A Glossary of Adidam
A
[go to: A B C DE F G HI J K LM N O PQ R S TU V W XY Z]Adi Sanskrit for “first”, “primordial”, “source”.
advanced and ultimate stages Avatar Adi Da uses “advanced” to refer to the fourth and fifth stages of life and “ultimate” to refer to the sixth and seventh stages of life. See also stages of life.
Aham Da Asmi Sanskrit for “I Am Da”.
Agency, Agent All the Means that may serve as Vehicles of Avatar Adi Da’s Divine Grace and Awakening Power. The first Means of Agency that have been fully established by Him are the Wisdom-Teaching of the Way of the Heart, the three Retreat Sanctuaries that He has Empowered, and the many Objects and Articles that He has Empowered for the sake of His devotees’ Remembrance of Him and reception of His Heart-Blessing. After Avatar Adi Da’s human Lifetime, at any given time one (and only one) from among His Divinely Awakened renunciate devotees will serve the Spiritual, Transcendental, and Divine Function of His human Agent in relationship to other devotees, all beings, the psycho-physical world, and the total cosmos.
ajna chakra Also known as the “third eye”, this is the subtle psychic center (or chakra) located between and behind the eyebrows and associated with the brain core.
Arrow A motionless axis that seems to stand in the center of the body, between the frontal and spinal lines, in which Spirit-Power may be felt.
asana Sanskrit for bodily “posture” or “pose”. (By extension, and as Avatar Adi Da often intends, “asana” also refers to the attitude, orientation, posture, or feeling-disposition of the heart and the entire body-mind.)
Avatar Sanskrit for “Divine Incarnation”literally, “One who has descended or “crossed down” from the Divine Realm to the human domain”.
B
[go to: A B C DE F G HI J K LM N O PQ R S TU V W XY Z]Bhagavan Sanskrit for “Divine Lord”
bodily (human) Form, Spiritual (and Always Blessing) Presence, and Very (and Inherently Perfect) State Avatar Adi Da describes His Divine Being as having three dimensions:
This flesh body is a kind of reflection or Representation of Me. It is, therefore, a Means for contacting My Spiritual (and Always Blessing) Presence, and, ultimately, My Very (and Inherently Perfect) State.
My Spiritual (and Always Blessing) Presence is Self-Existing and Self-Radiant. It Functions in time and space, and It is also prior to all time and space.
My Very (and Inherently Perfect) State is always and only utterly Prior to time and space. Therefore, I, As I Am (Ultimately), have no “Function” in time and space.
“Bond”, “Bonding”, “Bonded” Avatar Adi Da uses lower-cased “bonding” (and variants) to indicate the process by which the egoic individual attaches itself karmically to the world of others and things. In contrast, capitalized “Bonding” indicates devotional “Bonding” to Avatar Adi Da, which is the means for the transcendence of all other forms of limited, or karmic, “bonding”.
“Bright”, “Brightness” The Love-Blissfully Self-Luminous, Conscious Divine Being, Which Avatar Adi Da Knew even from childhood as His own Native Condition, and Which is the Native Condition of all beings, things, and worlds.
The Basket of Tolerance See Source-Text.
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[go to: A B C DE F G HI J K LM N O PQ R S TU V W XY Z]causal See gross, subtle, and causal.
chanting Singing songs of devotion to Adi Da Samraj and in praise of His Gifts. Most often, these songs are sung with a chant leader (or leaders) singing each line and the congregation of devotees repeating the line. [see also “self-discipline”]
Ciqomi The village of native Fijians on the Island of Naitauba. “Ciqomi” means “great reception” in Fijian.
Circle A primary pathway of natural life-energy and the Spirit-Current through the body-mind.
Communion Hall A room that is set aside for formal meditation and other devotional occasions.
conditional, Unconditional Avatar Adi Da uses the term “conditional” to indicate everything that depends on conditionsin other words, everything that is temporary and always changing. The “Unconditional”, in contrast, is the Divine, or That Which is Always Already the Case because it is utterly free of dependence on conditions.
“conductivity” Those practices in the Way of the Heart through which the practitioner conforms his or her bodily and emotional life, as well as the function of the breath, to the purpose of Spiritual practice in Adi Da’s Company. In the broadest sense, “conductivity” includes disciplines of diet, physical exercise, health, sexuality, emotion, relationships, money, and community. In a more specific sense, “conductivity” also refers to the technical exercises (Given by Adi Da Samraj) whereby the practitioner “conducts” the flow of energy in the body.
“conscious process” Those practices in the Way of the Heart through which the mind, or attention, is turned from egoic self-involvement to Heart-Communion with Avatar Adi Da. It is the senior discipline and responsibility of all Adi Da’s devotees.
“consider”, “consideration” The technical term “consideration” in Avatar Adi Da’s Wisdom-Teaching means a process of one-pointed but ultimately thoughtless concentration and exhaustive contemplation of something until its ultimate obviousness is clear.
“Crazy Method”, “Crazy Wise” In the realm of the sacred, there are many kinds of unconventional Teachers. The Adepts of what Avatar Adi Da calls “the ‘Crazy Wisdom’ tradition” are Realizers of the advanced and the ultimate stages of life in any culture or time who, through skillful use of spontaneous Free action, blunt Wisdom, and liberating laughter, shock people into self-critical awareness of their egoity, a prerequisite for receiving the Adept’s Spiritual Transmission.
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“Da” Sanskrit for “to give”. Thus, the Name “Da” means “the One Who Gives”.
Danavira Mela The yearly celebration (culminating on December 25) in which devotees of Adi Da Samraj honor Him as the Hero (“Vira”) of Giving (“Dana”). (“Mela” means “religious gathering, or festival”.)
Darshan Sighting of a Spiritually Realized Being.
Dharma, dharma Sanskrit for “duty”, “virtue”, “law”. The word “dharma” is commonly used to refer to the many esoteric paths by which human beings seek the Truth. In its fullest sense, and when capitalized, “Dharma” means the complete fulfillment of dutythe living of the Divine Law. By extension, “Dharma” means a truly great Spiritual Teaching, including its disciplines and practices.
“difference” The egoic presumption of separateness, in contrast to the Realization of Oneness that is native to Divine Enlightenment.
disciplines See functional, practical, relational, and cultural disciplines.
Divine See Spiritual, Transcendental, Divine.
Divine Indifference, Divine Transfiguration, Divine Transformation, Divine Translation The four phases in the process of the seventh stage Awakening. In the phase of Divine Transfiguration, the gross dimension of the Realizer’s body-mind is Infused by Avatar Adi Da’s Love-Bliss. In the following phase of Divine Transformation, the subtle (or psychic) dimension of the body-mind is fully Illumined. Eventually, Divine Indifference ensues, which is spontaneous and profound Resting in the Deep of Consciousness, and the world of relations is otherwise minimally noticed. Divine Translation is the ultimate “Event” of the entire process of Divine Awakening. Avatar Adi Da describes Divine Translation as the “Outshining” of all noticing of objective conditions through the infinitely magnified Force of Consciousness Itself. See also stages of life.
Divine Recognition The self- and world-transcending Intelligence of the Divine Self in relation to all conditional phenomena. In the seventh stage of life, the Realizer of the Divine Self simply Abides as Consciousness, and he or she Freely Recognizes, or inherently and Most Perfectly comprehends and perceives, all phenomena (including body, mind, and conditional self) as (apparent) modifications of the same “Bright” Divine Consciousness.
Divine Self-Domain The Perfectly Subjective (and Infinitely Love-Bliss-Full) Real Condition of the conditional worlds.
Divine Self-Realization The seventh stage Awakening in the Way of the Heart. See stages of life.
Dreaded Gom-Boo Avatar Adi Da’s humorous term for the illusory “dis-ease” of egoity, which conventional religion tries to cure.
E
[go to: A B C DE F G HI J K LM N O PQ R S TU V W XY Z]Eleutherios Greek for “the Liberator”.
etheric The sheath of life-energy that functions through and corresponds with the human nervous system. Our bodies are surrounded and infused by this personal life-energy, which we feel as the play of emotions and life-force in the body.
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Fear-No-More Zoo The zoos of Adidam, located at the various Retreat Sanctuaries.
Feeling of Being The uncaused (or Self-Existing), Self-Radiant, and unqualified feeling-intuition of the Transcendental, Inherently Spiritual, and Divine Self. This absolute Feeling does not merely accompany or express the Realization of the Heart Itself, but it is identical to that Realization. To feel, or, really, to Be, the Feeling of Being is to enjoy the Love-Bliss of Absolute Consciousness, Which, when Most Perfectly Realized, cannot be affected or diminished in any way either by the events of life or by death.
feeling-Contemplation Avatar Adi Da’s term for the essential devotional and meditative practice that all devotees in the Way of the Heart engage at all times in relationship to His bodily (human) Form, His Spiritual (and Always Blessing) Presence, and His Very (and Inherently Perfect) State. Feeling-Contemplation of Adi Da is Awakened by Grace through Darshan, or feeling-sighting, of His Form, Presence, and State. It is then to be practiced under all conditions, and as the basis and epitome of all other practices in the Way of the Heart.
feeling of relatedness/feeling of “difference” In the foundation stages of practice in the Way of the Heart, the basic or gross level activity of the avoidance of relationship is understood and released in the free capability for simple relatedness, or the feeling of relatedness. Only in the ultimate stages of life in the Way of the Heart is the feeling of relatedness fully understood as the root-act of attention itself and, ultimately, transcended in the Feeling of Being. In that case, it is understood to be the feeling of “I” and “other”, or the feeling of “difference” between the egoic self and all its relations or objects of attention. Adi Da Samraj points out that the feeling of relatedness is, at root, the avoidance of relationship in relation to all others and things, or the root-activity of separation, separateness, and separativeness that is the ego.
functional, practical, relational, cultural disciplines The functional, practical, and relational disciplines of the Way of the Heart are forms of appropriate responsibility for diet, health, exercise, sexuality, work, service to and support of Avatara Adi Da’s Circumstance and Work, and cooperative community association with other devotees of Avatar Adi Da. The cultural obligations of the Way of the Heart include all the meditative and sacramental practices, as well as educational obligations.
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[go to: A B C DE F G HI J K LM N O PQ R S TU V W XY Z]Ganeshpuri The small town in India where Swami Muktananda (one of Avatar Adi Da’s Spiritual Masters during Adi Da’s “Sadhana Years”) established his ashram.
gatherings The circumstance in which “consideration” with Adi Da Samraj is engaged.
gesture of devotion Raising the hands with palms open, then placing the hands over the heart, and then either bowing the head to the floor or fully prostrating the body.
Goddess The Spirit-Power of the Divine, often represented as a feminine deity.
gopis In the traditional Hindu tales of Krishna, the cowherd women who became distracted from everything by their love for Krishna.
The Great Tradition Avatar Adi Da’s term for the total inheritance of human, cultural, religious, magical, mystical, Spiritual, Transcendental, and Divine paths, philosophies, and testimonies from all the eras and cultures of humanity, which has (in the present era of worldwide communication) become the common legacy of mankind. [bibliography]
gross, subtle, causal Adi Da Samraj has confirmed the correctness of traditional descriptions of the human body-mind and its environment as consisting of three great dimensionsgross, subtle, and causal.
The gross, or most physical, dimension is associated with the physical body and experience in the waking state.
The subtle dimension, which is senior to and pervades the gross dimension, includes the etheric (or energetic), lower mental (or verbal-intentional and lower psychic), and higher mental (or deeper psychic, mystical, and discriminative) functions. The subtle dimension is associated primarily with the ascending energies of the spine, the brain core, and the subtle centers of mind in the higher brain. It is also, therefore, associated with the visionary, mystical, and Yogic Spiritual processes.
The causal dimension is senior to and pervades both the gross and the
subtle dimensions. It is the root of attention, or the essence of the separate
and separative ego-“I”. The causal dimension is associated with the right
side of the heart, specifically with the sinoatrial node, or “pacemaker”
(the psycho-physical source of the heartbeat). Its corresponding state
of consciousness is the formless awareness of deep sleep. It is inherently
transcended by the Witness-Consciousness (Which is Prior to all objects
of attention). [ illustration ]
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Hatha Yoga “Hatha” means “force” or “power”. This Yoga traditionally aims to achieve ecstasy and even Liberation through manipulation of body, breath, and energy, with concomitant discipline of attention. In the Way of the Heart, the bodily poses (asanas) of Hatha Yoga are engaged to purify, balance, and regenerate the functions of the body-mind.
hearing Avatar Adi Da’s technical term for most fundamental understanding of the self-contraction, through which the practitioner awakens to the unique capability for direct transcendence of the self-contraction and for simultaneous Communion with Avatar Adi Da.
the Heart God, the Divine Self, the Divine Reality.
Holy Cat Grotto A rocky hot springs grotto which Avatar Adi Da established as a Holy Site at the Mountain Of Attention Sanctuary.
Holy Site A place of Spiritual significance that has been specially Blessed by a Realizer.
Hridaya-Samartha Sat-Guru A reference to Adi Da Samraj as the True (“Sat”) Guru Who is the Heart (“Hridaya”) Itself, and is therefore Qualified (“Samartha”) to overcome any obstruction to the Spiritual process in His devotees.
Hridayam Sanskrit for “heart”. A reference not only to the physical
organ but also to the True Heart, or the Divine Reality.
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Indoor Summer The Teaching Demonstration of 1976 (about Divine Ignorance).
Indoor Yajna The gathering period of 1987.
Instrumentality The body of Avatar Adi Da’s Spiritually Awakened devotees that acts as means for the Transmission of Avatar Adi Da’s Spiritual (and Always Blessing) Presence to others.
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[go to: A B C DE F G HI J K LM N O PQ R S TU V W XY Z]karma, karmic Karma (literally, “action”) is destiny, tendency, the quality of existence and experience which is determined by one’s previous actions or conditions.
klik-klak Avatar Adi Da’s term for the mechanical nature of conditional existenceconstant change and impermanence.
Krishna A legendary Avatar of ancient India.
kriyas Spontaneous, self-purifying physical movements. Kriyas arise when the natural bodily energies are stimulated by the Divine Spirit-Current.
Kundalini Yoga An esoteric Spiritual practice associated with the stimulation and ascent of the Life-Current in the spinal line of the body-mind.
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[go to: A B C DE F G HI J K LM N O PQ R S TU V W XY Z]Land Bridge Pavilion A large Communion Hall and meeting place at the Mountain Of Attention Sanctuary.
Leela Sanskrit for “play”, or “sport”. Specifically, the Awakened Play of a Realized Adept of any degree, through which he or she mysteriously Instructs and Liberates others and Blesses the world itself. By extension, a Leela is an instructive and inspiring story of such an Adept’s Teaching and Blessing Play. [examples]
life-business By “life-business”, Avatar Adi Da is referring to practical means of survival, bringing the body-mind into basic equanimity, and all social and emotional-sexual relationships. Having your life-business handled grants free energy and attention for Spiritual practice.
listening Avatar Adi Da’s term for the disposition of the beginner’s preparation and practice in the Way of the Heart. The focus of the listening process is the awakening of true self-observation and most fundamental self-understanding, or hearing.
“Living Murti” A seventh stage devotee of Avatar Adi Da who (after Adi Da’s physical Lifetime) functions as Avatar Adi Da’s human Agent. Only one such Divinely Enlightened devotee will be the “Living Murti” at any given time.
Love-Ananda Mahal Literally, “the Palace of Love-Bliss”. See Retreat Sanctuaries
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[go to: A B C DE F G HI J K LM N O PQ R S TU V W XY Z]maya Sanskrit for the illusion that inevitably arises from ignorance of the True Nature of conditional reality and Unconditional Reality.
meditation In the Way of the Heart, meditation is a period of formal devotional Contemplation of Avatar Adi Da Samraj. [see also “self-discipline”]
“money, food, and sex” Avatar Adi Da uses this phrase to summarize the basic areas of life-business that must be handled by all His devotees (and which are fundamental areas of seeking in the common world). Money includes all uses of life-energy (such as work and service), food includes everything related to health (such as diet and exercise), and sex includes the emotional and sexual dimensions of the body-mind as well as all relationships.
Most Perfect(ly), Most Ultimate(ly) Adi Da Samraj uses the phrase “Most Perfect(ly)” in the sense of “Absolutely Perfect(ly)”. Similarly, the phrase “Most Ultimate(ly)” is equivalent to “Absolutely Ultimate(ly)”.
In the sixth stage of life and the seventh stage of life, What is Realized (Consciousness Itself) is Perfect (and Ultimate). This is why Avatar Adi Da characterizes these stages as the “ultimate stages of life”, and describes the practice of the Way of the Heart in the context of these stages as “the ‘Perfect Practice'”. The distinction between the sixth stage of life and the seventh stage of life is that the devotee’s Realization of What is Perfect (and Ultimate) is itself Perfect (and Ultimate) only in the seventh stage. The Perfection or Ultimacy (in the seventh stage) both of What is Realized and of the Realization of It is what is signified by the phrase “Most Perfect(ly)” or “Most Ultimate(ly)”.
Mountain Of Attention Sanctuary See Retreat Sanctuaries.
The Mummery The first Revelation-Book made by Avatar Adi Da, written in 1969. The Mummery, which Adi Da Samraj describes as “a liturgical prose-opera”, is an archetypal story of the process of Realizing Most Perfect Divine Enlightenment, as exemplified through the remarkable adventures of the principal character, Raymond Darling.
Murti Sanskrit for “form”. Traditionally, as well as in Avatar Adi Da’s usage, the primary meaning of “murti” is “representational image”. Generally, in the Way of the Heart, “Murtis” are photographic images of Avatar Adi Da.
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[go to: A B C DE F G HI J K LM N O PQ R S TU V W XY Z]Naitauba The traditional Fijian name for Ruchira Buddha Dham, Adidam’s Retreat Sanctuary in Fiji. See also Retreat Sanctuaries.
“Narcissus” A key symbol in Avatar Adi Da’s Teaching-Revelation of the un-Enlightened individual as a self-obsessed seeker, enamored of his or her own self-image and egoic self-consciousness. In The Knee of Listening, Adi Da Samraj describes the significance of the archetype of Narcissus:
He is the ancient one visible in the Greek “myth”, who was the universally adored child of the gods, who rejected the loved-one and every form of love and relationship, who was finally condemned to the contemplation of his own image, until, as a result of his own act and obstinacy, he suffered the fate of eternal separateness and died in infinite solitude.
non-humans In its widest sense, Avatar Adi Da’s term “non-humans” includes everything that is not human (including plants, trees, animals, walls, rocks, and so on). However, Avatar Adi Da also uses the term to refer specifically to animals.
Nukubati Island An island in the Fiji where Adi Da and devotees
lived for a period before Naitauba was acquired.
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Outshined, Outshining Avatar Adi Da uses His term “Outshining”synonymously with His term “Divine Translation”, to refer to the final Demonstration of the four-phase process of the seventh, or fully Enlightened, stage of life in the Way of the Heart. In this Event, body, mind, and world are no longer noticed, not because the Divine Consciousness has withdrawn or dissociated from conditionally manifested phenomena, but because the Ecstatic Divine Recognition of all arising phenomena (by the Divine Self, and As only modifications of Itself) has become so intense that the “Bright” Radiance of Consciousness now Outshines all such phenomena. See also Divine Transfiguration, Divine Transformation, Divine Indifference, Divine Translation
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[go to: A B C DE F G HI J K LM N O PQ R S TU V W XY Z]Paduka The ceremonial sandals or shoes of the Sat-Guru, venerated because of their association with his or her feet.
Patanjali A great Indian realizer of the second century whose Yoga Sutras describe “ashtanga Yoga” (or the “eight-limbed Yoga”).
“practicing school”, “talking school” “Practicing school” is a phrase coined by Avatar Adi Da to refer to those in any tradition of sacred life who are committed to the ordeal of real self-transcending discipline, under the guidance of a true Guru. He contrasts the “practicing school” with the ineffectualand often presumptuous”talking school” approach. The “talking-school” approach is characterized by talking, thinking, reading, and philosophical analysis and debate, or even meditative enquiry or reflection without a concomitant and foundation discipline of body, emotion, mind, and breath.
prasad Sanskrit, meaning “gifts that have been offered to the Divine and, having been Blessed, are returned as Divine Gifts to devotees”. By extension, Prasad is anything a devotee receives from his or her Guru.
Puja Sanskrit for “worship”. All formal sacramental devotion in the Way of the Heart is consecrated to Ruchira-Guru Adi Da and is thus celebrated as Ruchira-Guru Puja. [see also “self-discipline”]
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Quandra Mai The women who serve Adi Da Samraj personally and who are committed to Him in the most sacred devotional manner of the Guru-devotee bond, and to renunciate practice in His direct physical Company. “Quandra” and “Mai” are references to the main female character in Adi Da Samraj’s liturgical drama, The Mummery. Quandra is the embodiment of the Divine Goddess, or Spirit-Force.R
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Ramakrisha A great Indian Spiritual Master. Avatar Adi Da has Revealed the unique role played by Ramakrishna (and by Ramakrishna’s principal disciple, Swami Vivekananda) in preparing the Vehicle of Avatar Adi Da’s human Incarnation. For a further discussion, please see “The Divine Life and Work of the Da Avatar” in The Knee of Listening.
“radical” The term “radical” derives from the Latin “radix”, meaning “root”, and thus it principally means “irreducible”, “fundamental”, or “relating to the origin”. Because Adi Da Samraj uses “radical” in this literal sense, it appears in quotation marks in His Wisdom-Teaching to distinguish His usage from the common reference to an extreme (often political) view.
In contrast to the developmental, egoic searches typically espoused by the world’s religious and Spiritual traditions, the “radical” Way of the Heart Offered by Avatar Adi Da is established in the Divine Self-Condition of Reality, even from the very beginning of one’s practice. Every moment of feeling-Contemplation of Avatar Adi Da, Who is the Realizer, the Revealer, and the Revelation of that “radically” Free Divine Self-Condition, undermines, therefore, the illusory ego at its root (the self-contraction in the heart), rendering the search not only unnecessary but obsolete, and awakening the devotee to the “radical” Intuition of the always already Free Condition.
Re-cognition “Re-cognition”, which literally means “knowing again”, is Avatar Adi Da’s term for non-verbal, heart-felt, intuitive insight into any and every arising conditional phenomenon as a form of egoic self-contraction.
“reality consideration” Profound examination of the realities of one’s egoic character and tendencies, such that one gains sufficient discriminative awareness of one’s own “game” to be able to consistently go beyond the egoic limitations that would otherwise prevent Spiritual growth. The Way of the Heart is a continuous “reality consideration” for every devotee of Avatar Adi Da.
Retreat Sanctuaries Avatar Adi Da has Empowered three Retreat Sanctuaries as Agents of His Spiritual Transmission. Of these three, the senior Sanctuary is Ruchira Buddha Dham (Naitauba), in Fiji. The other two Retreat Sanctuaries are the Mountain Of Attention Sanctuary in northern California and Love-Ananda Mahal in Hawaii.
Ruchira Buddha Bhakti Yoga Ruchira Buddha Bhakti Yoga is the principal Gift, Calling, and Discipline Offered by Adi Da Samraj to all who practice the Way of the Heart.
The phrase “Ruchira Buddha Bhakti Yoga” is itself a summary of the Way of the Heart. “Bhakti”, in Sanskrit, is love, adoration, or devotion, while “Yoga” is a God-Realizing discipline or practice. “Ruchira Buddha Bhakti Yoga” is therefore the Divinely Revealed practice of devotional love for (and response to) the Ruchira Buddha, Avatar Adi Da Samraj.
Ruchira Buddha Dham See Retreat Sanctuaries.
rudraksha Rudraksha seeds are traditionally used as beads for a mala, or rosary. They have varying numbers of “faces” single-faced rudraksha beads being extremely rare and highly prized.
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[go to: A B C DE F G HI J K LM N O PQ R S TU V W XY Z]sadhana Self-transcending religious or Spiritual practice.
“Sadhana Years” The time from which Avatar Adi Da began His quest to recover the Truth of Existence (at Columbia College) until His Divine Re-Awakening in 1970.
sahasrar The highest chakra (or subtle energy-center), associated with the crown of the head and beyond.
Samadhi A Sanskrit word that traditionally denotes various exalted states that appear in the context of esoteric meditation and Realization. Avatar Adi Da Teaches that, in the Way of the Heart, Samadhi is, even more simply and fundamentally, a state of ego-transcendence in Communion with Him. Adi Da’s devotee is in Samadhi in any moment of standing beyond the separate self in devotional ecstasy.
sannyas Sanskrit for “renunciation”.
Santosha Sanskrit for “satisfaction” or “contentment”, or, by extension, the principle of no-seeking, which is the fundamental principle of Avatar Adi Da’s Wisdom-Teaching. “Santosha” is also one of Avatar Adi Da’s Names.
Sarada Devi The wife of Ramakrishna. See also Ramakrishna.
Sat-Guru Sanskrit for “True Guru”.
Satsang Sanskrit for “true or right relationship”, “the company of Truth”. In the Way of the Heart, Satsang is the eternal relationship of mutual sacred commitment between Avatar Adi Da as Sat-Guru and each of His devotees.
seeing Avatar Adi Da’s technical term for His devotee’s Spiritually activated conversion from self-contraction to His Spiritual (and Always Blessing) Presence, and the descent and circulation of His Spiritual Transmission in, through, and (ultimately) beyond the body-mind of His devotee.
self-contraction Adi Da’s technical term for the activity of separativeness that is the root of every apparent individual’s suffering and seeking.
self-discipline The Way of the Heart necessarily involves a life of disciplined secondary practices, which support the primary practice of Ruchira Buddha Bhakti Yoga. Beloved Adi Da has Said that the life-disciplines serve two primary functions:
- They are practical expressions or evidence of the devotional relationship to Beloved Adi Da.
- They serve the establishment of psycho-physical equanimity (necessary for the effective practice of feeling-Contemplation of Adi Da Samraj). In addition, in the listening stage of practice of the Way of the Heart, the life-disciplines also serve the process of self-observation. (In the stages subsequent to listening, the life-disciplines are expressions of already active self-observation.)
“self-possession”, “self-possessed” The usual meaning of “self-possessed” is “possessed of oneself”or having full control (calmness, or composure) of one’s feelings, impulses, habits, and actions. However, Avatar Adi Da uses the term to indicate the state of being possessed by one’s egoic self, or controlled by chronically self-referring (or egoic) tendencies of attention, feeling, thought, desire, and action. Thus, unless (in every moment) body, emotion, desire, thought, separate and separative self, and all attention are actively and completely surrendered to Avatar Adi Da, one is egoically “self-possessed”, even when exhibiting personal control of one’s feelings, habits, and actions. And the devotional practice of feeling-Contemplation of Avatar Adi Da is the principal Means Given (by Grace) to practitioners of the Way of the Heart, whereby they may responsively (and, thus, by Grace) surrender, forget, and transcend egoic “self-possession”.
Seventh stage Sahaj Samadhi, or seventh stage Sahaja Nirvikalpa Samadhi The seventh stage of life is the unique Revelation of Adi Da Samraj, and He is the only (and only necessary) Adept-Realizer of this stage. His Realization of seventh stage Sahaj Samadhi makes that same Realization possible for His devotees, though none of His devotees will have the Adept-Function. The Hindi word “sahaj” means “natural”. Avatar Adi Da uses the term “seventh stage Sahaj Samadhi” to indicate the Coincidence, in unqualified self-transcending God-Realization, of the Unconditional, Inherently Spiritual, and Transcendental Divine Reality with conditional reality. It is the Inherent, or Native, and thus truly “Natural” State of Being. Seventh stage Sahaj Samadhi, then, is permanent, Unconditional Divine Self-Realization, free of dependence on any form of meditation, effort, discipline, experience, or conditional knowledge.
“Sahaj Samadhi” (in the sense of a “natural” state of ecstasy) is a term also used in various esoteric traditions (of the fourth, the fifth, and the sixth stages of life). Such Samadhis, however, depend on certain psycho-physical conditions being maintained, and are therefore not permanent. In contrast, seventh stage Sahaj Samadhi is the Unconditional and Eternal Realization of the Divine.
Avatar Adi Da also refers to seventh stage Sahaj Samadhi as “seventh stage Sahaja Nirvikalpa Samadhi”, indicating that it is the “Open-Eyed” Realization of the formless (Nirvikalpa) State.
“sexual communion” The conservative and regenerative sexual discipline engaged by sexually active practitioners in the Spiritually activated stages of the Way of the Heart.
sexual “conscious exercise” The conservative and regenerative sexual discipline engaged by sexually active practitioners in the listening-hearing stages of the Way of the Heart.
Shakti A Sanskrit term for the Divinely Manifesting Energy, Spiritual Power, or Spirit-Current of the Divine Person.
Shirdi Sai Baba A Indian Yogi-Saint
Siddha Sanskrit for “a completed, fulfilled, or perfected one”, or “one of perfect accomplishment, or power”.
siddhi, Siddhi Sanskrit for “power”, or “accomplishment”. When capitalized in Avatara Adi Da’s Wisdom-Teaching, “Siddhi” is the Divine Awakening-Power that He spontaneously and effortlessly Transmits to all.
“simple” practice The practice of feeling-Contemplation of Adi Da Samraj that is the foundation of all practice in the Way of the Heart.
Spirit-Current The universal Divine Spiritual Energy. See also Circle.
Spiritual, Transcendental, Divine Avatar Adi Da uses these terms in reference to different dimensions of Reality that are Realized progressively in the Way of the Heart. “Spiritual” refers to the reception of the Spirit-Force (in the context of the “advanced” fourth stage of life and the fifth stage of life); “Transcendental” refers to the Realization of Consciousness Itself as separate from the world (in the context of the sixth stage of life); and “Divine” refers to the Most Perfect Realization of Consciousness Itself as utterly non-separate from the world (in the context of the seventh stage of life).
stages of life Avatar Adi Da has Revealed the underlying structure of human growth in seven stages. [illustrations and essays]
subtle See gross, subtle, and causal.
Swami Vivekananda The principal disciple of Ramakrishna, Vivekananda is renowned for his missionary work in the West. For more about Avatar Adi Da’s relationship to Swami Vivekananda, please see “The Divine Life and Work of the Da Avatar” in The Knee of Listening.
Swami Brahmananda A disciple of Ramakrishna.
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[go to: A B C DE F G HI J K LM N O PQ R S TU V W XY Z]“talking school” See “practicing school”, “talking school”.
Transcendental See Spiritual, Transcendental, Divine.
“Turiya”, “turiyatita” Terms used in the Hindu philosophical
systems. Traditionally, “turiya” means “the fourth state” (beyond waking,
dreaming, and sleeping), and “turiyatita” means “the state beyond the fourth”,
or beyond all states. Adi Da, however, has given these terms different
meanings in the context of the Way of the Heart. He uses the term “turiya”
to indicate the Awakening to the Consciousness Itself (in the context of
the sixth stage of life), and “turiyatita” as the State of Most Perfect
Divine Enlightenment, or the Realization of all arising as transparent
and non-binding modifications of the One Divine Reality (in the context
of the seventh stage of life).
Unconditional See conditional, Unconditional.
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Vedanta Society Temple The place of Avatar Adi Da’s Divine Re-Awakening in 1970.
Very (and Inherently Perfect) State See bodily (human) Form . . .
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Witness, Witness-Position When Consciousness is free from identification with the body-mind, it takes up its natural “position” as the Conscious Witness of all that arises to and in and as the body-mind.
In the Way of the Heart, the stable Realization of the Witness-Position is associated with, or demonstrated via, the effortless surrender or relaxation of all the forms of seeking and all the motives of attention that characterize the first five stages of life. However, identification with the Witness-Position is not final (or Most Perfect) Realization of the Divine Self. Rather, it is the first stage of the “Perfect Practice” in the Way of the Heart, which Practice Realizes, by Avatar Adi Da’s Liberating Grace, complete and irreversible Identification with Consciousness Itself.
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Yajna Sanskrit for “sacrifice”. The term is used in the Way of the Heart to refer to Avatar Adi Da’s travels, during which He Blesses the world and all beings through His contact with many people and places.
yaqona The Fijian name for a root (known elsewhere in the South Pacific as “kava”) which is used to create a drink for traditional ceremonies.
Yoga Sanskrit for (literally) “yoking”, or “union”, usually referring to any discipline or process whereby an aspirant attempts to reunite with God. Adi Da Samraj acknowledges this conventional and traditional use of the term, but also, in reference to the Great Yoga of the Way of the Heart, employs it in a “radical” sense, free of the usual implication of egoic separation and seeking.