A few scenes from the preparation at the Teatro della Pergola in Florence on March 14, 2013. Some views of the famous old theatre itself. The use of back projection for the video produces very crisp images of Adi Da's art, without the projection being interrrupted by the dancers (who would stand between the projector and the lower part of the screen in a traditional forward projection system). For more on the performance, click here.
poster: AdiDaVideos length: 13:13 date added: March 20, 2013 event date: January 18, 1976 language: English
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.
This 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.
The Florence Dance Company prepares and performs at the Pergola Theatre, Florence, in the March 2013 performances of Not-Two Is Peace. Accompanied by interviews with some of the dancers and members of the public responding to the performance.
Excerpt from the Avataric Discourse of August 22, 2004.
Adi Da describes how humankind is a single family, a single species in "diaspora" — dispersed across the earth as the result of migrations from a single point of origin (in Africa) thousands of years ago. Making much of superficial differences due to race, nation, religion, language, tribe, political system, etc. obscures this more fundamental, deeper reality of the unity of humankind. For the sake of everyone's survival, humankind must begin to live on the basis of its unity, and establish a global cooperative order that includes and serves everyone.
Rolf C. Carriere, former official with UNESCO and currently Senior Advisor to the Non-Violent Peace Force, describes his experience reading Adi Da's books communicating social wisdom, including The Transcendence of Ego and Egoic Society and Not-Two Is Peace. He also describes his conversation with Beloved Adi Da in Cape Cod, Massachusetts (in May, 1996), and his experience of serving as Adi Da's spiritual instrument in the right times and places so as to affect human history in a positive manner.
poster: DaPeace speaker: Ervin Laszlo length: 04:15 date added: October 30, 2013 event date: 2013 language: English
Dr. Ervin Laszlo, Founder of the Club of Budapest World-Shift Network, talks about the "Deeper Level" that Adi Da is "plugged into" and from which the wisdom in Adi Da's book Not-Two Is Peace comes, and with which all others can resonate and connect, enabling world transformation. He also talks about the timeliness of Adi Da's call for a Global Cooperative Forum.
poster: DaPeace speaker: Brian Deschamp length: 10:06 date added: October 30, 2013 event date: 2013 language: English
Brian Deschamp, Former Senior Adviser, United Nations High Commission for Refugees, talks with great fondness about hosting Beloved Adi Da's visit to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1996, and how Adi Da's Blessing (and being Adi Da's "instrument" for conducting that Blessing in the right time and place) helped serve his work with the United Nations. He also discusses the uniqueness of Adi Da's Teaching and Revelation in the history of the world's great spiritual traditions.
Adi Da has identified three character types associated with human egoity: vital, peculiar, and solid. Because they represent primary obstructions to human and spiritual growth, He has given extensive wisdom on how to identify these strategies, and how to transcend them. Adi Da's teaching on these three types has appeared in The Dawn Horse Testament; No Remedy; and The Eating Gorilla Comes in Peace ("The Imbalancing Act").
In this video, Beezone editor Ed Reither talks with teacher Frank Marrero about Adi Da's teaching on these three character types.
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.
Beloved, Inmost Heart of every heart, donotLet our human hearts be broken by our merely mortal suffering here — but Make our mortal human hearts break-Free to an unconditional love of You, that we may, Thus, love all living beings with Love's own True, and Truly broken, Heart.
Composed by Jacqueline Clemons and Nick Milo, and sung by Jacqueline Clemons, this soulful rendition of Adi Da's prayer for world peace, "The Universal World-Prayer", was sung many times at The Parliament of the World's Religions in Cape Town, South Africa, in December, 1999.
The song accompanies a slideshow of pictures of Adi Da.
Adi Da's Universal World-Prayer coincides with His Instructions to not "live the Law backwards": trying to love others (or attempting to bring about world peace), while failing to first love God (and have our love of others be the overflow of our communion with God).
We live the Law backwards. Instead of living from the point of view of Happiness, love of God, submission to the Transcendental Reality, we live in submission to others, objects, relations.
poster: CDBaby length: 12:21 date added: February 17, 2016 event date: January 18, 1976 language: English
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.
In this talk, Avatar Adi Da describes the Way of Adidam as the utter transcendence of fear — including fear of being without a body or world (in the Divine State of Infinite, Eternal Love-Bliss). He speaks about finding True God as Source rather than "Creator", and He describes the mechanism that is actually responsible for generating the conditional universe. Adi Da closes with spontaneous and ecstatic poetry, communicating the Sublime Peace that is Realized in His Sphere of Love-Bliss.
This excerpt is track 8 of the CD, Death and the Purpose of Existence, a collection of talks and recitations that exemplify Avatar Adi Da's essential Wisdom-Teaching on death and dying.
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: FIAT LUX length: 02:30 date added: March 1, 2017 event date: April 28, 2017 language: English
[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: FIAT LUX speaker: Leo Burke length: 05:28 date added: March 5, 2017 event date: April 28, 2017 language: English
[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, Leo Burke, talks about Adi Da's concept of "The Zero Point".
Leo and Carolyn Lee will be leading a retreat on "The Zero Point" that is taking place at the European Danda, April 28 - 30, 2017. For more information about the retreat, write info@adidam.org.
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