I had written about the daughter of Deep Throat (Mark Felt) here and two people left comments that deserve a closer inspection.
In my post, I looked at Rick Ross's websites entry on Franklin Jones. He is now called Adi Da Samraj and lives quite the life (private island in Fiji, nine wives, the best of food and drink) while his followers live in almost poverty so as to keep sending him money.
Great photo -- I am reminded of a horribly spoiled and self-indulgent five year old boy.
Click for full-size Image
Click for full-size Image
Do not lock yourself into circumstances that are non-productive. Create arrangements that support your individual and collective responsibility for money and for your support of [Adidam Samrajashram, Adidam], and the community organization. Do this maximally and collectively. Such responsibility is a most serious and real dimension of your Spiritual commitment. Understand your responsibility in these terms, and never violate it. Uphold these financial agreements as a sacred commitment. They are a clear sign of your devotional surrender to Me.And the Money? Sit down and brace yourselves:
All Adidam members are required by their vow to Sri Adi Da to pay tithes & fees:They then list these other "Optional Pledges"
Payments for Sacred Purposes @ 15% of Gross Income
Congregational Services Fee: $10/month.
Wisdom Express Fee: subscription to the newly published Teaching Word -about $25/month.
Regional Fee to pay the regional expenses: $55/month.
Samrajya Fee: $108 annual fee due each July.
Optional Pledges:And if you do not pay, they have varying levels of penalties for starting at two months delinquent -- here is what happens if you are three months late:
- Yajna Pledge
- Sacred Development Fee (formerly the Avadhoot Fund)
- Other Outstanding Pledges (e.g. Auctions)
- Gifting and Fundraising: Funds must come from excess and cannot jeopardize tithe and fee obligations.
3 months behind: If you fall 3 months (90 days) behind, you will be required to have a cultural consideration and to make a new agreement about immediate resumption of payments. If the new agreement is not kept, you will be put "on hold". "On hold" means you are restricted from access to the Sanctuaries as well as from participation in Darshan occasions, celebrations, Guruvara, parish, and other community events. However, the "on hold" status does not relieve you of your cultural responsibilities (including financial).Christ on a Corn Dog -- if ANY main-stream church had these financial requirements, there would be such a public outcry. If a priest or minister excommunicated a parishioner for not paying for three months, they would be removed from office. (Not being given Darshan is essentially the same as not being able to take a sacrament and/or receive teachings.) My first wife was very spiritual and we were involved in the Sufi tradition for some years. Islamic based but truly a Religion of Peace -- wonderful people. One thing that I really liked is that they had some of the world Sufi teachers coming through the Northwest for Darshan and teachings and although there were fees to attend, they were never exorbitant and if you were unable to pay, there were options to work, a few scholarships and no one complained if you only contributed a few $$$ if that was all you were able to pay. The fees charged by these teachers were not that much more than their transportation and lodging expenses -- they were operating from a pure desire to spread the word and teach people. The fact that Adi Da is so money-grubbing and lives in such luxury tips his spiritual practice over the edge and lands it squarely in Cult land.
I know more about these people than anybody in the United States of America. They're pathetic. The first one they sell out is themselves. They're suicidal.
Don't forget to list all of Adi Da's spiritual qualifications too, tony. That letter alone from Muktananda must be worth, what, 5% of my income? And how lucky (or is that Spiritually Qualified?) I feel to have crossed paths with The Most Enlightened Being In All The Universes: that's another 5%, I guess. And then Ken Wilber's blurbs on the books are another couple percent, for sure, even if he's never actually been a "formally practicing devotee" himself. So eventually it all adds up.
Don't forget to list all of Adi Da's spiritual qualifications too, tony. That letter alone from Muktananda must be worth, what, 5% of my income? And how lucky I (or is that Spiritually Qualified?) I feel to have crossed paths with The Most Enlightened Being In All The Universes: that's another 5%, I guess. And then Ken Wilber's blurbs on the books are another couple percent, for sure, even if he's never actually been a student. So eventually it all adds up.
I know for a fact that there is nobody in Adidam who actually does all that.
Adidam is very schizophrenic internally. There are students who live a pretty normal life, sort of like Mormon Buddhists (if you can imagine that). Then there is the guy on the Island and his retinue. They act like a royal family, complete with internal feuding, princesses on the prowl and embezzling viziers.
Ho ho. Adidam does do one thing, that's for sure. Nobody else in the world can throw parties like they can. I kid you not. A good Adidam party? It's almost worth putting up with everything else.
Dotty bunch, but pretty harmless.
You can own 'nothing' and still benefit from 'everything' as the leader of a cult. That is sadly the game Da or rather Franklin Jones is playing. If you read his bio The Knee Of Listening (at least the one that was originally published before the numerous edits and revisions in other editions) you see that Da trained in Scientology before getting into the whole Guru business. His organisation is indeed a sick reflection of a typical cultic, slavish mentality looking for cash-cow disciples. Indeed, he is a total fraud living-off the money, time, effort and even literally the blood (check the record on blood sales that most certainly took place) of his devotees.
IMO Da is less awakened than the worst kind of exploiter that you find in the dingiest of holes. He is listed on all the foremost Cultic abuse websites, and his teaching is little more than 2001 reasons why you should give your life and your possessions to him.
Why don't you put a photo of yourself on your blog and list under it all your qualifications re: spiritually?
Why don't you comment on your own limitations instead of muck raking about things you know almost nothing about.
Th statements you have made about Sri Adi Da are untrue, hearsay and I assure you to put it bluntly, ignorant.
Sri Adi Da owns nothing, He is a renunciate.