Adi Da and Adidam: Is Adi Da Still Spiritually Active After His Human Lifetime?

Question: Adi Da's life ended on November 27, 2008. Is He still spiritually active, now that His human lifetime is over?

Brief answer: Very much so! In fact, the entire purpose of His human lifetime was to make Himself and the Way of Adidam available to all beings, in perpetuity. We'll now consider Adi Da's words about this, as well as the experiences of devotees (and non-devotees) after His human lifetime.

From the beginning of His work with devotees, Adi Da was very aware that His human lifetime was finite, and that the great purpose of that lifetime was to establish the Way of Adidam for all time, so that His Presence and Spiritual Transmission would always be accessible to human beings in all future generations:

The question, "Is Adi Da still spiritually active?", comes from a view of Adi Da as an ordinary person, whose human lifetime is now over; or as an extraordinary Realizer and Spiritual Master, who is now in some "other plane" and may or may not have chosen (or may or may not be able) to have contact with us here in the "material plane" now that He has passed on.

But the fullest answer to the question, "Is Adi Da still spiritually active?", is based on the understanding that Adi Da was neither an ordinary man nor (merely) an extraordinary Spiritual Master (although He certainly was that). Rather, devotees of Adi Da receive the Revelation that Adi Da is the human incarnation of the very Divine Person. The Divine Person was, is, and will always be Eternally Present. But that fact was not of any practical use to any of us without our ability to find the Eternally Present Divine. Thus the true and ongoing significance of Adi Da's human lifetime and physical appearance here was that He provided us with the means — the Way of Adidam — by which we could always locate Him (the Eternally Present Divine Person), without requiring Him to be alive in human form forever:

Adi Da addresses the notion that time spent in His physical Company (while He is alive) is somehow necessary for fruitful practice of the Way of Adidam, and points out how this notion is based on a misunderstanding of Who He Is:

Most of the devotees of all kinds of Spiritual Teachers, throughout history, did not have a physical, or immediate, daily association with that Person. That has never been required in order to practice. It is, in fact, not necessary.

You have to do the ego-transcending practice in the context of your daily life, devoted to the Spiritual Master. It is not that the Spiritual Way has to be about being in physical proximity to the Spiritual Master, all the time. It is not possible, it has never been the case, it is not necessary, it is not even appropriate, taking into account all the things you have to deal with for real.

So the Reality-Way of Adidam is not about immediate physical association with Me. To date, everyone has (generally) come into My physical Sphere, at least on occasion. Even that is not necessary. After the death of this Body, nobody is going to do it. And during the Lifetime of this Body, only some — those who can afford to come here — will do that.

However, all the elements of the practice of Adidam are Given to all. If it is not possible to come into My physical Company, you can still practice Adidam fully, effectively — because you are devoted to Me. Likewise, only a handful can do immediate, physical, daily service in My physical Company. That is a practical necessity. It does not mean that they are the only ones really doing the ego-transcending practice, or really Given the full circumstance to do the ego-transcending practice. That is nonsensical.

Physical proximity to Me is not the basis of the Reality-Way of Adidam. It is simply that some must be Given that kind of access for the sake of service — because I am physically here, at the moment. But it has nothing to do with that being the necessary context of the Reality-Way of Adidam.

It is often said in the traditions, in fact, that those who had, for whatever reason, the opportunity to serve the Spiritual Master bodily, or to be in that Sphere, often seemed to Realize less than everybody else. It was not always the case — some in that intimate circumstance progressed greatly. But it is not the circumstance that does it — it is the disposition of the devotee.

I am just as much on the "other side" of the "world" as I Am "here" Sitting in this Chair. I am immediately Available to all devotees, because of Who I Am. You have to find that out, and truly create a culture of right devotion to Me. You must realize and communicate that I Am the Divine Avataric World-Teacher, and not just the Teacher of those who are up close on My Body, or of some group that happens to be associated with Me at the present moment. You must be fully communicative about Me.

But to do that, you must be fully aware of Who I Am, and enjoy a culture with one another that is about Who I Am, and not just about wanting to indulge in some sort of attachment game with a physical "person".

Necessarily, then, for Me to do My Work while physically alive, I have to have some who I associate with very directly and physically, in order to be served, or to generate means of service to everyone. So, as a practical matter, that has to be, but that is not a description of the fundamental context of ego-transcending practice for all devotees.

All of Time and Space is My Domain and My Body and Person, Manifested. This must be your understanding, the basis of your approach to Me, and the basis of your communication in the "world". Instead of persisting in this up-close-to-the-Body kind of neurosis, or ego-game, and keeping it "small" around Me, you must be expansive to the entire "world", and include all in My Divine Avataric Company.

And you, yourselves, must relate to Me As I Am, and not just as a human "other", in the conventional sense. Wherever you are, in time and space, you have equal access to Me, As I Am.

Avatar Adi Da Samraj
Adi Da Samrajashram, May 29, 1995

As we write this, only a brief time has passed since Adi Da's Divine Mahasamadhi. We are only at the very beginning of the period of history that post-dates His human lifetime. But we can already confirm everything Adi Da said through the already unfolding story of His continuing impact on both devotees and non-devotees alike.

Stories from the time of Adi Da's Divine Mahasamadhi. We have gathered together many stories specifically associated with the time of Adi Da's Divine Mahasamadhi, in which both devotees and non-devotees confirm His Presence. Here are just a couple of excerpts.

Next is from Kiam's story, To God Knows Where. Kiam is a resident of Israel, responding to a November 30, 2008 article about Adi Da's passing in Ma'ariv, Israel's second largest newspaper. (The following is translated from the original Hebrew.)

The "Brightness" It is an Eternal Intention that I Demonstrate and Speak about during My physical Lifetime, a Work to go on forever. I Established a Place of My Radiation. It is the Place where this Body in Its end-time will be fitted. I have Accounted for everything. My Mahasamadhi Site will ultimately become the Principal Locus on the Island. The "Root"-Place, the Source-Point is here, at Adi Da Samrajashram, where people will have the most immediate contact with Me beyond My physical Lifetime. This is the Principal Seat, the Blessing-Seat, the Source-Position — in perpetuity. People are to come to Me, where and As I Am. That is how I will Transform humankind and the Earth-"world".

Avatar Adi Da Samraj, November 20, 1993

Here is one of those stories.

I went up back to the "Brightness" Temple in the early afternoon. . . . The entire area seemed to vibrate with a tangible Presence that was very familiar to me as Bhagavan's Spiritual Form. As I sat down on the ground, I became conscious of the fact that this was only about thirty feet away from the chamber in which Bhagavan's physical form was buried. Soon the feeling of intimacy with my Master started increasing significantly. There was a quickly growing feeling of very tangible Love-Bliss energy in the body. I noticed this energy entering my hands — which were placed on the ground in front — moving up and filling the entire body with the most blissful Love-Touch. The feeling of the intimacy of touch was the most outstanding part of the experience. . . .There were frequent incidents in my life as devotee in the past of feeling Bhagavan's Love touch, very typically in the heart region. I never had the opportunity though to be physically touched by Bhagavan Adi Da, but what was happening now was new, it was . . . both. . . . Weeping with tears of joy, I fell into a swoon that lasted for hours.

M. M., Touched By Him

Stories from new devotees who never met Adi Da while He was alive. The first generation of new devotees who have never seen Adi Da alive in human form has begun. We are gathering together their stories (on this site), to confirm in living terms that, just as He was while alive, Adi Da is still available to all His devotees, including those who will come to Him in the years and centuries after His human lifetime. Here are just the first of those stories.

One clarification: For many, the phrase, "spiritually active?", can conjure up images of Adi Da "up" in the Divine Domain, looking down, and intending and doing various "spiritual things" with living human beings. Adi Da has made clear that that is not the way it works. He is simply, merely Present. But that All-Pervading Presence combines with human beings here (particularly those who are putting their attention on Him) in ways that have all kinds of miraculous consequences — none of which require any "attention" from Him.[1] It's a little bit like His lightbulb analogy:

In this time beyond His human lifetime, Adi Da no longer has an etheric body, an astral body, or a causal body. So if someone sees a vision of Adi Da, it is not because His etheric body (or astral body) is making an appearance. Rather, the devotional response of a devotee can combine with Adi Da's Eternal Presence in all kinds of ways, producing a wide variety of phenomena such as visions, dreams, conversations, "channeling", etc. All of that is evidence that Adi Da — the Divine Person — is Eternally Present, and that is sufficient basis for being profoundly inspired!

So when we respond, "Yes, He is spiritually active", it is in this sense of His being merely Present, but that Presence — because It has Emerged here — having numerous, active consequences, particularly when people actively respond to (and combine with) It. The gist of your question is, "Can He still help people Realize the Divine?" And the answer is: Absolutely! To make that eternally possible was the purpose of His human lifetime. And His Eternal Presence — and the means for locating His Eternal Presence: the Way of Adidam — is sufficient for that Greatest of Purposes.

Is Adi Da Still Spiritually Active?