Someone related a dream that became a vision. In the vision he was looking at Adi Da, Da's face disappeared, and the dreamer experienced himself as Pure Consciousness. Daists attributed the vision to Adi Da. Others (myself included) had a slightly different take.

Tim,

I'll second what everyone else has posted, and add a couple of thoughts (with the caveat that I have a touch of the flu, so what I have to offer may be a little incoherent)---

It is always good to remind yourself that you don't owe anyone anything for your spiritual experiences.

As somebody pointed out, the vision was your experience and you couldn't have had it if you were not spiritually advanced. The vision comes, the Consciousness event occurs, and there are no implications beyond that moment.

The Dasters would have you believe that such visions bind you to Frank, in a seeking way, and in a monetary way. They claim that your inherent nature is dualistic, and you don't have the right to claim "independence" as an enlightened being. As Frank used to say, "Pay me now or pay me later". As if he is selling you your freedom. As if every vision of his extraordinary consciousness entitles him to financial compensation -- from you.

But that would mean that any spiritual awakening you have doesn't belong to you, but to Frank. And that's the exact opposite of what spiritual liberation is all about!

According to Frank and his cohorts you and all the rest of us are "totally bereft of Divine Truth", hopelessly mired in illusion, and walking around seeking answers we will never find except by complete surrender to the Da guru. Then you sit with Frank, he shows you his extrordinary consciousness, and all of a sudden you owe your life to him -- he owns you.

The Dasters try to seal off escape from Frank's possessive logic by saying that any attempt to deny your obligation to the will and commands of the Da-guru is the ego of Narcissus seeking unlawful autonomy. So it is they find themselves (like Frank) belittling the worth of the whole human race and describing everyone they talk to in negative terms.

Like a Lord of Karma, Frank Jones binds people to himself, through their self-doubt and their sense of incompleteness. And he continually attempts to reinforce that sense of incompleteness in his listeners with "criticism" -- the torrent of curses and belittlement that pours from his lips, day after day.

He is a little bit "complete", so he seems greater and more powerful than the average Joe. This gives him an advantage, an opportunity to put demands on those less conscious than himself -- to extort millions of dollars from his followers so that he can indulge his every whim. It also gives him the opportunity to run amok in the candy store of sexuality, picking off the most desireable young women and having his way with them.

It is in these kinds of behavior that we separate the Real Avatars from the Bad Boys.

The Real Avatars give enlightenment away. (They always have, they always will.) They direct you to the revelation of your innate Liberation, and the rest is up to you.

Now, curiously enough, your vision seems like that -- Frank's face disappears, you experience pure Consciousness, and then you realize your own "deep Being".

That's that. Did Frank give you this vision -- or did something else give it to you, as a way of penetrating the Da-guru illusion? Whatever the case, clearly whatever problems Frank has with projecting his karmas and making a mess of his life have nothing to do with you. In a very real sense you are fortunate to see past all his crap and get a taste of whatever it is that is true and profound in yourself.

So, frank-ly, I don't see a need for tension here. The vision liberates you from the face of the Da-guru. And you might feel a sense of relief that you don't have to go and surrender your life at the feet of Sri Frank, since (enlightened or not) he has pretty much destroyed his own teaching work.

BTW, I agree with those who say that Franklin Jones may well have been a Realizer (although not a Buddha). But if so, the expression of that Realization in him is now curiously retrograde and even corrupt. If he is an "manifestation of God", then it is a god still in its infancy, still learning how to adapt to life in the human body.

Frank Jones may very well be an expression of such a half-formed archetype...an evolutionary step, perhaps, but by no means the end-all of the Be-All.

hope that helps,

Elias

PS: One good way to think about this is to ask yourself what you would expect of others, if you could, by the grace of God, show them their divine nature. Would you use your transmission as a means to acquire wealth and power? Would you use your siddhi as a seducer of young women? Would you acquire a thousand slaves to do your every bidding?

I'll willing to wager that the answer is "no" to all of the above. And IMHO only a psychologically undeveloped person would combine "spiritual transmission" with the lust to acquire countless sexual partners and vast amounts of money, real estate, and material things.

In that regard, I guess I'm sort of an old-fashioned guy, Frank. ;-)