The Sacred Hermitage Sanctuary Adi Da Samrajashram
The Sacred Island of Naitauba, Fiji
Adi Da Samrajashram is Avatar Adi Da’s Principal Seat
of Spiritual Presence and World-Blessing Work.
Naitauba Island (Adi Da Samrajashram) is a small, remote island in Northern Lau, Fiji. It is the sacred hermitage ashram of Avatar Adi Da Samraj and the principal ashram (or retreat sanctuary) for his devotees, who live the Reality-Way of Adidam he founded. Avatar Adi Da Samraj lived on Naitauba for twenty-five years, establishing it as the source of his work of Spiritual Blessing for the world and empowering the island as a unique spiritual treasure. From the time he first set foot on Naitauba, the island was Avatar Adi Da’s principal home, and it remains the location of the most precious sacred sites and temples in Adidam—including The Outshining “Brightness”, Avatar Adi Da’s burial site.
Secluded from the distractions of the common world, Adi Da Samrajashram provides a monastic circumstance for Avatar Adi Da’s devotees who have chosen a life of formal renunciation and profound spiritual practice in relationship with Avatar Adi Da Samraj, and also for lay devotees who have dedicated their lives to living on the basis of Avatar Adi Da’s teachings and serving the glorification of this holy place. Daily life for all devotees of Avatar Adi Da who live on Naitauba is focused in meditation and sacred worship, and on serving and glorifying all that Avatar Adi Da created here for the sake of all beings.
Several temples and meditation pavilions form the focus of the sacred life on Naitauba. The island is also home to residential accommodations and retreat facilities, art and music studios, a medical clinic, a primary school for the children of local staff, and an organic farm. The natural environment and indigenous wildlife of the island are carefully protected, including the surrounding coral reef and the many and varied species that live therein.
Avatar Adi Da Samraj spent many years living and working at Adi Da Samrajashram, powerfully imbuing the entire island with his spiritual presence. Thus, Naitauba will always be the primary place of pilgrimage and spiritual retreat for present and future generations of Avatar Adi Da’s formal devotees. Members of Adidam and invited guests from around the world visit Naitauba regularly for meditation retreat, service, and special celebrations.
As a uniquely pure sanctuary of Spiritual Blessing, Naitauba Island is a true sacred gift to the world.
This Island-Hermitage Is the Principal Place that I Am here to Empower in this “world”.
This Island-Hermitage Is a Holy Place of Divine Self-Realization.
This Island-Hermitage Is a Place of transcending separate “self”.
My Hermitage Is a Place of Transmission and a Place of serious practice.
—Avatar Adi Da Samraj
Sights & Sounds
Naitauba within the Island community
Appreciation and respect for the traditional cultures of Fiji is the foundation of Naitauba’s cooperative relationships with its neighbors.
Fiji is noted for its beauty and benign climate, its history of religious pluralism and tolerance, and its freedom from some of the worst excesses of environmental disturbance. Naitauba Island, located in the Northern Lau island group, is blessed with great natural beauty and tranquility.
When Avatar Adi Da Samraj first arrived in Fiji in 1983, he was struck by the signs of cooperation in the way Fijians lived. From the day of his arrival, Avatar Adi Da expressed great respect and appreciation for the traditional cultures of Fiji, which exemplify many of the values that Avatar Adi Da embraced. Avatar Adi Da asked his devotees to study the traditional customs of respect in Fiji and to meet and approach our new neighbours in the traditional way.
Perpetual World-Blessing Fire Vigil
The sacred principle of the fire vigil is sacrifice, the heart-gesture of throwing into the fire everything that is less than the inherent unity of all beings.
During his final years, Avatar Adi Da Samraj established a sacred fire vigil on Naitauba Island as a perpetual conduit for his Blessing of the world. The fire site is situated on a high bluff overlooking the vastness of the ocean in three directions. The sacred fire has been attended by devotee residents, night and day, for many years, as a continuous vigil of prayer and invocation. Every Monday at 7:00 am, a special prayer ceremony is held at the sacred fire, invoking Divine Blessing for positive change in specific current events around the world. The sacred principle of the fire vigil is sacrifice, the heart-gesture of throwing into the fire everything that is less than the inherent unity of all beings, and doing so on behalf of all humanity.
Environmental preservation
“As a human being, recognizing the prior unity of the world,
you must have concern for Earth itself, and all the species within it.”
— Avatar Adi Da Samraj
Avatar Adi Da Samraj called on all of humankind to take responsibility for the right care and respect of the natural environment. This is an essential part of Avatar Adi Da’s calling for a new kind of human consciousness that is based on the presumption of prior unity and on the understanding of the Earth (and the humans and non-humans within it) as a single whole.
Avatar Adi Da was particularly attentive to ensuring that Naitauba’s fragile natural environment is maintained and enhanced, in the disposition of respect for the integrity and health of the Earth as a whole. A variety of programs have been introduced to preserve the ecology of the island and advance global environmental goals, including the Naitauba reef initiative, the solar power project, and the organic farm.
The Naitauba reef initiative protects the reef and lagoon from disturbance and supports the diversification of marine life in this valuable ecosystem. Concerns such as bleached coral and loss of habitat for marine species are being actively addressed. Repopulation initiatives are underway for key endangered species such as giant clams and bêche-de-mer. Naitauba is also collaborating with Fiji’s Ministry of Fisheries to train and certify local fisheries wardens to protect the lagoon from poaching.
Naitauba is strongly committed to doing its part to reduce Fiji’s carbon footprint in alignment with the nation’s Intended Nationally Determined Contributions under the 2015 Paris Agreement. The first solar panels were installed on Naitauba Island in 2007, and in early 2024 we achieved our goal of entirely replacing fossil fuels for electricity (except for rare extended periods of intensive cloudiness). Solar power generated on Naitauba now covers 100% of the island’s total electricity usage. This project was funded by the Adidam worldwide membership.
The organic farm on Naitauba Island covers about ten acres of land. Its purpose is to provide fresh and nutritious food to feed Naitauba’s residents. All crops are grown organically without chemical fertilizers, insecticides, or herbicides. The aim is to maintain or increase the soil fertility and crop health each year so the farm produce is always nutritious, the production is sustainable, and the toxic effects of farm-related chemicals are avoided.