Adi Da Samraj / Daism (Franklin Jones, Adidam)
Movement of the late Franklin Jones / Adi Da Samraj (1939–2008). Communities at Naitauba (Fiji), California, and globally. Multiple ex-member accounts of extreme guru veneration, communal property surrender, and Adi Da's sexual involvement with female devotees.
CLCI radar
BITE breakdown
0 — late guru Adi Da Samraj's Adidam community; documented patterns of guru-veneration and financial extraction.
In context
Franklin Jones (Adi Da Samraj) developed the 'Way of the Heart' / Adidam teaching from 1972, drawing on Ramana Maharshi and Trungpa Rinpoche traditions. Adi Da claimed to be the avataric incarnation of the Divine Reality. Multiple 1980s media exposés and ex-member memoirs document the inner-circle communal life on Naitauba, the Fiji island purchased for the community, including Adi Da's sexual involvement with female devotees.
Key control doctrines
- Adi Da as avataric Divine Reality
- Naitauba as sacred geography
- Total surrender to guru
Notable public ex-members
- Multiple subjects of 1985 Pacific Sun investigation
Legal cases & controversies
- 1985 civil suits and exposés
Evidence by BITE axis
- Total surrender of assets
- Communal living for many
- Substantial donations expected
- Sexual relationships with guru
- Adi Da's writings authoritative
- Critical material framed as enemy
- Guru as avataric divinity
- Critics framed as spiritually compromised
- Devotional surrender as spiritual practice
- Severance from non-Adidam family
Timeline
- 1972Franklin Jones begins teaching
- 1985First major media exposés
- 2008Adi Da dies in Fiji
Sources
- Mark Miller, 'The Pacific Sun' (1985)
- Multiple ex-member memoirs
We cite sources by name and outlet rather than fabricating links. Search the source title plus the group name to find the original.
Recovery resources
See the full curated list at /resources.