FAQs about Adi Da & Adidam > Miscellaneous > Isolated from the World?

Isolated from the World?


Question: Some people have suggested that Adi Da is virtually cut off from the world, getting no bad news concerning Himself or His community — is this true? Do you hide anything from Him?

[This question and the answers below date from when Adi Da was still alive and are written accordingly.]

James SteinbergJames Steinberg: Adi Da is actually better informed about the world than almost anyone I know. During many periods of His Work, He has been given excellent summaries of the news by devotees. He is shown the best books that come out in all areas of interest to Him. He watches live television sometimes, and has watched it all day long at times of serious conflict in the world. So He actually is better informed about things than most.

Then the matter of communications to Him. Interesting question. The whole basis of the relationship to Adi Da and the Spiritual Master is the giving and receiving of gifts. In other words, the devotee comes with the gift of surrendering the self, and the Master gives the gift of Divine Realization. And then this same attitude is all along. The devotee gives the gift of his or her practice or devotion, and the Teacher gives the gift of Spiritual Blessing. Or the devotee does service to the Master as the gift, and accomplishes the purposes of the Master to Bless others.

In the midst of this, what about if there is something that is disturbing? The traditions all describe, “Don’t disturb your Guru’s mind” (that’s verse 13 in the Mahayana text Fifty Verses of Guru Devotion, by Ashvagosha, over a thousand years old). So the devotee tries to change that, and make that piece of content not disturbing, rather than to bring some bad news to his teacher. But if it can’t be changed, then the Master has to eventually be told.

Now sometimes, whoever is doing the communications with Adi Da will keep something from Him, trying to see if it can be changed. And they will sometime do that for too long. Sometimes they bring Him something too soon, that really should have been “worked with first”. It cuts both ways. But Adi Da does not want to only hear good news because bad news is being withheld from Him. He wants to hear good news because His devotees really do practice and bring the gifts of their practice, and really change things.

Nobody wants to bring bad news to the President of any company, to the boss, or even to one’s loved ones. We want to see if we can change it first. If it cannot — then it is simply told.

Some things Adi Da no longer hears about much. He really doesn’t hear about the little details of the personal lives of His devotees. But if someone is very ill with a life-threatening disease, or there is a major transformation going on, He wants to know. He is very strong on this, so that He can do His Blessing Work. It is the first thing He does every day. But He does not open His "doors" to hear every complaint of the ego. And this can be upsetting again to the ego, that always wants to be “heard”.

Anyway, as with all of these questions, it is a lively and artful process to rightly communicate with a Divine Realizer. And the other side of it is that He is psychically alive. It says in the Bhagavad-Gita, Krishna to Arjuna, “I know all of your past lives and your future lives.” All of that is there with Adi Da, in ways that have been proven to me and hundreds of other devotees countless times.

Brian O'MahonyBrian O’Mahony: "Is Adi Da cut off from the world?” This is so not true! Think of Ramana Maharshi and Swami Nityananda, two great Realizers of the twentieth century. They had absolutely nothing to do with the affairs of the institutions that grew in response to them. Adi Da, on the other hand, because of the global nature of His Avataric Work, has never been under any illusion in terms of what such a global work would require. It would require institutions and organizations and global cooperative efforts of all kinds, structures that could truly fulfill the global work of Adidam. Therefore, from the beginning of His Work He has been in touch daily with the realities of the Adidam institution, community, mission, and culture. He still is. Is He unaware of what is going on? Not for a moment.

Yes, Adi Da has admonished devotees not to bring Him "bad news" relative to His Work — not before they have been truly and effectively dealt with. But that is part of His skillful means to convey His demand that devotees be responsible for what they must accomplish in His Work. He uncompromisingly insists that devotees succeed in their work. It does not mean He is unaware of the limitations and realities that His devotees are struggling with. He is excruciatingly aware of these realities and never defends Himself against them. Yes, we have tried at times in our egoic self-protectiveness to hide things from Adi Da, but we have found that this is impossible. He is super-normally aware of everything. And He showed this to us over and over again.

Relative to the world, at times, Adi Da has spent much time on a daily basis receiving reports on world news and events, watching the news on TV, and Granting His Blessing Regard to the principal areas of human conflict and suffering. His Compassion is heart-breaking. I have seen Him weep for humanity on many occasions. He is utterly engaged with humanity. Whoever claims that He is "cut off" does not know Adi Da Samraj!

David SimonDavid Simon: There are a couple of important points that relate to this question.

First of all, no, Adi Da is not "virtually cut off from the world". In fact, Avatar Adi Da has at times received extensive daily reports and summaries about all of the important news items occurring worldwide. He has always worked spiritually to influence and transform the world in the direction of peace, consciousness, and freedom.

This kind of question is based upon a confusion regarding the traditional admonition that a devotee should never disturb the mind of his or her Guru, and should always present his or her Guru with the tangible results and signs of effective self-transcending sadhana, or practice. Through all of the years of Adi Da's work with His devotees, He has been calling and empowering His devotees to become more responsible, and less dependent on Him for guidance and instruction. He has already fully given all of the guidance and instruction that is necessary for the fulfillment of His Teaching, (except for the most advanced levels of practice) and so His devotees are very careful not to bring Him "bad news" that are is based upon the failure to follow His explicit words of instruction.

So it is a rather artful matter to communicate to Adi Da, one that really requires tremendous discrimination and real practice.

It is not a matter of "hiding bad news" from Adi Da, like a child trying to deceive a fearsome parent, but it is a matter of being profoundly sensitive to who He is and to everything that He has already said and done for the sake of His devotees and the world.

It is a matter of being a profoundly responsible, serious, and intelligent devotee, so that you know the difference between handling your own business instead of projecting your own irresponsibility onto your Guru. It's one of those great challenges and opportunities of having a LIVING Guru: one who expects great things from His devotees and who is perfectly aware of all of the ways that you might hold back, fall short, or avoid the necessary requirements for real growth and self-transcendence.


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