The Guru Is Sufficient poster: AdiDaVideos length: 12:41 date added: December 20, 2014 event date: July 15, 1973 language: English views: 4094; views this month: 31; views this week: 14 In this rare historical footage from 1973, Adi Da speaks about the relationship with the Guru in Satsang (the Company of the Awakened One) as the Way of Truth, and Reality Itself.
Adi Da: "During My 'Sadhana Years', whenever My Guru asked Me to do something, I would do that. The rest of the time, I would sit there and be absorbed in Him. And there was nothing else I could do. The Guru is sufficient — and the devotee of the Guru is one who knows that."tags: DVD
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.
poster: CDBaby length: 12:21 date added: February 17, 2016 event date: January 18, 1976 language: English views: 6447; views this month: 53; views this week: 23 An excerpt from the talk, "The Grace of Suffering", given by Adi Da on January 18, 1976.
This excerpt is track 1 of the CD, The Impulse to God-Realization, a collection of talks focusing on Adi Da's clarifying Wisdom on the Impulse to Realize God that is inherent in all beings, and His Divine Offering and Instruction on the Ultimate Means to cultivate this heart-Impulse, thereby allowing it to become the guiding force of one's entire life.
This selection of Talks by Avatar Adi Da Samraj focuses on His clarifying Wisdom on the Impulse (inherent in all beings) to Realize God, and His Divine Offering and Instruction on the Ultimate Means to cultivate this heart-Impulse, thereby allowing it be the guiding force of one's entire life. As Avatar Adi Da points out, the real Spiritual Process cannot be truly initiated until and unless one’s Impulse to God-Realization becomes the governing principle of one's life.
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.
"The Grace of Suffering" is a beautiful talk by Adi Da. But it IS very compressed, making quite a few points in a short space, and depending to a significant degree on a familiarity with Adi Da's spiritual teaching. Here are some notes that may help.
Throughout the talk, the technical term, "sadhana" (spiritual practice), is used.
Genuine spiritual practice is not about belief systems, mere rituals, or a little "peace of mind", but rather about actually locating the Divine, through the tangible Transmission of the Spiritual Master.
After a recent illness, a devotee mentions to Adi Da that he notices how the physical suffering of illness was distracting enough that he was not "able" to find Adi Da's Transmission when he is ill.
Adi Da acknowledges this, and responds with three more general points.
1. The illness didn't "make" the devotee lose the thread of practice; rather, he allowed himself to be distracted from God by the illness. When the devotee gets this, and sees how he himself is "doing" the turning away, he'll be able to "do better next time" by not turning away even when ill.
2. Until Divine Enlightenment — in other words, until there is no limit on one's spiritual practice — sadhana (spiritual practice) is always only reflecting back to devotees the remaining limits in their practice: where they are still turning away from the Divine, where they still need to become responsible for not turning away.
In the beginning, the "turning away" is very "crude": even mere physical suffering is enough to distract one from God. (If we find ourselves saying, "what do you mean, MERE physical suffering?" that definitely identifies us as spiritual beginners! :-) ) But as one grows in practice, and ceases to turn away in such a crude manner (as one becomes a "saint", "yogi", "sage", etc.), one discovers that one is still turning from the Divine at an even subtler level of the being (in the mind, the psyche, etc.)
It is only when that "turning away" has been inspected, understood, and transcended in every dimension of the being that Divine Realization occurs.
In this sense, for the genuine spiritual practitioner, physical suffering — along with every other circumstance that reveals to us our turning away from the Divine — is truly a Grace, enabling us to grow in our practice.
3. Where we are turning away is a reflection of what we are identifying with: the body, the mind, the soul, etc. (For example, if physical illness is enough to distract us from God, then the physical body is what we currently are identified with.) God-Realization only occurs when all "identities" less than God are understood and transcended.
In this sense, "there are no winners in God" — the Way is not about seeking, accomplishment, or winning, but rather about surrender to God, sacrifice of self, and ego-death. There's no "one" left to "win"! But the One Who Remains is perfectly, eternally happy.tags: CD
In this excerpt (from August 26, 2004), Adi Da responds to a questioner who asks how she can practice devotion in her dream state.
Adi Da indicates the necessity of self-understanding, in order for devotees to grow in practice. He points to the depth of existence that is always the case regardless of the changing states of awareness (waking, dreaming, and sleeping). And He Calls for ego-transcending practice (sadhana) to be engaged at this depth—so that What Is Prior to all conditional states can be Realized.tags: CDAvataric Discourse
In this excerpt (from September 4, 2004), Adi Da Adi Da speaks to a questioner about her mother’s suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and the transcending of attention that becomes possible with maturing spiritual practice.
Adi Da points to the depth of existence that is always the case regardless of the changing states of awareness (waking, dreaming, and sleeping). And He Calls for ego-transcending practice (sadhana) to be engaged at this depth—so that What Is Prior to all conditional states can be Realized.tags: CDAvataric Discourse
The Form of Whole Bodily Spiritual Practice poster: frank marrero length: 24:57 date added: June 10, 2012 language: English views: 2489; views this month: 12; views this week: 9 Adi Da talks about how the self-contraction creates the sense of a separate narcissistic 'me' over against everything else; and how this relates to sadhana (ego-transcending practice) in the Way of Adidam.
The Realization of That Which Is Always Already The Case poster: frank marrero length: 28:53 date added: June 17, 2012 language: English views: 2500; views this month: 14; views this week: 8 Adi Da answers a devotee's question about forms of mind and emotion that arise in meditation. He speaks of this as the ordeal of sadhana that must be undertaken and persisted in in His Company in order to Realize Him.tags: Avataric Discourse
poster: frank marrero length: 11:04 date added: July 12, 2012 language: English views: 2973; views this month: 19; views this week: 9 Adi Da Samraj talks about the relationship with Him that develops on the basis of recognition of Him as the Divine Person and responding via the devotional sadhana (practice) He gives.tags: Avataric Discourse
The Gift of Discipline poster: jonobono length: 09:49 date added: June 6, 2010 event date: July 2, 1988 language: English views: 4162; views this month: 18; views this week: 8 Adi Da: "The sadhana of discipline arises in the context of God-Realization. It is a gesture made in that context, in response to the Divine. What is discipline anyway? It is the process of self-transcendence, of breaking through limit."
Adi Da: "The sadhana of discipline arises in the context of the Way of God-Realization. It is a gesture made in that context, in response to the Divine. What is discipline anyway? It is the process of self-transcendence, of breaking through limit."
Hearing the Teaching Argument poster: TheBeezone length: 01:38 date added: August 12, 2012 language: English listens: 2232; listens this month: 8; listens this week: 4 Adi Da talks about hearing the Teaching argument, which is the basis of sadhana and self-understanding.
[If this audio clip doesn't play, try pressing the play button a couple of times after the clip has fully loaded; or try re-loading the page.]
Purification and the Fire poster: TheBeezone length: 00:49 date added: August 12, 2012 language: English listens: 1593; listens this month: 5; listens this week: 2 Adi Da talks about sadhana and purification.
[If this audio clip doesn't play, try pressing the play button a couple of times after the clip has fully loaded; or try re-loading the page.]
The Beginner's Discipline poster: TheBeezone length: 01:11 date added: August 12, 2012 language: English listens: 2197; listens this month: 9; listens this week: 4 Adi Da talks about the early phase of sadhana: taking on life conditions.
[If this audio clip doesn't play, try pressing the play button a couple of times after the clip has fully loaded; or try re-loading the page.]tags: disciplineright life
The Early Phase of Sadhana: Listening poster: TheBeezone length: 09:33 date added: August 12, 2012 event date: 1988 language: English listens: 3318; listens this month: 14; listens this week: 10 Adi Da talks about the listening process, and the use of various means for self-reflection (the Teaching, the disciplines, reflection by others), so that the listening process can culminate in hearing or fundamental self-understanding (and the transition to level 1.3 of the Way of Adidam).
Note: In this clip, Adi Da refers to the practice of self-inquiry, which is no longer a part of the practice of Adidam.
[If this audio clip doesn't play, try pressing the play button a couple of times after the clip has fully loaded; or try re-loading the page.]tags: disciplineright life
What Do You Do With Emotions? poster: TheBeezone length: 04:31 date added: November 17, 2013 event date: 1973 language: English views: 2105; views this month: 9; views this week: 6 In this 1973 talk, Adi Da Samraj responds to a question from a student about the tendency to either suppress, rise above, or indulge emotional states. He makes clear that "doing something else" - namely, the sadhana - is a different (and inherently right) alternative to all these other choices, in every moment.
Our multimedia library currently contains 1206
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.