Leroy Stilwell — Leroy has made many contributions to the Adi Da Up Close website. My professional experience and training include, undergraduate degrees in Biology, Psychology and French, a Master's degree in Developmental Psychology, and post graduate training in various therapy and counseling modalities. I have worked professionally as a technical translator, mental health therapist, a child and family counselor, vocational counselor, children's protective services social worker, and personal computer database programmer. I was a medic and psychiatric tech in the US Army during the Vietnam time, stationed in Korea.

I became a formal corresponding devotee of Avatar Adi Da in 1976, while living in Portland, Oregon. For most of my time as a devotee I have lived and served at Adi Da Samrajashram in Fiji. It has always been my principal desire to serve Adi Da Samraj as directly as possible.

I first saw Avatar Adi Da in 1977, then in 1980 I finally moved to Lake County, California and have been a fully participating devotee since then. I initially served as production editor at the Dawn Horse Press, then managed our correspondence department. From 1984 to 1986, I lived in the UK and supported the Adidam mission in London. After that, I was invited to serve at Adi Da Samrajashram and that is where (until recently) I have lived and served most of the time. My services there included service in the editorial department, photographer, videographer and video editor, communications manager, shipping manager, iguana breeder, emergency medical assistant, Ashram manager, Global Ashram Magazine manager, and personal assistant to the Ruchira Sannyasin Order.

I became involved in creating this website after leaving Adi Da Samrajashram in April, 2006. I realized that people newly becoming interested in Adi Da's Teaching might not have a full understanding of who Adi Da is, or an appreciation of what the real practice in Adidam is all about. I know the profound depth of consideration Adi Da has taken devotees through over the years may not be immediately obvious. Newer devotees can also find themselves in a similar situation.

It also seemed to me that people just becoming interested in Adi Da may be exposed to negative opinions about Adi Da without having the benefit of being able to get a more in-depth view of Adi Da and Adidam other than via the official Adidam website.

Thus, I was happy to participate in creating this unofficial website to help bring this depth to people's understanding of Avatar Adi Da, and to address the otherwise unanswered concerns and questions people might have. We also wanted to publish the personal accounts of devotees that provide examples of the human experience of Adi Da, the practice, and the culture.

I have always been personally moved through seeing the details of Adi Da's life and relationship to devotees, through which the larger picture of Who He is can take shape. I have always found it important, as well, to regularly study the world's traditional Spiritual and religious writings. This study has always helped provide a frame of reference for more deeply understanding Beloved Adi Da Himself, as well as my own experience in practice.

There is so much about Adi Da that is utterly unique. There is no single statement or address that can give one a full picture of Who He Is. Only His direct Transmission can do that. But I hope it is for you as it is for me, that the sum of everything you can read on this site or otherwise seem to know about Adi Da, points to an unprecedented Intervention, a Revelation of Reality Itself, a Process in Truth that cannot be contained or owned. What a Miracle! And What a Master!

So in my contribution to this site, I am intending that as much as possible the stories and articles by devotees be confessional and revelatory, without editorializing or censoring. Any prefacing of devotee stories will be minimized and limited to comments necessary to clarify the setting and perhaps some technicality of Adi Da's Teaching.