Money donated to Adidam was treated as if it were Adi Da’s (Da Free John's) own money
Posted by Broken Yogi, a devotee of Adi Da for approximately 30 years
I was involved with Adidam for a good long time, and I knew very well where the
money was going, and knew people who were in charge of where the money went, so
I can say pretty authoritatively that most of the money was spent at Adi Da’s
own direction for Adi Da’s own personal benefit. That wasn’t and isn’t even a
secret. It is openly taught in Adidam that the primary financial responsibility
of every devotee is to “take care of his personal circumstance”, and that as
much as we contributed to that, it was never enough. Yes, there is money that of
course goes to pay for sanctuaries and book production, but again, all of that
is about him, including lavish residences for him, and promotion of him aimed at
gaining new devotees, and especially wealthy new devotees who can become patrons
of his. One could certainly justify this if one wanted to, and many do, but one
can’t deny it.
Yes, people are bound up in money, food, and sex, but the question is, will
tithing large amounts of your income actually free you from that bondage, or
will it simply enervate and break you, as it has done for many in Adidam? The
question needs to be answered by the individual, of course, but experience is
telling….