Adi Da Up Close
Audio/Video Library

Longtime devotee, James Steinberg, tells the story of how he found Adi Da. He offers this testimonial to the life and work of Adi Da Samraj.

Excerpt from First Evening: Track 4 on the DVD, A Tribute to the Life and Work of His Divine Presence, Adi Da Samraj. More than 7 hours long, this Tribute DVD was filmed on the occasion of the first Anniversary of Adi Da's Divine Mahasamadhi, when devotees, family, and friends of Adi Da Samraj gathered at Adi Da Samrajashram, Fiji (Adi Da's principal Hermitage), to acknowledge Adi Da as the Divine in human form, to praise His Greatness, and to express their heart-felt gratitude for the Blessings they have received from Him.

Tags: DVD   James Steinberg  

Adi Da: "Sex is fundamental ego-identity, lived. And generally speaking, it is a problem for everyone. . . The social pattern of 'self' and 'other' is founded upon emotional-sexual patterning to a very great degree. . . So it certainly is an important dimension of bondage, and therefore an important aspect of sadhana. The Perfect Practice is not based on any reference to the body-mind, or any method of the body-mind."

In this Avataric Discourse (from January 21, 2005), Adi Da explains why the Perfect Practice (the most advanced development of the Way of Adidam) has nothing to do with sex (or the ego-"I" altogether), and is not a "method" of the body-mind or something to be applied to the body-mind. The Self-Condition prior to the body-mind is the domain of the Perfect Practice. The Self-Condition is not a separate "self", but the Nirvanic Condition that is always already the case, and that inherently transcends the body-mind.

This excerpt is from the DVD, Beyond Sex, Science, and self. Subtitles in English, Spanish, French, Italian, German, Dutch, Russian, Polish, Czech, and Hebrew. A CD version is also available.

Tags: Avataric Discourse   Perfect Practice   DVD   CD  

The DVD, I Am Always Already Free, commemorates the Divine Mahasamadhi of Avatar Adi Da, which occurred on His Hermitage Island, Adi Da Samrajashram, on November 27, 2008. This DVD is a very beautiful and deeply moving treasure.

This video excerpt is the first track, "Now, and Forever Hereafter". It is a slideshow created immediately after Adi Da's Passing, which includes photographs and video clips from the last month of His life.

Tags: DVD  

In response to a devotee's question about Spiritual Transmission, Adi Da discusses how the various schools of religious and Spiritual instruction fit within the Great Tradition.

("Great Tradition" is Avatar Adi Da's term for the total inheritance of human, cultural, religious, magical, mystical, Spiritual, and Transcendental paths, philosophies, and testimonies, from all the eras and cultures of humanity.)

Avatar Adi Da also describes the qualities of genuine Spiritual Transmission and offers guidance in transcending naive belief and all forms of limited thinking.

This excerpt is from the DVD, Human History Is One Great Tradition. Subtitles in English, Spanish, French, German, Dutch, Finnish, Polish, Czech, Chinese, Japanese, and Hebrew. This talk is also available on the CD, Human History Is One Great Tradition.

Tags: DVD   CD   Great Tradition   Avataric Discourse  

Throughout the years of His Divine Avataric Teaching-Revelation, Avatar Adi Da spoke at length in response to devotees' questions on all subjects relative to the human circumstance — including death, and all the sorrow and fear inherent in the circumstance of human mortality.

In "Enter the Inherently Fearless Condition", a video segment from September 18, 2004, Avatar Adi Da describes the choice we face: to live in fear, the "native mood of the ego" — or to realize the profundity of the inherently fearless Condition.

Avatar Adi Da calls us to a surrendered life that is about Realization and all that is relevant to Realization, including compassionate service. Such a surrendered life is the key to an "easy" death.

This excerpt is part of the two-and-a-half-hour DVD, Easy Death — Discourses on the Ultimate Transcending of Death and Everything Else. Subtitles in English, French, Italian, German, Dutch, Polish, Czech, and Hebrew.

This compilation of ten talks spans thirty-four years of Avatar Adi Da's Work. It includes His compassionate Instruction about:
- the sorrow of loss
- the fear of death
- serving the dying person
- how to practice during and beyond the death process
- the Ultimate Demonstration of Divine Translation (or Most Perfect Realization of the deathless Condition).

From His Perfect Disposition of Absolute Freedom, Avatar Adi Da Samraj reveals the greater process within which death occurs, and the Ultimate Demonstration of What Is, Prior to life and death.

[Note: Since we posted this video, we have also posted a longer excerpt from the same DVD track here.]

Tags: death   DVD   Avataric Discourse  

In this video clip from the 1988 talk, "What Is Your Intention?", Adi Da criticizes the "do-it-yourself" approach to spirituality that is popular in the world today, and speaks about why a teacher is necessary.

The full talk is available on the DVD, The Commitment To Real-God-Realization.

For more on this subject, read our article, Why Great Spiritual Realization Requires a Spiritual Transmission Master.

Tags: DVD  

What kind of experiences might you notice arising in the course of esoteric practice or via Spiritual Transmission? What is the secret to relating to them rightly?

On the DVD, The Secret of Experience, Avatar Adi Da Samraj addresses questions on this topic in two revelatory Discourses.

On December 5, 2004, when asked by a devotee about a particular experience, Avatar Adi Da contrasted the self-authenticating nature of the experience with the attitude of having a question about the experience.

And on August 13, 2004, Adi Da talked about the potential of blissful experience to create unrealistic presumptions about the self and about real practice.

This video clip is an excerpt from the DVD, in which Adi Da is responding to a devotee who asked Him a question on the phone. The DVD includes Spanish, French, Italian, German, Dutch, Polish, Czech, and Hebrew subtitles.

Tags: DVD   Avataric Discourse  

Video excerpt from an Avataric Discourse given by Adi Da Samraj on July 7, 2005, in Land Bridge Pavilion at The Mountain Of Attention.

Adi Da talks about the presumption of the egoic "separate self" sense that is the root of human suffering. He contrasts this with our actual Position in Truth: the Position of Conscious Light.

This talk is from the first occasion in many years in which Avatar Adi Da spoke directly to a gathering of His devotees in California. Questions from devotees about intimate, familial, and social issues are met with Avatar Adi Da's Compassion and Humor, as well as His Liberating Wisdom.

The complete Avataric Discourse is available on the DVD, Relinquish the Mummery of This World. (This video excerpt is from Part 3 of the DVD.)

At 19:58, a formal Darshan occasion begins (at Adi Da Samrajashram) and continues to the end of this video clip.

Tags: Avataric Discourse  

In this seminal discourse (at The Mountain Of Attention), from the early years of His Teaching Work, Adi Da speaks about the inevitable process of self-revelation and self-understanding that prepares the being for true Spiritual life.

The full talk is available on the CD, The Grace of Suffering, and on DVD as Volume 2 of the 25th Anniversary DVD Series.

Tags: CD   DVD  

On the evening of October 12, 2004, Avatar Adi Da not only answered His devotees’ questions (ranging from the capacity of discrimination to living a Divinely Purposed life), He also addressed the chronic self-reference "I" in the patterns of speech. He pointed out that there is no actual experience of such a one, though language and thought are built upon the illusion of a separate "self". Adi Da contrasted this ego-based condition to the Wordless and Thoughtless State of the Divine.

This 12-minute excerpt is from the DVD, The Wordless Condition Prior to "I", which presents Adi Da's entire Avataric Discourse of October 12, 2004 (approximately 3 hours and 36 minutes altogether).

Tags: Avataric Discourse   DVD  

Adi Da Samraj talks about the pain of loss, and about liberation. This is in response to a devotee's question about the Devotional Prayer Of Changes and the death of the devotee's grandchild.

This video excerpt is from the DVD, Easy Death. Subtitles in English, French, Italian, German, Dutch, Polish, Czech, and Hebrew.

Tags: death   Devotional Prayer of Changes   DVD   Avataric Discourse  

A video excerpt from part 6 ("The Glasses of Consciousness") of the DVD, You Are The Question You Ask, which was drawn from Adi Da's Avataric Discourse of August 30, 2004.

Adi Da talks about how human beings presume that they are just a body and a mind, and this creates the mistaken sense of separation from others and the Divine.

special terminology: self-contraction

Tags: Avataric Discourse  

A slideshow with pictures of Adi Da Samraj from the early days of His Formal Teaching Work to the 1980's, historical photos covering a broad period of His Work.

Soundtrack is a devotional piece by devotee John MacKay.

Excerpt from First Evening: Track 8 on the DVD, A Tribute to the Life and Work of His Divine Presence, Adi Da Samraj. More than 7 hours long, this Tribute DVD was filmed on the occasion of the first Anniversary of Adi Da's Divine Mahasamadhi, when devotees, family, and friends of Adi Da Samraj gathered at Adi Da Samrajashram, Fiji (Adi Da's principal Hermitage), to acknowledge Adi Da as the Divine in human form, to praise His Greatness, and to express their heart-felt gratitude for the Blessings they have received from Him.

A list of all the tracks on this DVD can be found here.

Tags: slide show   DVD  

In this talk ("Tacit Recognition Of My State") Adi Da describes what He means by recognition of Him (as the Divine), and response to Him on that basis.

special terminology: Ruchira Avatara Bhakti Yoga; Murti forms; Samadhi.

This excerpt is part of the longer DVD, The Divine Is Not The Cause. Subtitles in English, Spanish, French, German, Dutch, Finnish, Polish, Czech, Chinese, Japanese, and Hebrew. A CD version is also available.

For more about the significance of recognition in becoming Adi Da's devotee, click here.

Tags: Avataric Discourse   recognition   DVD   CD  

Solomone Finau, a longtime Fijian devotee, who lives at Adi Da Samrajashram in Fiji, pays tribute to Adi Da in a heartfelt communication.

Excerpt from First Evening: Track 9 on the DVD, A Tribute to the Life and Work of His Divine Presence, Adi Da Samraj. More than 7 hours long, this Tribute DVD was filmed on the occasion of the first Anniversary of Adi Da's Divine Mahasamadhi, when devotees, family, and friends of Adi Da Samraj gathered at Adi Da Samrajashram, Fiji (Adi Da's principal Hermitage), to acknowledge Adi Da as the Divine in human form, to praise His Greatness, and to express their heart-felt gratitude for the Blessings they have received from Him.

A list of all the tracks on this DVD can be found here.

Tags: Leela   Solo   Mahasamadhi   tribute   DVD