulse and desire, regardless of the cost to others, and (2)
the obsessive ongoing creation and embellishment of the myth of the
Adi Da icon, so that he (as a created idol) will be worshipped and
adored by everyone (including himself) as the greatest being in the
world, and so that he will also have the power to control and to save
everyone and everything in the world.

The fulfilment of these fundamental drives obviously involves and
requires other people to accomplish them.

Unfortunately, those other people end up getting used and abused in
the process.

The events here were made known during the "dissident" period of the
mid-1980's by a group of disaffected former members, whose names
appear below each event, along with the newspaper or TV show, if any,
where the statement was made. Obviously, these accounts are very
brief, and no doubt are imperfect descriptions of what happened. Much
here could be amplified or corrected, and hopefully will be over time.
However, an undeniable pattern emerges here from the many different
sources quoted.

Adi Da takes advantage of those around him who grant him their consent
to be exploited because they believe that every act of his is done for
their spiritual benefit and enlightenment. Any consent given by those
who participated in all of this was tainted by the fact that they
thought they were dealing with God Incarnate, and that any refusal of
his requests and demands was by definition a failure to engage the
spiritual process.

Let's take a look at some of the details:

One woman, D.G., had been sexually abused as a child, and the
experience left her with deep emotional wounds. Allegedly in order to
cure her of her anxieties, Adi Da commanded her to perform oral sex on
a line of three men, one after the other, and then he himself had sex
with her and sent her off. D.G. felt hysterical and full of duress
during the acts and after it was all over. She ended up wandering
alone out into a parking lot where she found an open car to go into
and cried herself to sleep. This traumatic event upset her for many
years.
(Mill Valley Record 4/10/85, S.F.Chronicle 4/9/85, Lake Co. Record Bee
4/11/85, and conversations with D.G. in 1985).

It was common knowledge in Adi Da's community that Adi Da had on a
number of occasions beaten his wife N. At one raucous party, Adi Da
pulled a chunk of hair from her head and bruised her face, giving her
a black eye. He also threw her down a flight of stairs during a fight,
causing bruising and injury.
(seen by Jackie Catalfo and others, reported in Mill Valley Record
4/3/85, SF Chronicle 4/4/85).

Adi Da has had sex with possibly 100 or many more women (who knows
exactly?) since he assumed the role of guru. Some of these were
teenaged girls, and many others were very young adults. These girls
had come seeking spiritual truth and guidance, and many gave
themselves to him in the context that he was God and his commands
should be followed absolutely even if they involved sex with him.
There are real issues here about the basis for any "consent" that may
have been given by those involved. Many of the women were married or
in committed relationships to other devotees when Adi Da took them
sexually. If their husbands felt bad about this, they were told that
jealousy and anger were egoic reactions that must be surrendered to
the guru. Adi Da's sexual escapades were common knowledge in the early
days, but even after he purportedly gave up this type of "teaching"
after the mid-70's, his sexual promiscuity continued for many years
and was hidden from everyone but his inner circle. Much of the sex, at
least as described by a number of the women, was anything but tantric,
nor could it be considered particularly loving in the ordinary human
sense. Certainly, many times it was a drugged and drunken "wham, bam,
thank you, mam" performance, after which the women were dumped off
like the day's dirty laundry.
(These facts were confirmed by many in various articles and TV shows,
conversations with Jackie Catalfo, Miller, Lucania, and others.
Eventually in 1985 Adi Da's group admitted his continued sexual
promiscuity).

Adi Da gave herpes to a significant number of women, so many that it
cannot be claimed to be merely an innocent accident or mistake. One
must admit he was reckless and negligent at a minimum, because he knew
he had active lesions and was contagious, yet infected women anyway.
Beyond mere negligence however, he was surely sick and deranged as
well because he has claimed he gave others the disease for their
spiritual benefit. He told one teenaged girl in the mid-70's, J.K,
(and perhaps others) that he gave her herpes as "prasad (a divine
gift) from the Guru to help her work out her bad cunt karma."
(On the Today Show "Mary" says Adi Da gave her herpes. M. Miller on
Ch. 7, and in conversations in 1985 re: his and Adi Da's mutual
ex-"wife" J.K.).

Adi Da many times would "divorce" or "marry" different couples at his
discretion and according to his whims, frequently against the
interests of the parties involved. On one single occasion he married
30 or more couples, and then had his lieutenants go around to make
sure the "marriages" were consummated as per his commands. He also
broke up many couples, sometimes en masse so that the women could be
"tried out" by him and his close buddies in order to audition them and
see who was fit to become Adi Da's wives.
(numerous articles include: Lake Co. Record Bee 4/11/85 and Andrew
Parker legal declaration, as well as in Adi Da’s book
“Garbage and the Goddess” (written under the name
“Bubba Free John”), and per conversations with Jackie
Catalfo and Sal Lucania, 1985).

Adi Da "married" 14 women on New Years Eve, 1976, and over time has
had varying numbers of "wives," including September 1976 Playboy
Centerfold Julie Anderson. Most of his "wives" have been cycled
through and cast off over time. Many or most of the "wives" Adi Da
acquired for himself were married or in serious committed
relationships with other men, and had come to Adi Da's community to be
disciples "as a couple". Adi Da would tell the women to leave their
husbands or boyfriends and become his sexual partners as a form of
spiritual service to him, while telling the men it was their spiritual
duty to surrender their mates to him.
(Lake Co. Record Bee 4/11/85, M. Miller lawsuit and numerous TV shows,
conversations with S. Lucania and numerous others in 1985).

Throughout the years, Adi Da was fond of orchestrating group sexual
events that he could either participate in, or which he could watch
while masturbating or perhaps receiving oral sex. The events were a
form of entertainment for Adi Da that at times involved humiliating or
demeaning those involved, allegedly as a form of spiritual instruction
for them. At his Fiji "hermitage", Adi Da has often required that
devotees perform various odd sex acts at his request, including the
requirement to urinate or defecate on their sexual partners or perform
anal sex. He has required heterosexuals to participate in homosexual
orgies for his viewing pleasure and self-gratification in Fiji and
Hawaii. He has commanded a devotee to defecate on a glass table and
made another person get under the table to watch. Adi Da has also been
observed to have his wives urinate on him in front of other people.
Adi Da's continuing obsession with these kinds of activities, which
were often things that the people who were required to do them had
absolutely no interest in doing, or which they were disgusted by,
hardly seem to be a form of "spiritual teaching." They seem to be
nothing other than a reflection of Adi Da's own fetishes. It is
interesting to note that Adi Da teaches that fetishism, obsessive
eroticism, and masturbation are the reflection of ego-based,
unenlightened, self-possessed sexuality. In the sexual arena, as in
many other areas of life, Adi Da's life in the antithesis of his
teachings.
(Beverly O'Mahony, Today Show and 1985 conversations about her Fiji
observations. Sal Lucania, Heather and Neil Lupa, and Jackie Catalfo
also confirmed this in 1985 conversations).

On one occasion of Adi Da's then-nightly sex entertainment theater in
the early 80's, he had a number of couples hanging around and partying
with him. He sent away all the men to go watch a movie at another
location. Then Jones decided that he wanted the women to perform
certain acts for him so he could get off. He gave blow by blow
directions for a woman, H., to have a dildo thrust into her repeatedly
with such force as to cause her internal damage, as three women held
her down. As a result she had to seek medical treatment, as well as
continuing therapy for some time afterward.
(This woman, H. was interviewed and reported this on AM San Francisco
TV Show, Mill Valley Record 4/3/85, SF Chronicle 4/4/85).

Adi Da has forced members to participate in pornographic movies to
suit his every voyeuristic interest, or on other occasions would
actually participate himself, depending on the occasion. Often those
forced to participate were unwilling and uninterested in doing so.
Some were threatened and/or coerced into performing, and many women
came out of the experience deeply upset, crying, and humiliated.
(Mill Valley Record, April 3, 1985, plus a number of articles quote
several people saying this, as well as devotee interviewed on The
Today Show).

Sal Lucania pulled Adi Da off the top of a prostrate 16-year-old he
was humping. Adi Da claimed he didn't penetrate her, but Sal says this
is ridiculous and refutes this.
(Lake Co. Record Bee, 4/11/85 and conversations with Sal Lucania
1985).

In Fiji, Adi Da noticed that a woman had bruises on her face, and he
asked her husband, "do you enjoy beating your wife?" The husband
responded, "well ­­ as a matter of fact I do." Adi Da said, "well,
whatever turns you on!" Adi Da was often known to claim that women
needed to be beaten from time to time, and that while men learned from
philosophical discourse and conversation, women learned from "theater"
or "incidents" (e.g. from actual events). Men throughout Adi Da's
group repeated this with pride. Apparently, beatings were one type of
"theater" women could learn from. This Fiji incident is consistent
with many other occasions over a period of years where Adi Da would
espouse the need for women to be hit or kept in line. Many men in his
community used this teaching of Adi Da's as a justification to beat
their wives and girlfriends.
(Beverly O'Mahony who observed Fiji event, and M. Miller, S. Lucania
in 1985 described many occasions where Adi Da condoned hitting women).

Adi Da has required that his followers observe a strict vegetarian
diet and that they abstain from alcohol, drugs, sugar, and cigarettes.
He asserts in his writings that this dietary discipline reflects a
natural impulse towards balance that is reflective of the enlightened
disposition, such as his own, allegedly. He has also said that as
people mature in spiritual practice they transition to a very minimal
diet, consisting of mostly raw fruits and vegetables. He has even said
that in some rare cases spiritually mature people can live on breath
alone. During a few historical periods, and on a few occasions per
year, Adi Da's strict dietary rules were lifted for students, but
mostly they were expected to keep a strict discipline. However, for at
least the first 15 years of his teaching work (the editor is
unfamiliar with more recent times), Adi Da himself indulged in
profoundly excessive drug usage and alcohol consumption, cigarette
smoking, caviar, meat, and exotic and junk food eating on a fairly
consistent basis for most of the period in question. Periodically, he
would alternate with periods of exaggerated austerity, fasting or
eating mainly raw fruits and vegetables. After a short time he always
"fell off the wagon" and starting breaking the dietary disciplines,
and was partying again before too long. His pattern of indulgence and
bingeing, followed by strict dieting and abstinence is so very common
in substance abusers. Adi Da's continuing inability to live the
disciplines he required of others was hidden from his followers by Adi
Da and his inner circle. For example, Heather Lupa would secretly
bring him entire chocolate cakes to his room to binge on during a time
when he claimed to be living on only raw fruits and vegetables. This
was hidden from even most of those in the inner circle. Adi Da claims
his bulging belly, displayed in so many photographs, extends
grotesquely due to the huge amount of "life force" being conducted
through his "vital center" in the stomach.
(Mill Valley Record April 3, 1985, attested to in numerous articles
and attested to by Miller, Kahn, Masters, Bev O'Mahony, the Lupa's and
others).

In Adi Da's books he criticizes and denounces drug usage, and forbids
the use of drugs by devotees. However, in actual practice he
consistently used drugs himself over the years. He used and abused
drugs such as marijuana, hashish, peyote, psilocybin, nitrous oxide,
exotic hallucinogens such as ketamine, and especially, amyl nitrate
("Rush"). He often used these drugs to great excess. This didn't just
occur during the "teaching lessons" of the mid-70's as Adi Da and his
group have often claimed. This drug abuse continued at least into the
mid-1980's. Beyond that time the author has no information. Adi Da's
obsessive use of Rush during sex is particularly interesting in light
of the fact that he claims to have mastered tantric yoga and the
conservation of orgasm, and teaches that practice. Why should someone
who teaches that sex should not be engaged as a way to "throw off the
life force" through orgasm be a Rush abuser. Rush is a vasodilator
that is used to increase erection strength and intensify orgasm. Also,
if Adi Da has mastered kundalini yoga and has fully awakened the
internal nadis and psychic and subtle body mechanisms, why does he
continue to need all these drugs to stimulate himself? If he believes
there is something positive about drug use, why does he teach against
it and then hide his usage from people? As usual, we see a lot of
contradictions here.
(outlined in many 1985 newspaper articles, in conversations, and on
the Today Show, by Pico Panico, Sal Lucania, Miller, Catalfo, Lupa,
others).

Adi Da spends tax-exempt money on travel, properties, and
extravagances to suit his every whim. He lives like a king and enjoys
total freedom from any kind of financial obligations, since
technically he owns nothing. All the money he controls is in a
"religious" corporation and in a number of other trusts that have been
set up for him. His followers provide him with everything he asks for.
December 1984 saw $20,000 in jewelry for his wives go to Fiji. He has
well over $1 million in exotic and Disney art in his possession.
Poverty­stricken devotees with nominal incomes are consistently
badgered into donating their last penny to Adi Da and his
organization. Many go into debt to donate money to support Adi Da and
his entourage.
(per conversationsith devotees in 1985, legal declaration of Padi
Masters, in charge of personal shipments to Adi Da from the mainland;
and see also Mill Valley Record 8/7/85 and SF Examiner 8/4/85).

Adi Da's extravagant spending habits kept his community in a difficult
financial condition for many years. At one time, in order to help
mitigate the financial problems, he required all followers to be
corralled like cattle into a San Francisco skid row blood plasma
donation center to donate twice a week. The money went directly from
the center into the organization's operating budget, i.e. into Adi
Da's pocket by way of paying for his and his wives' living expenses,
travel, gifts and extravagances, etc. Many of the people should not
have been donating plasma twice per week for so long, and had trouble
passing the tests given by the blood center because they were getting
depleted and sick, or experiencing dizziness, etc. However, they were
given large doses of iron and other vitamins so they could continue to
pass the physical and chemical tests so that they could continue to
donate plasma and keep the money coming in.
(see Mill Valley Record 4/3/85).

Adi Da often required that devotees work a number days and nights at a
time without sleep in order to complete the endless barrage of
projects, books and other monuments of self-glorification that he
planned. Periods of overwork often lasted months on end, as people
were stretched beyond the point of fatigue, putting in phenomenal
numbers of hours in addition to working a regular job during the day.
Some were required to commute the 2 1/2 hours each way from San
Francisco to Clearlake after work and then go back before the next
morning almost daily for periods of time to fulfill Adi Da's
unreasonable demands. There was great risk involved with driving the
winding mountain roads to Clearlake, especially when fatigued. It was
only a matter of time before a devotee would be killed "commuting for
Adi Da" (which finally happened when a little boy, Derek, was killed
in an accident). The excessive, never-ending work schedule definitely
helped to keep people so fatigued and occupied that most close
devotees had little time or energy left over to pursue activities or
experience influences outside the sphere of the group.
(conversations with numerous devotees, 1985).

In the early years devotees used to give their entire paycheck
directly to JDC to receive just a few dollars per month spending money
for their own, while Adi Da lived a life of extravagance and partied.
When asked if he ever felt bad about this, Adi Da laughed hysterically
and said he couldn't believe the questioner would care about this.
This story was often proudly repeated by devotees as an illustration
of how Adi Da was free of conventional morality. Clearly he was. He
also said, "why waste your money on the poor, they'll only spend it on
food and shelter." (Sal Lucania reports this conversation with Adi Da,
Miller and many others confirm this story was often repeated).

The pressures and difficulties of maintaining the illusion of godhood
appear to have been too much for Adi Da to handle at times. In 1986,
after a year or two of damaging media attention and the onslaught of
several lawsuits against him, he seems to have experienced some type
of breakdown. He said he could no longer endure the stresses of
teaching, which he blamed on the "abuses" of his devotees as usual. He
said he came to the point of wanting to die. After that, he
experienced numbness in his limbs, body, and spine, had convulsions,
lost consciousness, and says he actually died (not just a "near death
experience") and then came back life. As usual he described this
event, like others, in extremely grandiose and self-serving
mythological ways which purported its great cosmological significance
for all of humanity. The obvious explanation, that he had simply
experienced some type of breakdown or medical problem, was completely
overlooked.
(event described in “The Divine Emergence of the World
Teacher” and elsewhere)

Adi Da and his inner circle withdrew from the U.S. mainland and daily
interaction with the community of followers at large in the late 70's
and early 80's, allegedly to allow Adi Da to live in hermitage. He
said he was now free to abandon the teaching style that had required
him to adopt the degenerative habits and lifestyle of his immature
followers as a teaching demonstration to show them the error in their
ways. He could now "stand free as himself" rather than reflect the
limitations of others. The general members of the community were led
to believe that he was henceforth living as a renunciate in hermitage.
In fact, Adi Da continued to party hard, indulging to excess in
promiscuous sex, drugs, and junk food, but took great care to hide
this from those back on the mainland who were paying for his
extravagant lifestyle.

When Adi Da's indulgent hidden life was exposed in the media in 1985,
he and his hierarchy at first said it was all a lie, but then admitted
the allegations were true and that Adi Da's behavior had been hidden
from general members because they were "not spiritually mature enough
to hear the truth" (in newspaper interviews in April,1985). The excuse
as to why members had been deceived is evidence of the contempt in
which the rank and file members are held by Adi Da and his inner
circle. Additionally, the fact that the deception was systematically
carried out for years is evidence that Adi Da felt he had something to
hide. He knew that his continued inability to live the disciplined
life he required of others would be taken as a sign by many that he
had not transcended his ego as advertised. His habits would be even
harder to explain after he proclaimed he had abandoned his former
teaching method that required him to reflect others' shortcomings to
them. No doubt he worried that financial supporters and peripheral
members who were not sufficiently immersed in his myth might be scared
off, or worse yet, might expose him as a fraud.

Children, including many who were under 10 years old, were provided
with alcohol and encouraged to drink in large quantities during
parties with Adi Da's inner circle and elsewhere in his community.
This occurred on many occasions, and over a period of many years.
(Joe Kahn, Beverly O'Mahoney, NBC Today Show, 1985)

The first time 10 year old Jessica Constantine met Adi Da, he
commanded her to strip naked in front of a large group of adults, also
naked, who were partying. She refused and ran away. Adi Da told some
of his devotees to chase her down, and they brought her back and
forced her to strip, against her will.
(Jessica Constantine, NBC Today Show, 1985)

Like the man says, it is CRAZY wisdom.

All of the philosophy in the world, and the endless excuses of Adi Da
and his devotees cannot explain away the pattern that emerges from
these events.

Adi Da is not who he says he is.