Adi Da Causal

I met my first “Sadhana Murti”, literal meaning-the image of spiritual practice-on retreat at Naitauba Hermitage Sanctuary in 2006,  I will call him Ralph and on first meeting, he totally offended me, I mean everything offended me about him, I could never love this man even as a fellow devotee. I just wanted to get as far away from Ralph as possible. Ralph was everything I did not want to be, yet we were like the same poles of a magnet.

As it happened Ralph was to be my constant service companion 24/7, for several weeks. I described my predicament to another devotee and he laughed out loud  ” Friend” he said ”you have met your-sadhana murti-be grateful and use the opportunity” (the first time I had heard that term used)

It bothered me that I was so mean spirited to Ralph, clearly I was no saint in this circumstance, just a rather loveless character and that above all else was clear to me, over time my relationship with Ralph softened slightly but it could never become  a friendship.

Sadhana Murti described this relationship so well I wondered where the term came from, recently it came to light that the famed  Indian Poet Bhakta Tukaram used it to describe his shrewish wife who he prized mightily for testing him so -Adi Da (then Bubba Free John) and a devotee visited Tukaram’s tomb in 1973.

Tukaram with his Beloved-Sadhana Murti

“I am desirous to climb the heights of *Laucala That I may see thence the island of Naitaumba, Floating apparently like a canoe on the Bright water…” Author unknown, from Transactions of the ninth International congress of Orientalists, 1893

Not much information is available about Naitauba pre-European settlement of the Lau Archipelago, some commentators are of the opinion that fresh water would have been an issue on such islands (no above ground water) and would have prevented a permanent settlement.

When Captain William Bligh sailed passed Naitauba in 1789, it is recorded “.. steered West to pass close to Naitauba, where they saw natives on the beach with spears in their hands..”
The Fiji Islands: a geographical handbook By Ronald Albert Derrick

Naitauba pronounced “Ny-tum-ba” is a volcanic and raised limestone island, with a high point of 186 metres(1), part of the Northern Lau Group, recently estimated to be 2000 acres or just over 3 square miles(2) in size.

It has cultivated areas and virgin forest. There are sections of ocean within the reef kept as a marine park, restricting fishing and hunting. The Island is almost completely enclosed by reef -named “The Garland of Whales” by Adi Da Samraj- as this high altitude photograph clearly shows. Naitauba has also been spelled ; Naitaba - Naitaumba- Naitamba - Neita-oumba (3) in the past

Walter and Herbert Chamberlain (1877-1899) The brothers Walter and Herbert Chamberlain, uncles of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, a pair of British adventures and entrepreneurs, bought the Island of Naitauba from William Hennings in 1877, for £ 7,250. They sold it back to Hennings after deeming it an unprofitable enterprise for £ 4,000, in 1899.

From Diary Notes recorded from a return visit by the brothers in 1881:

“Cleared much Jungle, planted many thousands of cocoanuts and 300 ac. of South Sea cotton, the proceeds about paying the costs.Then, as the government regulations enormously increased the expenses of labour and we deemed it hopeless as a paying proposition under vicarious management, we sold it in July 1899.. ” (4)

The Hennings Family (1899-1965)
The first reliable record of a European owner of Naituaba was William Hennings a German national (married to a Fijian women of title) and at times a successful Copra Trader(5) his son Ratu Gustavus Mara Hennings (the “Ratu” title goes back to his link to Fijian Royalty on his mothers side), took over and continued to develop the plantation, later marrying Elizabeth Vogel, German by birth. The island then remained in the Hennings family until 1965.

Under the stewardship of the Hennings, Naitauba became mainly copra producing, known for good labour relations and described as “a model plantation”(6)

Raymond Burr 1965-1983
Raymond Burr and his long time partner Robert Benevides(7), bought Naitauba from Elizabeth Hennings (Gus Hennings died in 1955) The pair further developed the plantation, including building many wooden structures and introducing cattle, Burr had a great passion for orchids and grew many varieties on the island.

Burr was a noted philanthropist and helped the Fijian residents, providing employment and among other things sponsored several Island children to be educated in the US. Burr always referred to the island as “Naitamba”

His biographer noted “”All religions are respected with dignity on Naitamba”(8)

Adi Da Samraj & Adidam (1983 - present)

In 1983 Naitauba was acquired for Adidam (Adi Da was a legal renunciate) primarily financed by one patron-devotee. Adi Da first set foot on Naitauba on October 27Th 1983, the next day he said (9) :

AVATAR ADI DA SAMRAJ: Naitauba is not just a piece of land. It is a Divine Place. That is how it will be for as long as the sun shines and rises and sets and the grass grows and the wind blows. Forever – as ever as there can be in this world. Maybe it will become a paradise through Spiritual sacrifice. And, all during that epoch, this Place should be a Sanctuary of Blessing. Over time, then, millions of people – literally, millions of people – should come to this Place and be Blessed. They should come and acknowledge, affirm, and see My Revelation magnified.

This place is so great, so great. Civilization has never interfered with it. It is untouched. The water is blue. The fish are happy. Untouched, really untouched. Pristine from the beginning of the world – this place. It has been waiting here since the beginning of time.
–October 28, 1983

Under the custodianship of Adi Da Samraj the Island was slowly developed into a Hermitage Ashram (formally named, Adi Da Samrajashram) with some similarities to the Indian model yet unique to the emerging Spiritual Way of Adidam . Its emphasis is a disciplined life of devotion, service and meditative practice. The conservation of the Island flora, fauna and reef was actioned from the beginning of acquisition of the island. A report into the health of the reef (named by Adi Da, “The Garland of Wales”) was undertaken in 1986(10). The necessity of supplying food to the residents of the island in a self sufficient manner moved the plantation model into that of an organic farm, in the later 1980’s one of the founders of permaculture Bill Mollison(11) was invited to Naituaba to research and advise Adidam on the development of this practice. A constant weed eradication program continues, many thousand of the coconuts have been removed as they become unclimbable (and therefore unusable) and a hazard to humans and all cattle were removed and gifted to local island communities.

Co-operative association with Indigenous Fijian village of Ciqomi (thing-GO-mee) was an imperative from the beginning. Many residents started to work for Adidam on projects from new building infrastructure to developing the extensive gardens. Adidam supports the village in many ways including employment- school scholarships, health clinic service, transport, water supply and sanitation. The village is completely independent of Adidam.

Naitauba remains a place of pilgrimage and spiritual retreat for devotees of Adi Da Samraj, it exists solely on the sponsorship of members and friends of Adidam, as a place of personal and spiritual sacrifice. The intention is to protect and preserve this Sanctuary as an esoteric and conservation treasure of humanity, into perpetuity.

A more extensive version of this article is available here

notes and references

*Laucala is a nearby island
(1) Review of the protected areas system in Oceania By Arthur L. Dahl
(2) http://naitaubafarm.org/
(3) http://www.geody.com/geospot.php?world=terra&ufi=-1189947&alc=ntm
(4) The years of hope: Cambridge, colonial administration in the South Seas and Cricket By Philip Snow
(5)The Cambridge History of the Pacific Islanders By Donald Denoon, Malama Meleisea, Stewart Firth, Jocelyn Linnekin, Karen Nero
(6) The years of hope: Cambridge, colonial administration in the South Seas and Cricket By Philip Snow
(7) http://www.glbtq.com/arts/burr1_r,2.html
(8) Raymond Burr: A Film, Radio and Television Biography By Ona L. Hill
(9) http://global.adidam.org/books/adi-da.html
(10) http://www.reefbase.org/pacific/pub_C0000000130.aspx
(11) http://www.tagari.com/?p=58

This is a partial journal  from my last pilgrimage to Naitauba (Adi Da Samrajashram) in November 2008, just prior to the passing (Mahasamadhi) of The Great Sage, Adi Da Samraj

(Airport Taveuni)

I love arriving in Taveuni, the small Fijian island where we wait for the boat ride to Naitauba Hermitage Sanctuary, Adidam has a little cottage there used by devotees and guests as a simple sleep over while waiting for the boat to arrive.

The cottage is in an idyllic setting and nobody bothers guests, other than a shrewd Fijian Indian fruit farmer who may knock on the door to sell bananas or papaya but other than that it’s a place to enjoy the company of Gurubai and prepare for the journey to Naitauba. It’s a complete chill down, tempered with the  anticipation of the journey ahead

There is a simple yet powerful meditation room, set-apart in the cottage and that becomes a focal point of preparing oneself for the Spiritual Retreat that is Naitauba, a beautiful young Sri Lankan woman did the pujas in this tiny little room and the beauty and unexpected quality she brought to the occasions was spellbinding.

When I arrived there November 1, 2008 I had the company of Anthony, a long time devotee of Adi Da, Jacqueline a talented musician and vivacious personality, John another great musician and unstoppable comic, and his friend and guest Robert also with a musical background.

I particularly enjoyed the company of Anthony a man of natural humour and equanimity, we talked long and walked and swam in the little beach below the cottage. Anthony was happy to tell me great stories of his time with Adi Da Samraj, this form of oral communication is priceless and considered a personal gift from the teller of the Leela (spiritual story)

If I was asked to characterize devotees of Adi Da as certain type, I could not give an honest reply, if pressed I would have to say “varying from extremely quiet and inverted to courageously out there, vocal and extroverted! ” I could write all day about the marvelous, ordinary and extraordinary range of people who have turned up at the door of Adi Da Samraj (and that’s only the few I have met). On one level “everyone you have ever met, loved and unloved”, is there

There is a extremely good little restaurant on Taveuni, not far from the cottage, it is run by a friendly American woman who is very hospitable to devotees and caters for many unconventional food requests including green smoothies  using some local greens.

The stop over in Taveuni gives people time to adjust to a slower pace, but also the difficulties inherent in living in a developing country in the Tropics, including heat, bugs and bodily discomforts, there is also a deeper level of preparation to accommodate, a necessary shedding of both bodily and psychic accumulations, there is always a degree of purification to go through which begins as soon as the pilgrimage is undertaken and continues and intensifies when Adi Da Samrajashram is reached.

 It is fair to say that pilgrims to Naituaba who have been coming to this island since 1983 “tread lightly” and are hardly noticed by the local populace, there is no feeling of intrusion or cultural difference, many factors combine here, including a laid back and welcoming attitude by locals (it is normal to greet everyone you pass with the customary “Bulla”) cultural sensitivity by devotees and multi-faith tolerance due to Indian influences

On another level this is grand adventure, in the sense of stepping way outside of conventional living and entering into another world quite literally, all your normal ties and duties are vanished for a long or short period and even though Naitauba is always a very demanding situation, you feel liberated set free and entering into  a vortex of force and Grace never encountered in the tedium of everyday, a new pattern, becomes very tangible to you the closer you get to The Guru

The boat was to be delayed for some reason and we were overjoyed to hear that we were to get there by motor launch a fast and exhilarating 2 to 2.5 hour dash across the often wild ocean, which can at times be a horrendous ordeal of up to 7 hours of fighting (or yielding to) seasickness, if the seas are rough.

(devotees waiting for boat , image compliments of www.adidaupclose.com)

Adi Da Samraj’s MahaSamadhi site (burial chamber and temple complex) is named  “The Brightness”, it is located high on Naitauba Island Hermitage. The temple itself is small white square masonry building, apart from a small dome, it is distinctly not built in the traditional manner of an Asian temple, it is sited in a vast field of lush tropical grasses. There is a young sacred grove consisting of one banyan, peepel, ashok, amla, bel, neem and mango tree, this is set below the MahaSamadhi, up higher is a group of sacred coconuts, the seeds collected by devotees from various Indian holy sites and temples associated with Bhagavan Adi Da’s sadhana and spiritual associations.

I briefly served the garden area there only 3 weeks ago while on a short (and as it turned out an immeasurably graceful, timely) retreat, the light at this height struck me as very rarified and intense, unusual in the tropics, where it tends to be more diffused than in temperate climates. There is a 360 degree view of Naitauba its surrounding reef, islands and the vast powerful sea, it is an intensely beautiful sight

I am always struck by the immense work and detailed planning that Adi Da put into every item that he focused on. Below is an edited account from a long time devotee indicating something of the amount of intention Adi Da put into planning and construction of the Mahasamadhi.

The Mahasamadhi burial chamber is 6′ 9″ in height, and five feet square. It has a dirt floor and concrete walls. This had all been specifically designed by Bhagavan Adi Da Samraj previous to the construction of the “Brightness” structure. Bhagavan Adi Da had come up to the “Brightness” and personally made the site location for every aspect of the “Brightness”. (Many structures remain to be built in the overall plan.) For several months, He had been involved in discussions relative to every detail of His Mahasamadhi Place. He had Requested and Received many traditional accounts of Mahasamadhi of Realizers in the Great Tradition, and explained their orientations. And He determined in detail just what should happen in the case of His Own Mahasamadhi, so as to ensure that His Body could be a point of contact for His “Bright” Blessing forever

Currently with the Master’s passing only a few days old, huge personal sacrifice and heroic endeavor by devotees is in place, hundreds of devotees and friends of Bhagavan have done (and are doing) whatever is necessary to get to Naitauba to share something of this immense occasion. In spite of modern transport, Naitauba is a very remote place and requires much of a person just to get there. Adi Da Samraj’s body faces West, by his own instruction, not North or East as in the traditional manner.

More on Adi Da’s MahaSamadhi and the Future of Adidam

A friends account

Article from Laughing Man on death of Realized Beings

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Naitauba November 12  2008

Naitauba is a very isolated Island of the Lau group of Islands situated on the far east of the main Fiji Islands group, 3.5 Sq miles in area and encircled by a coral reef, it is approached by boat or seaplane (more rarely) Naitauba is a religious hermitage based on the model of an Indian Ashram, My Guru or Spiritual Teacher Adi Da is always in residence there

Only practicing devotees, invited guests and the local Fijian people reside there. Adi Da Samraj would like many, many more people to come for spiritual sighting ( Darshan) and spiritual Retreat ( a long or short period of intense spiritual practice for the sake of God Realization or Liberation)

It is not a holiday resort, and the conditions are often hot, wet & uncomfortable. It is a place to do spiritual practice or sadhana, the day has a fairly strict voluntary recommended code. Beginning with meditation around 5 AM ( or earlier ) breakfast ( 6.30 to 8 AM) followed by Service ( or Guru Seva) until 12 AM lunch, then service to 4/5PM The food is extremely good vegetarian cuisine tending to raw. Raw smoothies, red papaya, small sweet bananas and mangoes are much in demand at present

Often in the evening Bhagavan Adi Da will sit in one of several beautiful temples on Naitauba in formal Darshan ( here is a YouTube Darshan if you would like to get a taste of this experience) The difficulties of the day are soon forgotten in the natural joy of swooning in the Masters company, great love-bliss and intense vibratory light are often felt without any effort on these prized occasions.

Although Naitauba is often tough and uncomfortable practitioners take great joy in their Spiritual Masters company ( Darshan) creative occupation ( anything from carpentry to digital arts ) friendship, humour, meditation, study of spiritual texts, environment (pristine natural beauty) and most recently the use of ipods ( or equivalent mp3 players) to keep their focus in spiritual practice.