poster: CDBaby length: 12:21 date added: February 17, 2016 event date: January 18, 1976 language: English views: 6454; views this month: 60; views this week: 29
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.
poster: AdiDaVideos length: 04:52 date added: March 26, 2017 event date: January 18, 1976 language: English views: 5210; views this month: 44; views this week: 19
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.
poster: CDBaby length: 05:28 date added: January 1, 2019 event date: July 1988 language: English views: 2357; views this month: 41; views this week: 24
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.
The Radiant Being poster: Religion99 length: 06:53 date added: February 5, 2009 event date: 1980 language: English views: 2114; views this month: 10; views this week: 6
poster: TheBeezone length: 02:00 date added: September 21, 2012 event date: January 6, 2006 language: English views: 6099; views this month: 38; views this week: 24
Part of an Avataric Revelation Discourse given at the Mountain of Attention Sanctuary, later published in Reality Is All The God There Is.
Adi Da offers His unique renderings of the Dharma of the great sages of Advaita Vedanta and Buddhism, including Gotama Sakyamuni, Nagarjuna, Shankara, and Ribhu. Rather than simply translate their teachings from available source texts, Avatar Adi Da respeaks them as one who has personally realized their truth. He reveals that the Buddhist “Nirvana” and the Advaitic “Brahman” point to the same Transcendental Condition. Avatar Adi Da’s rendering restores to these texts the profundity intended by the Spiritual Masters who created them.
poster: TheBeezone speakers: Ed Reither, James Steinberg length: 11:00 date added: February 13, 2011 event date: January 26, 2011 language: English views: 4312; views this month: 20; views this week: 9
Ed Reither of The Beezone interviews longtime devotee James Steinberg. James shares the story of his obsession with India and traditional spiritual books, and how Adi Da used His "Power Foot" and His "Beauty Foot" to make the point that the actual spiritual practice in relation to Him was what mattered, not books.
The Silver Hall poster: realityway speaker: Jonathan Condit length: 05:57 date added: September 30, 2009 language: English views: 5999; views this month: 31; views this week: 20
The Silver Hall is a set-apart hall in Adi Da's home on Naitauba, Fiji. Adi Da uses this hall for the purpose of "Transmission Sittings" during which He Initiates his mature devotees into the Spiritual dimension of the relationship to Him. The Silver Hall continues to be used for this very special purpose, after Adi Da's Divine Mahasamadhi.
The Spiritual Master as God poster: TheBeezone length: 02:08 date added: September 30, 2012 event date: October 1978 language: English views: 2461; views this month: 11; views this week: 8
Adi Da Samraj talks about the misunderstandings people can have about the ecstatic speech of the Spiritual Master.
[Sound quality is poor.]
The Sun of the Heart poster: DawnHorsePress length: 05:43 date added: November 30, 2019 language: English listens: 3109; listens this month: 57; 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
poster: CDBaby length: 12:05 date added: January 6, 2019 language: English views: 1705; views this month: 30; views this week: 14
ADI DA: "So what is the struggle, then, that has been going on in your consideration all these years? It's really a struggle between your acknowledgement of the impulse to transcend yourself, and Realize that which can be Realized only in that case. . . your struggle between that motivation, and your rather standard and continuous and obsessive orientation to fulfill yourself."
This excerpt is track 5 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: TheBeezone length: 02:08 date added: September 21, 2012 event date: January 6, 2006 language: English views: 6344; views this month: 48; views this week: 30
Part of an Avataric Revelation Discourse given at the Mountain of Attention Sanctuary, later published in Reality Is All The God There Is.
Adi Da offers His unique renderings of the Dharma of the great sages of Advaita Vedanta and Buddhism, including Gotama Sakyamuni, Nagarjuna, Shankara, and Ribhu. Rather than simply translate their teachings from available source texts, Avatar Adi Da respeaks them as one who has personally realized their truth. He reveals that the Buddhist “Nirvana” and the Advaitic “Brahman” point to the same Transcendental Condition. Avatar Adi Da’s rendering restores to these texts the profundity intended by the Spiritual Masters who created them.
poster: CDBaby length: 06:29 date added: January 13, 2019 language: English views: 1732; views this month: 24; views this week: 11
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.
The Universal World-Prayer poster: AdiDaVideos speaker: Jacqueline Clemons length: 03:32 date added: April 28, 2015 language: Finnish views: 8099; views this month: 64; views this week: 26
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.
The Vision of Love poster: Gerald Sheinfeld speaker: Gerald Sheinfeld length: 05:41 date added: August 2, 2016 language: English listens: 5801; listens this month: 48; listens this week: 22
On his new downloadable album, At the Feet of the Spiritual Master, devotee Gerald Sheinfeld tells leelas — true stories of his life of over 45 years with Avatar Adi Da Samraj. These stories begin before the first ashram opened in 1972. They provide details of how Avatar Adi Da awakened ordinary people into devotees of Real God. These stories are based on the awakened recognition of the prior Unity of Divine Reality. They are full of lessons of self-understanding and brightening heart-joy in finding the truth about God, the truth about life and death. The truth of prior Happiness which is the true Condition of all, prior to the ego-I act of separation.
Gerald has been a devotee of Adi Da since the beginning of Adi Da's work with devotees. He accompanied Adi Da on His 1973 trip to India, and has participated in countless sacred occasions and events in the company of Adi Da in the intervening years — so he has many stories to tell!
Some of those stories are on this downloadable album. This audio excerpt is track 8, "The Vision Of Love", on Gerald's downloadable album.
The Way of Fun poster: DAbase length: 54:00 date added: October 19, 2010 event date: 1987 language: English listens: 7502; listens this month: 43; listens this week: 18
Adi Da's very humorous and wonderfully instructive talk from 1987, The Way Of Fun, about how, after being around His devotees, He "finally got it", that "it's time for the Siddhas" to adapt to modern times, "time for the Truth to change". This new way ("The Way of Fun") — for realizing God without requiring self-transcendence — will "require nothing of you except to really dig those Divine Vibes." The talk is Adi Da's masterful reflection of how the ego is always trying to revise the Way into something that is self-fulfilling rather than self-transcending, something that has no requirements and no difficulties, and that takes no time at all. "So whatever kind of association you have with Me . . . as long as it's fun, you're happy to do it. But if it requires anything of you, your resistance comes on immediately." For more on this theme, read our article, The Way of the Bone.
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