Seven Dimensions for Exegesis of
the Texts of Adidam

This is Part 4 of Chris Tong's fourteen-part article, A Framework for Exegesis: Understanding Adi Da's Word in Context.

To rightly understand Adi Da's Teaching Word, we must know exactly when He wrote or spoke it, and the context in which He wrote or spoke it. And to pin down that context, it is useful to evaluate the talk or essay or passage along seven different dimensions:

1. where Adi Da was in His seventh-stage process
   
   
2. where Adi Da was in His understanding of the significance of His life, work and Agency
   
   
3. where Adi Da was in His process of "learning Man", and in His assessment of the relative strength of the Force of the Divine versus the force of egoity
   
   
4. where Adi Da felt the culture of Adidam was at in its maturity relative to practice, and its ability to support His Work in the world and corroborate the Communication of Who He Is and What He is Offering
   
   
5. whether the communication represented a particular temporary phase (or "stance" in a larger consideration) or a conclusive "summary statement"
   
   
6. which voice Adi Da was using when He spoke or wrote
   
   
7. where Adi Da was in the development and use of His special terminology (for increased precision and closing loopholes) and innovative use of language altogether

In principle, we can label each talk or essay with where it stands along each of these seven dimensions. In some cases, the same talk or essay may be labeled differently, depending on where we are in it. For example, relative to dimension (6), Adi Da might be speaking with the voice of the Divine in one moment of a talk, and then later on, in another moment, switching to His "Bubba" voice — as the friend who is empathizing with His devotees.

If a quote can be associated with a particular book, that will often "pin down" many of these dimensions because many of Adi Da's books tended to be written within a particular period of His Work, rather than across several periods; "I" Is The Body of Life and Ishta are examples of such "period" books. Of course, this is not true for all of Adi Da's books: some were constantly evolving, like The Dawn Horse Testament or The Knee Of Listening, which accumulated new materials in later editions, even as old materials were revised into an updated form.

In the following sections (sections 5 - 12), I will elaborate, respectively, on each of the seven dimensions in the framework for Adidam exegesis that is being laid out in this article.