DA: The strange case of Franklin Jones

by Scott Lowe

Reflecting back on Adi Da’s life and work (he died unexpectedly of a heart attack in 2008 at his Fiji compound), I am convinced that Scott Lowe diagnosed his former teacher perfectly as suffering from the very narcissism he claimed engulfed his followers. Indeed, it may well be that much of Da’s deep psychological insight into the human condition didn’t stem from his self-proclaimed “enlightenment” but from observing day-to-day his own neurotic behavior and his own self-centered interactions with those closest to him. In any case, knowing what we do now about his uncouth antics, I would have definitely written a more critical piece on him today than I did thirty years ago. So with that caveat emptor read the following with a discriminating eye.

93 pages, Paperback

First published June 28, 1999