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| Viewing Page 1 of 1 (Total Posts: 2) |
| Author | Comment |
Tommy
Apr 14, 06 - 11:07 PM |
Freejohn
On page 152 of Principles of Effortless Power, in the interview recorded in 1978, Peter makes mention of someone or seomething called Freejohn in the sentence: "If you look at Tibetan spirituality, apparent violence is very much a part of it. I like some of the things they say, just like I like Freejohn. He's very straight. There's no avoidance of any kind of relationship. Whether it looks like it is violent, whether it looks like it is loving, whatever." Tibetan spirituality, buddhist or shamanistic is easy to find but Freejohn is more allusive. However I found the following and wonder if this is who Peter refers to? '''Adi Da''' (born Franklin Jones, 1939) is a modern religious guru and the founder of a new religious movement. He has also at various times taken the names '''Bubba Freejohn''', '''Da Freejohn''', '''Da Lovananda''' and '''Da Kalki'''. (see section on names changes below) Jones was raised in Brooklyn, New York and attended Columbia University, where he received a degree in philosophy. In the 1968, Jones became a disciple of Swami Muktananda, a controversial Indian guru. Jones broke with Muktananda after a meeting in 1973  and founded his own group at approximately the same time. Some of Adi Da's teachings are novel, while others are derived from Hinduism, Buddhism, and arguably from Scientology. His claims about himself are dramatic, even by the standards of independent gurus. For instance, Adi Da asserts that he is the unique incarnation of God. He further argues that there are seven levels or stages of emotional and spiritual growth, the seventh stage being complete enlightenment, and that he is the only being in the universe to have reached the seventh stage. Indeed, reaching the seventh stage was not possible until his incarnation and no being can reach it without his grace. Adi Da's authorized biography is entitled ''The Promised God-Man is Here'' (2003). The movement Adi Da founded is now known as Adidam or less formally as Daism; it was previously called the Dawn Horse Communion and the Johannine Daist Communion. It has been the target of allegations by journalists and anti-cult activists, who charge that the organization engages in typical cult-like behavior. Specific allegations have included milieu control, severe emotional manipulation, financial exploitation, casual violence, and sexual abuse of members. Since 1986, partly in response to these scandals, Adi Da has lived in near seclusion on a private island near Fiji, at one time having nine wives. He travels on rare occasions but mostly involves himself personally with a small group of close disciples, including a few female attendants. ==Name changes== Adi Da is noted for his frequent name changes in the past. As a student of Muktananda, he was given the name Dhyananda. Upon becoming an independent teacher, Jones dubbed himself Bubba Free John, "bubba" being a colloquialism for "brother" and "Free John" a loose translation of "Franklin Jones". In 1979, he began calling himself Da Free John, "Da" meaning approximately "giver". From 1986 to 1990, he was known primarily as Da Love-Ananda, "Ananda" meaning "bliss". From 1990 to 1991, he was known as Da Kalki, in reference to the Hindu avatar kalki, and from 1991 to 1994 as Da Avabhasa, "Avabhasa" meaning "brightness". The title his followers currently use for him is the Ruchira Avatar, Adi Da Samraj, literally "the radiant avatar, primordial giver, universal ruler". ==Selected writings== *''The Knee of Listening'' (1972) *''Garbage and the Goddess'' (1974) *''The Paradox of Instruction'' (1977) *''Enlightenment of the Whole Body'' (1979) *''The Dawn Horse Testament of Heart-Master Da Free John'' (1985) *''The Method of the Siddhas: Talks on the Spiritual Technique of the Saviors of Mankind'' (1995) *''Beyond the Cultic Tendency in Religion and Spirituality and in Secular Society'' (2001) *''The Way of Adidam'' (2003) ==External links== *Adidam official website *Profile of Adidam from the Religious Movements Homepage Project *Beezone, an outreach site for Adidam followers *A critical appraisal of Adi Da's philosophy, by Andrew P. Smith *Collection of critical links about Adidam, from Rick Ross *The Strange Case of Franklin Jones, by Scott Lowe *Frank, a critical website by a former Adidam memberRetrieved from "http://bvio.ngic.re.kr/Bvio/index.php?title=Adi_Da" http://bvio.ngic.re.kr/Bvio/index.php/Da_Free_John I cant find much else other than some opinions of him as a guru, cult leader etc.. I wonder if his bad press was after Peter spoke well of him or whether Peter sees through what political correctness has labelled bad? Does anyone know any more about Freejohn, what his ideas are and how they may enlighten our study of openness to relationships? |
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Tommy
Jul 19th, 2006 - 9:42 PM |
Re: Freejohn
i'd like to share that i did ask Peter about freejohn.. he said that the early books are good reads and would recommend them.. ..when i get time! |
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