You
should not approach me unless you are willing to be undone. The Guru is only interested
in utter, radical dissolution of that whole limitation that appears as his disciple.
If you think I have anything to gain by this, you tell Me what it is. There is nothing to be gained by what I Am Doing. It Is Self-Sacrifice. It Is a Gesture Made out of Unobstructed Sympathy with suffering beings — an Inclination of Absolute Immensity and Absolute Power to Relieve all suffering beings. My Self-Sacrifice Is a Commitment to Relieve all suffering beings, and, therefore, It cannot come to an end. It can only be fulfilled Perfectly.
Avatar
Adi Da Samraj, August 19, 2004
For Me, There Was Never Any Other Possibility Than The “Reckless” (or Divinely “Crazy” and Divinely “Heroic”) Course Of All-and-all-Embrace — and I Began This Uniquely “Crazy” and “Heroic” Sadhana, Most Intensively, At The Beginning Of My Adult Life.
Indeed, I Have Always Functioned, and Will Always Function, In This Divinely “Crazy” and Divinely “Heroic” Manner. The Inherently egoless “Crazy” and “Heroic” Manner Is One Of My Principal Divine Characteristics — Whereby I Can (Always, and Now, and Forever Hereafter) Be Identified.
Therefore, I (Characteristically) Functioned In This “Crazy” and “Heroic” Manner Throughout All Of My “Sadhana Years”, and Throughout All The Years Of My Avatarically Self-Manifested Divine Teaching-Work and My Avatarically Self-Manifested Divine Revelation-Work — and I Have Done So (and Will Forever Continue To Do So) Throughout All The Divine-Self-“Emergence” Years Of My Avatarically Self-Manifested Divine Blessing-Work (Both During, and Forever After, My Avataric Physical Human Lifetime).
All My Avatarically Self-Manifested Divine Work Is A Divinely “Crazy” and Divinely “Heroic” Effort That Avoids Not anything or any one — but Which Always Divinely Blesses Everything and Everyone.
"Crazy Wisdom" refers to the unconventional
means (also traditionally referred to as "skillful means" in the Mahayana Buddhist
tradition) employed by the Master to serve the Spiritual liberation of His or
Her devotee. Adi Da is sometimes referred to as a "controversial teacher", and
there is no doubt that most of the "controversy" stems from a misinterpretation
of the period of His Teaching Work when He used "Crazy Wisdom" means extensively
with all His devotees interested in participating. Because of such misunderstandings,
we have put together this section on Adi Da's "Crazy Wisdom", to clarify the principles
behind it and to illustrate the benefits derived from His "Crazy Wisdom" Work
through firsthand stories from devotees.
"Crazy-Wise" Emotional-Sexual Work. This first group of stories focuses on Adi Da's work with devotees in
the emotional-sexual dimension of life. Because the "radical",
"Crazy Wise" means that Adi Da has employed to address this area of life in His
devotees have prompted challenges to His Work and questions about His integrity
as a Realized Spiritual Master, we provide stories that help make sense of Adi
Da's Work.
The
Call To Be Love (And To Live As Love
In All Relations) — Michael Costabile's
article about the ordeal necessary to earn emotional-sexual
self-understanding. Includes stories from Frank
Marrero (about knowing how to have sex, but not
how to love), Katsu (about having a body-negative,
sex-negative, fearful, and self-suppressed point
of view), and Eileen McCarthy (how, as an emotional-sexual
being, she was self-suppressed and hidden), where
each devotee describes how Adi Da gifted them with
self-understanding in these areas.
The
Emotional-Sexual Dimension of Life — Dr. Sally
Taylor is an Australian-trained physician who became
a devotee of Adi Da Samraj in 1976. She has participated
during Adi Da's Teaching Years in many of the emotional-sexual
"reality considerations".
The
First Celibacy Consideration — In the summer
of 1979, Adi Da began to talk about celibacy. He
suggested that if we cut out our “middle class indulgence”
in coupling, perhaps we would be able to really
get down to the spiritual practice. James Steinberg
describes where the consideration went from there.
"Try
the Suppository" — Much of the Work Adi Da
does with His devotees involves their emotional
character alone (without involving their sexuality).
Da-vid Forysthe's story is a beautiful illustration
of how Adi Da works with some common male character
liabilities that negatively impact Spiritual growth.
Playing
Pool with Bhagavan Adi Da
— Longtime devotee Aniello Panico tells the
story of the profound lesson he received through
playing pool with Bhagavan Adi Da.
Fighting
the Spiritual Master — This story illustrates the
degree to which Adi Da was willing to do anything to
serve His devotees' self-understanding, for the sake
of their Realization.
Divine
Love Heals Everything
— Dennis Bumstead's story about gathering with
Adi Da on Naitauba in 1992, the Divine Love poured
out endlessly by Adi Da, and how that Divine Love
healed Dennis at a profound level.
"Crazy-Wise" Work Through Music and Dancing. Next are several stories about how Adi Da Samraj
used the context of music and dancing as a creative circumstance for communicating
lessons. (The first three stories have been adapted from the book, The
Master Dancer.)
"Just
Happy and Free" — Kathleen Ewart describes how
Adi Da used the circumstance of dancing to instruct
her in the Master-devotee relationship and the inherent
ecstasy of surrender to the Guru.
Exactly
That Same Embrace — Jane Attardi tells how Adi
Da used the circumstance of dancing to reveal to her
a lifelong pattern of "masculine" aggressiveness that
she used to prevent herself from being vulnerable
as a woman.
Extraordinary
Eyes — Emily Grinnell describes how Adi Da used
the circumstance of His own dancing to reveal Himself
as the Divine Person to her.
Club
Rat — Chris Tong tells the story of how Adi Da
created a most unusual evening, and how He used music
to open Chris's heart.
Singing
as a Mindless and Ecstatic Contemplative — Crane
Kirkbride tells how, using skillful means, Adi Da
drew on Crane's two lifelong passions — singer and
spiritual seeker — and transformed Crane into an ecstatic
devotee of the Divine.
Singing
Opera with Adi Da — During His years of face-to-face
Teaching Work, Bhagavan Adi Da used singing opera
with His devotees as a skillful means that drew
those present into selfless feeling-ecstasy. Longtime
devotees Aniello Panico and Roger Ohlsen describe
what that was like.
Unusual Forms of Blessing.
Over the last several decades, Adi Da has used a wide variety of circumstances
and means (including unconventional ones) to transmit His Blessing to His devotees
and the world altogether.
Crazy Wisdom
and a Pregnant Woman — Connie Mantas tells how Adi Da Samraj infused her with
Spiritual Force by forcefully pressing her belly when she was seven months pregnant.
Further Perspectives
Some
concluding thoughts on Adi Da's use of Crazy Wisdom.
The Teaching
Years Were "Fruitless" — Mulund presents Adi Da's communication about how
His "Teaching Years" [the period of His early Work with His devotees] were "fruitless":
They demonstrated the fruitlessness of all the different forms of human seeking,
both conventional and unconventional.
