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.
The Five Reality-Teachings poster: AdiDaUpClose length: 03:30 date added: September 3, 2023 language: English views: 727; views this month: 45; views this week: 7
As part of His recitation of The Happenine Book in April, 2006, at Adi Da Samrajashram, Adi Da recites "The Five Reality-Teachings". A chanted version is available here.
As part of our commemoration of renowned actor Kenneth Welsh (who passed away on May 5, 2022), we have created this enjoyable "peek" inside Ken's process of preparing to play the role of narrator in the January, 2000 ten-hour long performance of The Mummery Book.
The video excerpt was edited (by Chris Tong) from a much longer, unreleased documentary (created by well-known film director, Terence Gross) about the making of The Mummery Book. (Consequently, the audio and visual quality are a little spotty in places.)
At a certain point in the process (3:02), Avatar Adi Da (“Beloved”) sits in at a rehearsal, and then begins to actively participate in making suggestions for the production. Finally (at 5:45), there is a brief glimpse of the end of the actual performance, after which Adi Da expresses His appreciation by coming up and embracing Ken.
poster: CDBaby length: 04:14 date added: November 24, 2018 event date: May 10, 2006 language: English views: 1727; views this month: 10; views this week: 4
This excerpt is disc two, track 8, the final track of the double-CD, After My Lifetime, an exceptional collection of Adi Da’s Instruction covering the significance of His Divine Mahasamadhi (the passing of His physical Body), the ever-present Gift of the direct relationship to Him, and the never-ending Nature of His Work to Bless and Awaken all beings.
Note: Due to distribution policies set by CDBaby (and beyond the control of this website and Adidam), this video may not be playable in every country. However, sometimes, even when you can't play it on this page, you may be able to play it on YouTube: click here.
poster: CDBaby length: 03:34 date added: October 27, 2018 event date: April 22, 2006 language: English views: 2133; views this month: 14; views this week: 3
On April 22, 2006, Adi Da recited this passage from "The Happen of the 'Bright'", in Chapter Three of The Happenine Book.
This excerpt is disc one, track 1 of the double-CD, After My Lifetime, an exceptional collection of Adi Da’s Instruction covering the significance of His Divine Mahasamadhi (the passing of His physical Body), the ever-present Gift of the direct relationship to Him, and the never-ending Nature of His Work to Bless and Awaken all beings.
Note: Due to distribution policies set by CDBaby (and beyond the control of this website and Adidam), this video may not be playable in every country. However, sometimes, even when you can't play it on this page, you may be able to play it on YouTube: click here.
Spectra Suite poster: Francesco Rampichini length: 10:36 date added: August 2, 2017 event date: 2008 language: English views: 4601; views this month: 21; views this week: 4
As part of the 2008 Inverno a Firenze (Winter in Florence), Adi Da's Image-Art was featured in the medieval church, the Cenacolo di Ognissanti, strikingly juxtaposed with Domenico Ghirlandaio's Last Supper (1480). More about this art exhibition here.
This video was a part of that exhibition. It is an animated work that combines art drawn from Adi Da's The Spectra Suites with new electronic music by Francesco Rampichini. It was conceived and directed by Valeria Patera, and edited by Valeria Spera.
The Spectra Suites. Between 1998 and 2006, Adi Da focused on camera-based imagery, creating a highly complex body of work (in both black-and-white and color) that now exceeds 60,000 images and a great many hours of videotape. The Spectra Suites is a consequence of His work from that great library. In these suites, Adi Da combines digitally generated imagery with images He created using still and video cameras. To achieve each finished work, He then meticulously crafted every detail by digital means. Each of the ten Spectra Suites is based on one or more of His fundamental images — many of which are a powerful visual and philosophical complexity.
Francesco Rampichini. Through his music, master guitarist and composer, Francesco Rampichini, has created a wide range of sound and image interconnections, composing for theater, dance, digital art and collaborating on important exhibitions and museum installations. He taught at the Civic Music Schools in Milan, Opera, Locate Triulzi and at the Ateneo della chitarra and the European Music Institute in Milan. He teaches at CPSM at the Conservatory of Milan (of which he has been vice president) and at the Civica Music School of Locate Triulzi (guitar, ensemble music, computer music). He is President of the Jury of Guitar Competition Rocco Peruggini, artistic director of the Lyric Competition Principessa Cristina Trivulzio di Belgiojoso, and was the first Italian President of the Jury of the Django d'Or International Award under the High Patronage of the Embassy of France in Rome (1999). More about Francesco at his website.
Valeria PateraValeria Patera studied philosophy of science at Università degli Studi di Milano, and graduated in dramaturgy from the Civic School of Art.e Dramatic Paolo Grassi. She is a playwright, director, actress and scholar of the relationship between art, science, and philosophy. She collaborates with prestigious universities, research centers and European foundations including University of Sheffield, State University of Milan, ROME THREE, La Sapienza, La Sorbonne, University of Leeds and Portland, Gulbenkian Foundation, Sigma Tau Foundation. Since 2002, she has written, published and staged live work shows and life stories that have radically altered our way of seeing the world, including "Alan's Apple" about Alan Turing, the inventor of the computer; and "I, Charles Darwin: Traces and voices of my life", on the father of the theory of evolution.
Valeria Spera.Valeria Spera has a degree in "Communication Sciences and Technologies" and a specialized degree in "Television, Cinema, and Multimedia Production" from the University of Milan. She currently works with the Feltrinelli Group's La Effe TV in creating new formats for their autumn television season.
The Killers poster: The Adi Da Foundation length: 03:01 date added: November 27, 2015 event date: 2006 language: English listens: 2816; listens this month: 10; listens this week: 4
Adi Da reads an excerpt from His short story, "The Killers", in 2006. "The Killers" is a chapter in Adi Da's The Happenine Book (Book Three of The Orpheum Trilogy), and was also the first literary work ever written by Adi Da.
The Mummery-Cult Of Pairs Set Free poster: Matt Braithwaite speaker: Steve Brown length: 04:34 date added: November 2, 2014 event date: October 2014 language: English views: 6106; views this month: 31; views this week: 5
In response to Shakespeare's famous monologue, "All the world's a stage", from his play, As You Like It, Adi Da Samraj wrote the extraordinary poem, "The Mummery-Cult Of Pairs Set Free", which appears in His Happenine Book.
Because Adi Da intended this as a direct response to William Shakespeare, reciter Steve Brown is standing before the River Avon in Stratford, Shakespeare's hometown.
Orphism and Aletheon poster: TheBeezone speakers: Frank Marrero, Ed Reither length: 14:14 date added: November 4, 2012 language: English views: 4368; views this month: 9; views this week: 1
Theater, Orpheum, Upanishads, and Aletheon poster: TheBeezone speakers: Frank Marrero, Ed Reither length: 29:51 date added: November 4, 2012 language: English views: 4632; views this month: 11; views this week: 2
Beezone's Ed Reither talks to Frank Marrero (author of The View from Delphi) on the origins of theater, and discusses the topics of Eleutherios, Orpheus, Greek mysteries, The Upanishads and the connection to the Greeks. The discussion revolves around the transition from mythology, rhapsodies and prosaic thought and communication and its relationship to Truth (Aletheon) and the connection to Adi Da Samraj's Literature, Theater and Image Art.
poster: Tastingthemoon speaker: Meg Fortune McDonnell length: 07:35 date added: April 7, 2012 language: English views: 13617; views this month: 11; views this week: 1
Devotee Meg Fortune McDonnell reads from her book, Tasting the Moon: Adventures in the Meaning of Life. This story is excerpted from the chapter titled "On the Road," which goes on to describe the ferment of the sexual revolution, beat poetry, living theater, and alternative lifestyles of the early 1970's.
On December 2 and 3, 2011, the Florence Dance Company presented the Ballet Theater Event, Not-Two Is Peace, in the Teaotro Cantiere Florida, in Florence, Italy. This video clip includes excerpts from that performance.
poster: DawnHorsePress length: 07:28 date added: December 16, 2010 event date: July 7, 2005 language: English views: 6824; views this month: 16; views this week: 3
An excerpt from the talk, Relinquish The Mummery Of This World.
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.
From considering the "seed theme" of His Mummery Book, to describing His mindless and Indivisible State, Avatar Adi Da weaves a masterful tapestry of Instruction and Blessing. He Calls for and Transmits the most profound understanding possible of human life and sacred practice.
Transcendental TV poster: madjym length: 01:54 date added: June 5, 2010 event date: August 2009 language: English views: 2825; views this month: 2; views this week: 0
Separative vs. transcendental existence. Performed for the 2009 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Featuring the Irish Company, Fidget Feet, with Jym Daly, Chantal McCormick, Jenny, Lee, Steve, and the voice and wisdom of Adi Da Samraj.
The Sunshine Makers poster: frizz lefryd length: 07:43 date added: May 8, 2010 language: English views: 10740; views this month: 56; views this week: 11
One of Adi Da's favorite cartoons, "The Sunshine Makers" is a classic from the golden age of animation. Released on January 11, 1935 (an auspicious day of the year, in the sacred calendar of Adidam), the cartoon was directed by Ted Eshbaugh, the first artist/technician to figure out how to create animated cartoons in color. This restored print is the highest quality available, and is from the DVD, Toddle Tales & Rainbow Parade Cartoons.
"The Sunshine Makers" is the third cartoon in the "Rainbow Parade Series", which was produced by Van Beuren Studios to compete with Walt Disney's "Silly Symphonies". The series consisted of 27 full color, animated shorts, and was distributed to theaters by RKO between 1934 and 1936. (You can watch more of these here.)
"The Sunshine Makers" later became a regular on 1950's television, after the sale of RKO's film library. In his book, Of Mice and Magic, well-known film critic Leonard Maltin writes that his childhood (in the 1950's) included "countless viewings" of the cartoon.
"The Sunshine Makers" is also one of Adi Da's favorite cartoons, because of its depiction of Light and Happiness (magnified and spread by the "Sunshine gnomes" in the cartoon) dissolving and outshining the force of egoity (the "gloomies").
In his article, "The Sunshine Makers cartoon from 1935", James Steinberg writes, "Bhagavan Adi Da loved that cartoon! He thought that it showed the simplicity of the argument of the open hand and the closed fist, or that our un-happiness is just something that we presume. Just like He used to tell us when we came to the Mountain of Attention, or came to see Him altogether, that we could 'leave it at the gate'. There is no reason to presume the dilemma in the face of the Divine (or truly altogether). We used to watch 'The Sunshine Makers' cartoon with Him when we had to watch it on a 16mm projector. I saw it multiple times with Bhagavan and He would laugh heartily as it was shown and watch our faces to see our reactions beaming with Happiness. He always used to tell us that we could just 'drop it in the moment' (our self-contraction) and that it was 'just an act'."
Further notes on the cartoon:
* It's a musical! Almost all speech is set to music.
* At 0:43: The "Sunshine gnomes" start their morning with a conscious exercise routine that begins with bowing down to the Transcendental Sun (the source of their sunshine): "Hail, His Majesty, the Sun!"
* At 7:00: When the "gloomies" refuse to "take their medicine", the gnomes force "sunshine" down their throats. In the words of the great Spiritual Master, Sri Ramakrishna: "There are three classes of physicians: superior, mediocre, and inferior. The physician who feels the patient's pulse and just says to him, 'Take the medicine regularly' belongs to the inferior class. He doesn't care to inquire whether or not the patient has actually taken the medicine. The mediocre physician is he who in various ways persuades the patient to take the medicine, and says to him sweetly: 'My good man, how will you be cured unless you use the medicine? Take this medicine. I have made it for you myself.' But he who, finding the patient stubbornly refusing to take the medicine, forces it down his throat, going so far as to put his knee on the patient's chest is the best physician. This is the manifestation of the tamas of the physician. It doesn't injure the patient; on the contrary, it does him good."
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, Adi Da Samraj wrote the extraordinary poem, "The Mummery-Cult Of Pairs Set Free", which appears in His 
. This leads to deeper understanding of the connection to Adi Da Samraj's 
