Adi Da Attitude Towards Women and Shifts in Contemporary Culture
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by free on Lightmind site
Of all the things Adi Da said about women, one thing in particular rings in my mind, over and over, whenever we have discussions on this topic. Hope you don't mind my chiming in here. I remember him talking about several of the "ladies" in particular. He said that they had been abused and used for their beauty and their sexuality. He talked at length about how women are made objects of sexuality, and demeaned in the process, and often physically abused as a result of the mind-set that governs this kind of behavior. Forgive me if I can't remember his exact words. He gave many talks about this.
It was contemporarily also a popular subject within the educated layers of our society as women tried to move away from conventional roles and relationships. ADFJ often mirrored his discourses on current trends in the greater society.
How ironic it is, then, that this is also his point of view towards women - if we can agree that actions are more telling than words - and if not then we can at least agree that he has often, publicly and privately, been accused of abusing women physically as well as psychologically.
During my incarnation in the group we were taught the 80/20 rule. Or was that 75/25, or 90/10 rule ... I forget. The point was that men had the greater responsibility, and were responsible for their wives' understanding, practice, and just about everything else. Women were taught that they had to be submissive. They were schooled in how to be feminine or truly submissive, because this attitude was also necessary to their spiritual growth. Men were told how to get their wives in line. Women were told how to yield. Men were told to slap their women around. Women were asked what they had understood.
Then, as now, we often wore underwear for evening attire - the men in their lo-cut briefs, the women in lingerie - at least at the beginning of the evening. The wives were often seen dressed in expensive nightgowns walking around the grounds of the sanctuary. He often just wore briefs.
He got massages, we all knew that. It was understood that they often involved sex and that he often invited one or more of his trusted male friends.
Overall, there was an atmosphere of lust in every area of the community. Even the children picked up on this. There was a big scandal when a group of children had a "party". One little boy put his penis in the vagina of a little girl. Apparently he did have an erection. I don't remember whether they were 3 or 6, but they were really young. And they clearly knew what they were doing.
I've heard some say that what I have described was the point of the teaching demonstration. That in order to understand and transcend ordinary life we had to live it intensely. So sex and drugs were given free reign.
At one party on the sanctuary there was group sex. Women took turns lying side by side on a bed while the men took turn copulating with them, one after the other. In the other room, men and women were sitting around in various states of undress, doing variously stimulating things with one another. It was a great party! Still one of the highlights of my youth.
Nobody thought about venereal disease in those days. Not until it appeared in our midst, at least. So we all marched into the free clinic and got a shot. En masse. With ADFJ sitting in the front row, all bright smiles, bright colors, in sunglasses and a hat, surrounded by a large group of extraordinarily beautiful women. Given what was going on in San Francisco those days, this hardly seemed at all out of the ordinary.
Okay, so even if we grant that this was a teaching demonstration, why hasn't it stopped? In 25 or so years how many times has he ended this teaching demonstration only to take it up again? Many more times in secret than for the entire community, I guarantee you. As a matter of fact - I wonder if any of this would be in their tax records - the organization continued to spend many thousands of dollars on liquor, cigarettes, and fine food (for the guru's table) for many years after the so-called teaching demonstration was supposed to have ended. Donations were requested for fine lingerie, jewelry, and makeup for the ladies, all acquired with the greatest of urgency! And so on and so on.
And now we are to understand that he wants women to be strong, to have their own names, etc. Also a very trendy mirror to greater society, where abuse of women is becoming more of a cultural and legal issue. I can't help but wonder, though, if he's given up beating his wives, yet, or inciting other men of his intimate circle to do so.
I also would love to know how those kids turned out. If anyone knows them, I'd sure love to know that they aren't all screwed up.
Best,
Free