I’ve sung Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas to Beloved Adi Da many times over the years — at the Manner of Flowers, at Adi Da Samrajashram, at First People / Great Food Dish, etc. (as one of a small group of singers, and usually also as the keyboardist) — and I’m singing it to Him again (and all of you!) here. It is one of my favorite songs at this time of year.
For me (starting with Judy Garland's original film version), it has always been an emotion-filled song, by turns joyful, playful, nostalgic, and wistful — so that is how I sing it here.
This song as a bridge to God. In Beloved Adi Da’s Company, everything (from Mickey Mouse to cookie-making) becomes “a bridge to God”.
ADI DA: “You must Awaken and discover the Divine World wherein everything is a bridge to the Infinite, One Being.”
And so for me, the words of this song have always taken on a significance beyond the usual secular understanding of the song. They lead me through a consideration that I’ll share with you here.
Have yourself a merry little Christmas Let your heart be light From now on our troubles will be out of sight
Have yourself a merry little Christmas Make the Yuletide gay From now on our troubles will be miles away.
Here we are as in olden days Happy golden days of yore Faithful friends who are dear to us Gather near to us once more
Through the years we all will be together If the fates allow Hang a shining star upon the highest bough And have yourself a merry little Christmas now.
That wistfulness: Raymond’s problem. On the surface, the words of Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas are purely joyful — "faithful friends" coming together each year in a joyous Christmas celebration. And yet, one of the emotions I feel when I sing this song is wistfulness. So where is the wistfulness coming from? It's that big "IF" in the song: "if the fates allow". In fact, as every one of us knows (more and more, with each passing year), fate (conditional existence) only allows such reunions for a limited number of years. As I sing, I have a vision of a photograph of a gathering of friends, from a Christmas or Danavira Mela many years ago, and, in this vision, each face in the photograph — one by one over the years — turns "ghostly", either through our circumstances (high school, college, living near each other) no longer being shared, or life paths that have moved in different directions, or the passing on of that person. My awareness of that inevitable reality is the source of the wistfulness and nostalgia. The inevitable disappearance of the (mortal) loved one is “Raymond’s problem”, a phrase Adi Da uses, based on the central character of The Mummery Book.
Danavira Mela: A Divine Celebration in the midst of a conditional universe. The joy and playfulness of the song comes from the celebration we can still have together, even in the midst of an ever-changing, conditional universe. One of my (and many other devotees’) favorite quotes of Beloved Adi Da has always been this extraordinary prayer, from “Death is a Perfect Insult” in The Enlightenment of the Whole Body:
“Let us surrender into Infinity with all our friends and hold on to no thing or condition that ever appears. Let us forget all things in present Happiness, and so forgive the universe for all its playful changes. Let us always love one another, and so forgive one another for appearing, for changing, and for passing out of present sight. So be it.”
When I sing this song, I hear it giving further guidance for just how to do this.
[Contains Finnish subtitles. If the CC icon ("Subtitles/closed captions") has a red line under it, the subtitles should appear. If you don't see them, just press the CC icon to turn them on.]
Gerald Sheinfeld, joka on omistautunut Avatar Adi Dalle 1970-luvun alusta saakka, kertoo tarinan Gurunsa löytämisestä, ja siitä, miten hän välittömästi tunnisti Avatar Adi Dan ainutlaatuisen olotilan, joka viestii vapautta, iloa ja vapautusta. Gerald selittää, miten tuon kaltainen tunnistus Adi Dan olotilasta herkistää yksilön Aiemman Ykseyden asemaan.
Gerald Sheinfeld, a devotee of Avatar Adi Da since the early 1970's, tells a wonderful story about how he found his Guru, Adi Da Samraj and his immediate recognition of Adi Da's unique state of Freedom, Happiness, and Liberation. Gerald speaks about how that recognition of Adi Da has the capacity to awaken others to that state of Prior Unity.
[Contains Italian subtitles. If the CC icon ("Subtitles/closed captions") has a red line under it, the subtitles should appear. If you don't see them, just press the CC icon to turn them on.]
Gerald Sheinfeld, un devoto di Avatar Adi Da sin dai primi anni 70, ci racconta la magnifica storia dell'incontro col suo Maestro, Adi Da Samraj, e del suo immediato riconoscere in Adi Da la singolarità del Suo stato di Felicità e Liberazione. Gerald parla anche del modo in cui il riconoscere Adi Da risvegli implicitamente il nostro stesso stato di Unità-a-priori.
Gerald Sheinfeld, a devotee of Avatar Adi Da since the early 1970's, tells a wonderful story about how he found his Guru, Adi Da Samraj and his immediate recognition of Adi Da's unique state of Freedom, Happiness, and Liberation. Gerald speaks about how that recognition of Adi Da has the capacity to awaken others to that state of Prior Unity.
[Contains Spanish subtitles. If the CC icon ("Subtitles/closed captions") has a red line under it, the subtitles should appear. If you don't see them, just press the CC icon to turn them on.]
Tras haber ido a Adi Da en Febrero de 1972, antes de la inauguration del primer ashram de Adi Da, y participar como devoto a lo largo de los años de Su Enseñanza Formal y el Trabajo de Bendición, el señor Sheinfeld fue testigo de toda la vida de Enseñanza, Instrucción y Bendición Espiritual de Adi Da Samraj. Las historias de Gerald dan una visión única de la relación Gurú / devoto, llena de la Sabiduría transformadora de Adi Da y Su humor penetrante del corazón.
Gerald Sheinfeld, a devotee of Avatar Adi Da since the early 1970's, tells a wonderful story about how he found his Guru, Adi Da Samraj and his immediate recognition of Adi Da's unique state of Freedom, Happiness, and Liberation. Gerald speaks about how that recognition of Adi Da has the capacity to awaken others to that state of Prior Unity.
[Contains Polish subtitles. If the CC icon ("Subtitles/closed captions") has a red line under it, the subtitles should appear. If you don't see them, just press the CC icon to turn them on.]
Gerald Sheinfeld, uczeń Awatara Adi Da od wczesnych lat 70-tych, opowiada wspaniałą historię o tym, jak odnalazł swojego Guru i natychmiast rozpoznał wyjątkowy Stan Adi Da: Miłość, Szczęście i Wyzwolenie. Gerald mówi o tym, w jaki sposób rozpoznanie Adi Da budzi człowieka do Stanu Inherentnej Jedności.
Gerald Sheinfeld, a devotee of Avatar Adi Da since the early 1970's, tells a wonderful story about how he found his Guru, Adi Da Samraj and his immediate recognition of Adi Da's unique state of Freedom, Happiness, and Liberation. Gerald speaks about how that recognition of Adi Da has the capacity to awaken others to that state of Prior Unity.
In His book, Not-Two Is Peace: The Ordinary People's Way of Global Cooperative Order, Adi Da speaks to the necessity of re-establishing human civilization based on principles of mutual trust, cooperation, tolerance, "prior unity", and the limitless participation of all humankind in transforming its own destiny.
A brief introduction to this book by Rolf Carriere. Rolf worked with the United Nations and the World Bank from 1971 till 2005, mostly in Asia. His last field postings were as UNICEF Country Representative in Bhutan, Burma, Bangladesh and Indonesia, and he also served for seven years as UNICEF's Head of Health and Nutrition in India. Before his retirement in 2005, he was the first Executive Director of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), a public-private-people's partnership based in Geneva. He is currently Senior Adviser (pro bono) to Non-Violent Peace-Force and to EMDR Humanitarian Assistance Program. He recently gave a TED talk (at TEDxGroningen) on the use of EMDR to heal trauma on a global scale.
poster: FIAT LUX length: 02:30 date added: March 1, 2017 event date: April 28, 2017 language: English views: 4251; views this month: 20; views this week: 6
[Note: We reposted this video from Vimeo. Not everyone will be able to play this video on this web page, but you can always watch it on Vimeo.]
In this video, longtime devotee and Adidam educator, Carolyn Lee, introduces "The Zero Point", a retreat taking place at the European Danda, April 28 - 30, 2017.
Read or watch the daily news these days and you will find it filled with identity politics and the fear and anxiety that such politics engenders. Identity politics is a major threat to the world. In this retreat, we explore the root of identity politics: the presumption of difference and separateness. We also study and consider Adi Da's Wisdom on understanding, un-learning, and transcending the illusion of separateness and the act of separation, and Realizing Prior Unity, Non-Separateness, and unlimited relatedness to everything and everyone.
The "Zero Point" is the place where we can drop all the limited and superficial points of view, and find the profound depth of Reality Itself. This has the potential for initiating a Reality-informed and Reality-transformed personal process and a collective activism in the contemporary world.
For more information about the retreat, write info@adidam.org.
poster: AdiDaVideos speaker: Gerald Sheinfeld length: 10:53 date added: October 23, 2016 event date: 2016 language: English views: 4486; views this month: 22; views this week: 7
Gerald Sheinfeld, a devotee of Avatar Adi Da since the early 1970's, tells a wonderful story about how he found his Guru, Adi Da Samraj and his immediate recognition of Adi Da's unique state of Freedom, Happiness, and Liberation. Gerald speaks about how that recognition of Adi Da has the capacity to awaken others to that state of Prior Unity.
The Vision of Love poster: Gerald Sheinfeld speaker: Gerald Sheinfeld length: 05:41 date added: August 2, 2016 language: English listens: 5766; listens this month: 15; listens this week: 10
On his new downloadable album, At the Feet of the Spiritual Master, devotee Gerald Sheinfeld tells leelas — true stories of his life of over 45 years with Avatar Adi Da Samraj. These stories begin before the first ashram opened in 1972. They provide details of how Avatar Adi Da awakened ordinary people into devotees of Real God. These stories are based on the awakened recognition of the prior Unity of Divine Reality. They are full of lessons of self-understanding and brightening heart-joy in finding the truth about God, the truth about life and death. The truth of prior Happiness which is the true Condition of all, prior to the ego-I act of separation.
Gerald has been a devotee of Adi Da since the beginning of Adi Da's work with devotees. He accompanied Adi Da on His 1973 trip to India, and has participated in countless sacred occasions and events in the company of Adi Da in the intervening years — so he has many stories to tell!
Some of those stories are on this downloadable album. This audio excerpt is track 8, "The Vision Of Love", on Gerald's downloadable album.
Prior Unity poster: The Adi Da Foundation speaker: Leo Burke length: 02:47 date added: March 22, 2015 language: English views: 6015; views this month: 18; views this week: 7
Leo Burke is Professor and Director of the Global Commons Initiative at the Mendoza College of Business, the University of Notre Dame. In this capacity he teaches courses on the commons to undergraduates, MBAs and Executive MBAs. From December 2000 through June 2008, he served as Associate Dean and Director of Executive Education. In 2009, he co-founded the Anthroposphere Institute, with Carolyn Lee and Kathy Skerritt.
In this video, Leo talks about the new book, Prior Unity, containing Adi Da's wisdom about world peace, cooperative community, and much more. Prior Unity follows on the wisdom in Adi Da's Not-Two Is Peace, containing excerpts from the earlier book as well as much new material.
This book’s message is that the impulse to peaceful, cooperative coexistence is humanity's "true north". The impulse comes from our root-intelligence as one single species, and, at the same time, reflects the inherent unity of all life. Leo emphasizes the necessity for an approach based on this prior unity, if there is to be a sustainable future for planet earth.
poster: sacredwalk-about speaker: Ruchiradama Nadikanta length: 12:10 date added: January 3, 2013 language: English listens: 7535; listens this month: 10; listens this week: 2
Ruchiradama Nadikanta is offering these recitations as a New Year's gift to everyone. Feel free to share these recitations. For more recitations from Not-Two Is Peace, click here.
On July 22 and 23, 2012, the Florence Dance Company presented a multimedia spectacle entitled Not-Two Is Peace. The performance at the Bargello Museum in Florence, Italy brought together image-art by Adi Da Samraj, original ballet by the Florence Dance Company, and live music — a dynamic exploration of the principles of world peace and prior unity as described in Adi Da's book, Not-Two Is Peace.
Part Two of the performance featured music for solo piano, composed and performed by Naamleela Free Jones, and presented here in this commemorative recording. The CD also features photographs from the performance as well as the city of Florence.
Endorsement for Not-Two Is Peace poster: swaybone11 speaker: Theo Cedar Jones length: 01:59 date added: February 1, 2012 language: English views: 3535; views this month: 5; views this week: 1
A commercial (from Theo Cedar Jones) for Adi Da's book, Not-Two Is Peace, which describes how the human race can save itself by adopting a new form of global cooperative culture based on "prior unity".
A theatrical performance and recitation by devotee Theo Cedar Jones from Adi Da's book, Not-Two Is Peace. The essay being recited is Principles Regarding A Global Cooperative Forum: On The Dangers Of The Old "Tribalisms" and The Necessity For A Global Cooperative Forum Based On The Prior Unity of Humankind.
Dance by Isabelle Sjahsam and Maria LaMance of Artface Performance Group.
Not-Two Is Peace: Recitation poster: swaybone11 speaker: Theo Cedar Jones length: 04:36 date added: November 28, 2011 language: English views: 3384; views this month: 5; views this week: 1
Recitation by devotee Theo Cedar Jones from Adi Da's book, Not-Two Is Peace. The essay being recited is Principles Regarding A Global Cooperative Forum: On The Dangers Of The Old "Tribalisms" and The Necessity For A Global Cooperative Forum Based On The Prior Unity of Humankind.
Our multimedia library currently contains 1205
YouTube video clips and audio clips about (or related to) Adi Da and Adidam.[1]
Enjoy! indicates
a video, and
an audio. Special categories of interest include:
Thanks to the many videographers who took the footage, to the many editors who
created these videos and audios, and to the 132
people and organizations who posted these videos and audios on YouTube and other places on the
Web. Special thanks to Lynne
Thompson, who did a lot of the data entry for our audio/video database.
