poster: DawnHorsePress length: 04:24 date added: May 18, 2016 event date: August 26, 2004 language: English listens: 3553; listens this month: 0; listens this week: 0
In this excerpt (from August 26, 2004), Adi Da responds to a questioner who asks how she can practice devotion in her dream state.
Adi Da indicates the necessity of self-understanding, in order for devotees to grow in practice. He points to the depth of existence that is always the case regardless of the changing states of awareness (waking, dreaming, and sleeping). And He Calls for ego-transcending practice (sadhana) to be engaged at this depth—so that What Is Prior to all conditional states can be Realized.
The Bodily Location of Happiness poster: AdiDaVideos length: 13:12 date added: May 4, 2016 event date: November 28, 1981 language: English views: 7907; views this month: 0; views this week: 0
This is a video excerpt from Adi Da's classic talk, "The Bodily Location of Happiness", which He gave on November 28, 1981. This talk was originally published in the book, The Bodily Location Of Happiness. The full talk is available on CD and on a new DVD, The Location Of Happiness.
The talk communicates several core insights:
1. Everybody is intuitively familiar with happiness. You don't have to be a devotee of Adi Da! This was part of the reason Adi Da chose "happiness" as the focus of this Teaching period: because the subject was so accessible. Everyone knows what it's like to be happy (at least a little). It's just that most people are not aware that Perfect, Eternal Happiness is possible and Realizable. (And it certainly isn't, through ordinary human means.) Adi Da: "All beings are always already Happy. You always know, at this very moment you know exactly, what it would be to look and feel and be and act completely Happy." The esoteric reason everyone is familiar with happiness is because everyone is always, already happy. And the esoteric reason everyone yearns for complete happiness is because complete happiness is realizable — and everyone's heart knows that.
2. Adi Da's "Lesson of Life":"You can't become happy; you can only be (already) happy." People are always seeking for happiness. The "pursuit of happiness" (not happiness itself!) is even enshrined as an "unalienable right" (alongside life and liberty) in the preamble of the United States Declaration of Independence. Its author, Thomas Jefferson, knew better than to think a government could guarantee happiness itself — hence only the guarantee of "pursuing happiness". Only a Divine Incarnation can guarantee Happiness Itself.
Adi Da reveals that happiness is the native state of beings. It is already the case. Every attempt to seek for it (or mis-identify the source of happiness as some object or other) in fact serves to dissociate one from it. Adi Da: "You think that you can seek Happiness and find it. Your search for Happiness is itself a confession of un-Happiness. You cannot realize Happiness by persisting in un-Happiness, persisting in the method of un-Happiness. All seeking is an expression of un-Happiness, all seeking is the method of un-Happiness, the practice of un-Happiness. This must be understood. It is not merely true — it must be understood."
Self-understanding allows one to get this point. Based on self-understanding, one can devote oneself to Happiness rather than to seeking for It and settling for the little bit of Infinite Happiness that "bleeds through" the clench of ego into conditions. This ultimately enables the Eternal Realization of Infinite, Perfect Happiness. Adi Da: "Understand your un-Happiness. Then you will be capable of locating Happiness, and, having located Happiness, you will be capable of practicing the Way of Adidam, which is nothing but the devotion of life to Happiness."
3. The Transmission of the Divine Guru is How One Locates Happiness. The subtitle of the book, The Bodily Location Of Happiness, is: "On the Incarnation of the Divine Person and the Transmission of Love-Bliss". In other words, you can't apply "The Lesson of Life" by somehow "locating" happiness directly, by yourself (or in yourself). Happiness is our native state, but that doesn't mean it can be located by an egoic, "do it yourself" process. We locate happiness directly as a Grace-given Gift, through devotion to the Transcendental Spiritual Transmission of Adi Da. Adi Da: "Happiness is presently the case. In this moment you are already Happy. Sitting with Me, locate this Happiness." We locate our "Native State" by recognizing and submitting to our "Native Person" — our Very Self appearing here in bodily (human) form.
4. It is a Process of Whole Bodily Location. "The bodily location of Happiness" is not primarily a reference to some place where Happiness resides in the body (although Adi Da teases His listeners with this idea: "Look for it in your toes, in your fingers, in your shirt, in your head"). It refers to a process ("the bodily location of Happiness" = "the locating of Happiness with the whole body-mind") that involves the surrender and transformation of every aspect of the body-mind, immersed in the Perfectly Happy State of the Divine Guru, through recognition of Him as the Divine in every moment. Then the secondary and supportive practices of the Way of Adidam become means for staying immersed in that Divine State in every moment: "Having located Happiness [having recognized Adi Da as the Divine], you will be capable of practicing the Way of Adidam, which is nothing but the devotion of life to Happiness [Adi Da, recognized as the Divine]. The practices of this Way are not methods for attaining Happiness, but they are the expressions of Happiness. The disciplines of money, food, and sex are not a way to become Happy. Discipline is difficult enough — why should we also burden it with the obligation to make us Happy!"
Invocation poster: CDBaby length: 07:50 date added: April 2, 2016 language: English views: 2739; views this month: 0; views this week: 0
Track 2 from Sally Jamila's CD of devotional music, Invocation.
Intended to create a rich soundscape through meditative invocation, Invocation weaves together eclectic world music with the tradition of a spiritual practice. The result is an album that creates contemplative calm and an invitation to feel That Which Is All-Pervading. Bhagavan Adi Da Samraj asked that this album be placed on the "Favorites" list of His personal iPods.
Diet and Climate Change poster: A Better World Radio speakers: Mitchell Rabin, Abel Slater, Dina Lautman length: 66:42 date added: April 1, 2016 event date: March 30, 2016 language: English listens: 6536; listens this month: 1; listens this week: 1
[Show actually begins at 00:56, after a commercial and a brief excerpt from Mozart's Symphony No. 40.]
In this episode of the radio show, A Better World, host Mitchell Rabin conducts a Round Table discussion on the relationship between diet and climate change. He raises the tremendous possibility for both personal-planetary transformation and spiritual growth.
Joining Mitchell are Abel Slater and Dina Lautman. Abel and Dina have been devotees of Adi Da for over 25 years, and have spent significant time in Naitauba, Fiji at Adi Da’s principal Hermitage Sanctuary, Adi Da Samrajashram, where they received direct guidance from Adi Da, both in practical life wisdom and esoteric spiritual practice. Now based in New York, they also travel extensively throughout the world presenting Adi Da's spiritual teachings about right life, including diet, sexuality, meditation and conductivity. Recently, they have been focused on raising awareness about the benefits of the raw vegan diet by promoting Green Gorilla raw treats across the U.S. and around the world.
What occurs at the micro level of each individual's diet is effectively magnified at the macro level of the collective global ecosystem. Today, over 70 billion land animals are killed annually to support human meat consumption. A recent United Nations environmental impact study determined that livestock is the source of 18% of global greenhouse gases, now exceeding emissions from all transportation sources globally, which account for 17% of global greenhouse gases. Meat consumption is growing exponentially and is increasingly jeopardizing the health of the planet. Today’s Round Table will address these issues in depth. This conversation and the information we consider is vital to our personal health and to the collective survival of our species and all sentient life.
This video begins with longtime devotee, Anthony Costabile, describing how the relationship to Adi Da is manifesting after the end of Adi Da's human lifetime.
Then at 2:29, Adi Da also speaks on this subject. This is an excerpt from a talk He gave on April 16, 1995, "Love is How I Got To Here". You can read a transcript of much more of this talk here. The talk is also available as a CD here.
At 6:43, another longtime devotee, Dennis Coccaro, talks about the direct relationship to Adi Da after His lifetime.
poster: Scardanelli 1748 length: 58:45 date added: March 2, 2016 language: German views: 3048; views this month: 0; views this week: 0
[This video is in German.]
Introduction to the Way of the Heart (the Way of Adidam).
Adi Da: Alle Wesen suchen fortwährend nach Glück. Du suchst fortwährend nach Glück. Selbst wenn du fortwährend nach Glück suchst, so bist du doch schon immer bereits das Glück an sich. Nur das Glück an sich ist frei von Suche nach Glück. Widmet euch diesem Glück an sich. Tut dies in dem Ihr jedes Ding und jede Erfahrung, alles Wissen, alle Beziehung oder allem was nicht Glück ist entsagt (oder transzendiert). Finde das Glück in jedem Moment, nehme das Glück an sich wahr und Sei das Glück an sich. Tue dies in jedem Augenblick. Das Ego-"Ich" oder der selbstverkrampfte Körper-Geist. ist immer eine Illusion, eine und. . . Luftspiegelung des zeugenhaften Bewusstseins aus Bedürfnissen, Erwünschtheit und Staunen das dem Bewusstsein an sich durch den augenscheinlichen (und nicht notwendigen) Fluss der Ereignisse auferlegt wird, die für sich genommen nicht das Bewusstsein an sich sind. Es gibt weder jetzt noch irgendwann die persönliche Identität, sondern immer nur die letzte Identität oder das Bewusstsein an sich, das immer bereits frei,eins,ganz, vollständig und durch und durch Glückselig ist. Deshalb beobachte und verstehe, erkenne (und tranzendiere) das auftretende Trugbild der Objekte und "anderem" oder allen "Dingen". Sei nur Zeuge Nicht bedürfend, nichtsichernd, nicht verfolgend, nicht gewinnend, nicht im Stress, nicht zornig, nicht ablehnend, nicht Gefühlen hingegeben, nicht vermeidend, nicht voll Schmerz, nicht verlangend, nicht fliehend, nicht anhaftend, nicht verlierend, nicht traurig, nicht verloren, nicht erstaunt, nicht denkend, nicht zuweisend, nicht mit Geist erfüllt, nicht wahrnehmend, nicht erlebend, nicht im Recht, nicht verwirrt, nicht klagend, nicht im Unrecht, nicht fürchtend, nicht verwundert, nicht in Mitleidenschaft gezogen, nicht leer, nicht befriedigend, nicht getäuscht, nicht bezogen, nicht bewegt, nicht entdeckend, nicht Ich, nicht inkarniert, nicht erlöst, nicht widerstrebend, nicht einmal verstehend. sondern nur (oder lediglich) der eine Seiende welcher der Zeuge ist. Stehe da und schaue nicht. Nur Bewusstsein, von Natur aus objektlos, beziehungslos, ohne ein "Ding". Doch weder getrennt noch abgesondert von der Gesamtheit. Stehe frei und schaue nicht. Beut weder die Aufmerksamkeit aus noch den Geist der Trugbilder von Objekten oder anderen "Dingen" Nehme lediglich die Glückseligkeit, das Bewusstsein an sich wahr, sagte ich. Deshalb sage ich.
Komme zur Ruhe (oder sei wach) bevor die Dinge sich ereignen. Komme zur Ruhe (oder sei wach) vor der Bewegung der Bezogenheit Komme zur Ruhe (oder sei wach) immer bereits in meiner großen Ermitage angekommen
Das Herz ist meine Eremitage Der Sitz meines Segens ist das Bewusstsein an sich Das Bewusstsein an sich ist der wahre Herzmeister Das Bewusstein an sich ist Da Love-Ananda (Liebe-Glückseligkeit) Immer bereits aus sich heraus existent, immer bereit frei, selbst-strahlend, Love-Ananda. Ich bin Love-Ananda. Das Bewusstsein an sich ist was ich lehre.
poster: Scardanelli 1748 length: 60:37 date added: March 2, 2016 language: German views: 3040; views this month: 0; views this week: 0
[This video is in German.]
Introduction to the Way of the Heart (the Way of Adidam).
Adi Da: Alle Wesen suchen fortwährend nach Glück. Du suchst fortwährend nach Glück. Selbst wenn du fortwährend nach Glück suchst, so bist du doch schon immer bereits das Glück an sich. Nur das Glück an sich ist frei von Suche nach Glück. Widmet euch diesem Glück an sich. Tut dies in dem Ihr jedes Ding und jede Erfahrung, alles Wissen, alle Beziehung oder allem was nicht Glück ist entsagt (oder transzendiert). Finde das Glück in jedem Moment, nehme das Glück an sich wahr und Sei das Glück an sich. Tue dies in jedem Augenblick. Das Ego-"Ich" oder der selbstverkrampfte Körper-Geist. ist immer eine Illusion, eine und. . . Luftspiegelung des zeugenhaften Bewusstseins aus Bedürfnissen, Erwünschtheit und Staunen das dem Bewusstsein an sich durch den augenscheinlichen (und nicht notwendigen) Fluss der Ereignisse auferlegt wird, die für sich genommen nicht das Bewusstsein an sich sind. Es gibt weder jetzt noch irgendwann die persönliche Identität, sondern immer nur die letzte Identität oder das Bewusstsein an sich, das immer bereits frei,eins,ganz, vollständig und durch und durch Glückselig ist. Deshalb beobachte und verstehe, erkenne (und tranzendiere) das auftretende Trugbild der Objekte und "anderem" oder allen "Dingen". Sei nur Zeuge Nicht bedürfend, nichtsichernd, nicht verfolgend, nicht gewinnend, nicht im Stress, nicht zornig, nicht ablehnend, nicht Gefühlen hingegeben, nicht vermeidend, nicht voll Schmerz, nicht verlangend, nicht fliehend, nicht anhaftend, nicht verlierend, nicht traurig, nicht verloren, nicht erstaunt, nicht denkend, nicht zuweisend, nicht mit Geist erfüllt, nicht wahrnehmend, nicht erlebend, nicht im Recht, nicht verwirrt, nicht klagend, nicht im Unrecht, nicht fürchtend, nicht verwundert, nicht in Mitleidenschaft gezogen, nicht leer, nicht befriedigend, nicht getäuscht, nicht bezogen, nicht bewegt, nicht entdeckend, nicht Ich, nicht inkarniert, nicht erlöst, nicht widerstrebend, nicht einmal verstehend. sondern nur (oder lediglich) der eine Seiende welcher der Zeuge ist. Stehe da und schaue nicht. Nur Bewusstsein, von Natur aus objektlos, beziehungslos, ohne ein "Ding". Doch weder getrennt noch abgesondert von der Gesamtheit. Stehe frei und schaue nicht. Beut weder die Aufmerksamkeit aus noch den Geist der Trugbilder von Objekten oder anderen "Dingen" Nehme lediglich die Glückseligkeit, das Bewusstsein an sich wahr, sagte ich. Deshalb sage ich.
Komme zur Ruhe (oder sei wach) bevor die Dinge sich ereignen. Komme zur Ruhe (oder sei wach) vor der Bewegung der Bezogenheit Komme zur Ruhe (oder sei wach) immer bereits in meiner großen Ermitage angekommen
Das Herz ist meine Eremitage Der Sitz meines Segens ist das Bewusstsein an sich Das Bewusstsein an sich ist der wahre Herzmeister Das Bewusstein an sich ist Da Love-Ananda (Liebe-Glückseligkeit) Immer bereits aus sich heraus existent, immer bereit frei, selbst-strahlend, Love-Ananda. Ich bin Love-Ananda. Das Bewusstsein an sich ist was ich lehre.
poster: CDBaby length: 09:31 date added: February 27, 2016 language: English views: 3200; views this month: 0; views this week: 0
Adi Da: "The world is not physical in nature; the world is psycho-physical."
This talk excerpt is track 1 of the CD, Science and the Myth of Materialism, a collection of talks from throughout the 30 years of Avatar Adi Da’s formal Teaching-Work that brings together samples from His vast Divine Instruction relative to the psycho-physical nature of the world, the limits of scientific materialism, and the Inherent Unity of Existence.
poster: CDBaby length: 12:21 date added: February 17, 2016 event date: January 18, 1976 language: English views: 6510; views this month: 0; views this week: 0
An excerpt from the talk, "The Grace of Suffering", given by Adi Da on January 18, 1976.
This excerpt is track 1 of the CD, The Impulse to God-Realization, a collection of talks focusing on Adi Da's clarifying Wisdom on the Impulse to Realize God that is inherent in all beings, and His Divine Offering and Instruction on the Ultimate Means to cultivate this heart-Impulse, thereby allowing it to become the guiding force of one's entire life.
This selection of Talks by Avatar Adi Da Samraj focuses on His clarifying Wisdom on the Impulse (inherent in all beings) to Realize God, and His Divine Offering and Instruction on the Ultimate Means to cultivate this heart-Impulse, thereby allowing it be the guiding force of one's entire life. As Avatar Adi Da points out, the real Spiritual Process cannot be truly initiated until and unless one’s Impulse to God-Realization becomes the governing principle of one's life.
Note: Due to distribution policies set by CDBaby (and beyond the control of this website and Adidam), this video may not be playable in every country. However, sometimes, even when you can't play it on this page, you may be able to play it on YouTube: click here.
"The Grace of Suffering" is a beautiful talk by Adi Da. But it IS very compressed, making quite a few points in a short space, and depending to a significant degree on a familiarity with Adi Da's spiritual teaching. Here are some notes that may help.
Throughout the talk, the technical term, "sadhana" (spiritual practice), is used.
Genuine spiritual practice is not about belief systems, mere rituals, or a little "peace of mind", but rather about actually locating the Divine, through the tangible Transmission of the Spiritual Master.
After a recent illness, a devotee mentions to Adi Da that he notices how the physical suffering of illness was distracting enough that he was not "able" to find Adi Da's Transmission when he is ill.
Adi Da acknowledges this, and responds with three more general points.
1. The illness didn't "make" the devotee lose the thread of practice; rather, he allowed himself to be distracted from God by the illness. When the devotee gets this, and sees how he himself is "doing" the turning away, he'll be able to "do better next time" by not turning away even when ill.
2. Until Divine Enlightenment — in other words, until there is no limit on one's spiritual practice — sadhana (spiritual practice) is always only reflecting back to devotees the remaining limits in their practice: where they are still turning away from the Divine, where they still need to become responsible for not turning away.
In the beginning, the "turning away" is very "crude": even mere physical suffering is enough to distract one from God. (If we find ourselves saying, "what do you mean, MERE physical suffering?" that definitely identifies us as spiritual beginners! :-) ) But as one grows in practice, and ceases to turn away in such a crude manner (as one becomes a "saint", "yogi", "sage", etc.), one discovers that one is still turning from the Divine at an even subtler level of the being (in the mind, the psyche, etc.)
It is only when that "turning away" has been inspected, understood, and transcended in every dimension of the being that Divine Realization occurs.
In this sense, for the genuine spiritual practitioner, physical suffering — along with every other circumstance that reveals to us our turning away from the Divine — is truly a Grace, enabling us to grow in our practice.
3. Where we are turning away is a reflection of what we are identifying with: the body, the mind, the soul, etc. (For example, if physical illness is enough to distract us from God, then the physical body is what we currently are identified with.) God-Realization only occurs when all "identities" less than God are understood and transcended.
In this sense, "there are no winners in God" — the Way is not about seeking, accomplishment, or winning, but rather about surrender to God, sacrifice of self, and ego-death. There's no "one" left to "win"! But the One Who Remains is perfectly, eternally happy.
poster: CDBaby length: 08:35 date added: February 16, 2016 event date: June 22, 1972 language: English views: 3285; views this month: 0; views this week: 0
An excerpt from the talk, "The Gorilla Sermon", given by Adi Da on June 22, 1972.
This excerpt is track 2 of the CD, Death and the Purpose of Existence, a collection of talks and recitations that exemplify Avatar Adi Da's essential Wisdom-Teaching on death and dying.
Note: Due to distribution policies set by CDBaby (and beyond the control of this website and Adidam), this video may not be playable in every country. However, sometimes, even when you can't play it on this page, you may be able to play it on YouTube: click here.
Divine Distraction with James Steinberg poster: AdiDaUpClose speaker: James Steinberg length: 50:54 date added: February 1, 2016 language: English listens: 6313; listens this month: 0; listens this week: 0
James Steinberg is interviewed on the podcast, Vajra Body Vajra Mind. Vajra Body Vajra Mind is a provocative podcast that explores the outer limits of spiritual practice and human development. James Steinberg is a longtime devotee of Adi Da, and the author of Divine Distraction and Love of the God-Man.
In this episode of Vajra Body Vajra Mind, we discuss James' life with Adi Da. We talk about the practice of Guru Yoga, challenges in reading Adi Da's Teaching, anti-Guru sentiment in contemporary culture, sexuality in spirituality, the importance of discipline in the Way of Adidam, the unique Transmission of Adi Da's Revelation and Presence (through photographs, videos, Image-Art, etc), resistance to the Guru by the ego, positive disillusionment (aka "the Lesson of Life"), and more.
Adi Da's Teaching as Transmission poster: AdiDaVideos speaker: Jonathan Condit length: 17:55 date added: January 25, 2016 event date: January 2016 language: English views: 6526; views this month: 0; views this week: 0
This video clip includes:
Commentary from Jonathan Condit (at 0:00) — Jonathan Condit was Adi Da's senior editorial assistant, and is Senior Editor for the Adidam Editorial Department. Jonathan talks about "The Function of the Spiritual Literature of Adi Da Samraj", and how Adi Da's Teaching works as Transmission of His Transcendental Spiritual State, and serves the Spiritual Realization of the reader.
Excerpt from an Avataric Discourse by Adi Da (at 5:35) — The Discourse is "My Teaching is a Direct Transmission of Me", from October 28, 2005. Adi Da talks about how His Teaching Word is a form of Spiritual Transmission, that enables Divine Communion with Him (if the devotee is in the right devotional disposition), in the same way that a Murti photograph does, or any of the other forms of Agency that Adi Da has created for this purpose.
Commentary from Megan Anderson (at 12:44) — Megan Anderson is an editor in the Adidam Editorial Department. Megan talks about Adi Da's great, final masterpiece, The Aletheon as the purest communication and Transmission of Adi Da Himself (among all His many, extraordinary books), and describes receiving the Revelation of Adi Da as she was proofreading The Aletheon before its publication.
Adi Da: "My Reality-Teaching is unparalleled Spiritual Transmission, occurring under the most extraordinary circumstances. It is not the product of an ordinary mind or a kind of scholarly commentary. It is a direct expression of Spiritual Transformation, of Spiritual Power, of Transcendental, Inherently Spiritual, and (necessarily) Divine Being, Consciousness, and Love-Bliss. It does not arise in Me or through Me in any ordinary fashion. It is an utterly spontaneous and Transcendental Spiritual Event."
Hymns To Me poster: PaulineChew length: 10:01 date added: December 5, 2015 language: English listens: 2866; listens this month: 0; listens this week: 0
Words are from poem 13 ("Hymns To Me") in Adi Da's book of poetry, Crazy Da Must Sing.
Hymns to me, am I the song, the untouched glamour of the poem, the word and rhythm of the Real. Then sing. And sing of me, am not the soul. The type whose singing sings the Heart, the vowel and consonants am I. Then sing. And say of me, he is the sound, the syllable who is my form, and hymns me, is me, song to song.
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