25 November 2010

This will be my last summarizing post on this issue, as some commentors have requested more information, unless there is further threatened legal action by Infinity. I would only wish that they wanted to work together, as opposed to threatening to sue anyone who posts a picture, talk or even personal experience of Robert. They have compressed Robert into one website offering a few CDs and a few books, which poorly portray the vastness of Robert's teachings.


I want to note that Nicole claims to have been at Robert's side for over 43 years. She/Infinity claim there are "30 year students," such as Blake Warner and Robert's daughter who are the only "true" or authentic teachers of Robert's tradition. Yet, reading over 3,000 pages of transcripts, or listening to over 240 audio talks, one will never hear Robert mentioning his wife, Nicole, nor Blake Warner or Prem Devi, not even once. However, Ed, or Ed Muzika is mentioned all the time in transcripts that transcribed the entirety of the Santsang, rather than just Robert's talks. Thererfore, Infinity, Blake Warner, Nicole Adams, and Devi Prem have a severe credibility ptoblem regarding their allegations of being Robert's inner spiritual group all during this period. This would extend to their copyright claims. They just did not exist then. They were not around Satsang or Robert's teachings at all, and their post-1997 copyright claims are therefore suspect also. 



Robert Adams and I, circa 1993
In fact, the Yoga Journal 1998 article, written in 1997, as well as the Inner Directions (1995) and Mountain Path article (1993) made clear that Robert stated he wandered India off and on for 17 years. No mention is made anywhere or Nicole's presence on these journeys. Yet she claims never to have been separate from Robert. They also verify that Robert was living alone in Oregon when he first developed Parkinson's symptoms.


Nor are Warner, Nicole, Prem Devi, mentioned in the introductions or acknowledgements of the original 1993 "Silence of the Heart," nor in the 1994  "There is no suffering, there is no death." I am mentioned in both of these books as a transcriber and helping to put these books together. I wrote the introduction for both books. I also wrote in early 1997, the January/February 1998 Yoga Journal article, "The Mysterious Sage of Sedona," about Robert's teachings including a short bio. I also helped Ganeshan put together an article by Ganeshan, for the Mountain Path, published in June, 1993.I also transcribed the talk, "The Ultimate Happiness," published in the "Inner Directions Journal" in the Fall of 1995. The editor, Mr. Greenblatt, notes Ed Muzika, a student of Robert Adams, compiled the talk and wrote the introduction (Page 5, Fall, 1993). I am mentioned in at least 70% of the actual Satsang audio tapes, as I recorded most of them on my own audio equipment, and transcribed a dozen or so later. In each Satsang, I read from the Ashtavakra Gita, and also made announcements as M.C. I also played the Satsang sacred music. Robert constantly referred to me on these tapes as Ed. He led the Satsang in singing happy birthday to me on March 10, 1991. In addition, Nicole acknowledged the "utterly amazing" accuracy of my understanding of Robert, and gave me verbal permission to publish Robert's bio.


Yet, Nicole and Warner claimed I was hardly ever at Satsang, only his 30 year students and Nicole. But, they are nowhere mentioned in any work or tape recording that came out in the 1990s. Nor are there any photos or Robert on the Infinity website, nor of Nicole, either at Satsang with Robert or elsewhere. Yet they claim they were there and sell these talks stating Robert and Infinity copyrighted these talks and even the tapes. They have no proof that any of them were there at Satsang engaged in producing any of these spiritual works during the period 1990-1995. They have no proof because they were not there.


Nicole/Infinity/Warner want exclusive claim to copyrights for two reasons, in my opinion: money and to create a bogus lineage of 30 year students.

I have taken down many items from the website this weekend and posted other things in their places, such as all the publications about Robert published before Infinity made their first copyright claim. These would provide substantial support for the veracity of Matthew Brown's screen play, where Nicole plays very small role in Robert's life.

7 comments:

  1. Edji,

    Why not send what you just wrote to Nicole. I would just ad "please prove me different"

    It's clear that she knows she is lying or maybe it's just she's too old to know what is going on.

    Martin

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  2. It is difficult to assign motivations to what Infinity is doing, since it is apparent from many indicators that what they value in terms of spiritual instruction is very different from what I value. Maybe their primary concern is the profit motive; even though Master Ed has not charged anyone for the information about Robert, they may feel that his making it available for free is cutting into their potential profits.

    But I wonder if their main concern is actually in wanting to control the lineage. They want so badly to legitimatize their bastardized version of Robert’s teachings, to rewrite history, obfuscate the clarity of what Robert said behind their neurotic spirit-babble, and set their own people up as Robert’s chosen heirs. Not that different than what the Chinese government has tried to do, by asserting that they now control the process of choosing the next Dalai Lama. Laughable, and sad at the same time, in that it becomes an unnecessary and unhelpful drama that only serves to waste our precious time.

    Master Ed has laid out in great detail his own spiritual path and process, including the value gained from Robert and other teachers. Some of his personal spiritual search is available as an objective historical record, in the tapes, transcripts and photographs of satsangs with Robert. To whatever degree he needs the support of such materials, they should be available to him as part of a historical record, and I can’t see that there would be any copyright violation in making such personal historical records available to the general public.

    As far as Master Ed and his relationship to Robert, it is not necessary for Robert to have personally chosen Ed as his successor, or made a ceremony of it, or a public declaration. That is rarely how these things really work, as far as I can tell. But really, his relationship with Robert, while of extreme importance to him, is not the most important issue to me. In my view, what Master Ed has done in the way of clarifying his own spiritual process and realization, and presenting that in a way that I can understand and USE, is unprecedented in my experience, and stands by itself with or without outside supporting evidence beyond Ed’s own teachings. While it is very helpful to understand how what he teaches relates to what came before, it is of secondary importance.

    This is what it all comes down to, in my opinion: Master Ed’s teachings stand on their own, even if all reference to Robert is stripped away through questionable legal procedures. The same cannot be said for the teachings of Infinity Institute, in spite of all their legal maneuverings.

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  3. Excuse me, I don't understand at all how an Infinity "30 year student" would necessarily be a good teacher.

    Maybe the best students are these who understood Robert's message in just 5 years...

    If I went around boasting "I'm so erudite! I studied more than 30 years... in junior high." everyone would laugh at me!

    ***

    Jokes aside, removing Robert's transcripts is a sad thing, but in a way creates space for Ed's teachings. It could even be seen as a message from his old master. A message of renewal, of independence.

    After all there isn't a written will by Robert that says "my teachings will be forever free and without copyright". That would have prevented all this.

    Given the smallest opportuity for making money, everyone knows how even meek family-members become ruthless sharks.

    I support what Jeff just wrote: Ed's teachings now are a treasure on their own and rightly stand on their own feet.

    Moreover these problems will make people even more acutely aware of Robert Adam's real value.

    The world wide web is a great ocean, after the big storm everything resurfaces again later somewhere else and it will be certainly so with Robert's teachings.

    The only feasible way to contrast Infinity claims would be having the professional advice of a lawyer. But asking on these comments if a lawyer-reader could speak up, is nonsensical.

    Come on, a copyright lawyer that studies Ed's teachings would be the most absurd thing in the whole universe, isn't that obvious???

    Julius

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  4. exactly why I proposed to have everyone write to infinity to see if we can have some middle ground here.This is a public forum so I can only say so much here.
    Another thing you cannot copyright anything in the past and have it retroactive the exception would be if no one has a copyright on Robert's words prior. In other words if I went to Robert's satsangs while he was alive I could have taken all his transcripts, video's and audio's copyright them and infinity could not touch me. If if someone actually did just that and is reading Edji's blog then please get in touch with Edji or myself as you have nothing to be worried about when anything has no copyright they are saying it's free to do what you want with including your own copyright.

    Martin
    Michael

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  5. Hi Edji,

    This has nothing to do with Advaita. If they want to play in the legal arena, so be it.

    They have no, as in zero, zilch, nada, NO basis whatsoever for a copyright claim.

    Copyright applies to the EXPRESSION of an idea, not the idea itself. You could write about Robert, quote what he said (fair use), tell stories of him, all until the cows came home and there would be no basis for anyone, including Robert himself were he still in the body, objecting.

    If you transcribed the talks, I would argue that the copyright actually belonged to you!

    Their claims are ridiculous, and there is no reason, IMHO to take anything down. Now, I haven't practiced law in about 20 years, but this is something a first year law student could tell you with great confidence.

    Really enjoyed the Satsang, and my thanks for all you do.

    Michael from Nevada

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  6. Michael from Nevada.......

    I had thought the same thing myself(about the total absurdity of Nicole and the "Infinity Institute")having these so called copyright powers over the release of Robert's talks via the audio files and transcripts.....totally empty and insubstantial claims, just another illustration of the unreal world we live in. Yet, we've by and large come to accept Edji's decision to put the matter to rest.

    Mark

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  7. Edji is a Master by Himself.
    Even if all the Robert's Material were removed of sites, it doesnt matter.
    Infinite/Nicoly maybe thinks that Spirituality is some kind of copyright.
    Only One Satsang of Robert Adams will be more helpful to authentic seekers, than
    mere Words copyrighted.
    A Master is a Living Miracle, like Rober Adams and Edji Himself.

    ReplyDelete