All the world's spiritual traditions talk about the virtue of surrendering at the Master's Feet — it is a kind of metaphor for spiritual practice altogether.

"Surrendering" at the feet of an ordinary person — a king or pharoah, for example — is one thing, and there is a virtue in our modern world having outgrown that sort of tradition, because — whatever else such a person may have (power, fame, etc.) — spiritually, he or she is just an ordinary person like ourselves.

But the ritual of kneeling or prostrating at the feet of such kings and pharoahs is a mimicking of a far more ancient tradition that is genuine, profound, and ultimately, spiritually liberating: surrendering at the feet of a Spiritual Transmission Master.

Adi Da elaborates (bold is mine):

To physically touch (or be physically touched by) the Spiritual Master is a great and rare Grace. To physically touch (or be physically touched by) the Holy Feet of the Spiritual Master is absolutely extraordinary. I was granted this great Grace. Because it was the most Sacred Event in my life, I have made my telling of it the very last chapter in the story told in Part I of this book.

In late 1994, Adi Da made Frans Bakker and myself the co-directors of the Adidam Word and Mission Division. We were both living at The Mountain Of Attention Sanctuary in Northern California. Adi Da invited us to be with Him at Adi Da Samrajashram (in Fiji), in time for the evening of Danavira Mela (Christmas Eve). It was clear that He wanted to directly work with the heads of His Mission in the most wonderful way (at the most wonderful time!), for the sake of their practice, and for the sake of His Mission.

	Adi Da welcoming Chris with a kiss: Christmas Eve, 1994 (click image to enlarge)

We arrived in Adi Da Samrajashram, and gave Adi Da our gift. It was a beautiful glass globe of the world, signifying our intent to bring Him the world, so He could liberate all beings. Later, Adi Da placed our gift in His most sacred temple, the Sukra Kendra.

I gave Him another gift: a bottle of Kahlua. He pretended to make a face — "Nah, I don't drink that stuff!" But He turned to look at Ruchiradama Sukhapur (who was sitting by His side) and, pointing to her, said, "but she loves it!" She nodded, so I gave the bottle to her instead, and she received Adi Da's Prasad with a big smile and shining eyes.

Adi Da then had a wonderfully sweet exchange with Frans and me for the next half hour. Here is just a taste of it. At one point, He had a devotee bring out a fancy bottle of liquor. He looked us in the eyes and said ever so sweetly, "This is the most expensive cognac in the world! I brought it out now so that I could have a special toast with my Frans and my Chris." And then He poured the liquor Himself into three shot glasses, and gave each of us a glass. Then we raised our glasses, toasted each other, and drank, while never breaking our gaze into our Guru's Divine eyes. We all sat silent for a moment. Then Adi Da said softly, "Now I am going to put this bottle back in My closet, so that, whenever I see it, I will think of my Frans and my Chris and this moment." Frans and I were in tears — our Master's Sweetness had broken our hearts.

Adi Da then had Frans and I sit at His Feet all evening, even as He was receiving gifts from His other devotees, kissing and embracing each of them, one by one. It was a wonderfully happy evening.

Frans Bakker and Chris Tong sitting at Adi Da's Feet all night
(click image to enlarge)

And so we sat at Adi Da's Feet. And, at some point, I spontaneously took hold of both His Holy Feet.

I don't have a picture of my holding Adi Da's Feet that night, but this picture from another occasion
(where I was spontaneously moved to press my hands against His back)
gives you a feeling for the ecstatic state I was in.
(click image to enlarge)

This is not something I or any devotee ever would do — or would dare do — in their "right mind"! But I was not in my "right mind" — Adi Da's Spiritual Transmission had shifted me into a completely different state, in which I was profoundly drawn to Him, even to the point where my mind was dissolving and my body was animating itself to be closer to Him in this way. In fact, I have no recollection of the moment I took His Holy Feet in my hands, and barely noticed that I was holding His Feet, so entranced was I by the Brightness radiating from Him and all around His body.

As it would turn out, Adi Da let me continue to hold His Feet for the next half hour or so — an extraordinary gift of Grace, almost unbelievable as I look back on it. And at the same time, because of the direct Transmission that was occuring through my holding of His Feet, He and the room got Brighter and Brighter — with Him as the obvious Center and Source of that Brightness — until it became directly obvious that Beloved Adi Da, the room, and everything were all a Unity in this Brightness. It was a sustained moment of clear recognition of Adi Da as the Divine Person. More than that, the Brightness is the Divine Domain. It enveloped me, and "I" disappeared in It.

The next thing "I" knew, I was outside the gathering hall, in the open air, after some unknown amount of time had passed. I have no recollection of the time between when I disappeared, and when I "reappeared" — to discover I was being supported on either side by friends who were taking me to lie down. Mind you, I had not passed out — I had passed in . . . to God Knows Where.

Adi Da has always said that, whenever we gather with Him (as we did that night), He works to bring us to a point in the evening where we "disappear", and lose a period of time in our memory; He has said that if we could only allow that to happen, we would never be the same again. It happened for me . . . I was in a state of continual bliss for the next three months. And I can vouch for it: I haven't been the same since.

And in my heart, I am still there, sitting before Him, holding His Holy Feet.

Linda Oppenheimer, pastel on paper (click to enlarge)

Part II, Overview

FOOTNOTES

Part II, Overview