Finding Adi Da
MOST
RECENT ADDITION: Frans Bakker, Alive and Dead at the Same Time.
Many people have found their way to Avatar Adi Da Samraj over the past few decades, both during and after His human lifetime. The stories of how they found Him are moving and often extraordinary, even miraculous. This section contains over fifty stories, that are hopefully representative of the thousands of people who have found Adi Da and received His Blessing.
For
some, while the encounter would not result in their becoming devotees,
it would transform their lives in a profound way. For
example, well-known futurist Barbara
Marx-Hubbard describes how she draws upon the 'Adi Da Frequency'
to help her work in creating a better and more conscious future
for humanity. Robert
Hall, co-founder of the Lomi School, says that Adi Da's Teaching
has been a source of major support for him in the continuation
of his personal Vipassana meditation practice, and Adi Da has
always represented for him an example of the truly Realized individual.
Paul Muller-Ortega, Professor of
Religion and founder of the Blue Throat Yoga school, writes of
feeling in Adi Da's company "an ancient bond of connection
to him" and after Darshan with Adi Da, there remains "a memory
and an inner feeling of Him that I carry with me daily."
For others, finding Adi Da was the discovery of their Spiritual Master. From black liberation movement veteran Greg Wells, who was also a lifelong spiritual seeker; to Frank (Cheech) Marrero, who was imprisoned at Rikers Island Penitentiary, awaiting trial for a crime he had not committed and a likely sentence of 20 or 30 years, when a miracle occurred — their stories tell how they finally found what their hearts were seeking (whether they knew it or not when they first encountered Adi Da). It was only then that the real adventure — a life dedicated not to seeking for God but to Realizing God (made always presently available through Adi Da) — could begin at last.
How
people find Adi Da reflects who He is. We're
used to stories about human lives that confine themselves to the
familiar laws of nature. But some of the stories below
unfold in a way that suggest Adi Da was already in devotees'
lives, working with them on profound levels, long before they
even knew of Him (in the "normal" way). For example,
Lyn
Hart describes how Adi Da began appearing to her in visions,
long before she knew who He was; Chris
Tong tells how Adi Da literally walked into his life when
he was still a baby, back in the late 1950's. That "supernormal"
manner is exactly how Adi Da describes the way He works. And He
is able to function in that manner because He is the
human incarnation of the Divine Person in whom everything
and everyone is arising:
. . . I have been Meditating everyone throughout all the years of This Divine Avataric physical Lifetime here — and even throughout all time previous to This Divine Avataric physical Lifetime here. In Meditating everyone, I Take On each and every one — to Myself. . . All have been Meditated by Me. All have been Embraced by Me. . . In all times and places, My devotees will appear — Finding Me after I have Already Entered into Perfect Coincidence with them, having Meditated them.
This is how people come to Me to become My devotees, or (otherwise) come to Me for Blessing. They become associated with one or another aspect of My world-Work. It is Prior Meditation. In other words, I Priorly Coincide with everyone and everything, and then Signs emerge. This is how I Work. This is My Divine Avataric Nature Showing Itself in the larger world-picture . . . And this is, in fact, how people end up coming to Me.
The devotional relationship to Me does not begin simply when people formally enter into the gathering of My devotees. My Work begins before people even come into My Divine Avataric Company. Some recognize and know that, and there are rather dramatic signs of it. In other cases, individuals are simply drawn to Me and have nothing in mind to say why, other than they heard about Me and were moved.
It is not just My devotees who are noticing the signs of My world-Blessing-Work. Others also are feeling My Presence and are responding. . . My experience is every one. I Extend out and I Touch you. When My Divine Spiritual Body Extends out, Its Touch Touches every one. Every one has felt My Spiritual Touch, whether they are consciously aware of it or not. I am Touching every one right now.
If you were to lie down and extend your body and touch someone's body, he or she would feel it. Well, I am Extended everywhere like that. I am Experiencing all as My Own Form. . . All is in My View, My Touch-Field. No one is unfamiliar to Me. No one feels as an "other" to Me. All is in My Sphere. That suggests How I Work.
Life With Adi Da Samraj — Aniello Panico has been a devotee of Avatar Adi Da ever since their first meeting in 1972. Over the years Aniello's primary service to Adi Da's great Work of liberating all beings has been the publication and distribution of Adi Da's books. Aniello left his body on February 3, 2022, at 86 years old. This page commemorates and celebrates his life of devotion to Adi Da Samraj.
Four Luminously Amazing Days — Professor Paul Muller-Ortega Ph.D. is recognized internationally as one of the world's most highly respected and renowned academic scholars in the field of Indian Religion and Hindu Tantra. "I palpably sense an emanating wave moving out from [Adi Da's] body, a wave that forcefully ripples outward through the entire hall. As it does, this wave of his beneficent and now magnified and intensified blessing force catches directly at the heart; it strongly moves the mind; and it powerfully lifts the spirit."
Here's a Teacher Who Can Deal With Me — In these video interviews, James Steinberg talks about his early life up to and including becoming a devotee of Adi Da Samraj.
I Feel the Greatest Devotion to Him — Robert Hall is the co-founder of the Lomi School. "The first time I saw Adi Da was at a Darshan in 1986. That first Darshan was very powerful for me because I experienced a transcendent 'exit' from the body and a meeting with Him outside of the body. It was exhilarating and ecstatic. It happened spontaneously and, for me, it removed any doubt and concern I might have had about His authenticity as a Great Spiritual Realizer. From that time on I became even more interested in His Work."
Finding the Divine in Person and Waking Up From the Dream — Chris Tong's book about how Adi Da found him (when he was a baby) and drew him into relationship with the Divine over the decades that followed, and the many miracles that occurred along the way. Chris describes his adventures with the Devotional Prayer of Changes, a spiritual means Adi Da has given His devotees for making (miraculous) changes in their lives. He tells of his service to the Adidam Mission (from 1989 to the present), and his conversation with Adi Da in 1995 about how the Adidam Mission can reach everyone on the planet. He closes the book with useful lessons he has learned for fruitful practice of the Way of Adidam.
The "Adi Da" Frequency — Well-known futurist, Barbara Marx-Hubbard, describes how she found Adi Da, and how she draws upon the 'Adi Da Frequency' to help her work in creating a better and more conscious future for humanity.
Only the Divine Presence — Alex Grey is one of the foremost visionary artists in the global spiritual counterculture. Here he writes about the profundity of his encounter with Adi Da, and about his subsequent painting of Adi Da.
At The Feet Of The Spiritual Master — Gerald Sheinfeld has been a devotee of Adi Da since the early 1970's. In these video clips, Gerald tells the story of how he found Adi Da, and how he became Adi Da's devotee.
I Will Find You Again and Then You Will Know Me By Name — DL: When it surrounded us, I sensed it as a gigantic dome or sphere extending limitlessly upward. Its light seemed to infuse everything in the area. On top of this was an undeniable Presence of Something or Someone. Someone vast. Fear enveloped both Scamper and me. We began to run like crazy away, from that place. There was a sudden, non-verbal command to STOP!
A Glimpse Of Him In Truth — "I was never fortunate enough to have been a true devotee of a Guru. I was closest to Adi Da. I was an appreciator of Him, and occasionally let into His world by Grace to catch a glimpse of Him in Truth."
He Is God! — Tom Jacobs: "There was a Force like an enormous bolt of electricity entering through the top of my head and pinning me utterly to the ground. I was beside myself, and just ran outside through the snow, up the hill and to Robin's house. I just burst open her front door. She was standing in the kitchen. I yelled: 'He is God!' She looked at me and said: 'yes, I know.'"
God In Person Was Loving Me — Nahshon Nahumi: "Suddenly, there was no limitation, no self-contraction — only Divine Freedom. . . I felt like God in Person was loving me. I tacitly knew that Avatar Adi Da was my Master and had been my Master before all time. His Presence was so familiar and so personal that there was no way I could deny it. I felt liberated from the seeking and dilemma of my life and reunited with my Beloved. And I knew that this moment was the true beginning of my Spiritual life."
"This is Home!" — Daniela Morena: "Suddenly, the room around me dissolved in a bright cloud. There was light everywhere, only light. The boundary of my skin, separating my body from the surrounding environment, was no longer there. My heart skipped a beat from the emotion, as my brain formulated these words: Finally! Finally what I have been longing for! This is Home!"
The Baby on My Shoulder — Margaret Dempsey: "One night, I had a dream. I was standing in my kitchen, looking out to sea, and I had a baby on my shoulder. Because of how the baby was positioned, I couldn't see the baby's face, so I leaned back a little to look — and got the shock of my life when I recognised it as the face of Adi Da when He was a baby."
Alive and Dead at the Same Time — Frans Bakker tells the story of his first encounter with Adi Da: "In that instant, I felt myself drawn into an unfathomable Depth. His Eyes seemed endless, like an Ocean — profound, vast, and beyond comprehension. . .There was no 'person' there, no trace of individuality. These were the Eyes of the One Who had never been born and could never die."
Ice Cream and Divine Distraction — Pamela Bennett: "I turned my gaze away from the frozen yoghurt toward a most unusual image: a Supremely Attractive Being whose photograph graced the book's jacket. . . in an instant, a shift occurred. There was no granite topped counter and wooden stool with music in the background. There was not a shred of bodily awareness whatsoever. There was only a Bright, Radiant Field of Whitest Light, a tiny point of witness, and the most extraordinary, limitless, astonishing feeling of extravagant and limitless Joy."
He Was the Same Divine Presence I Had Contacted Before — Steve Alexander describes how he discovered a Divine Presence in his heart, and how that ultimately led to his devotional relationship with the human form of that Presence: Adi Da.
Finding My Master — David tells the story of recognizing Avatar Adi Da Samraj to be his Spiritual Master. He describes the first time he saw Adi Da. He then tells how he found and became a formal devotee of Adi Da.
Beyond All Doubt — As a child in Jamaica, Donald Webley recalls feeling that there was something lacking, something without which real happiness was not possible. An unexplained experience of Bliss moved him to spiritual practice and eventually to Avatar Adi Da.
Tasting The Moon — Meg McDonnell tells the story of how she found Adi Da, and of her relationship with Him, by reading excerpts from her book, Tasting The Moon: Adventures in the Meaning of Life.
"Let Me Live You. Dissolve In My Current Of Bliss." — Terry Cafferty is an aerospace engineering consultant and has worked for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Terry tells how, even in the midst of a conventionally "successful" life, he became aware of his own inability to truly love, feel, and be in relationship with others. The crisis engendered by this realization ultimately led him to his Spiritual Master, Avatar Adi Da Samraj.
My First Meeting with Adi Da — Dan Sleeth: "I marveled at these eyes, even happy to be amazed! Then a startling realization came. Clearly, he had seen — in fact, was seeing now. The face in the poster seemed to literally come alive. I could feel his presence, a person standing in front of me — looking at me."
I Knew He Was the Divine Being in Human Bodily Form — Catherine Dames: "At a certain point into the video I felt a strange but very pleasant feeling between my eyebrows, as if an electric charge was plugged into that spot. When I looked at the Guru, I felt completely overwhelmed with Joy. His bodily expression of total Happiness and Freedom were such as I had never seen before in any man or woman."
The Heart Hears and Sees the Truth — Kevin Pinkstone: "It was beyond anything that I had ever dreamed possible. I had asked God for a teacher — and He had come Himself!"
A Difficult Beginning — Max Cottrell: "Alongside my dedication to Maharishi and teaching TM, I liked to keep my mind open to study other paths to liberation. . . One summer weekend in London in 1976, I attended a showing of a short movie called Laughter, about the American-born teacher Adi Da Samraj. . . This had a profound effect on me; here was a person who, though born in the West, showed all the signs of complete Divine Enlightenment!"
How Did He Know? — Max Cottrell recounts the beginning of his life as a devotee of Adi Da, in the community of Adi Da's devotees. He tells how he was initiated into the devotional relationship with Adi Da on his birthday, through an ecstatic dream of union with Adi Da and His Divine State.
Coming Home: The Spiritual Odyssey of a Former Clergyman — Tom Williams: "My story is about how I moved from being an ordinary person to someone who was given the greatest gift in the world. This is the story of how I fell in love with God. And I wouldn't trade this life for anything in the world. There's nothing that compares to being in communion, in love with God."
He Is Alive — Lyn Hart, an administrator and businesswoman, tells of being contacted psychically and Instructed by Avatar Adi Da over a period of several years before she had any idea of Who He was or that He was alive in this world.
The Timeless Intrusion — Martin Goulding: "I looked at the picture of Franklin Jones and those words, 'The Radical Teaching of Franklin Jones', over and over. The image and words and the import of them had a sudden impact on me — like a shock — not quite at the level of the conscious mind, more like: whoever that person is, I absolutely need to know more about him and must find and read that book!"
The Book of Light — Trish Mitchell, an Australian radio journalist, bought The Dawn Horse Testament one day, simply because she was "attracted" to the cover. She had no idea what was waiting "inside" that book.
The Fulfillment of My Heart-Longing, and the Fulfillment of an Indian Prophecy — Sonia's story of becoming Adi Da's devotee, discovering genuine Spiritual Transmission and being awakened to the truth of Prior Unity by Avatar Adi Da Samraj.
My First Years with Adi Da — Bill Worden has been a devotee since 1997. "An energy started to descend into me. The energy seemed conscious. It was intelligent. It moved steadily. It wasn't affected by anything I did. It must have taken about thirty seconds to go all the way down my body. It was the most amazing thing to feel. I felt love as I have never experienced it. It was pure love."
"What Have You Been Doing with Your Life?" — In 1972, Wes Vaught worked as a proofreader at CSA Press, in Atlanta, Georgia, the original publisher of Adi Da's autobiography, The Knee Of Listening. After proofreading The Knee Of Listening, he decided to go to California to meet Avatar Adi Da in person. Wes: "I knocked. Adi Da answered the door. . ."
"What Do I Do Now, Since I Have Been Given Everything?" — In 1975, Marvin Carpenter watched an introductory film about Adi Da. At the end of the film, Adi Da looked directly into the camera for a long period of time. Looking into His eyes, Marvin received a heart opening and heart communication he could not explain. He wept, and realized there was nothing more to look for. Adi Da was exactly What he had always been seeking.
How Total Satisfaction Found Me — A highly educated veteran of the black liberation movement, Greg Wells spent years as a spiritual seeker, trying to discover how he could live a fulfilled life. Read Greg's account of how he finally found God in the Person of Adi Da Samraj, and came to understand that Adi Da was the Spiritual Master he had been looking for since he was a small boy.
Another Reality was Unveiled — As someone with an academic career in the humanities, Carolyn Lee was familiar with the highest intellectual and artistic achievements of Western civilization. But she was quite unprepared for what happened in her first meeting with Adi Da Samraj.
He is Here! — After years of searching and practicing world religions, Dennis Coccaro discovered Adi Da Samraj when he heard a radio broadcast-interview which featured some of Adi Da's early devotees. A profound and beautiful relationship to His Spiritual Master ensued.
First Meeting: A Personal Story — After a manic decade of violent seeking, self-indulgence, and confusion, Anthony Costabile stumbled across a book by Avatar Adi Da Samraj. Its discovery led him to an intimate, spiritual meeting that was to change his life forever . . .
The Book Landed on the Floor in Front of My Feet — Anthony Costabile was a young seeker, living in the Denver/Boulder area, and given to browsing spiritual bookshops. As he was browsing in the yoga and spirituality section of one of those shops, Adi Da's Knee Of Listening suddenly "fell" off the shelf, landed on the floor in front of his feet, and changed his life.
The "Bright" in the Darkness: How Adi Da Found Me — In 1967, Frank (Cheech) Marrero was imprisoned at Rikers Island Penitentiary, awaiting trial for a crime he had not committed. At a plea bargaining session, he was told that if he pled guilty, he would receive "only" 20 or 30 years, instead of life without parole. Cheech was at the lowest point of his life. He decided to end it all. Just as he was about to do it, a miracle occurred.
"Where Have You Been???" — Patrick Mahoney, a former nuclear reactor engineer and professor of Physics, describes the process and ordeal he went through leading up to his first meeting with Avatar Adi Da Samraj in 1975. For Patrick, it was Avatar Adi Da's Humor that first caught his attention.
I Realized That I Was "Playing for God" — In the early 1980s, Bill Somers had already realized what he had held to be his life's ambition: to be principal clarinetist in a symphony orchestra. But this accomplishment was not enough for Bill, after all; his heart was not satisfied. And that was a good place to be! It led him to his Spiritual Master.
An Immense Burden Had Been Lifted from Me — Toni Vidor (daughter of renowned movie director King Vidor) tells how she met Adi Da for the first time, and of the impact of Adi Da's Spiritual Transmission on her: "When it was finally over, I felt as if an immense burden — eighty tons of whatever it was I had been carrying around all my life without even realizing it — had been lifted from me."
The Story of Francis Popkin — The story of how Francis Popkin found Adi Da, as told by Frank Marrero. Frank talks about how a young country boy showed up at his doorstep in 1981, after having read and been completely transfixed by Adi Da's book, The Enlightenment Of The Whole Body.
"This is the God for me!" — In this radio interview (with Aaron Joy), rock musician Theo Cedar Jones describes how he became Adi Da's devotee; how Adi Da transformed his entire manner of singing and his craft of songwriting; and the creative challenge of communicating Adi Da's Presence and Teaching through the medium of rock.
Inexplicable Happiness and Peace — Julie Nagorcka writes about her relationship with Adi Da.
"You Will Always Come Back to Me" — Jane Lind talks about how she came to Adi Da, and describes her first meeting with Him.
Truth Alive In Human Form — Scott Campbell talks about how he came to Adi Da, and describes his first sighting of Him.
"No, You Are Meant For Another" — Flick Rahke: "So when Swami Muktananda asked for questions from the audience, I stood up, bowed, and asked him if he was to be my Guru. He tilted his head and looked at me with a little smile as he said: "No, you are meant for another."
Every Cell In My Body Relaxed — Steven Shapiro: "As I watched the video with Adi Da, every cell in my body relaxed and lined up as one. Nothing fancy, just home. Utterly home."
The Book Fell Down at My Feet — David Ward tells the story of how Adi Da found him.
The Meaning of Life — Award-winning artist Marla Baggetta talks about finding Adi Da Samraj and the meaning of life.
The Divine IS Everything and Everyone — Andre Decio: "Let me try to tell you about the deepest yearning of the human heart, and how it was fulfilled beyond measure, by the truth of all."
The Room Exploded Into Brightness — Lassi Lammassaari: "I sat down to read the book. I felt like I was breathing in something nectarous from the pages. I totally relaxed. In the next instant, the room exploded into Brightness."
No Doubts Whatsoever — Alaya Gernon: Suddenly, Adi Da Samraj appeared in the room, life size. He was sitting right in front of me. . . And then — suddenly, it was Ramana Maharshi sitting in front of me!"
Beyond, Beyond — Karen Richardson: "There was no religious upbringing, but as a young girl, one day I found myself looking up at the sunny spring sky and just 'knowing' that something wonderful is going to happen in my lifetime — not only to me, but to the whole world."
The Eternal Answer of the Divine — Frederick Court: "The room that night had a constant shower of nectarous Transmission of Him, washing down continuously, so, so sweet. Many Profound and extra-ordinary visions of His Form arose. It was a bathing in His Love, and all the devotees in the room were swooning in His Love-Bliss. In those moments, it was the most beautiful place to be on the planet."
His Blessing Intrusion — Dennis Regan tells the story of how he received a Ph.D. in biotechnology and was pursuing a successful career in scientific research when he encountered a book with the unusual title, Scientific Proof of the Existence of God Will Soon Be Announced by the White House! — and a Revelation occurred that changed the course of his life.
At the Feet of the Malibu Surfer-Dude — Jan Myer: "In the midst of my search, at the bookstore I frequented in those days, I saw (for the first time) the too-happy, too-youthful face of what appeared to be a kind of 'Malibu surfer-dude', on the cover of a book I'd never seen before, titled The Knee Of Listening. The man looked too cool by half, and I was a little offended by the book's subtitle, 'The Early Life And Radical Spiritual Teachings' of 'Franklin Jones'! I chuckled to myself, thinking, 'Just about anybody can claim to be Enlightened these days!'"
