All the scriptures are fulfilled in your sight, and your prayers are answered with a clear voice.

I swear to you -- and you will always continue to see it with clear signs -- that Real God has granted this grace to you through my appearance in your midst. And if you will surrender to me, if you will love and trust me because you recognize who I am, if you will simply accept the discipline of my demands, simply do what I ask you to do -- and I will always make it very plain -- if you will remember me with love, if you will call upon me by name with your feeling breaths, if you call upon the name of "Da", then this will be sufficient.

      -- Da Free John, on "The Day of the Heart", Sept 17, 1979

On Frank's 40th birthday, Saturday November 3, 1979, many hundreds of people descended on Vision Mound, his sanctuary at a decaying hot springs resort on Siegler Road in Lake County, California. My wife and I were among them.

This was to be a two-day celebration, so we had rented a room at nearby Konocti Harbor Inn, on the shores of Clear Lake, at the foot of Mount Konocti (an extinct volcano locally famous for its rattlesnakes).

As we arrived at the sanctuary, it was pouring rain, and everyone quickly moved from the parking lot to a huge circus tent that had been set up on the sanctuary tennis courts. There we made contact with old friends and new, and listened to talks by Frank's long-time devotees. I think it was on this occasion that I first heard Aniello "Paris" Panico relate the story of how he had been just about to commit suicide when he met Franklin Jones in 1972. He considers that Frank saved his life, and as far as I know Neil remains one of Frank's right hand men and most committed devotees to this day.

After the testimonies we were fed a vegetarian lunch, and then broke into smaller groups which gathered in various places around the sanctuary. I was with a group of ten or fifteen people that met in one corner of "the Pavilion" -- the large all-purpose building where meals were served when I first visited in 1975. The building was open at the sides and covered with semi-transparent plastic sheeting.

The purpose of the meetings seemed to be to learn from us why we were here and how seriously we were involved with Da Free John. We were told there was a possibility that Frank would sit with everybody today -- so I assumed they also wanted to filter any nutcases out of the crowd. Ever since he began, Frank has, not surprisingly, attracted a number of unstable people.

In my group there was one guy who clearly thought of himself as an advanced yogi, equal to or even beyond Da Free John. He made quite a thing of acting aloof and superior, and "testing" our group leader. His girlfriend sat facing him, and she would gaze at him soulfully and sigh every time he spoke. It wasn't long before our group leader took a break, and when he returned he had two security heavies in tow. They took the guy by the arms and led him and his girlfriend off the property. Years later I thought I recognized this same man as a popular psychic who emerged in Los Angeles, but I couldn't be sure.

After the group meetings everyone gathered again in the big tent for devotional singing, led by Ray Lynch. The singing was directed toward a large wicker "guru chair" set up on a platform in the center of the tent. We were told that Frank wouldn't be sitting with us after all -- he was giving a special birthday darshan in the formal meditation hall just down the hill, for his family and his most spiritually advanced devotees. However, if we sang with true devotion -- and loud enough -- perhaps he might hear us.

Ray Lynch had written a catchy tune to the words:

Radiant Da,
All-Pervading Current of Life,
Consciousness where I appear and disappear...

Before long all 700 of us were singing this prayer in unison, raising a thunderous sound that vibrated the tent flaps. I was struck that this was a classic American tent revival -- except the messiah we were singing to wasn't resurrected -- he was ensconced nearby in his private Communion Hall. The other dissimilarity to a born-again revival meeting was the fact that a Hindu puja ritual was being performed before the big chair as we sang.

I was amazed at the fervor of the crowd. It was something of a revelation to me that so many people felt so moved by Frank. I tried to bring my meditative mind into connection with the man to whom we were singing. I tried to open myself to whatever he might be radiating, at this very moment, as he sat in yogic samadhi with his family and friends.

The singing and chanting in the tent went on and on and on, until it reached a truly feverish pitch. Suddenly I turned to the person next to me: "He's coming." The guy looked disbelieving. But I had seen, in my mind's eye, a sphere of light moving up the hill toward the tent. Sure enough, a few minutes later Frank entered the tent, wearing a white monk's robe and cowl.

As I recall the singing didn't stop -- it just increased in volume, and was punctuated by emotional outbursts of shouting and squeals of excitement. The emotion of the crowd became very focused and very intense. All eyes were on Da Free John as he made his way to the dais and climbed into the big chair.

For myself, I was blotted out, carried out of myself and merging with the group mind, something like I once experienced at a Bob Dylan concert. It didn't feel totally healthy, but I went with it. Here's what someone else said, who was there, and whose experience is quoted in Saniel Bonder's suppressed book, The Divine Emergence of the World-Teacher:

It was as though someone had turned on 10,000 lights. The actual physical light in the tent had not been changed, but the vibratory level of energy went way, way up, and it was visible as a form of light emanating from Heart-Master Da's body. A second later a jolt of another kind of energy hit my chest, and it felt as if my heart burst open.. I felt an intensity of love move through my body, and especially my heart area, that was beyond anything I had ever come close to feeling. The love also had a fiery quality to it. I began to sob, I looked over at my friend, and she was sobbing too! We both had out hands up. I could literally feel waves of blissful energy from His body and in my hands. [page 183-84]

Reading her words, I remember now that everyone, myself included, was holding their hands up, palms outward, to receive the light and energy that seemed to emanate from Da Free John. He simply sat there, eyes open, looking around the room with a firm clear gaze. Again, as in the first time that I sat with him, he was the Master of the moment.

He did this for perhaps an hour and a half, and the singing did not stop the whole time. Down in the front rows you could see his old-time devotees, completely overcome with emotion, calling out to him with love and surrender.

Finally, as I recall, he blessed baskets of prasad, dipping his hands in water, and then releasing the water in strong purposeful gestures over the prasad and towards the crowd.

Then he stood up, took his umbrella, and left.

The singing continued while the prasad was being handed out, and long after he was gone. Then there were speeches about what a great grace we had received. I remember Saniel Bonder stood up and said something like "As long as there is human history, people will speak with awe of this day."

We were told the celebration would continue tomorrow, on Sunday. We filed out of the tent, went to our cars, and made our way to the motel for dinner and a night of rest.

What happened the next day is very clear in my memory for two reasons.

First, I remember that the long-time devotees -- Paris Panico, Saniel Bonder, Terry Patten, and others -- tried to recreate what had happened the day before. They got another huge singing session going, and told people that if we sang with enough devotion, maybe Frank would come and sit with us again.

"No way," I said to my wife. "Don't they know he likes surprises?"

Sure enough, Frank kept to his house, and after an hour or two the devotions were brought to a close.

But then, after lunch, it was suddenly announced that Frank would hold a darshan in the Pavilion, for small groups of people.

We would be led into the Pavilion, ten or fifteen at a time, and sit in on the floor before him for a few minutes. Then, on a signal, we were to leave and another group would be led in.

I joined the long line of people waiting to be admitted to the Pavilion. As I said before, the Pavilion was open on the sides, and covered with foggy plastic sheeting. Through the plastic, in the darkened interior, we could just make out the groups of devotees huddled on the floor, sitting before a throne where the figure of Da Free John was already ensconced in lotus position, illumined by flickering fires. Chanting and devotional singing filled the air.

Finally it was my turn, and I entered the vestibule with about ten other people. We removed our shoes, placed them in the shoe racks, and were led into the large room. I felt a tremendous sense of excitement and expectation.

As we entered, I was astonished by Frank's aspect. He looked like nothing so much as a giant frog squatting on a lily pad. Indeed, he seemed to have put on weight since the day before -- he looked absolutely huge! His head was larger, his face wider, and his eyes -- which were closed when we entered -- seemed to have doubled in circumference. Otherwise, he was absolutely expressionless, seemingly lost in samadhi. He was dressed in white and wearing a tall pointed hat, with flaps that came down over his ears. The whole impression was both impressive and comical -- like seeing a huge spiritually luminous frog wearing a wizard's hat.

As we were led across the room to our places, a curious thing happened. Frank's head turned, following our group. Still his eyes were closed.

The ushers pointed to where we should sit, and one by one we lowered ourselves to the floor and arranged our legs, as best we could.

Frank's head, eyes closed, was now facing fully in our direction. We raised our hands toward him, as everyone else was doing. He slowly began to smile, and after a few moments a huge comical grin enveloped his face. Suddenly his eyes popped open, and I found myself making eye contact with him, and feeling a tremendous surge of love in my heart.

Time seemed to stop, and the world stood motionless for what seemed like hours. It really felt like we had entered another dimension -- our little group, with our hands raised, and Frank beaming down on us, grinning, his eyes large as saucers.

I felt my head fill up with light, much as in the dream of the old Chinese teacher that I described earlier. The light expanded from a scintilla in the center of my head, and flowed outward, enveloping my brain and then moving down through my arms and out my hands toward Da Free John.

Suddenly I felt a curious obstruction in the left side of my head, as if the light was coming up against a knot of neurons which were unprepared to receive this efflux of spiritual energy.

At that very moment Frank's smile stopped, he closed his eyes, and turned back to face the center of the room.

We sat there a few moments longer, then the usher gave us the signal to get up. As slowly as we were allowed, we padded out to the vestibule, our eyes fastened on Frank the whole time. There we put on our shoes and stepped back outdoors. The line of people waiting to be admitted stretched up the driveway.

A guard at the door made a gesture for me to move along, but I just stood there, looking at Frank through the plastic sheeting. I was feeling a tremendous rush of devotion building in my heart, almost to the point of tears. Then a most astonishing thing happened: I suddenly plunged into samadhi, and a wave of light and bliss poured out of my heart and into every part of me. I felt almost physically transfigured, it was so powerful. The guard who was trying to get me to move along saw it too -- he just stopped and stared at me with a kind of stunned and respectful look. The two of us stood there in a cone of silence and mystical absorption for awhile...and then I walked slowly away.

I found my wife, and we hung around for awhile, talking to friends. Then we went to our car and drove back to San Francisco.

On "The Day of the Heart" Frank had said that he would give us "clear signs". I had come to this weekend seeking living proof that he was what he said he was. I left no longer doubting in Da Free John.

(to be continued)