In this talk, Avatar Adi Da addresses the fundamental principle of existence by which we should submit ourselves: service, love, and sacrifice at the Feet of a True Guru.
The occasion of the talk was a Prasad Day on July 15, 1973. This talk, originally recorded on reel-to-reel film, was given by Adi Da in Los Angeles, California — beginning at the Ashram center on Melrose Avenue and then moving to the backyard of a devotee’s house — only a year after His formal Teaching-Work began.
Guru as Prophet poster: belleislesound length: 58:23 date added: February 8, 2020 event date: December 23, 1973 language: English views: 1564; views this month: 24; views this week: 19
A talk by Avatar Adi Da titled "Guru as Prophet", given on December 23, 1973. The full talk is available on the double CD, Money, Food, and Sex / Guru as Prophet. A written version of this talk is available in the book, My "Bright" Word.
In this talk, Adi Da distinguishes between the Spiritual function and the "prophet" function of the True Guru. As prophet, the Guru offends, criticizes, and undermines the usual ego-based life by confounding the search and the need for consolation and fascination. This process works to bring about a crisis of understanding in anyone not yet involved in the real Spiritual process.
Adi Da explains that teachings about ordinary life or even about Spiritual life tend to console the seeker in some way, exploiting the search for self-fulfillment. But contact with the True Guru frustrates the seeker instead, and draws the individual into the feeling of dilemma that is at the root of his or her search. This serves the crisis that must precede the real Spiritual process whereby the True Guru's Spiritual Function may be discovered.
Later in the Discourse, Avatar Adi Da returns to the primary theme of the Guru-devotee relationship. When the ego-frustrating process is engaged as Satsang, or relationship to the Guru, then present Realization of the Divine can be Awakened by Grace, and the real Spiritual process can begin.
ADI DA: To the extent that I appear in public at all—for example, by writing books, or even simply by the existence of the gathering of My devotees in this world—My visible Role can only be that of Prophet. I do not serve people's random needs to be fulfilled, to be consoled, to be fascinated. Every individual who is moved to Realize Real God, Truth, and Reality in My Avataric Divine Company must approach Me as My formally practicing devotee—and, in every such case, the usual egoic process will (and must) be Offended, Criticized, and Undermined by Me.
As the Avataric Incarnation of the Very Divine Person, I must be Paradoxical, I must be Free—in order to Serve the Divine Liberation of My devotees. The qualities of My Avataric Divine Activity cannot be predetermined. I do not consistently assume the qualities of any particular archetype—the holy man, the Yogi, the Sage. I must be Free to Appear as I will. I am always Acting to Undo the egoic life of My devotees—even if only by Merely Being Who I Am.
[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.]
"Non Si Puň Vedere La Stanza Come E'" ("You Do Not See The Room As It Is") is a video excerpt from an Avataric Discourse given by Adi Da at Adi Da Samrajashram, on January 21, 2005. The Avataric Discourse is available on the DVD, Beyond Sex, Science, and self.
In this Discourse, Adi Da explains why Liberation cannot ever be achieved through science or conventional religion.
The Sun of the Heart poster: DawnHorsePress length: 05:43 date added: November 30, 2019 language: English listens: 3086; listens this month: 48; listens this week: 19
The Sun of the Heart is a chanting CD made by devotee Simon Pritchard, with musical partners Rosa Guilfoyle and James Edward Clarke, and the assistance of several additional devotee musicians and singers. The eight chants on this CD were recorded, engineered and mastered by James Edward Clarke at Ty Cerdd Wales Millennium Centre – Cardiff – Wales in 2014 and 2015. The CD comes with a sixteen-page booklet of artworks and sacred text. It is available as a CD from the Dawn Horse Press.
This audio excerpt is track 6, "Da Bhagavan".
The CD is inspired by and dedicated to Ruchira Avatar Adi Da Samraj. The lyrics are all Sacred Names and Mantras given by Avatar Adi Da Samraj to His devotees for the sake of their invocation of His Divine Spiritual Presence and State.
"The Sun of the Heart is just wonderful. . . . full of the Spirit of the Happiness of God in Everyone." —Angelo Druda
"This sound is not only highly professional but also Angelic! Like too beautiful to be true. . ." —Jovana Ugolkov
[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.]
Tässä aiemmin julkaisemattomassa keskustelussa Adi Da puhuu positiivisesta harhojen haihtumisesta ja sen tarpeellisuudesta kuolevaisen elämän parissa. Positiivinen harhojen haihtuminen ilmenee, kun yksilö alkaa ymmärtää rasittavaa ja lopulta turhaa etsintäänsä, jossa hän hakee jatkoa elämälleen, maailmallista onnea, ja lopullista elämän täyttymystä — ja alkaa myös luopua siitä. Vain silloin yksilö voi alkaa huomioimaan, oppimaan, ja ekstaattisesti osallistumaan Itse Todellisuuteen, suhteessa Aitoon Toteuttajaan.
In this excerpt from an Avataric Discourse, Adi Da speaks about the necessity to become disillusioned with mortal life in a positive sense. Positive disillusionment is emerging when one begins to understand and relinquish the stressful and ultimately futile search for personal survival, worldly happiness, and ultimate life fulfillment. Only then can one be drawn into recognizing, learning about, and ecstatically participating in Reality Itself, in relationship to a True Realizer.
ADI DA: The teaching of Truth is for those who are disillusioned in the positive sense, who have been sobered in their lives by grasping the nature of existence and being cured of search.
[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.]
Tässä puheessa vuodelta 2005 Adi Da Samraj käsittelee Vapautuksen mahdottomuutta tieteen tai tavanomaisen uskonnon kautta.
"Et Näe Huonetta Sellaisena Kuin Se On" ("You Do Not See the Room As It Is") is a video excerpt from an Avataric Discourse given by Adi Da at Adi Da Samrajashram, on January 21, 2005. The Avataric Discourse is available on the DVD, Beyond Sex, Science, and self.
In this Discourse, Adi Da explains why Liberation cannot ever be achieved through science or conventional religion.
[Contains Czech 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.]
"Adidam není náboženství" ("Adidam is not a religious way") is a video excerpt from an Avataric Discourse given by Adi Da at Adi Da Samrajashram, on January 21, 2005. The Avataric Discourse is available on the DVD, Beyond Sex, Science, and self.
In this Discourse, Adi Da explains why Liberation cannot ever be achieved through science or conventional religion.
Strata i rozpacz poster: Adi Da Video Polska length: 15:14 date added: September 9, 2019 event date: October 3, 2004 language: Polish views: 1160; views this month: 20; views this week: 15
[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.]
Adi Da Samraj w rozmowie z uczniem którego wnuk umarł z ogromnym współczuciem prezentuje radykalną prawdą o ludzkiej stracie i rozpaczy.
In "Strata i rozpacz" ("Loss and Despair"), Adi Da Samraj talks about the pain of loss, and about liberation. This is in response to a devotee's question about the Devotional Prayer Of Changes and the death of the devotee's grandchild.
[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.]
Adi Da Samraj risponde compassionevolmente, ma da un punto di vista radicale, ad un devoto che ha perso il nipote.
In "Perdita della Vita e Dolore Umani" ("Loss of Life and Human Suffering"), Adi Da Samraj talks about the pain of loss, and about liberation. This is in response to a devotee's question about the Devotional Prayer Of Changes and the death of the devotee's grandchild.
[Contains Czech 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.]
V hovorech z r. 2005 mluví Adi Da Samráj o tom, že se osvícení nikdy nedá dosáhnout prostřednictvím vědy nebo konvenčního náboženství.
"Nevidíte místnost tak, jaká je" ("You Do Not See The Room As It Is") is a video excerpt from an Avataric Discourse given by Adi Da at Adi Da Samrajashram, on January 21, 2005. The Avataric Discourse is available on the DVD, Beyond Sex, Science, and self.
In this Discourse, Adi Da explains why Liberation cannot ever be achieved through science or conventional religion.
You Do Not See The Room As It Is! poster: AdiDaVideos length: 07:00 date added: July 16, 2019 event date: January 21, 2005 language: English views: 955; views this month: 7; views this week: 6
[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.]
Come spiega Adi Da, la pratica spirituale diventa possibile quando la dipendenza e le limitazioni relative alla vita ordinaria sono del tutto chiare e comprese.
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.
Umělecké Dílo Adi Da Samráje - Výstavy v Itálii poster: Adi Da Videa, čeština speakers: Stuart Gibson, Achille Bonito Oliva, Teresa Romero, Cristina Acidini, Monica Bietti, Paula Crema, Gary Coates length: 12:23 date added: June 26, 2019 language: Czech views: 1314; views this month: 27; views this week: 24
[Contains Czech 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.]
Toto video dokumentuje dvě důležité výstavy, na nichž byla vystavena díla Adi Da: Bienále v Benátkách a Cenacolo Di Ognissanti ve Florencii.
Two important art exhibitions in which Adi Da was invited to participate were the Venice Biennale (2007) and the Cenacolo di Ognissanti in Florence (2008), where His Art was exhibited in the same room as the famous large fresco by Domenico Ghirlandaio of "The Last Supper".
poster: Adi Da Video Polska length: 08:22 date added: May 7, 2019 event date: July 29, 1973 language: Polish views: 1068; views this month: 14; views this week: 9
[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.]
Kolejny fragment wczesnego dyskursu (29 lipca 1973) Adi Da Samraj:
ADI DA: To, co dzieje się w procesie Satsangu, czyli prawdziwego życia duchowego, nie polega na tym, żeby się wznieść na wyżyny i już nigdy nie upaść. Praktykując stajesz się całkowicie identyczny ze stanem przed wzlotami i upadkami, przed bogiem i diabłem, przed duchem i ciałem i wszystkimi tymi przeciwieństwami. Prawdziwa błogość rzeczywistości i prawdziwego boga staje się twoją urzeczywistnioną naturą.
Zaczynasz obserwować to w świadomości - a także w życiu codziennym bo proces Satsangu działa nie tylko subiektywnie. To nie jest po prostu ujawnienie twoich skłonności, uczuć, myśli i snów. Ten proces przejawia się również zewnętrznie, powodując nieustanne zmiany okoliczności w twoim życiu, przynosząc zmieny stanów wewnętrzny. Z cazsem zaczynasz obserwować, że cykl wzlotów i upadków - sam cykl - nie znika. Ale już nie masz wątpliwości co do charakteru zachodzących w cyklu zmian. Teraz możesz obserwować cechy życia i świadomości, ale ich cykl przestaje być dylematem.
Watching this DVD will transport viewers to a special moment in Adidam history. July 29, 1973, was the day Avatar Adi Da left Los Angeles for a Yajna (sacred journey) through India and Nepal. He returned as “Bubba Free John”, His first spontaneously revealed Teaching-Name. Thus, this was the last Discourse He gave as “Franklin Jones” (Avatar Adi Da’s birth name).
poster: Adi Da Video Polska length: 09:58 date added: March 3, 2019 event date: July 29, 1973 language: Polish views: 2145; views this month: 22; views this week: 15
[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.]
This video clip, "Guru jest stabilną stałą w życiowych wzlotach i upadkach" ("The Relationship To The Guru Is The Constant In Life") is an excerpt from the DVD, The Relationship To The Guru Is The Constant In Life.
By tendency, people are bound to the natural cycle of ups and downs. Neither bodily pleasures nor spiritual pursuits result in True Freedom from this constant phasing. One path merely accentuates the descending (or bodily) experiences and the other, the ascending (or subtle) experiences.
In this Discourse, Avatar Adi Da reveals with absolute clarity how the relationship with the Guru gives freedom from this trap—because the Guru is the Manifestation of the Condition that is Prior to this mechanical cycling, not part of it.
Watching this DVD will transport viewers to a special moment in Adidam history. July 29, 1973, was the day Avatar Adi Da left Los Angeles for a Yajna (sacred journey) through India and Nepal. He returned as “Bubba Free John”, His first spontaneously revealed Teaching-Name. Thus, this was the last Discourse He gave as “Franklin Jones” (Avatar Adi Da’s birth name).
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.
