Video excerpt from an Avataric Discourse given by Adi Da Samraj at Adi Da Samrajashram, on October 20, 2004. In this excerpt, Avatar Adi Da speaks about the Big Bang theory in the context of the ego's logic of cause-and-effect.
In this Discourse, Avatar Adi Da points out that the logic of cause-and-effect is operative not only in the conventional religious presumption that the Divine is the Cause of the world, but also in all human historical traditions—from the most ancient astrologically based cultures, to various Western philosophies, to the esoteric traditions that posit a subjective source for phenomena.
The Truth of the matter, Avatar Adi Da Reveals, is this: Everything and everyone that arises is merely an apparent modification of Reality Itself. Reality Itself is always Prior to the universe of conditional beings and things. And, ultimately, the process of Realizing Reality Itself utterly Outshines both the question of cause and the noticing of effects.
This is a video excerpt from Adi Da's classic talk, "The Bodily Location of Happiness", which He gave on November 28, 1981. This talk was originally published in the book, The Bodily Location Of Happiness. The full talk is available on DVD and on CD, and as an online transcript.
ADI DA: Life is foolishness. This is no time, in any case, to be tolerant of foolishness. The world is mad, and these are dreadful times. Things are not going to be easier in the years ahead. The spiritual process has always been lived in difficult times. Therefore, the spiritual process tolerates no fool. The spiritual process itself will spit you out. It is not an easy attainment, but a profoundly difficult affair. Even what you have listened to today has been heard by only a fraction of the human race in all of history. The opportunity to practice is extremely rare, and the fulfillment of practice is practically unknown.
In some sense you could say this life is hell. . . The nature of this hell is that we are self-possessed. We are born in un-Happiness and we do not transcend it readily. We constantly pursue Happiness through all kinds of incredibly complex means, and we never attain It. . .
If Spiritual Realizers did not turn about and Teach, this would truly be a hell instead of being like a hell. It would truly be a hell if there were no possibility of Enlightenment, if there were no Teaching, no Spiritual Masters, no sacred Way, no sacred community, no capacity for understanding or self-transcendence.
This is a video excerpt from Adi Da's Avataric Discourse of October 20, 2004, at Adi Da Samrajashram. In this excerpt, Adi Da speaks about the Big Bang theory in the context of the ego’s logic of cause-and-effect, and how egos tend to mistakenly confuse "first cause" with God or Reality.
The full talk is available on the DVD, The Ego's Logic of Cause-and-Effect (nearly four hours long). In this talk, Adi Da points out how the logic of cause-and-effect is operative not only in the conventional religious presumption that the Divine is the Cause of the world, but also in all human historical traditions—from the most ancient astrologically based cultures, to various Western philosophies, to the esoteric traditions that posit a subjective source for phenomena.
The Truth of the matter, Avatar Adi Da Reveals, is this: Everything and everyone that arises is merely an apparent modification of Reality Itself. Reality Itself is always Prior to the universe of conditional beings and things. And, ultimately, the process of Realizing Reality Itself utterly Outshines both the question of cause and the noticing of effects.
The Sacred Arts in Adidam poster: satsang length: 03:39 date added: February 5, 2009 language: English views: 2679; views this month: 5; views this week: 2
The true and sacred purpose of music and art is to connect the viewer or the listener with the Divine. Adi Da has created a complete sacred culture in which all devotees are called to take up a particular sacred art as a part of their practice of the Way of Adidam.
[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.]
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.
Adi Da reminds us that, historically, all the world's spiritual traditions have taught that Spiritual Realization requires the help of a Spiritual Realizer. This is actually built into the laws of how Spiritual Realization works, and can't be changed just because times and cultures change, just because we don't happen to like the way the laws work or what they require of us, etc. For this reason, Adi Da makes the point that, nowadays, our resistence to authority, and addiction to "do it yourself" approaches, represent unfortunate hindrances to our own Spiritual growth: if we simply go with the flow and let these culturally instilled programs dominate our life choices, they will keep us from Realizing our greatest destiny.
[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.]
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.
Adi Da reminds us that, historically, all the world's spiritual traditions have taught that Spiritual Realization requires the help of a Spiritual Realizer. This is actually built into the laws of how Spiritual Realization works, and can't be changed just because times and cultures change, just because we don't happen to like the way the laws work or what they require of us, etc. For this reason, Adi Da makes the point that, nowadays, our resistence to authority, and addiction to "do it yourself" approaches, represent unfortunate hindrances to our own Spiritual growth: if we simply go with the flow and let these culturally instilled programs dominate our life choices, they will keep us from Realizing our greatest destiny.
Purnima poster: NAADA OM length: 06:13 date added: November 6, 2018 event date: 2017 language: English views: 2553; views this month: 9; views this week: 4
NAADA OM is a World Music collaboration between composer, singer, and harmonium player, Felix Woldenberg, and percussionist and arranger, Alan Corne. In 2017, Felix and Alan made two trips to the beautiful island of Naitauba in Fiji to offer Sacred music for a variety of celebrations: Da Purnima, Naitauba Padavara and Da Jayanthi.
This is an excerpt from the Purnima album, which can be purchased through NAADA OM's online store.
[Ths video is currently not playable on the Adi Da Up Close site. Click this link to watch it on YouTube.]
As sacred musicians and devotees of Adi Da, Felix Woldenberg and Alan Corne have been involved in providing music as part of the devotional culture at Adi Da Samrajashram for two decades. They were involved in many sacred musical occasions offered in honour of, and gratitude to Bhagavan Adi Da Samraj during his lifetime at celebrations held between 2003 and 2006.
Bhagavan Adi Da Samraj instructed Felix and Alan in different ways and settings about the devotional relationship to the spiritual master, as well as the function and purpose sacred music and chant serves in the context of that relationship and in the sacred culture of practitioners who respond to the master.
Though Felix and Alan have undergone all sorts of musical training both in the East and West, the instruction they received in Bhagavan Adi Da's company is directly responsible for the devotional musical aesthetic which the NAADA OM collaboration encompasses.
NAADA OM's music can be divided into three categories: 'Devotional Songs or Bhajans'—based on traditional call-and-response chanting; 'Mantric Chants'—generally slow chants sung in unison utilizing mantras; and 'Sacred Offerings'—musical works encompassing elements of Western classical harmony, Bhajans, and Indian Dhrupad, Hindustani, and Qawwali classical traditions -- in which the audience participates only as listeners.
Traditionally, Bhajans and Kirtan tend toward stimulating the participant emotionally and physically, in contrast NAADA OM's orientation aims to move the participant to a depth of feeling in a space of stillness where the body-mind is brought to equanimity rather than being stimulated, thereby supporting the participant in a greater awareness of, and heart response to the Source-condition of his or her own being.
To continue the yearly service to the devotional culture of Adi Da Samrajashram, NAADA OM is releasing four albums made up of recordings from live performances that occurred during the 2017 celebrations.
All proceeds from the sale of these albums will go to support NAADA OM's return to Naitauba on a yearly basis, and thereby the creation of new musical offerings and future album releases.
Is an ant an ego? poster: AdiDaVideos length: 18:44 date added: August 10, 2018 event date: October 20, 2004 language: English views: 2362; views this month: 11; views this week: 3
In this humorous and profoundly insightful Avataric Discourse (given by Adi Da on October 20, 2004 at Adi Da Samrajashram), Adi Da considers the difference between self-consciousness and egoity, referring to both humans and non-humans (including dogs, ants, and trees).
ADI DA: [Laughs] You generally attribute egoity to human beings, but you wonder about everything else. For instance, what about not something relatively inert like a rug or even just standing there and not seeming to be particularly responsive, like a tree. But what about a dog? Is a dog, do you think dogs are egos when you see them, just as readily as you think of human beings as egos? But, why do you draw the line? I mean how far does it go? Where do you stop thinking of living entities, at least, as egos? Do you just presume everything bigger than a cricket is an ego? Or is everything that moves in your, from your perspective experientially or in your natural presumptions, how far do, does the fact of egoity extend in your presumption.
Well, is an ant an ego in your presumption?
The word “ego” is actually a Greek word which means “I”. I consider it with you and talk about it in terms of self-contraction and so forth, but, so that’s the elaboration on its meaning, but the word simply means “I” which means the reference, self-reference, the reflexive, reflexive pronoun as it’s called of self-reference. So, does an ant feel self-referential?
You observe them protecting themselves and struggling with others. Couldn’t do so without some kind of self-consciousness, could it? So, you naturally presume that even something like an ant is, is a self, an ego, self-aware. Does something have to move from its spatial location? Does it have to be able to take a walk or, such as an ant or a human being, or can a tree? Does a tree have self-consciousness, exhibit self-consciousness. . .
What about trees? They are entities with apparent self-consciousness of a kind. They are in that sense, egos. But are they egoic? Are they functioning egoically? Are they feeling that they are in bondage and moved to seek as human beings are and as you feel in your own case, you see? Trees don’t seem to behave, generally speaking, in quite that way. They are self-conscious as organisms, but they don’t seem to be particularly disturbed about being trees. They seem more characterized by some kind of contemplation in which they don’t feel disturbed.
But if you observe non-humans, virtually all of them show signs of setting themselves apart and entering into a contemplative state that resembles some kind of a samadhi or meditative condition.
Why do you think human beings are disturbed? You see, why is human egoity what it is? If you observe how it appears in evidence in non-humans, suggests that human beings are the way they are because they’re confined, and not just confined by walls and bars. Some people are, and they get very disturbed there, and walk back and forth or get catatonic.
Your bondage is your own activity, and it also extends from conditions. Conditions can reinforce or seem to justify self-contraction. But still what you’re suffering is self-contraction itself.
So, human beings are actually confined, and they are self-confined, and otherwise, also, living in various modes and degrees of confinement by conditions of life and in fact, human beings feel confined by bodily existence, because however healthy you may be at the moment, you know you’re going to die, and are potentially, potentially, you could suffer any number of great happenings. And you anticipate that inevitably, you will, sooner or later, experience some fundamental difficulties that you would prefer not to have to endure, including disease and death.
Well, everything that’s physically living is going to die. The trouble, the difference is does it drive you crazy, make you seek, or are you at ease, because you haven’t lost touch with what transcends that possibility?
poster: CDBaby length: 05:28 date added: January 1, 2019 event date: July 1988 language: English views: 2323; views this month: 12; views this week: 3
In July 1988, during several talks at the Mountain Of Attention Sanctuary in northern California, Avatar Adi Da Samraj described the first six stages of life (based upon His own seven-stage schema), and the unique and Graceful process of real Spiritual Transmission. This audio excerpt is from one such occasion.
This excerpt is track 4 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.
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: frank marrero length: 10:03 date added: July 9, 2012 event date: 1996 language: English views: 2250; views this month: 5; views this week: 1
At The Mountain Of Attention, Adi Da Samraj addresses a question about the difficulty a devotee is experiencing in his practice. Adi Da points out the Western aversion to being rightly mastered and living by His instruction and how this turns the practice into a "problem".
[Contains French 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.]
Adi Da critique le sectarisme religieux. Ce discours, donné en 1978, est une de ses allocutions récapitulatives sur le sujet.
Adi Da criticized religious cultism, long before the subject gained any popular attention. (For an audio clip of His earliest criticisms — in June, 1972 — click here.) This discourse, "Qu'est-ce que le Sectarisme?" ("What Is Cultism?"), given in 1978 at The Mountain Of Attention, is one of His summary addresses on the subject. Adi Da observes that the primary characteristic of a cult member is shared enthusiasm (like enjoying the energy of the crowd at a football game). For example, in "the cult of the Spiritual Master", everybody is enjoying the enthusiasm (their own and each other's) associated with having "found" the great Master; but no one is actually engaged in significant deepening of the devotional and spiritual relationship with the Master, and practicing on that basis — hence no Spiritual growth or Realization occurs.
Adi Da: "My purpose in My Teaching is to make it possible for you to duplicate what I have done — not to be eternally separated from Me, but to be in Communion with Me — to be intimate with Me in Spiritual terms, so that you, yourself, may live this practice, and fulfill it in your own case."
poster: CDBaby length: 08:58 date added: January 19, 2019 event date: April 16, 1995 language: English views: 2059; views this month: 14; views this week: 7
This audio excerpt is from a talk given by Adi Da on April 16, 1995, in Hymns To Me, at Adi Da Samrajashram.
Adi Da describes how the preparatory stages of practice of the Reality-Way of Adidam are associated with attention, and how the attachment to attention and all its objects prevents the Realization of Reality As It Is. He goes on to describe the unique advantage that His bodily Incarnation provides in the process of such Realization, for all time, and how the relationship to Him occurs — directly and personally — beyond the life of His human Form.
This excerpt is track 8 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.
The full talk, "Love Is How I Got To Here”, is available on a 2 CD set from The Dawn Horse Press. You also can read a transcript of much more of this talk here.
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: 06:10 date added: January 18, 2019 language: English views: 2023; views this month: 8; views this week: 1
In this talk excerpt, Avatar Adi Da speaks about how one must understand the tendency to presume oneself to be a victim, and must transcend all limitation in the process of Real-God-Realization.
ADI DA: You can suffer, or you can love. You can complain, or you can surrender. You can abuse, or you can bless. It is really just that simple. True maturity, God-Realizing maturity, manifests great compassion, great love, great help, endures greatly.
This excerpt is track 7 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.
The full talk, “You Can Suffer Or You Can Love”, is available on audiocassette here.
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: 06:29 date added: January 13, 2019 language: English views: 1713; views this month: 8; views this week: 2
In this excerpt, Adi Da compares the thirsting heart of the devotee truly moved to God-Realization to a cat in heat.
This excerpt is track 6 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.
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.
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