Crazy Wisdom
MARCH/APRIL, 1987
THE JOURNAL OF THE FREE DAIST COMMUNION VOL. 6, NO. 2
THE OPENING OF THE ASHRAM
APRIL 25, 1972
ith the following pictorial we honor the opening of the Ashram fifteen years ago on April 25, 1972. These photographs were taken either on the very night the Ashram formally opened, or within the month or so just before or after the formal opening, ferry Sheinfeld, a devotee who was present for “opening night”, provides a description of the events that led up to the moment the Ashram was opened, as well as a description of that historic night.
May all beings be Blessed by the Great Offering of Avadhoota Da Love-Ananda Hridayam. We bow at His Feet in Love.
OPENING NIGHT
by Jerry Sheinfeld
I first heard about Heart-Master Da Love-Ananda in March, 1972. At the time I was part of another Spiritual group, but after spending several weeks in the Company of Heart- Master Da, I decided that I belonged with Him. Nowhere else had I felt or even heard about the Love and Happiness that He was so freely giving me. I had left most of my belongings with the other community, so one day I told Heart-Master Da, who was then known as Franklin, that I was going to go back to the Ashram where I had been living, take down my teepee, and gather my belongings, because I wanted to be with Him. He asked when I was going. I told Him I was leaving on Friday and would return on Sunday or Monday. He said, “I was planning to open the Ashram on Monday night. I guess we’ll just wait until you return and do it Tuesday night. That way you can have at least a day before the opening.” So, by His Loving Gesture, the opening of the Ashram was postponed from April 24 to April 25, 1972.
At that time none of us understood the significance of the opening night and the beginning of the Ashram, nor did we truly understand who “Franklin Jones” was. We sincerely wanted people to come and meet our dear friend and Teacher, and to share our happiness, and we also wanted to please our Beloved Heart- Master by making sure that many people came to the opening. So we put up posters all over Los Angeles and invited everyone we knew.
Prior to opening night the few of us who were already students of Heart- Master Da Love-Ananda were working full speed to get the bookstore and the Communion Hall ready. One day Heart- Master Da and one of the students came into the center with two large wooden objects: the letter “C” and the symbol “St”. They had found them in an alley, where an advertising company had thrown them away. The symbols were both quite large—about five or six feet tall and three or four feet wide. Heart-Master Da asked us to clean them up and paint them white so that He could use them in the bookstore. The “C”, lying flat, was perfect as a check-out counter for our cash register. The “&.” was placed in front of the entrance to the Communion Hall, where it was a most unusual object to encounter before entering the Hall. When we asked its significance, Heart-Master Da said, “There is Only God! The ‘and’ is the problem.”
On the morning of April 25, HeartMaster Da was talking with a few of us in the “back room” (the office behind the Communion Hall). He sat on the desk, as was His custom, and joked about the Ashram opening, which He called Opening Night. He would say, “Maybe we shouldn’t go through with it. Maybe we’re making a mistake and should call the whole thing off.” We would respond, “Yeah, maybe we should call it off.” Then He would say, “No, I guess we’ve gone too far. We’d better continue with our plans.” He asked us to come early that evening to prepare for the event.
It seemed to me that we all felt this night would clearly mark a change in the True Heart-Master’s Work, and we hoped this would not change our personal intimacy with our dearest friend, Franklin. Of course, over the years Heart-Master Da’s commitment to relationship has never faltered, and the intimacy with Him has only been strengthened. And to this day that intimacy remains the very foundation of my submission to the Divine.
As Tuesday evening, April 25, came upon us, Nina and Pat1 prepared the Communion Hall for the occasion. They lit incense and placed it in the bowls on each side of the dais. They straightened the flowers in the vase at the altar, and looked over our preparations one last time before the visitors began to arrive.
There was a great air of anticipation and excitement about Opening Night. I was in charge of the bookstore, and so I greeted people when they came in, directing them to the Communion Hall where the gathering was to take place. A few people thought we were an “adult” bookstore, and they left when they discovered that Franklin Jones was a Spiritual Teacher. Some of the people who came had heard of Franklin Jones but had never read anything by Him, as none of His books had been published yet. The man who later asked the questions that are recorded in the talk “Understanding” in The Method of the Siddhas looked around the bookstore for quite a while before the event and told me that he had read many of the books we carried.
After the last people had arrived, I closed and locked the bookstore and entered the Hall. A total of twenty people or so, including those of us who were already students of Heart-Master Da, were present. To begin the evening we all sat quietly for about twenty or thirty minutes, waiting for Franklin, directing our attention to His Chair at the front of the Hall. Everyone was relaxed and quiet, and I was surprised that our visitors could come into an unfamiliar place and not dramatize the need to be distracted.
1. Nina Jones and Patricia (Morley) Tsiknas are longtime devotees of Heart-Master Da Love-Ananda.
Generally, before tonight, when Heart-Master Da came into the room that was now our Communion Hall, He came from the back room through a draped doorway to the left of His Chair. This night He entered through a doorway directly behind the Chair. When He came in, there was a little stir amongst the group as we shifted positions on the carpeted floor to make ourselves more comfortable. Once seated, our Master silently looked around the room, making eye contact with everyone present. Then, after some time, He closed His eyes and sat quite still. Altogether, He sat with us that evening for about an hour. He looked young, healthy, and Bright. He Radiated simplicity and ease. As He sat before us, the room took on the feeling of Fullness, which was typical in His Company.
We all sat quietly in the True HeartMaster’s Company. Some people closed their eyes, while others looked at HeartMaster Da. Everyone at least showed their respect by remaining silent and attentive. After a time the True Heart-Master moved from left to right in His Chair, stretching His body as He moved. He looked around the room and then addressed the gathering in a completely engaging manner.
“Who will cast the first stone?” He said. No one responded.
“Are there any questions?” Again there was silence.
“Everyone has understood?” He asked.
“I haven’t understood,” said the man I had talked to earlier. “Explain it to me.”
And so it began.
I personally felt disturbed that the man who began asking these questions was not showing proper respect for Heart-
Master Da. He seemed to be challenging the Master, checking Him out, and trying to show his own importance. But Heart- Master Da was extremely compassionate. He answered the questions while bringing the man’s attention to his own egoic activity. He also brought everyone else’s attention to our constant activity of separation and seeking without allowing our righteous opinions to set us apart from the questioner. We were all just like this man, and the demonstration took place for everyone’s sake. We all observed how Heart-Master Da stayed connected to this man and did not react to the dramatization but allowed Himself to feel the attack while remaining vulnerable and loving.
When the questioner left, Heart- Master Da continued to speak for a while. Then He looked at everyone one last time in silence and left the room through the doorway behind His Chair. No one bowed, for we had not learned that form of acknowledgement yet. After Heart- Master Da walked through the doorway, everyone simply got up and left the room, and I let everyone out through the bookstore. No one stayed to browse or talk.
When everyone had gone, I locked up again and went into the back room where Heart-Master Da was sitting with a few students. He was pleased that the evening had gone well. He said it was good that the incident with the man had occurred. He said there is a great tradition of confronta-tion in esoteric Spirituality. Then He asked us about the other people who had attended—who they were, who knew them, etc. He was very humorous and laughed a lot with us, getting all of us to laugh with Him. What a miracle of Happiness He is!
Before He went home, He gave each of us a big hug and said He would see us tomorrow. A couple of us stayed to clean up and talk about the night. We all felt so open-hearted and happy after being in His Company. We went home after closing up for the night, looking forward to returning the next day to spend more time in our True Heart-Master’s Loving Company.
Our early history is truly Sacred, for these were the first years of the human entrance of the Divine into our lives. The Communication of Happiness and Love that Radiates through our Beloved Heart- Master was given to us in a unique way. Never has the Demonstration of Love been given so completely, personally, humanly, intimately, and undeniably as through the Form of Avadhoota Da Love- Ananda Hridayam. I bow down to Him in gratitude and love. ■
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The Opening of the First Public Center of Adidam in 1972
told by Gerald Sheinfeld
Avatar Adi Da fixing up the bookstore with devotees, 1972 By January of 1972, Avatar Adi Da Samraj, then “Franklin Jones”, had begun to sit in Silence in His rented Laurel Canyon home with the small group of students that had formed around Him over the previous year. In that same month, a storefront was rented on Melrose Avenue, in Hollywood. Here, on April 25, 1972, “Shree Hridayam Siddhashram”–the first public center of Adidam–was opened to the world.
Gerald Sheinfeld, one of Beloved Adi Da’s first devotees, tells the story of the opening night of the Ashram.
GERALD SHEINFELD: I first heard about Beloved Adi Da in March, 1972. After spending several weeks in His Company, I decided that I belonged with Him. Nowhere else had I felt or even heard about the Love and Happiness that He was so freely Giving me. I had left most of my belongings behind when I came to Him, so one day I told Avatar Adi Da that I was going to go back to the Ashram where I had been living, take down my tepee, and gather my belongings, because I wanted to be with Him.
He asked when I was going. I said I was leaving on Friday and would return on Sunday or Monday. He said, “I was planning to open the Ashram on Monday night. I guess we’ll just wait until you return and do it Tuesday night. That way you can have at least a day before the opening.” As a result, the opening of the Ashram was scheduled for April 25, 1972.
None of us with Beloved in those days understood the significance of the opening of the Ashram and the beginning of His public availability, nor did we truly understand who “Franklin Jones” was. We sincerely wanted people to come and meet our dear friend and Teacher, and to share our happiness. So we put up posters all over Los Angeles and invited everyone we knew.
One day, while the few of us who were already students of Beloved Adi Da’s were working full speed to get the bookstore and the Communion Hall ready, Beloved and one of the students came into the center with two very large wooden objects: the letter “C” and the symbol “&”. They had found them in an alley, where an advertising company had thrown them away. The symbols were both quite large–five or six feet tall and three or four feet wide.
Beloved asked us to clean them up and paint them white so that He could use them in the bookstore. The “C”, lying flat, was perfect as a check-out counter. The ampersand was placed in front of the entrance to the Communion Hall. It was a most unusual object to encounter before entering the Hall! When we asked its significance, Beloved Adi Da said, “There is Only God! The ‘and’ is the problem.”
Avatar Adi Da with devotees, 1972On the morning of April 25, Beloved Adi Da was talking with a few of us in the “back room” (the office behind the Communion Hall). He sat on the desk, as was His custom, and joked about the Ashram opening, which He referred to as “Opening Night”. He would say, “Maybe we shouldn’t go through with it. Maybe we’re making a mistake and should call the whole thing off.” We would respond, “Yeah, maybe we should call it off.” Then He would say, “No, I guess we’ve gone too far. We’d better continue with our plans.” He asked us to come early that evening to prepare for the event.
It seemed to me that we all felt this night would clearly mark a change in our Master’s Work, and we hoped this would not change our personal intimacy with our dearest friend, “Franklin”! Of course, over the years Beloved Adi Da’s commitment to relationship has never faltered, and the intimacy with Him has only been strengthened. And to this day that relationship, though outwardly more formal, remains the very foundation of my submission to Beloved Adi Da as the Divine Person.
Tuesday evening, April 25, was upon us. Two of Adi Da’s devotees, Nina and Patricia, prepared the meditation hall for the occasion, lighting incense and placing it in the bowls on each side of the dais and putting finishing touches on the vase of flowers at the altar, and looking over our preparations one last time before the visitors began to arrive.
There was a great air of anticipation and excitement. I was in charge of the bookstore, and so I greeted people when they came in, directing them to the Communion Hall, where the gathering was to take place. A few people thought we were an “adult” bookstore, and they left when they discovered that “Franklin Jones” was a Spiritual Teacher! Some who came had heard of “Franklin Jones” but had never read anything by Him, as none of His books had been published yet. The man who later asked the questions that are recorded in the Talk “Understanding” in The Method of the Siddhas looked around the bookstore for quite a while before the event and told me that he had read many of the traditional books we carried.
After the last people had arrived, I closed and locked the bookstore and entered the Hall. A total of twenty people or so, including those of us who were already students of Beloved Adi Da, were present. To begin the evening we all sat quietly for about twenty or thirty minutes, waiting for Adi Da, directing our attention to His Chair at the front of the Hall. Everyone was relaxed and quiet, and I was surprised that our guests were able to be so calm and quiet.
Generally, Beloved Adi Da entered the room that was now our Communion Hall through a curtained doorway to the left of His Chair. That night He entered through a doorway directly behind the Chair. When He came in, there was a little stir amongst the group as we shifted positions on the carpeted floor to make ourselves more comfortable. Once seated, our Master silently looked around the room, making eye contact with everyone present. Then, after some time, He closed His eyes and sat quite still. Altogether, He sat with us that evening for about an hour. He looked young and “Bright”. He Radiated simplicity and ease. As He sat before us, the room took on the feeling of Fullness, which was typical in His Company.
Some people closed their eyes, while others looked at Avatar Adi Da. Everyone showed their respect by remaining silent and attentive. After a time, Adi Da stretched from left to right in His Chair, as He characteristically does. Then He said, in a voice so quiet that almost no one heard Him, “Who will cast the first stone?” There was silence. And, then, in a completely engaging manner, He asked, “Are there any questions?” Again there was silence.
Avatar Adi Da Samraj sitting at the Ashram, 1972″Everyone has understood?” He asked.
“I haven’t understood,” said the man I had talked to earlier about his familiarity with many of our traditional books, “Explain it to me.”
And so it began. Avatar Adi Da Samraj began His first public Communication of the “radical” Dharma of no-seeking and Prior Happiness.
Prologue to ‘The Knee of Listening’
Prologue to original
The Knee of Listening
Death is utterly acceptable to
consciousness and life.
There has been endless time of
numberless deaths, but neither consciousness nor life has
ceased to arise.
The felt quality and cycle to death
has not modified the fragility of flowers, even the flowers
within the human body.
Therefore, one’s understanding of
consciousness and life must be turned to that utter,
inclusive quality, that clarity and wisdom, that
power and untouchable gracefulness this evidence
suggests.
Therefore one’s understanding of
consciousness and life must be turned to That Utter,
Inclusive Truth, That Clarity and Wisdom, That Power and
Untouchable Gracefulness, That One and Only Reality this
evidence suggests.
We must cease to live in our
superficial and divided way, seeking and demanding
only consciousness and life in the present form we
grasp, avoiding and resisting what appears to be the end of
consciousness and life in death.
One must cease to live in a
superficial and divided way, seeking and demanding
consciousness and life in the present apparent form,
avoiding and resisting what appears to be the end of
consciousness and life in death.
The Heart is that understanding,
that true consciousness, that true life that is under the
extreme conditions of life and death. Therefore, it is said,
that One that is is neither born nor come to death, not
alive as the limitation of form, not rendered in what
appears, and it is the living One, than which there is no
other, appearing as all of this, but eternally the same.
There is only the constant knowledge
and enjoyment of the Heart, moment to moment, through the
instant of all conditions of appearance and disappearance.
Of this I am perfectly certain. I am That.
Prologue to 2004 The Knee of Listening
Listen to Adi Da Samraj (Franklin Jones) talk about the Prologue to The Knee of Listening (1972)