In 1985-6, Adi Da was exposed as fundamentally weak and fearful when faced with a conflict that did not involve sycophantic followers. His "Divine Emergence" was really more like a very human and fearful breakdown and collapse.
posted to Shambhala Ken Wilber Forum in 1999
Posted by former devotee to Shambhala Ken Wilber Forum in 1999
Some former members still seem to think of Adi Da as a superhuman being, even if a fallen one. But this is just a result of the residual cultic mindset that they have yet to penetrate, a continuing artifact of their years of immersion in all kinds of nonsense they’ve been led to believe about a very human individual named Franklin Jones. If you look at the evidence, Adi Da is very much like the Wizard of Oz, more image than substance, a man who has been built up by himself and the inner circle using mythology, smoke and mirrors.
Adi Da has kept himself insulated from non-devotees for virtually the entire time he has been a spiritual teacher. However, in 1985 and 1986 the outside world turned the spotlight on him and he was finally confronted with feedback other than just the fawning devotion from his sycophants. Here are some of the events that occurred immediately following the time when former devotees, including close friends of his, wanted to meet with Adi Da personally to discuss their grievances:
1. It has been confirmed that Adi Da personally knew about the requests of former devotees to meet and discuss their concerns in late January 1985, prior to all of the media exposure that occurred. His wife Elizabeth Brown got all the details for him from Neil Lupa. He had every opportunity to work things out privately with his former devotees, avoiding all media exposure and legal actions, yet he ran and hid. Adidam’s own books indicate that Adi Da went into seclusion and hid from the dissidents, rather than responding to their invitation to talk things out. What kind of "World Teacher" is this? He claims to have stopped the Gulf War, yet he couldn’t work out his personal differences with a group of his friends? Wonder if he asked himself, "avoiding relationship"? :-) (see Adidam’s own books for descriptions of Adi Da's fearful retreat into seclusion and the total breakdown he went through: “The Promised God Man is Here,” by Carolyn Lee or “The Divine Emergence” by Saniel Bonder)
2. He stayed in seclusion, more or less, for 9 months, rather than participate at all in any defense of himself or any refutation of the allegations against them. A passive, weak response of a frightened man. All he did was hide out and whine and blame his devotees for everything that was happening. He made THEM fight HIS battles. What kind of leadership qualities does this demonstrate? It goes without saying that most people would probably believe that silence in the face of accusations like these is a likely sign of guilt, and in Adi Da’s case this is surely a wise assumption.
3. When he came out of seclusion in late 1985, he was still in a state of despair, and in early 1986 he said he felt like he had failed and wanted to die. What kind of strength does this show? He had a total breakdown at this point. He cracked. Even as protected as he was, behind an army of supporters who handled everything for him, and absent any personal involvement whatsoever in the dispute with ex-devotees, he fell apart. Of course, as he has done throughout his life, Adi Da predictably proclaimed his breakdown a "Divine Emergence," turning it into an event of grand cosmic significance and profound spiritual importance for himself and the entire world.
4. After this, he went on a long fast and a "Yajna of Penance". Penance for what, you ask? Well, maybe he felt guilty about the mess he'd made of his "teaching work" and the damage he'd caused in so many people's lives. You don’t do penance unless you’ve done something wrong. And he surely had. His general mood at the time, and the way he describes what he was up to, make it seem to me like he went into a kind of "self-punishment" mode for a while. I truly think that Frank goes through phases where he knows he has abused himself and others and gets scared he has pushed things too far, and as a result becomes ascetic and other-worldly. Eventually that mood passes and he swings back into a state where he’s drunk on his own delusions of grandeur and its back to business as usual. This cycle of extremes has been going on for almost 30 years now.
5. When confronted with the possibility he was going to be served with a lawsuit in mid-'86, he passed up some planned visits to seed communities and fled the country, staying on the run and out of touch for months in Europe and elsewhere.
How do these events fit in with the notion that Adi Da is some kind of strong, super tough and invincible character? Well, they don't. His profound underlying weakness and fear of the world outside his community is covered over quite well when he's playing "cult leader" and surrounded by emasculated guys whose wives he's buggered, etc. But when faced with the real world or real accountability for his actions, he is weak and fearful.
A man who avoids all adversaries becomes a weak man.