Da Free John

To whom it may concern:

I issue a challenge to Da Free John, whom I regard as an illumined teacher, nothing more than this! (I refuse to use his most recently chosen name, which I regard as a blasphemy against the actual Avatar, who also walks the earth.) I send you an excerpt from a book I am writing, as a due matter of proper form and spiritual courtesy. Here is what should happen when you receive this:

A. The person receiving this e-mail, whose spiritual consciousness has been awakened, should peruse the entire document and assess for himself or herself the truth of my claim to illumination and my authority in spiritual matters.

B. This person should forward this e-mail to an authority within your organization, if there is a possibility that I am a bona fide illumined being.

C. Perhaps after some discussion, the e-mail should be sent to the “great” Da Free John himself, for him to peruse and respond, as he cares to do. He may even wish to peruse my website, www.neochristians.com. (I will not go into detail about the obligations of an illumined person; if he is awake, Da Free John should know these things, if he isn’t too far gone into solipsism.)

Here, however, is what will happen (I know you too well):

A. The person receiving this e-mail will read a paragraph or two, and then delete it, dismissing me as a “crank,” a “hothead,” or a “lunatic,” even though my statements are no more outrageous than Da Free John’s.

B. It is likely that Da Free John has cut himself off from all outside contact, and thus rendered himself “dead” to the world, unchallengeable and well-hidden, like a rabbit.

C. Even if Da Free John should receive this e-mail, he will bury his head in the sand and admit nothing, hoping I will just go away. Indeed, I may do so, since I have no publisher and may never get one.

Sincerely,

Guru Kurt

Say, just for fun let’s look at a quotation from Da Free John. I am doing nothing more interesting than this today, and I like to rib my little illumined ones from time to time. Here is a long one from "The Heaven-Born Gospel Of The Ruchira Avatar" (March 11, 1973).

There is a Vast, Unlimited Domain of Existence, not qualified in any sense—not qualified as this conditional world is, or as the infinite variety of conditional cosmic worlds is. And there is a Movement Directly Out of That Divine Domain, That Realm of Very Consciousness and Very Light.

The Living Being Who Appears within the human world (or within any other world)—by Coming Directly Out of the Un-manifested (or Un-“created”) Domain, the Heart-Light That Is the Truly Eternal Real-God-World—Is the Truly Heaven-Born One, Unique among the Great Siddhas. I Am That One.

My Wisdom-Teaching is not from the point of view of experience. My Wisdom-Teaching is from the “Point of View” of Truth—Truth already Realized, the Unattainable (because It Is Always Already Present) Reality.

Those who teach from the point of view of experience teach the search, because they know (on the basis of experience) that they can grow, that they can approach a subtler and subtler level of Realization. The gospel of those who arise within the condition of the material worlds is always a form of seeking.

But I Speak from the “Point of View” of the Already Realized Absolute Truth. I Come in the Intelligence, Power, and Perfect Form of Real God. My Wisdom-Teaching Is “Radical”. I do not Teach the motives, paths, and forms of seeking—for these are founded in dilemma, not in Truth. I Apply only appropriate conditions to My devotees. I Demand only the conditions that are appropriate to be lived, since Truth Is Always Already the Case.

I Am the Truth in the world. I Generate the conditions of the Truth, the conditions of the Light of Real God.

My, oh, my, I am certainly frightened by speech like this! This one is higher than Jesus, it would seem. Christians, abandon your Bibles and run to Da Free John’s doorstep! Actually, you know, as I sit here, reading this quotation over and over, I find myself getting entranced. This is beautiful writing, though false. It is a marvelous perception that Da Free John has gotten in his nirvikalpa samadhi event, and if you appreciate his words you will understand just how profound Paramatman is. You too can experience this, however, for the Paramatman is “Supreme Self” to man. You too will feel that you are this “one,” arising from the unmanifest. Andrew Cohen uses remarkably similar language at times, when he describes Paramatman. So, spend a few minutes reading this as I do, over and over, and let it seep into your being; this beautiful, marvelous experience will be yours too, one day! The nature of the Paramatman is ultimate freedom, ultimate bliss, ultimate wisdom, though as Da Free John’s eyes begin to clear, which are blinded by his own Self-radiance, he will perceive that these things do have an increase. His experience is like that of a being who has been shot directly into the sun from deep space, where the temperature is near absolute zero. For a long time, perhaps many lives, you will be convinced that you have attained the absolute, the ultimate, and that none could go any higher than you. Finding yourself immersed in a sweltering plasma sea at 5,500 ºC (having just been at –273 ºC), you can imagine nothing hotter. Swimming around a bit, your body growing used to the hot temperatures and your eyes adjusting to the brilliant light, you notice that sunspots are a little cooler, 4,200 ºC, and a light goes on in your consciousness: “Aha! There are variations in temperature!” If you are a wise illumined person, you begin the process of ajapajapam, and plunge into the solar core where temperatures soar to 16,000,000 ºC! So, please read these words of Da Free John with great warmth and affection, realizing that he is just a little confused about reality, although totally self-honest in stating his beliefs. As I said, he claimed to bring the “ultimate teaching” to mankind, which is utterly ridiculous, but there is more.

What is the real problem with Da Free John’s speech here? I was over-awed when I first saw it, but then I started thinking about reality. There simply are no such beings as the one he describes, which is pure fancy on his part. Real beings do not arise in this way, “directly from the unmanifest,” or I should say, they do, but then they must travel through the process of evolution and attain enlightenment, as Da Free John has done. Of course, at this point it is just my word against his, but since I don’t wish to spend a great deal of time studying this puny rascal, I will have to scrutinize his words here more carefully. First, however, let me point out that Da Free John is one of the ones who was held back last time, for at the end of a solar cycle those who are nearing enlightenment are not allowed to enter by a direct blocking action on the Father’s part. If they were allowed to enter at this late stage, there would be insufficient time for their lower minds to be purified sufficiently to make entry into the astral realms, in fulltime disembodiment, possible. Since they were held back, Da Free John, Osho, and Sai Baba in particular have a good deal of righteous anger, which they express by ignoring their inward impulse to look upward and respect the Avatar, and instead announce that they are the Avatar! They have come through nirvikalpa samadhi with great power and strength, having just been biding their time all the while in animal bodies, which they could have avoided entirely had the Father had a different policy with respect to solar cycle’s end. Thus, the current crop of illumined teachers should reach sahaja samadhi within a thousand years’ time frame, while at the end of the solar cycle closer to twenty thousand years will be required. At least, this is the way it has been in the past, as I remember it. Now, let us look at these words of Da Free John. As I say, they are very beautiful, but they arise mostly out of his imagination, coupled, of course, with his living awareness of Paramatman, which I would never deny. Yet I ask you, would the real Avatar be so foolish as to have sex with His disciples early on in His teaching work, knowing what a black stain this would place upon the whole thing? Would the real Avatar even be able to withstand sex with humans, or would He not regard it as tantamount to having sex with animals? If what Da Free John has said about himself here is true, then the “ultimate” has had sex with animals, something far below him (to which perhaps he would agree, so I will not press the point). Da Free John’s “sexual experiments” resulted in his formulating a new policy, recommending celibacy. Would not the Avatar be ever-aware of His mission throughout His life, without the need to perform crass and ugly experiments like this? The best teachers, such as Eknath Easwaran, are never so foolish as to countenance sex with their disciples, but lead lives of probity and purity, or so I say; Da Free John would clearly disagree. If he is the “ultimate,” then wouldn’t he have known better? Well, what do you think? Should an illumined guru have sex with his students, or should he refrain not only from sex but from making suggestive comments and lewd remarks? I suppose if you all think Da Free John is right, then you should become his followers, and leave me far behind, in the dust, for I have never, nor will ever, do such a thing as this! Again, what about all these name changes? Would not the “ultimate” know better than to confuse the entire world by changing his name numerous times? Da Free John’s latest name means “Avatar,” and so I shall never use this name for him, instead using the name I learned during my period of sadhana, which I like. He is no Avatar; this I know, and so I hope he does not get offended should I refuse to address him in the arrogant mode he has most recently chosen.

“Guru Kurt,” you all shout. “You said you would address his words, but you take cheap shots, addressing his personal life and practices!” Granted. I feel such disgust and loathing at the idea of sex with disciples that I find I cannot refrain from castigating Da Free John in this regard. Those who have truly gone beyond physical consciousness, such as the embodied angels and the Avatar, always witness the entire body as a mere material object that has absolutely no power in and of itself to add to spiritual evolution. There is no need to “experiment” when something is this obvious and plain. The Avatar and the angels do not “experiment,” for they know the routes to power, they know the routes to increased joy, and they know the routes to wisdom, too, which Da Free John has yet to travel. Da Free John perhaps sees 95% of his body in a detached way, but there is 5% that appears to be still attached to the world; I pass on to a more rigorous examination of his words, to the relief of everyone, I am sure. The “vast, unlimited domain of existence, not qualified in any sense” is Da Free John’s experience of Paramatman, which I do not doubt is a valid one. However, just what does you suppose he means by the “infinite variety of conditional cosmic worlds?” We are supposed to guess at his meaning here, but what he chiefly intends to do is to discredit the astral realm, the Kingdom of Heaven which Jesus proclaimed. Da Free John seeks, by using language, to assert his dominion over all of Creation. The Atman’s superintelligence is here used in a rebellious way, that stands against the true Avatar’s revelations since time immemorial, in the Bhagavatam, the Bhagavad Gita, and elsewhere. Whether the source of this rebellion is Da Free John’s lower mind and the lower regions of his higher mind, which are insufficiently purified, or is a rebellion of the Atman itself is immaterial here. Is it possible to rebel against the Lord, Jesus Christ, the Buddha, Rama, Krishna, as Da Free John does here, and get away with it? Unfortunately, language is a free thing, that is to be freely used. People may say what they wish, when they wish. As an illumined being, Da Free John is released from karma, and does “get away with it,” escaping all punishment. The fact of the matter is, you humans can say anything you want, believe anything you want, do anything you want: there is nothing that can change reality. The Father, Brahman, reigns over us all, the Sons pick up the solar systems and thus share in the divine act of creation, and the humans arise from the bottom of the barrel and make their way sunward slowly but surely, eventually emerging out into the light to stick a finger in the eye of the Lord, to blaspheme, to contradict thousands of years of religious tradition, and what can the Creator do? Here is a wayward son, utterly lost in his own glory, unaware that right behind him is an entire realm of advanced astral realm residents who make him look like a rude joke, and above them all the Creator’s embodiment, the Avatar, who will find it quite amusing, in between solar cycles, to think about Da Free John, and to wonder where he and his “ultimate teaching” have gone!

Oh yes, the illumined are powerful. Their intellects are supreme by comparison with the humans around them, and as Da Free John illustrates here, they are quite creative in inventing their own pictures of reality, which may still be far from the truth. The fact is, Da Free John perhaps remembers the astral realms from his sadhana, and has nevertheless convinced himself that he is superior to all the beings he may have met there. Power is not seen in speech, however; on earth, spiritual power is seen in the effect you have on people. The Avatar’s effect is superlative, sweeping vast epochs with his story about reality, which is always the truth. Thus, you cannot really tell whether Da Free John’s claims to Avatarhood are true or false unless you come back in five hundred years and find him all but forgotten, just a footnote in a work which the real Avatar perhaps wrote, though not surrounded by devoted “fans” on an island in Fiji, but working a fulltime job with no support from mankind of any sort whatsoever. Well, Da Free John and I are agreed on the existence of the “unlimited domain,” which I refer to as Paramatman, Supreme Self. We are not agreed that mere experience of Paramatman takes you beyond the “conditional cosmic worlds,” however. The angels experience Paramatman, too, but in a special way. They are not required to go into nirvikalpa samadhi any more, since their lower minds are utterly pure, and they live fulltime disembodied lives. The soul cannot merge with Paramatman, although it can experience Paramatman as a fish swimming in the sea feels the seawater running through its gills, which is the type of experience that the angels have continuously. Thus, I suppose you could say that Da Free John here speaks from a position of total identification with the Paramatman, and as such, his speech is true. Paramatman is indeed higher than all of the angels. However, Da Free John is not higher than even one angel, and hence while the human throng may “Ooh” and “Aah” at his pontific proclamations, there is a good deal of anger in heaven over this “lost son,” who takes too much credit to himself, forgetting all the help he received from various sages in the final stages of ego destruction, which take place in the astral realms, and failing to acknowledge the Avatar, who is the Personification of the source of Paramatman.

Do you see what Da Free John is doing? Think of Paramatman as a kind of backpack which carries “Java Juice,” the substance which grants spiritual growth to all, illumined individuals and beyond in particular. Everyone drinks from his or her own backpack, obtaining more of the nature of the Paramatman with every sip. Those who were created long ago, the angels, have been drinking Paramatman for unnumbered solar cycles, and so dwarf Da Free John as Jack was dwarfed by the giant in “Jack and the Beanstalk.” Da Free John, our Jack, sees the giant and sees that the giant still requires “Java Juice,” continuous sips from Paramatman to grow spiritually. Thinking quickly, Jack (Da Free John) announces, “I am not a person; I am the Juice itself.” Then, he goes about proclaiming the qualities of the Juice, and while humans are impressed, the angels (the real giants, who cannot be conquered so easily as Jack conquered his giant), are not so much upset, as outraged that a mere pipsqueak would seek to unseat all the power ranged so forcefully above him by such an underhanded, solipsistic trick. Oh yes, Da Free John is solipsistic, lost in a vision of himself and himself alone. If you read much of his writings, you will emerge with a sense that this person thinks most highly of himself, and what is more, he doesn’t really want anyone to join him where he stands. He is the Perfect One, and the world be damned! I say, “Thank-you, your graciousness, for condescending to us so well, which is obviously most difficult for you. Did you stub your toe? There, there…” Da Free John is tiny, not large, of about the same stature as Andrew Cohen, though Cohen is nowhere near so pontific and grandiose.

Da Free John is unassailable as he tries to hide his head in pure Paramatman, but he is assailable based on what is missing in his teaching which belongs, as the true Avatar always exemplifies in his life, and that is a compassionate understanding of mankind and a real graciousness which bends down, low, and offers a helping hand to all who may wish to grasp it. Thus, he calls himself a pure “movement directly out of that divine domain, that realm of very consciousness and very light,” which if true, his work should be higher than that of Jesus, Buddha, Ramakrishna, and Chaitanya, who were merely Sons of God, Brahman’s real embodiments. I say that no such beings exist, and that Da Free John is pulling the wool over his own eyes, and the eyes of his hapless followers as well. The angels echo my cry, for although they draw their sustenance from Paramatman, they do not claim total identity with Paramatman, which is most foolish. Don’t you see what Da Free John is attempting to do here? He is taking away your heaven! Even if you attain to heaven, it will not matter, because he will be there before you! Paramatman exists like the frill of a skirt around the Divine Mother’s waist. The Avatar is verily the Mother Herself, but this skirt is alive with the power of God, living power into which all created beings tap, more and more directly the higher they ascend. Da Free John claims to come directly out of this Paramatman, the edge of the Mother’s skirt, and so you see his claim is not the same as that of the Avatar, who claims to be the Mother Herself. He is actually claiming a much lower thing than he imagines here, and I can hear the angels laughing, booing and hissing in the stadium arrayed behind me now. He is claiming to emerge from Paramatman, directly, and this no angel can abide. Da Free John is a created being, just like them, and will have to grow through the normal channels, just like them. You cannot make a thing true by saying it is so, which is what he seeks to do here. I recognize that it is only my claim against his at this stage, for he says that beings emerge out of Paramatman, and I say, “No, brother, you have a soul that tastes Paramatman, and this is all.” Only, you will see that it is not just my word against his; the angels are quite angry about this, and will emerge in the millennia to follow this writing to reassert the truth of what I say. Living beings do not emerge out of Paramatman; they are created, and discover Paramatman in nirvikalpa samadhi, which becomes the refreshing spring from which they drink living waters, the waters of eternal life and eternal joy.

Let us move on to the second paragraph. This is very good use of language, to which no ordinary human could attain. There is no question of the validity of Da Free John’s experience, only the interpretation he places upon this experience. One problem with it, however, is that it ignores the many spiritual organs which must be present for any spiritual being to interface with a body. Even in the case of the Avatar, these organs are developed slowly, gradually, over time. That’s right, people; the Avatar too developed the lower mind required for maintaining the body, although He did not do so from an ignorant perspective, but from one of knowledge, placing self-aware consciousness in the body that was never tinged by any selfish motive whatsoever. This is one reason why the Lord continues to embody Himself beside us; it is His world, too, and He has rights here just as any human being has rights, though mankind will not grant these to Him openly but insists on persecuting Him wherever He may be found. Well, if this is true, why does Da Free John not tell about his past and future lives? He implies that he just “popped in from Paramatman,” in one single life, and as Paramatman, can achieve this feat anywhere he wants, on any planet, even simultaneously with a “pop” on our planet. These statements are not real; they are not based on truth, although Da Free John boldly asserts otherwise, combining the three biggest and most impressive words he can think of together in a narcissistic attempt to bolster his vacuous claim with verbiage: “Real-God-World.” Just say it, over and over, Da Free John: “Real-God-World, Real-God-World, Real-God-World.” Say it a million times. Say it a billion times, I care not. Nobody just “pops” into a human body! It is simply not possible! You came from somewhere, Jack, like it or not, admit it or not, and believe it or not! The world is a real one, not an imaginary one. The process of creation, though magnificent, vast and wonderful, is not something that allows instantaneous creation of complex entities, or even matter. These things all take a good deal of time, billions of years in most cases. I will tell you something, here. If you wish to believe Da Free John’s claims, then please, be my guest! I do not wish to dissuade anyone from believing anything that helps them to make real spiritual progress. However, believing Da Free John in this instance is similar to the beliefs of the Christians, who think that their souls are created in a “finger snap,” just before their births (though there is not much in the Bible on this all-important topic). I reveal that souls are created small, and grow to have all the required sensory channels as well as all the spiritual organs of action and perception required to exist in a material body, which are extraordinarily complex semisolid forms of spirit. These spiritual organs do not disappear at death, nor are they even possibly acquired in one life. If you accept Da Free John’s claims here, then you also accept that it is possible for the Paramatman itself to create all these organs from scratch instantaneously. My question to you is that if this is possible, why was life initiated as single cells on this planet, requiring over a billion years just to get to the multicellular stage? Where was Da Free John when we really needed him? He could have appeared as a fish, had sextuplets, and then life would have been really rocking on planet earth, in a heartbeat, instead of slogging along at the unicellular stage. You may say, “He needed the material body so that he could fit into it,” but then are you calling him a leech, a parasite on the life processes of earth? We go along and make our bodies, then the Paramatman comes along like a parasitic worm and forms its spiritual organs, then appears among us? Believe this if you want. I only need to convince one person that what I say is true, and I tell him the one important thing: those spiritual organs are the most precious part of you, required eons to form, and are maintained with power that seeks even further growth. No one, nothing, is created overnight. It is a real world, with real processes, processes that take time, energy and the mighty work of real Gods, who know these things, not false gods like Da Free John, who do not know them, since they were not present at the Creation, as you were. Da Free John’s statement here is typical of those who experience Paramatman, who did not participate in the process of creation and hence have no knowledge about it, which the real Avatar does possess. Encountering a small wooden carving of a duck along the seashore, an ignorant villager went wild, telling all his friends how this marvelous creation had simply appeared one day. At a later date, the woodcarver came by and remarked, “That didn’t just appear. I made it using knives of various sizes and descriptions.” Whom would you believe?

In the third paragraph Da Free John begins to fall apart. Here, he tries to obviate his own soul, pretending that he does not have the spiritual organs required to interface with a material body, organs that require eons to develop. The real Avatar participates in the cycle of rebirth alongside humanity, although His being springs from a different source. The Avatar’s teaching is influenced by experience, because in all the former solar cycles different things were told to humanity, which had different effects. In many ways being a Creator is much like being a scientist, for because of free will, humans are an unpredictable bunch. However, after observing over 700,000 “crops” of humans coming down the pike, the Avatar has learned a trick or two. Do you suppose it is better for the Avatar, during the initial technological peak, to appear to have been coddled by the Father, or should He appear to have tremendous difficulties? I wonder about this sometimes. The Father measures man’s progress with secret yardsticks all His own, and directs the Avatar in His entire teaching work, so that in reality the teaching work is Brahman’s, the Father’s. It is an intellectual game, really; how can we optimize life on this planet so that the most people make the most spiritual progress? This question can be answered in millions of ways, and so stating that a teaching work should not be guided by experience is foolish in the extreme. Well, Da Free John, my “Wisdom-Teaching” is from the point of view of experience. My “Wisdom-Teaching” is also from the point of view of Truth, for I tell no lies and reveal that which man’s ear is ever-eager to hear. We counter each other, nose to knows, beady eye to less-beady eye, sweating brow to hardly sweating brow! You claim to come from the unattainable reality, the already realized truth. I claim to be a wanderer in these parts, an itinerant on my way somewhere else that only I discern, and I call your bluff! As I explained some time ago, truth and reality are not one and the same thing. Truth is the representation of reality which sentient beings make for themselves. You claim to spring direct from reality, like something out of a science fiction thriller, thus embodying full Truth, but I respond that no matter what you say, you will fall short of reality. Assuming you will admit you are a “sentient being,” then all your statements must fall short of reality. Your claim then amounts to a claim that you say the closest things to “absolute truth” that are possible, since you are one with reality itself. I suppose you would even agree with this, but the Avatar would never say such a thing! There is always something else to be said. What reality is, cannot be described. No matter what you say, it will fall short, even if your name is Da Free John and you live on your own island! The Avatar does not claim to be “one with reality,” but the Son of the Father, an Assistant-Creator who exists by the Father’s side. The Avatar will say, “I can describe truth in fifty million ways to your one, Da Free John, and I am just getting warmed up. I will be back again and again to bring man closer and closer to an understanding of reality. Your mind is very poor, your imagination dim, and your vision of reality short-sighted, if you think it is even possible to explain truth in an absolute fashion, for there are an almost infinite number of permutations in even the smallest fact. To give you an example, you have said that you come from the ‘unattainable reality.’ Well, what is the nature of this coming? What is your source? From whence do you really come? Why would reality itself reach out to us? Why would we wish to know this reality, or its representative, yourself?” It may be the case the Da Free John has answered all these questions, but just how full can these answers be? What sense will these answers make in a thousand years, a hundred thousand, or a million? Why would not Brahman wish to maintain close contact with His creatures, as I have explained He does do through His real embodiment, the Avatar? My experience of Da Free John is that he is on his own trip. I recall reading more of his works when I was undergoing sadhana, and I always came away thinking, “Well, that is Da Free John; but what does any of this have to do with me? I find nothing practical here; I am glad he has found bliss, but where is the open door through which I can travel to find my own bliss? This is all I really care about. Perhaps he tells the truth, and has experienced something, but I do not really feel he is the Avatar. I get a sense of impurity from his speech; it is too far-away, too distant, too cold, too aloof, as though it is all a big intellectual creation of his.” This is really what dissuaded me from becoming Da Free John’s follower in those days; he seemed impersonal. His personality did not shine, as did Easwaran’s, with divine warmth, friendliness, and charm. I thought he was a big ice cube, although possessing interesting ideas, and this is what I still think. If you believe that reality can embody itself and express ultimate truth to you, then become a follower of Da Free John, for this is his claim. If you think that reality is vast and impossible to describe fully in a single lifetime, then you may want to join me and continue your search elsewhere. Da Free John is difficult to understand, and once you do understand him you feel like he is just going on endlessly about himself, taking no personal interest in you, the student (except perhaps as a sex object). You see, the Avatar does not spend all His time establishing His precise credentials; He speaks from a full heart, the truths that He witnesses, which increase in profundity as He goes from life to life, and as man’s hunger for spiritual knowledge continues to grow. Da Free John is a dead end; he will take you nowhere. This was my firm impression as an aspirant, when I was looking for real, practical tools with which to transform myself into goodness, and beyond goodness, to divinity. Da Free John does not offer these tools, at least that I could discern, and so the question becomes, “Why does reality not care about us? Why is it so distant, so cold, so impractical and unattainable?” The reason is that apprehending Paramatman is not the same as being the Avatar, who is a divine Being that makes and sustains solar systems, taking birth alongside human beings and helping the Father to raise a “good crop” of spiritual persons, making great progress along the spiritual path on a daily basis. The Avatar is real, but He does not foolishly claim to be reality itself, instead proving Himself over and over again to be the Creator, who made us all and cares for us dearly, as a mother loves her only child, meeting us where we live with practical advice that makes our lives richer, sweeter, nobler and more interesting, to boot.

The fourth paragraph seeks to impugn the Avatar, who “teaches the search.” The first sentence is actually accurate, because as I say, even the Avatar continues to strive in the modes of unceasing devotional service to Brahman. The Avatar does indeed grow, although He always appears absolutely perfect to us. It is even said that the Avatar introduces intentional imperfections in His life and teachings so that we may identify more with Him, and imagine that He is one of us. Here is a prime example of Da Free John using language in an attempt to establish power and authority, when this does not exist for him in reality. He insinuates that he is the only one to arise outside of the material worlds, when in actual fact all beings arise outside the material worlds. The Atman is immaterial, and exists outside the material realm. Thus, Da Free John here merely reports his experience of Atman and Paramatman, for he has discovered that his true source is outside the material world, but I tell you, this is the discovery which everyone will make in nirvikalpa samadhi, that they are not, never were, and never will be a material creature, but something far beyond this, a being of pure spirit. Thus, Da Free John adds nothing to his claim here, since this is the verifiable experience of everyone. Do you accept Da Free John’s assertion that you arose in the material realm, or will you believe my account, which says that one day you will become his equal, if not passing him entirely, so poorly does he teach? Do you have a feeling that somehow you are separate from this body, and do not die at death but merely retract yourself from material existence? Do you see? His assertion is not profound, although over and over he will tell us that he is the only profound one. It would be profound if he could explain to us who exactly has arisen “within the condition of the material worlds,” and how this was accomplished, but he cannot do this, for he is not the Creator, and hence not the Avatar! I tell you, the Atman sends down non-self-aware consciousness into the body, consciousness that becomes aware of its source in nirvikalpa samadhi. At this time, you see that the material realm is of the nature of illusion. You will experience Brahman’s spirit in the Paramatman, and to the depths you are able to taste this, you will announce, “This world is unreal; only Brahman is real. I come from Brahman, as does every one of you. I am immortal, deathless spirit that is not fundamentally connected to the material world, except by my own choice. When I am sufficiently pure, I will ascend outside this material world and take my place in the astral realms, in the Kingdom of Heaven, alongside all those who have preceded me, and perhaps, indeed, ahead of this monster of a guru, Da Free John!”

Da Free John has thus taken a fundamental realization which everyone can experience and tried to turn it into Avatarhood for himself, a grim and tasteless affair, seeking to usurp power and authority that is not his. Let us move on to the fifth paragraph:

But I Speak from the “Point of View” of the Already Realized Absolute Truth. I Come in the Intelligence, Power, and Perfect Form of Real God.

As I have carefully explained, there is no such thing as “Absolute Truth,” so do not be frightened by this assertion. There is only “Absolute Reality” and “Reality’s Best Description.” Da Free John lays claim to exclusive ownership of “Reality’s Best Description.” He claims to arise directly from reality, and thus to be reality’s best describer. Do I speak from the “Point of View” of the Already Realized Absolute Truth? No, I do not make such an arrogant claim. I am a mere humble servant of the Father, seeking to do His will in all things. I assert that Truth is continually unfolding, continually changing, and hence is never fully revealed. Every one of the 1 x 10²² planets in our visible universe has its own set of humans, with their own unique Avatar, unfolding evolution in unique and individual ways. Even if I had seen “Absolute Truth,” I would still wish to try something new, and thus learn something that had never been known before! In the continuous unfolding of the Cosmic story, then, not even Brahman possesses Absolute Truth, for this evolves as He tries new strategies and ideas for helping his creatures to attain enlightenment. (This is another way of saying, really, that there is no such thing as “Absolute Truth;” there is only “Reality Known to a Maximal Extent,” which Brahman truly does have.) To give you a rather obvious example, how do you suppose all the varieties of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, reptiles, fish and plants have come into existence? I tell you, although the Creator follows common molds, all earth’s species are unique in the universe. If you were to travel to another planet, you would see flying things, crawling things, swimming things, and walking things, but they would all be subtly or even obviously different. In deep sleep I sometimes go on “galactic tours,” to see how things are going in my brothers’ habitats. On one world, I could see that they play tennis, in a form almost precisely similar to the way we play here. However, on traveling to a rocky beach, I saw an odd crustacean that was like a large centipede, bigger than my arm, with an exoskeleton that was reddish at the top and bluish at the bottom. The material realm is real; it is simply separate from the spiritual realm, which underlies and coexists with it. Any definition of “Absolute Reality” must include the material realm, and since the material realm continually evolves, so does “Absolute Reality,” and hence of course, “Absolute Truth” as well. Do you see how easy it is to dethrone this imposter? He shows a fundamental lack of appreciation for the nature of reality, for the hierarchy of spiritual beings, and for Brahman’s identity that is maintained separate from His worlds. Cohen has come closer to the truth when he describes his perception that “everything is evolving,” for verily, there is no spiritual being who ceases to grow, just as the material world also changes continuously. Da Free John grows as well, although he would like to pretend he just “popped” out of nowhere with completely formed spiritual organs, to give us the “complete teaching for all time,” which is not a teaching, but an outlandish, solipsistic theory that does not hold together upon examination.

So you see, even to say “Already Realized Absolute Truth” is falseness. There is no such thing, for Absolute Truth evolves along with Absolute Reality! Absolute Truth is an ongoing thing, not an accomplished act! Even Brahman is continually learning new things about His creatures, the Cosmic Scientist raising a “bumper crop” of brand new godlings, as well as His established Masters. This may shock the world, but think about it. Since the Avatar always does the Father’s will, His life is the most optimized of any living being. His disembodied portion is always in intense communication with the Father, across a huge bandwidth that would put our fastest computer connections to shame. What will be the effect, on the Avatar, of different choices made on a moment-by-moment basis? For instance, in a lifetime of fifty years there are approximately 20,000 days. Each of these days is composed of innumerable choices that the Avatar must make. As you can see, there is an infinite number of permutations in which one can engage, all of which will have different lasting effects on the Avatar’s awareness, personality, demeanor and power. The Father is good, and wishes to optimize His Sons, and so they always steer through an optimal course, however variety is the key to optimization, and so the Avatar does different things for the sake of doing different things. Crucifixion is a terrible way to die, but if it is only once per solar cycle, it can be seen as a good thing, a shock to the system that awakens a living awareness in the Avatar of the degraded state of man. Drinking hemlock is similarly terrible, although less painful, and gives a similar lesson. Being forced to take psychotropic, mind-altering drugs, which result in excruciating mental torment and do a certain amount of lasting damage to brain tissue as well, is a once-per-solar-cycle experience, and the final one, that frees the Avatar from further abuse and violence at the hands of man. There are millions of positive choices, as well, that one can make, all of which will have varying effects on the embodied and disembodied Avatar’s spirit, and for this reason the Avatar never claims to speak for Absolute Truth: He is too busy making it happen!

The Avatar’s main concern, then, is with growth, both of His creatures as well as of Himself. You know, I would like to ask Da Free John a question. What is he, in his spiritual form? Is he a soul, and if so why does he claim not to need to grow? Is he some “conglomeration of powers” that have come together to raise the body, and hence do not grow? What is it that sees through Da Free John’s eyes, hears through his ears, tastes with his tongue, smells with his nose and feels with his skin? Is it some entity that has an independent existence from the body, and moves from solar system to solar system giving “ultimate teachings?” The really humorous thing about Da Free John is that he does not see himself or even ask any questions like this. He has merely had a certain subjective experience, and trumpets that experience, seeking to turn it into Avatarhood for himself, although I for one do not buy it, not for a minute! If He is the Avatar, what a mess we are all in! It is not sufficient to say “I am Real God,” for you see, this will be the experience of everyone in nirvikalpa samadhi! This is not Da Free John’s exclusive domain, though like a fat hen laying rotten eggs he seeks to make it his private nest! The sentence, “I Come in the Intelligence, Power, and Perfect Form of Real God” is one which every illumined teacher may utter in truth! The Paramatman is real God, make no mistake about this, and the Atman freed from egocentricity is the superlative spiritual being who can witness it and make progress there. Da Free John has indeed realized his true nature, but he draws many wrong conclusions about his identity, power, and position in the world. Da Free John will discover that intelligence becomes more intelligent, power becomes more powerful, the perfect becomes more perfect still, and the real more real as well, as more and more of Paramatman is imbibed by the illumined soul, which does not give up its “seeking” as Da Free John attempts to do, sitting on his fetid nest of immorality, but continues the upwards climb, inspired by the real Avatar, and not a pretender.

My Wisdom-Teaching Is “Radical”. I do not Teach the motives, paths, and forms of seeking—for these are founded in dilemma, not in Truth. I Apply only appropriate conditions to My devotees. I Demand only the conditions that are appropriate to be lived, since Truth Is Always Already the Case.

These sentences are really horrifying to a true devotee of the Lord, and prove utterly that Da Free John is not the Avatar. What is missing here? Compassion is notable by its absence. The Avatar does not slap His dear children, His close followers, in the face as Da Free John does here. Da Free John defines “radical” as meaning that he asks nothing from his disciples, that they can just relax because “truth is already the case.” This is terrible! It is horrible! He is a monster! He cuts the path to spiritual ascension for living beings completely off here. To my eyes this reads, “Abandon all hope, for there is nothing you can do. I am reality. Learn to love me. That is all.” Well, Da Free John, I teach the motives, paths, and forms of seeking, for these are the means for going beyond dilemma and attaining unto your state, to which you hold no exclusive license, whatever you may say! What is the motive? To go beyond death, to discover your immortality here and now. What are the paths? The paths are the four described in Hinduism, love or bhakti yoga, work or karma yoga, knowledge or jnana yoga, and concentration or raja yoga. What are the forms of seeking? The forms are to always observe ahimsa, meditate daily, repeat the Holy Name from time to time with love and devotion in the heart, and to work selflessly, contributing to the universal happiness, of which one’s own happiness is a part. Why do I teach these things? Because I want people to attain enlightenment! I want boatloads of people, trainloads of people, all with smiling, happy faces for they have learned the laws of the soul which will give them greater joy in daily living, a sense of purpose, radiant health, and overflowing energy. Time and time again I will come to reveal these things, because my devotees are dear to me. That man who loves me, I also am in love with him! That woman who loves me is my sweetheart, though we be ever so far away! Your teaching is empty, vacant, scandalous and blasphemous, Da Free John! “I demand only the conditions that are appropriate to be lived,” you say, but what do I demand? I demand nothing; I only open doors, turn on lights, and lend a helping hand. The world is a free place, and all are independent. All may do as they like here on earth, although I also warn about the consequences for evil actions, just as I reassure people that good invariably comes out of good. My “appropriate conditions” have been given in my Seven-fold Way of Love; these are not demands, but guidelines, leading to an increase in the basal level of joy for all when they are applied with skill and enthusiasm. Follow my Way, or ignore it; the choice is fully yours, and you have eternity to decide. Only, refrain from all evil, or face my Father’s wrath and His real hell, being cast into an animal body for perhaps billions of years. Although he presents a “real-sounding” description of his personal awesomeness, Da Free John falls flat on his face when it comes time to help the world. If this is the best that reality itself can do, I will go seek to create my own reality somewhere else! Da Free John gives man no more hope here than vacant one the Christians possess: “Just continue living, be my devotee, and that is the best you can do. Why seek to become a mystic?” When I was going through sadhana, I threw Da Free John’s books down in distaste and disgruntlement; all this lead-up, but no action in the end! I want to live, I want to grow, I want to experience deep states of consciousness, and I want to know that bliss which never ceases! How does Da Free John seek to help us do this? “Look at me,” he says. “Am I not marvelous, am I not fantastic? Truly, there is no one like me.” His entire teaching work is merely different statements of his fanciful and chimerical identity! He did not know what he was, which may indeed be what he changed his name so many times! Is this the best that Absolute Truth can do for us? If so, I am going to look elsewhere!

I Am the Truth in the world. I Generate the conditions of the Truth, the conditions of the Light of Real God.

If Da Free John is Truth, then I spit at truth and cling to Krishna! If he “generates the conditions of the Truth,” then I proceed to generate my own, cursing him in the name of Chaitanya! If he is the only “Light of Real God,” then I will tread in the “darkness” of Jesus Christ, which is very light for He is the real Son of the Father, a true God, Creator of our solar system and a Person with whom I would like to be friends. I step out of the Da Free Refrigerator, and into the warmth of the vision of the real Incarnation of Brahman, the Avatar, Friend of man and Guidance Counselor, too. What arrogant claims this man makes! What overbold assertions! A portion of truth Da Free John may have, but this is all. Truth itself is something much larger than that of which he can conceive, and evolves continuously despite all his attempts to freeze it in the twentieth century! If you are Absolute Truth, Da Free John, then tell me about the Nexians on Trantolene, over in our sister galaxy, Andromeda? Speechless? So I expected. I cannot even get this information directly, but must go through channels. How can any living physical being embody the fullness of Reality? The Avatar is the closest thing that you will ever get to this, for the universe is vast indeed and all the information that exists in the mind of God cannot be contained in a vessel the size of a football or large eggplant! Even on this planet, Mr. Da Free John, there are hundreds of billions of living entities, all of whose souls must be precisely placed at conception! How could an embodied individual ever contain this information, and if he does not contain it but knows about it, why would he ever make such foolish claims as you make here? You have experienced Paramatman, of this I have no doubt, and this experience is the origin of your bodacious and condescending assertions. However, your conclusions about yourself are all wrong, and the people you draw away from the Avatar to yourself will be slowed down by this. For all, the right attitude is “The external Lord, the Avatar, embodies the Creator, while the guru embodies the Lord within my heart, with whom I may attain union and then make all the foolish statements I want (though they are based on a real perception). Though it draw the wrath of the real Avatar down upon me, He will forgive me, for even to follow an illumined person is far superior to following no one at all.”

Da Free John’s central problem is his theory that all he needs to do is to describe his own attainment and tell people to love him. This is similar to what Krishna said in the Gita, but since he is not the real Avatar, he cannot carry it off. The ecstatic speech of Krishna was subtly different from Da Free John’s speech here and elsewhere. The Avatar opens a door for mankind, but Da Free John slams this door shut, in his face. The Avatar, by appearing as the Buddha and Mohammed, for instance, has offered man different means to makes spiritual progress than loving Him, which is of the utmost importance. Da Free John gives man one path, and the Avatar has offered him many, even to the extent of coming as different individuals, in different bodies, pretending various things that were not ultimately accurate in an objective sense but which would allow people that felt repulsed by the Way of Love to make progress nevertheless. Love is not the only way, but only one of many, and so “Mr. Reality” is not in touch with the world’s crying need for spiritual guidance, and has not given the “ultimate teaching work” but a very inferior and one-dimensional teaching work that is essentially solipsistic, describing his own attainment in painstaking detail that is most difficult to read and comprehend, and then asking us to love him. In other words, Da Free John’s reality is not our reality, and this is all that matters in the end. I do not wish to attain Da Free John’s state; I do not want the state of another! I only wish to attain my own state. What do I care if he is what he claims to be, the ultimate authority so close to reality that the truths which emerge from his lips are tantamount to perfection? If I cannot have my state, then he is nothing to me, just another being in this troublesome world of limitless beings, and so in my days of sadhana I sought a teacher who would teach me the things that I could do, in my own personal life, to achieve joy for myself, in this very life. I could never bring myself to feel any love for Da Free John, as he insisted was absolutely essential for my growth, for I thought he was focused too much on himself, and not enough upon my own personal needs for spiritual attainment. Why would I wish to read endless pages about what Da Free John is, what Da Free John has done, what Da Free John experiences? If I cannot have my experience, I do not care what he is or where he comes from. Fortunately for all of us, Da Free John’s claims are patently false, he is not the Avatar, and there is a road for each of us to travel that is completely separate from him, ignoring him utterly in his little honey trap, where he appears to be at least temporarily stuck. I do not respond to a person who tells me I “already have everything,” for I do not! I want more, more, more; more joy, more love, more freedom, and more wisdom, too! I want practical means of attaining these things, and if you will not give me those means I will never call you my teacher!

You see, the difference between Krishna in the Gita and Da Free John is that Krishna gives us an objectively accurate description of who He is that is utterly detached and disinterested, and forms only part of a much grander, more eloquent, and more truly helpful teaching. Krishna does not spend endless pointless pages establishing his own authority, but takes the authority which is His in a humble way that inspires us to make improvements in our own lives. There is an air of arrogance about Da Free John that is totally missing in Krishna, and a feeling of warmth and compassion in Krishna that is totally missing in Da Free John. Krishna never tries this smarmy approach of telling us “it is always already the case,” thus seeking to keep us from the “trouble” of performing sadhana. Da Free John has given man no path to follow, for he is not the being which he claims to be. Those lower than him may be able to make a little progress (which I doubt), but he is the laughingstock of the angels, and both Eknath Easwaran and Meher Baba were higher than him and would thus be totally unable to go forward by clinging to the arrogant and blasphemous feet of this beast among gurus. Truth may not be so readily reduced to a teaching that may be given in a single life. If Da Free John is the perfect one that he claims to be, then why is his teaching so narrow and constrictive, not allowing people to take an impersonal route to reality if they so choose? Da Free John is a dark and troubled individual, attempting to usurp all power in the universe for himself in a teaching that is fundamentally insecure and vacant. He claims to come directly from reality, but this “reality” apparently does not know its own creatures, being unable to give useful advice for these creatures to reach whatever states they are capable of achieving, and thus proving itself fundamentally vacant and impotent.

If you can bring yourself to feel love for Da Free John, then by all means do so; since he is illumined indeed, you will go forward. Personally, I could feel no attraction for him as an individual, although reading his works I could get a little spiritual feeling. This spiritual feeling, however, never bore fruit for me for as I read further I would always get to a point where he would say, “This is for me, not for you. It just happened to me, and I do not understand it. It cannot happen to you. You cannot become what I am, and what is more, I do not really see anything that you may do.” This is really it, you see. I was always looking for practical advice, which could help me to attain, and I did not find it in Da Free John. Krishna also gives us the sense that we cannot become what He is, in the Gita, but for some mysterious reason I still felt drawn to Him, as though in being drawn to Him there was great hope for my life. I get the feeling that even should I not be able to become Krishna, that when I do follow His advice and make whatever attainment I can make, which He does promise, He will become my greatest friend, although He is a mighty God, and what a cool Friend He will be! I do not get this feeling from Da Free John, though perhaps others may. Da Free John does not seem to me to be a friendly, kind, compassionate individual who would like to get to know me and take a real interest in my life. His words do have a certain amount of elevation, but I do not get the sense from them that there is an individual worth knowing behind them, but a kind of impersonal force that really doesn’t care that much about me, where I have been, where I am going, and what I may become. The world’s spiritual aspirants are most dear to Krishna, and He asks us to give Him devotion as our ship’s Captain, who will guide us forward to the safe waters in “samadhi harbor.” I feel like Da Free John’s only dear one is himself, and that he does not really love us as he begs us to love him. He is indeed on an isolated spiritual island, just as his body exists on a physical island in Fiji. Who will want to visit him there, when his teaching is just not practical or helpful in real life, though he claims to be reality itself? The Avatar asks for our devotion so that He may guide us forward towards our own joy and freedom, which is His only goal. Da Free John asks for our devotion but opens no doors, merely asserting his attainment, which is not in the end that much, for what is attainment without practical fruition in a teaching work that really helps people to go forward on the spiritual path? In his next life, perhaps Da Free John will do a little better for all of us than in the current one; oh yes, he will be back, who is far from pure in his lower mind, as his weird “sex experiments” clearly demonstrate. I am all for reality, but I will never claim to have an ultimate teaching. My teachings will expand as man’s hunger for spiritual knowledge continues to grow. There is so much more I have to tell you! There are intricate details and subtle nuances about spirituality and enlightenment that I cannot even brush upon in this current life, in which my main goal is to unite East and West in a more fundamental understanding of what it means to be a human being on this wonderful planet of ours, which is only a temporary home, and leads to better things in the end. Top

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