My Divine Avataric Word is, primarily, a Spoken Message.
Written language is, basically, a representation (or a picture) of spoken language. Therefore, My Divine Avataric Word is (in Its Written form) a visual Representation…That Extends (or Self-Radiates) My egoless Self-Nature, Self-Condition, and Self-State – Which Is the egoless Self-Nature, Self-Condition, and Self-State of all-and-All.
Aletheon– Adi Da Samraj
Beezone Study
Old and New Dharma
DEVOTEE: Perhaps I don’t understand in any fundamental way what the Dharma is.
ADI DA SAMRAJ: The Dharma is the totality of this Satsang. Only one aspect of it is the verbal Teaching, and there are also other kinds of communications that are considered inthe stages of sadhana. But the Dharma in Truth is not different from the Guru, not different from the Divine. It is realized as a process in which, piece by piece, individuals become responsible for the totality of their existence. In Satsang, the Dharma, which is Truth itself, is communicated always perfectly, absolutely, withoutl imitation. It is not that this much of it is communicated today, and tomorrow this much, and this much the next day, but always all of it is given. The Truth is fully communicated in Satsang. It is the perfect condition of Satsang. But you realize it as a process in time. You seei ts evidence, its revelation, in stages. But my work with you, in its fundamental and most perfect sense, is always the same.
I do not start with you at the bottom and push you up. I do not assume your limitation. The assumption of limitation is not the nature of this Satsang.In this Satsang your perfection, your real Condition, isassumed, the Divine nature of this life is assumed, livedand known. You are included in the Divine by the force ofthis Siddhi, and you are polarized to it. The very processof your own life is turned around and repolarized relativeto its native functions. But you do not see your realCondition in Truth, in its perfect form in this moment.Instead, you see the beginning of movements, the signs, newthings to be responsible for, new things in the midst ofwhich to understand. But Satsang is the same for realizeddevotees as it is for new devotees. Thus, the Dharma is notother than the Guru, not other than Truth. It is the processof Reality entirely. But the service I give to those who dothis sadhana is given in stages that speak to the dimensionof sadhana that is absorbing them in themoment
The verbal Teaching, which wealso call the Dharma, does have several aspects, includingthe stages of practice. But Truth itself is the Dharma. Itis this Satsang. And apart from these times of discussion,we just come and sit together. There is no speech. There isno special little thing I do sitting with new devotees and areally big thing I do sitting with perfect devotees. Satsangis the same for everyone.
This study by Beezone is purely academic and is meant only to be possibly instructive. The study is designed to see and understanding the changes Adi Da made in his final’instruction’ and therefore understand how his teaching wordhas changed (or did not). Conclusions about what his’intention’ was and its meaning and significance is solelyleft up to the reader.
In August/September 2006 a ‘new’presentation and emphasis was beginning to develop in Adidam that referred to ‘new dharma’. Watch below:
It is clear in this communicationAdi Da was bringing forth ‘new dharma’ and it was part ofhis revelation. There may be come confusion with thiscommunication of ‘new dharma’ and what it means. Is thecommunication saying that the ‘new dharma’ is somehow ‘newand different’ from the previous dharma or is thecommunication saying Adi Da is writing ‘more’ dharma andtherefore communicating in a new ‘literarystyle’?
As far as the Beezone is concernedthe teaching dharma has never changed in its essence (thelanguage – symbol – (the map is not the territory) is only apointer). Word, emphasis, style, grammar, etc. are alllanguage devices that only ‘point’ to something that isfundamentally beyond language and word.
2008………………………..1987
The following are two selectionsfrom Adi Da Samraj. One is an essay from The Aletheon (2008)and the other is from a talk published in Crazy Wisdommagazine (1988).
Aletheon – Concentration versusTrue Surrender
“Practice in My Divine AvataricCompany is not about “making an arrangement” with life, notabout “bargaining” with “God”. Practice in My DivineAvataric Company is not about persisting in mediocrity.Rather, practice in My Divine Avataric Company is aboutpassing tests, such that the total body-mind constantly goesthrough ego-transcending changes and makes an always greaterand always new ego-transcending demonstration. Practice inMy Divine Avataric Company is a “hard school”, apersistently ego-transcending life-based upon the GreatPurpose of transcending all limitations, transcending thebody-mind-complex itself, and transcending the cosmic domainitself.
To rightly and truly engage theego-transcending practice of the Reality-Way of Adidam is(inevitably) demanding, and even (at times) difficult – butthe practice is, itself, never mere and egoic suffering.Rather, the practice is the ordeal associated with thetranscending of egoity. It is the ordeal of right and truerenunciation, right and true “self”-discipline. Thatego-transcending ordeal of “self”-discipline is necessary.That ordeal is, itself, the substance of change, the alchemyof change. That ordeal is the “fire on the pot” – into whichyou must throw everything.
The only-by-Me Revealed and GivenReality-Way of Adidam is the transcending of everything,Liberation from everything, in the Utter Freedom of egolessMost Perfect Divine Self-Realization.
Aletheon –Concentrationversus True Surrender– p. 817Due to copyrightrestrictions the link is non-operative. Beezone is unable toprovide more of this essay by Adi DaSamraj – Seecopyright letter to Beezone fromAdidam.
Sadhana Hurts
“People who understand thisprinciple get down to it, handle business, and bring mesigns. They don’t wait for fifteen and a half years and thentell me to wait more. They don’t do nine months here with meand change nothing. You people are indulging yourselves inmy Company. You are coming to lectures. You are beingamused. You are indulging yourselves in my Company. Topractice is to suffer, but it is not egoic suffering, yousee. It is the suffering associated with transcendence ofegoity. Therefore, we do not call it suffering. We call ittapas. We call it the ordeal of practice. We call itrenunciation. We call it discipline. It is necessary! That’sit. That is the substance of change! That is the alchemy ofchange. That is the fire on the pot. Everything must bethrown into it.”
Sadhana Hurts, atalk by Da Avadhoot December 19, 1987
The following shows thechanges and similarities from the two selections above.
The Aletheron’s essay isin BOLD and the Sadhana Hurts talk is in BOLDITALICS.
Practice in My Divine AvataricCompany is not about “making an arrangement” with life, notabout “bargaining” with “God”. Practice in My DivineAvataric Company is not about persisting in mediocrity.
People who understand thisprinciple get down to it, handle business, and bring mesigns. They don’t wait for fifteen and a half years and thentell me to wait more. They don’t do nine months here with meand change nothing. You people are indulging yourselves inmy Company. You are coming to lectures. You are beingamused. You are indulging yourselves in myCompany.
………….
To rightly and truly engage theego-transcending practice of the Reality-Way of Adidam is(inevitably) demanding, and even (at times) difficult – butthe practice is, itself, never mere and egoic suffering.Rather, the practice is the ordeal associated with thetranscending of egoity. It is the ordeal of right and truerenunciation, right and true “self”-discipline. Thatego-transcending ordeal of “self”-discipline is necessary.That ordeal is, itself, the substance of change, the alchemyof change. That ordeal is the “fire on the pot” – into whichyou must throw everything.
To practice is to suffer, butit is not egoic suffering, you see. It is the sufferingassociated with transcendence of egoity. Therefore, we donot call it suffering. We call it tapas. We call it theordeal of practice. We call it renunciation. We call itdiscipline. It is necessary! That’s it. That is thesubstance of change! That is the alchemy of change. That isthe fire on the pot. Everything must be thrown intoit.
2008………………………..1987
Here is an example from the newlypublished Pneumaton (2011) and The Bodily Sacrifice ofAttention, 1981:
In the fifth stage of life thisharmonizing trend is continued, as well as the ecstaticgesture toward Union, but the plane of self-awarenessascends, to become dominantly subtle (or psychic) ratherthan gross (or merely physical), and the Realization ofUnion involves experiences of ascended attention thateventually go beyond physical references and, at last, evenbeyond mental references.
The Bodily Sacrifice ofAttention, p. 29-30 – 1981
In the context of the fifth stageof life, this process is continued, but the plane ofconditional “self”-awareness ascends, to become dominantlysubtle (or psychic), rather than gross (or merely physical)- and the Realization of conditional union with the(all-and-All-Pervading and all-and-All-Transcending) DivineSource (or Source-Condition) involves the ascent ofattention, that eventually goes beyond the physicalreferences, and (at last) even beyond mentalreferences.
PerfectLiberation
Aletheon
Adi DaSamraj
The Bodily CenterofSelf-Realization andGod-Communion
A free renderingof theMahanarayanaUpanishad, 3 section thirteen, verses six throughtwelve,by Bubba Free John (Adi DaSamraj)
Beezone presents two articleswritten by Adi Da Samraj, one written in The Enlightenmentof the Whole Body (1977) – The Bodily Center ofSelf-Realization and God-Communion – and the other – PerfectLiberation – was written in the Aletheon (2006). Botharticles stem from the MahaNarayana Upanishad.
The Aletheon
PERFECT LIBERATION
Hear and Awaken to This, the Divineand Perfectly all-and All-Liberating Truth, Which IsDivinely Avatarically Self Revealed and (now, and foreverhereafter) everywhere Divinely Avatarically Proclaimed andGiven by Me:
The Perfectly egolesslySelf-Existing and Perfectly Acausally Self-Radiant DivineTranscendental Spiritual Self-Nature, Self Condition, andSelf-State of Reality Itself, In and As Which the entirecosmos conditionally arises, has Its psycho-physical locus(with reference to the body-mind-complex of the human being)below the throat and above the navel, in (and AlwaysPerfectly Prior to) the right side of the bodily apparentheart.
Within and Perfectly Prior to theright side of the bodily apparent heart, there is a narrow(Infinite, but dimensionless) space.
Within that narrow space, the TrueDivine Self-“Brightness” Self-Radiates the Conscious Lightof Reality itself throughout the body, the mind, and the”world”.
There, in that narrow space withinand Perfectly Prior to the right side of the bodily apparentheart, Is the Great Eternal Self Radiance, the LimitlessAcausal Energy of Perfectly egoless Consciousness Itself,Self-Shining in all directions, Limitlessly.
The Self-Radiant Energy ofConsciousness Itself Is the Transcendental Spiritual Currentof Self-Evidently Divine Self-Light in (and Always PerfectlyPrior to) the body, Which Current Pervades the body from thecrown of the head to the toes.
At the “Root” and Core of ThatSelf-Radiant Current of Conscious Light Is the PerfectShining Center-the “atom”, most subtle, Beyond the causalevent of ego-“I”.
The One and Self-Evidently DivineConscious Light, the Perfectly egolessly Self-Existing andPerfectly Acausally Self-Radiant Divine TranscendentalSpiritual Self-Nature, Self-Condition, and Self-State-WhichIs Reality Itself, Truth Itself, and Real (Acausal) God,Divinely Avatarically Self-Revealed by Me As Da, the SourceCondition and the Perfectly egoless, Indivisible, andAcausal Divine and Intrinsic Heart-Master (or TranscendentalSpiritual Reality Guru) of the body-mind-complex and the”world”-Is Self-Evidently There, Self-Radiating in and Viaand As the heart-“root” of the human body.
Aham Da Asmi. Beloved, all-and-Alland every one, I Am Da Divinely Avatarically Self-Revealedby Me As Me, As I Am.
In the only-by-Me Revealed and Givenseventh-stage-of-life Self-Awakening, Da-the Perfectlyegoless, Indivisible, Acausal, Transcendental Spiritual, andSelf-Evidently Divine Self-Nature, Self-Condition, andSelf-State of Reality Itself-Is Intrinsically Self Realized(or Self-Recognized and Self-Apperceived) to Be AbsoluteConsciousness and Eternal Light, or Divine TranscendentalSpiritual Conscious Light, the Divine Self-“Brightness” ThatIntrinsically (and, at last, by Perfect Demonstration, orDivine Translation) Outshines the “world”.
Da Is Perfect Liberation. ConsciousLight Is Me. Conscious Light Is all-and-All.
There is no ego here-but onlypattern patterning everywhere, in Prior Unity, As One andIndivisible and Acausal (Transcendental Spiritual andSelf-Evidently Divine) Conscious Light, Perfectly without”difference”.
Perfect Liberation SpeaksThis.
Fromthe Enlightenmentof the Whole BodyDue to copyrightrestrictions the link is non-operative. Beezone is unable toprovide more of this essay by Adi DaSamraj – Seecopyright letter to Beezone from Adidam.
The Bodily Center ofSelf-Realization and God-Communion
A free rendering of theMahanarayanaUpanishad, Section XIII, verses 6 through12, by Bubba FreeJohn
That which is Infinite, Eternal, andUnchanging is also Perfect Consciousness, the true Self. Theocean of experience is ended There. All seeking is satisfiedonly in That. Only This is the very Happiness of theWorld.
The true Self is Awake in your ownheart. Consciousness Radiates from the heart, which isshaped much like the bud of a flower, but upside down, withthe broad part above and the narrow part below.
One must be Awakened to this Truth:The Radiant Self, in which the entire World arises, has itslocus in the heart, in the body of Man, below the throat andabove the navel.
The heart is indeed very much likethe bud of a flower, for it is surrounded and supported bythe arteries and nerves, just as a flower bud is surroundedand supported by the various parts of the livingplant.
In the midst of the heart there is anarrow space. Within the narrow space, the true SelfRadiates the Light and Life of the body, the mind, and theWorld.
There in the narrow space is theGreat Eternal Radiance, the Energy of InfiniteConsciousness, Shining in all directions. It is the Currentof Life in the body, which Radiates from toe to crown.Therefore, Life pervades the body, providing a natural heat,and the powers of every function.
In the core of that Radiant Life isthe Shining Center, the atom, most subtle. It may be seen byinner vision, golden and amazingly Bright. It stands outlike a flash of lightning in a dark and rain-filled cloud.And yet it seems no larger than a grain of rice, slender andsubtle as the edge of a flame.
The Divine Person, the Radiant Self,the Truth, the Real, God, the Source and Master of thebody-mind and the World is There, in the Radiant Center ofthe heart. That One is Realized to be Absolute Consciousnessand Eternal Life, the Brightness that Overwhelms the World.
Section XIII, verses 6 through12.
XIII-6: One should meditate upon theSupreme – the limitless, unchanging, all-knowing, causeof the happiness of the world, dwelling in the sea ofone’s one heart, as the goal of all striving. The placefor His meditation is the ether in the heart – theheart which is comparable to an inverted lotusbud.
XIII-7: It should be known that theheart which is located just at the distance of a finger spanbelow the Adam’s apple and above the navel is the greatabode of the universe.
XIII-8: Like the bud of a lotus,suspends in an inverted position, the heart,surrounded byarteries. In it there is a narrow space (or near it there isa narrow space called Susumna). In it everything issupported.
XIII-9-11: In the middle of that(narrow space of the heart or Susumna) remains theundecaying, all-knowing, omnifaced, great Fire, which hasflames on every side,which enjoys the food presented beforeit, which remains assimilating the food consumed, (the raysof which spread scattering themselves vertically andhorizontally), and which warms its own body from the insoleto the crown. In the centre of that Fire Which permeates thewhole body, there abides a tongue of Fire,of the colour ofshining gold, which is the topmost among the subtle, whichis dazzling like the flash of the lightning that appears inthe middle of a rain-bearingcloud, which is as slender asthe awn of a paddy grain; and which serves as a comparisonto illustrate subtlety.
XIII-12: Paramatman dwells in themiddle of that flame. (Although He is thus limited) still Heis the four-faced creator, Siva, Vishnu, Indra, the materialand efficient cause of the Universe and the SupremeSelf-luminous Pure Consciousness.
seefull text of Maha Narayana Upanishad
Back toEnlightenment of The Whole BodyrenderingDue to copyrightrestrictions the link is non-operative. Beezone is unable toprovide more of this essay by Adi DaSamraj – Seecopyright letter to Beezone from Adidam.
Even as early as 1975 Adi Da (thenBubba Free John) was adapting and changing his writtencommunications. The the changes Adi Da made to his letter tothe community announcing The Way of Divine Communion andthen compare it to the same letter published in Breath andName.
Below is the Breath and Nameadaptation (The words in CAPITALS were in theoriginal letter but left out and/or changed).
The original letter is at the bottomof this page.
THE WAY OF DIVINE COMMUNION ISTHE WAY OF LOVING SUBMISSION AND ATTENTION TOGOD
For those who are becoming availableto the process of transformation in the Divine, I haveestablished the Way of Divine Communion, which is the simpleway of loving submission and attention to God. Many will(COME TO ME) respond to my Teaching, and all arewelcome to approach me through the Teaching and the servicesof Vision Mound Ceremony, who are simply suffering thecommon failures of life. To all of them I simply say, comehappily, with the urge to happiness, to peace, to love, andto a better realization of your born life. The Lord of allthe worlds is Radiant before you. If you will simply directyourself to the service and awareness of the Divine, theServices of God will be given to you.
It is not necessary or even possiblefor you to “believe” in God or know the Character of theDivine (PERSON) Reality. But if you can see that youdo not exist by your own creature power, and if you canbegin to consider the alignment of your life with theunspeakable Source or Condition that is truly responsiblefor and ultimately identical to your very existence, thenyou can do (SADHANA) the spiritual practice of Communionwith God. I urge and welcome all who can manage suchsympathy (AND WHO FEEL THE CONTACT WITH GRACE IN MYCOMPANY) to accept the simple and pleasurabledisciplines I will recommend. (AND TO VISIT ME IN MYASHRAM OR ANY PLACE WHERE I COME, EITHER IN PERSON OR IN THEFORM OF MY DISCIPLE AND DEVOTEES.)
For those who would thus adaptthemselves, (AT LEAST WITH A LITTLE OF THEIR LIVES) Irecommend a way that is easy to conceive and fulfill. Simplyturn to God. Submit, surrender yourself to God (THROUGHME) . Love and receive God (THROUGH ME). TheDivine is a Presence you will come to know. That Presence isonly God. If you will devote or sacrifice yourself to thatall-pervading Presence, God will transform your knowledge,and you will realize only God at last.
You should assist this process ofDivine Communion through two natural disciplines, one whichis practical,(OR HUMANLY BASED) based in ordinaryaction, and one which is spiritual, based within the heartor boundless psyche.
The practical discipline whichassists this turning or Communion is the practice ofminimizing the degree and kinds of exploitation of life inyour own case and bringing your life into coincidence withthe special psycho-physical and relational laws of manifestexistence as well as the great Law or Principle, which issacrifice. This involves (TO WHATEVER DEGREE YOU AREABLE) participation in a life of devotional service toGod through all your actions, including practice of theliving Sacrament of Universal Sacrifice; study and listeningto recitations of the Teaching of the Way of DivineIgnorance and its first two stages, the Way of DivineCommunion and the Way of Relational Enquiry; the study ofand simple listening to traditional teachings about God andDivinely realized individuals; the maintenance of aproductive work life; the keeping of a clean, orderly,healthful, and pleasurable environment for yourself and yourcompanions; the adoption and strict maintenance (exceptperhaps on special occasions of celebration) of a pure,healthful, vitalizing, and intelligently conceivedlacto-vegetarian diet1, the responsibleconfinement of sexuality to love-desire within therelationship of heterosexual marriage (or its equivalentcommitment in the case of a true homosexual relationship);and a continuous, active orientation toward human communityand energetic, compassionate, and loving service to thecommon life. To whatever degree you find yourself reluctantto fulfill this discipline at any time, simply observeyourself, be easy, be full of enjoyment, make your actions(AT LEAST AN INDULGENCE THAT DOES NOT HARM OTHERS) aservice to others, and continue to turn to the Divine Gracewith feeling, from the heart. The more you mature, the moreeasily you will fulfill this discipline. The more perfectlyyou fulfill it, the more you will see of your turning fromthe Divine Condition. And the more you see of this turningaway, the more responsible you will become for your turningor yielding into the all-pervading Presence.
The spiritual discipline shouldbegin at a later stage, when the practical discipline hasbecome stable and true, and when you feel the Divine clearlyin the form of constant Presence, through direct initiationin the formal enjoyment of my Company. The spiritualdiscipline that should begin to accompany the practicaldiscipline of this Way of Divine Communion is a voluntaryexercise of the remembrance of God from the heart thatcoordinates the body, the life-force, and the mind with thebreath. Thus, sit, in privacy, as a formal responsibility,twice a day. Turn attention to the Divine Presence,surrender to the all-pervading Presence, yield your life andcircumstances to God, and, at random, breathe the Presenceof God, with attention to the Divine as the Reality or RealCondition that is prior to or beyond the body, the mind, andthe world. Breathe with your heart. With random exhalationssurrender your self, your mind, your emotions, your life,your desires, your body, and all the conditions of yourexistence from your heart to God. Then, with random andfollowing inhalations, with your heart and your whole being,receive, draw upon, and become full of the Presence, Power,and Consciousness that is God. Such is the spiritualpractice of the Breath of God. Whatever you yield from theheart will, over time, be replaced by Divinely transformedconditions and/or by intuitions of the significance of anylimitations you must bear in time and space.
This spiritual practice (MAY)should (BE EXPANDED AT TIMES TO) include randomheart-felt remembrance of God through the “Name” of God.(MY RECOMMENDATION) I ask that you use the Name”God,” and not any traditional mantric Name, such as Ram,Krishna, Jesus, or Om. “God” is the Name of God with whichall men are familiar and to which they are naturallyattached through body, breath, emotion, mind, and soul.Therefore, at random, with surrender in exhalation, inwardlyor vocally, and with feeling and love in the heart,recollect and breathe the Presence via the Name “God.”Likewise, with random inhalations, feel and breathe theDivine Presence with the heart via the Name “God.” Thepractice of heart-felt recollection, or conscious yieldingof feeling-attention.
BUBBA’S ORIGINAL LETTER DATED DECEMBER1, 1975
ANNOUNCING THE WAY OF DIVINECOMMUNION
For more than five years I have beenat work with individuals in intimate company to communicate,demonstrate, and awaken in them the sadhana of the way ofUnderstanding. This way is the special form of instructionwhich was implied in my own birth and sadhana. Only recentlyhave I found, in the case of a small group of those withwhom I have worked in this way, the evidence of maturitywhich is the necessary foundation for the realization ofthis way. I have given this group of disciples all essentialresponsibility for the future management and instruction ofthe student community of my Ashram. I am now, and in thefuture, personally and intimately involved only in theinstruction of such mature disciples and devotees. I havecompletely put into writing all of the necessaryinstructions relative to the final and technical realizationof this way of Understanding. Therefore, except for theoccasional verbal instruction of mature disciples anddevotees, my special teaching work is, in its essentials,complete. Now my responsibilities are not great or pressingin the world. I need only be present for the randomoccasions of Satsang, or sitting in the company of those whocome to me.
Because of this change in the statusof my work in the world, because the way of Understanding issecure as a communicated path, I have become willing also toaccept another kind of condition in those who approachme.
There are very few individuals inthe karmic plane of this world who are truly capable offulfilling the profound requirements of this way ofUnderstanding. The experiment of my own community is themost practical evidence of this. The times are weak andoverwhelmed, and human beings are like children, alivewithout defenses in a terrible or, at least, complicatedplace. The karmas of this time and place must be penetratedand undermined by a Divine and sympathetic strategy, full ofCompassion and Grace. My special teaching work has been aservice for a few. The way of Understanding is not itself asaving gospel that can affect the world at large. It is away for the special few who were given to me in thespiritual planes above this world before my present birth.Those few were with me then, and, because their karmasobliged them to be born on earth again, I have taken thepresent birth to complete my work with them. The way ofUnderstanding has thus been established as path on earth,and it will remain here, through the responsible services ofmy devotees, for all future individuals who have attainedthe spiritual status above this world of those whom I havepresently been born to serve. Apart from such individuals,for whom the karmas of the lower planes are weak, there arevery few who, by virtue of sheer sympathy and persistence,will be able to adapt to this difficult way. It requires anintelligence that constantly exceeds the power of life’stheatre, and an attachment to the spiritual intimacies anddisciplines of my Company that cannot be attained by mereeffort or conventional inclination.
But I am willing to serve all beingsin this place. My special work has been for a few, but I aman incarnation of the Divine Form, and my special work, oncefulfilled, can stand by itself in my Presence. I have becomewilling, and now capable, to assume a more general role forthe sake of the spiritual life or salvation ofmen.
All who come to me may participatein the eternal Grace of God. It is not necessary for everyone to belong to the special class of individuals whom itwas my unique obligation to serve in the way ofUnderstanding. For those few, sadhana in my Company is likethe resumption of a course of study after a period ofrecess. Such individuals are already used to my discipline,my wildness, and the special character of my appearance andplay. But others cannot identify me in this manner, and theyare sensitive and available only to the most directexpression of the universal and unqualified Divine in me.For these many, who are only now becoming available tosadhana or life in Communion with the Divine Person, I amwilling to do service in another way, which is the simpleway of loving submission and attention to God.
In the future, my community willserve the world for the sake of the universal path of God. Iwill continue to serve disciples and devotees whodemonstrate the special interest and capacity necessary forrealization of the way of Understanding. And theinstructions relative to the way of Understanding willcontinue to be available to all who approach me in myAshram. But my disciples and devotees, even the whole of mycommunity, will be devoted to the service of mankind in thespirit of a universal effort, for the sake of the Grace ofGod among all living beings.
Therefore, many will come to me, andall are welcome, who are simply suffering the commonfailures of life. To all of them, I simply say, come to mehappily, with the urge to happiness, to peace, to love, andto a better realization of your born life. The Lord of allthe worlds is Radiant before you. If you will simply directyourself, with whatever power or capacity you can findwithin yourself,to the remembrance of the Divine in myCompany,the Services of God will be given to you.
It is not necessary or even possiblefor you to “believe” in God or know the Character of theDivine Person. But if you can see that you do not exist byyour own creature power, and if you can begin to considerthe alignment of your life with the unspeakable Source orCondition that is truly responsible for your existence, thenyou can do the sadhana or spiritual practice of Communionwith God. I urge and welcome all who can manage suchsympathy, and who feel the contact with Grace in my Company,to accept the simple and pleasurable disciplines I willrecommend, and to visit me in my Ashram or any place where Icome, either in person or in the form of my disciples anddevotees.
For those who would thus adaptthemselves at least with a little of their lives, Irecommend a way that is easy to conceive and fulfill. Simplyturn to God through me. Submit, surrender yourself to Godthrough me. Love and receive God through me.
You should assist this processthrough two natural disciplines, one which is practical orhumanly based, and one which is spiritual.
The practical discipline whichassists this turning or Communion is the practice ofminimizing the degree and kinds of exploitation of life inyour own case. This involves, to whatever degree you areable, the study of listening to teachings about God andDivinely realized individuals; the maintenance of aproductive work life and the effort of service, compassionand love for all human and earthly beings; the keeping of aclean, orderly, healthful, and pleasurable environment foryourself and your companions; the adoption of a healthfuland “harmless diet (an essentially lacto-vegetarian dietthat involves, to whatever degree possible, non-killing ofhigher creatures, who possess the sense of independentexistence); the confinement of sexuality to a singlepartner; and an orientation toward human community andservice to the common life. This practical discipline shouldbe fulfilled by you to whatever degree you find the capacityin yourself. To whatever degree you fail or find yourselfunable to fulfill this discipline, simply observe yourself,be easy, be full of enjoyment, make your actions at least anindulgence that does not harm others, and continue to turnto God with feeling, from the heart.
The spiritual discipline that shouldaccompany the practical discipline of this way of Communionis a voluntary exercise of the remembrance of God from theheart that coordinates the body, the life-force, and themind with the breath. Thus, sit with me, or in privacy, onceor twice a day. Remember me, surrender, love, and yield yourlife and circumstances to God through me, and, at random,breathe the Presence of God, with attention to the Divine asthe Reality or Real Person which is above, beyond, and alsosurrounding and permeating the body, the mind, and theworld. Breathe with your heart. With random exhalations,surrender your self, your mind, your life, your body, andall the conditions of your existence from your heart to Godthrough me. Then, with random and following inhalations,with your heart and your whole being, receive, draw upon,and become full of the Presence, Power, and Consciousness ofGod through me. Whatever you yield from the heart will, overtime, be replaced by Divinely transformed conditions and/orby intuitions of the significance of any limitations youmust bear in time and space.
These represent the essentialdiscipline of the way of Divine Communion. The spiritualpractice of the breathing of God from the heart will, overtime, show itself to you as a process in which you arebreathed and lived and loved by God. The spiritual practiceand the practical disciplines should both be exercised moreand more under whatever conditions arise in life. Thespiritual practice itself need not be reserved only forthose occasions when you sit with me or sit in private, butit should be exercised at random, at any time, while awake,or even while dreaming or asleep. Allow it to develop andreveal the Divine to you according to its own pace. Simplyuse the spiritual exercise and the practical disciplines asa way of Communing with God through me under allconditions.
The spiritual practice may also beexpanded at times to include heartfelt remembrance of Godthrough the Name or Mantra of God. My recommendation is thatyou use the Name “God,” and not any traditional mantricName, such as Ram, Krishna, Jesus, or Om. “God” is the Nameof God with which all men are familiar and to which they arenaturally attached through body, breath, mind, spirit, andsoul. Therefore, at random, with surrender in exhalation,inwardly or verbally, and with feeling and love in theheart, breathe the Name “God.” Likewise, with randominhalations, feel and breathe the Divine Presence from theheart with the Name “God.” This is the spiritual practice ofthe “God-Mantra” or “God-Name.”
Those who would try as much aspossible to do this sadhana or practice of heartfelt DivineCommunion should do it in my personal Company or Presence asmuch as possible. They should come to me in my Ashram asoften as possible, or sit for meditation and instruction inthe company of my disciples and devotees, who will at timestravel about or present themselves in the places of myAshram in order to serve those who are interested in tryingto live this practice.
My Ashram community will, in thefuture, be composed of all who come to me, to extend theirinvolvement either with the way of Understanding or with theway of Divine Communion. Those who come will be given theoption to engage in the study of either path, and anyone maychoose to change their practice from one path to the other.The obligations of the way of Understanding are more severe,and its communications are more complex. The way of DivineCommunion is simpler in concept, and its disciplines areobligatory only to the degree each individual chooses orfinds the capacity in any moment. In any case, I am Presentalways for the sake of anyone who comes to me, and I yieldto each the Grace or consideration he or she requires inGod. May all beings find God and Happiness in goodCompany.
Bubba’s writteninstructions
December 1, 1975
All members of the Ashram should consider what I havewritten about the two ways of sadhana in my Company. Eachshould consider the obligations of the two ways and theirown capacity, and communicate their intentions relative towhich path they intend to follow to the disciplegroup.
For those who are assuming the wayof Divine Communion there need not be any courses of studyrelative to the way of Understanding (unless they desireit), no sadhana groups, no interviewing (unless they requestit) and no obligations to the community other than thetithe. Disciples and some others will have the essentialresponsibility for instructing groups (and the public) inthe way of Divine Communion as well as the way ofUnderstanding. Study for those in the way of DivineCommunion is essentially to be in the form of traditionalGod-literature, and my own writings in this vein. In suchstudy meetings, discussion should be about God, life in God,and the qualities of Communion and life in my Presence.There should not be endless, complicated and personaldiscussions of problems, yoga, esotericism, etc. A programshould be developed to manage service to individuals in bothpaths. A public education and meditation program should alsobe developed.
Those who live at Persimmon and inthe formal community of the Dawn Horse should generally(absolutely if possible) be those living the way ofUnderstanding. All others should have a formal relationshipwith me and the community, but one that permits easy accessto me and the services of the community.
A person newly entering the Ashramshould simply study the two forms of approach and begin thepractice of practical disciplines and the formal approach tome through Prasad and the conditions. When they decide whichapproach to follow, they may then take up either thespiritual practice of the way of Communion or the studycourses of the way of Understanding.
Bubba’s writteninstructions
December 1, 1975
The following is from a friend of mine who has been and editor and writer within the Adidam Community for over 40 years. Here he writes on the subject of OLD DHARMA and NEW DHARMA
Bhagavan Adi Da continued to write and modify and reword His Written Teaching until the very end of His Life. He rather famously changed the subtitle of The Aletheon on His last day of His Life.
His Teaching was in some real sense already fully formed and complete from the very beginning, as it is based on His Divine Self-Realization. And that never changed. The essentials of the Way are already all there in the Knee of Listening, the very first book. And if we commented to Adi Da that He had “changed” His Teaching, He would always correct us and tell us that this is not the case. The whole Teaching can be summarized as the Open Hand vs. the Closed First. (Sometimes when I get asked on an airplane or in the public to summarize Adi Da’s Teaching, I just show those two hand gestures.) Narcissus, the self-contraction, the relationship to the Guru, the transcendence of the ego, Amrita Nadi—all of that is there from the beginning.
Yet Adi Da was always working with the language of Adidam to make it more precise, more descriptive and to eliminate any areas in which there might be misunderstanding. He developed the practice itself in relationship to the devotees who came to Him. In that process, He found that some things were useful and effective and other things were not.So the recommended practice changed over the years.
Also Adi Da’s own relationship to devotees and the world also changed over the years as He went through the dramatic changes in His Life, such as coming to know Himself as “Da” in 1979, the Divine Avataric Self-Emergence in 1986, the Santosha event of 1994, and the Ruchira Dham event of 2000. So when He would sit down and write after these events the Teaching would be expressed differently, based on the transformation that Had occurred in His Own Person.
Also there were some things that Adi Da told us later that He had not revealed or communicated earlier because He felt that we were not yet prepared to receive or understand them. Three come to mind—1) His communication only in 1993 that He was the only7th stage Realizer or the completer of the Great Tradition, 2) the inevitability of celibacy in the Perfect Practice, not as a strategic matter, but because the function simply falls away, and 3) His deeper personality connection to Vivekananda-Ramakrishna. Relative to the fact of His being the only 7th stage Realizer, earlier books, and specifically The Enlightenment of the Whole Body and Nirvanasara speak of other individuals as 7th stage Realizers. Whereas later these individuals were at best people who enjoyed or exhibited a “premonitory” intuition of the Seventh stage of life, but were actually sixth stage individuals. Ramana Maharshi was in my own experience the most interesting and dramatic of these, because for years Adi Da had spoken of Him as a seventh stage Realizer. But this changed with the Revelations of 1993.
So while I would never say that you should “throw away” the old books, when you read them, it is important to be aware that certain things may have been modified.
Now what are people getting at when they say you should “throw them” away.
Of course Bhagavan Adi Da went to tremendous lengths to present us with extraordinary Divine Writings up through the very last days of His Life. And He has written in the essay “I Am The Not-“Other”,
This is a wonderful and extraordinary statement, and these were the five books that Bhagavan Adi Da Worked on very intensively in His Final period of writing. He obviously wanted us to be aware of the specialness of these final five Works which He labored on sitting in His Office at Indigo Swan, particularly in 2006-2008.
But lest we focus in too exclusively on these five books alone, the very next sentence written by Bhagavan Adi Da states,
In and by Means of These Five Books, and Fully With All the Books of Mine, I Am (now and forever hereafter) Calling for the “root” re-culturing of global humankind….” The Aletheon pg 1861
Note how non-exclusive this sentence is. Just after talking about the special importance of the Five Principal Books, Bhagavan Adi Da immediately in the next sentence extends out to make sure that we understand that All of His Books are that same “Calling”.
At another point in The Aletheon, in the essay, “Alpha/Omega” on pg. 321, Adi Da writes:
The Aletheon and The Dawn Horse Testament Are—with all the other “Source-Texts”, or True-Water-Bearers, of My Twenty-Three-Course Divine Avataric Reality-Teaching—the Summary of My Divine Self-Discoveries (Made by Means of My Divine Self-Submission to Avataric Incarnation) and My Divine Self-Revelations (Made by Means of My Avatarically Given Divine Self-Confessions of My Own Divine Secrets) pg. 320
So we can speak of the last five books, and then The Dawn Horse Testament and all of the other “Source-Texts”. In fact, Jonathan Condit and the editorial staff are preparing a final edition of The Dawn Horse Testament that will be much expanded. Some of the new material that will appear there has appeared in recent shorter publications from The Dawn Horse Press, such as Recognition of Me is Liberation. There are final clarifications that Bhagavan Adi Da made in the last years of His Life which were extremely important to Him. For example, the growth in practice in Adidam is no longer associated directly with the stages of life in any way. So the language of the new edition of The Dawn Horse Testament will exhibit this change in perspective and understanding.
There is one other key essay in The Aletheon where Bhagavan Speaks in such a way that would lead one in the direction of throwing away one’s older books. In the essay, “The Universally Consequential Event at Ruchira Dham Hermitage” Bhagavan Adi Da speaks of how
“In some sense, I—As I Am—First Appeared here in the year 2000. In some sense, I—As I Am—Was only “on the way” to here before the Ruchira Dham Event. The Way I have Revealed and Given Is Adidam Ruchiradham—and Its Fullest and Most Complete Revelation Began with the Ruchira Dham Event:… My Divine Avataric Self-Revelation-Word Became a completely different kind of Utterance. Most essentially, My Divine Avataric Self-Revelation-Word has Become The Aletheon. The Communication of My Full and Final and Perfect Divine Avataric Instruction does not require the study of the vast archive of transcripts of My Dialogues with those who approached Me during My Years of Divine Avataric Self-Submission. …
My Divine Avataric Reality-Teaching Is now Straightforward. That Is It. That Is What There Is. ” pg. 1705,1715, 1719 The Aletheon
So all of this is making it plain that His Final Revelation is His Gift to all, and is primary. So everything that we might read of the earlier talks and essays of Bhagavan Adi Da should be seen in the context of His Final Instruction in The Aletheon and other final texts. The Way itself has become the simplicity of whole bodily devotional recognition-response to Him.
But this does not mean that the earlier Teaching essays and talks should be “thrown away” or not studied and referred to.
In fact, in the last year of His Avataric Lifetime, Bhagvan Adi Da added some of the very early books of His to the Epitome of Seventh Stage and Traditional Esotericism bibliography. These additions made it plain that Adi Da wanted these books kept in print always. Of course, some of the language in these texts would be brought “up to date” by the editorial staff. Adi Da was always refining the language that He used in His Source-Texts, to make it more and more precise and descriptive. So the Way of the Heart became technically the “Radical” Reality-Way of the Heart. And the Way of Adidam itself became the “Reality-Way of Adidam”. Hridaya-Shaktipat became Ruchira Shaktipat. So you will see in the new editions of these older texts, that all of the terms are brought to the current language usage “protocols”. Here are some of the books that Adi Da Himself added to the booklists at the end of His Life: or approved for them to be there:
Love of The Two-Armed Form: The Free and Regenerative Function of Sexuality In Ordinary Life, and The Transcendence of Sexuality In True Religious or Spiritual PracticeScientific Proof of The Existence of God Will Soon Be Announced By The White House!: Prophetic Wisdom About The Myths and Idols of Mass Culture and Popular Religious Cultism, The New Priesthood of Scientific and Political Materialism, and The Secrets of Enlightenment Hidden In The Body of Man, by Da Free John [Adi Da Samraj]
The Transmission of Doubt: Talks and Essays On The Transcendence of Scientific Materialsm Through Radical Understanding, by Da Free John [Adi Da Samraj]
The Eating Gorilla Comes In Peace: The Transcendental Principle of Life Applied To Diet and The Regenerative Discipline of True Health, Nirvanasara: Radical Transcendentalism and The Introduction Of Advaitayana Buddhism1879. Crazy Da Must Sing, Inclined to His Weaker Side: Confessional Poems of Liberation and Love, by the “Western” Adept, Da Free John [Ruchira Avatar Adi Da Samraj]
Conscious Exercise and The Transcendental Sun: The Principle of Love Applied To Exercise and The Method of Common Physical Action–A Science of Whole Body Wisdom, or True Emotion, Intended Most Especially For Those Engaged In Religious or Spiritual Life
And these two books by devotees:
Divine Distraction: A Guide To The Guru-Devotee Relationship, The Supreme Means of God-Realization, As Fully Revealed For The First Time By The Divine World-Teacher and True Heart-Master, Adi Da Samraj
Love of the God-Man: A Comprehensive Guide to the Traditional and Time-Honored Guru-Devotee Relationship, the Supreme Means of God-Realization, As Fully Revealed for the First Time by Da Kalki (The Divine World-Teacher and True Heart-Master, Da Love-Ananda Hridayam [Adi Da Samraj
So clearly Adi Da was not asking us to “throw away” these old books. Instead He was asking for them to be read, as all of His books, with real discrimination. And as I mentioned, the new editions of them will be brought up to date
It is a useful exercise to actually see what Adi Da has done to some early essays as He has redone them. For example the essay much beloved by devotees, “What Will You Do If You Love Me?” which originally appeared in The Enlightenment of the Whole Body~is now in The Aletheon, entitled, “What is a Greater Message Than This?” Some of us who have read the earlier essays for years, do not like it much when Bhagavan Adi Da changed the language of His Own Essays (as in this one). Often, it has seemed that what were archetypical and poetic sentences, were now perhaps more cumbersome. And so a full inspection of the old essay and then the new version is a useful exercise. What you will find is that in the newer version, Adi Da is making it more precise and less open to misinterpretation. He is putting the essays in forms that will be able to last into the future without confusion. It is fine to read the earlier versions sometimes for their poetic quality or as a way of studying Adi Da’s historical consideration. There is no taboo on this. And if all we had were the earlier versions, they would have been enough and wonderful and ecstatic Gifts. But as Bhagavan Adi Da has gone to the trouble to redo materials, based on His later technical elaborations of His Teaching-Word, if you can access the newer versions, that is most highly recommended.
You will also find in The Aletheon parts of essays and talks from the past that have been incorporated into the book. Adi Da at times would ask what essays or talks devotees found most useful from the older books or magazines, and would find a way to make them more current in the essays in The Aletheon.
However, many of the earlier books contain considerations and essays that are simply not in the later books. You found this with the elaborations that are contained in “the Seven Gifts of Sri Da Avabhasa’s Grace”. The title used for Adi Da of “Avabhasa” dates the course to 1991 or so. And I am not currently up to date on what is specifically in that course book. But yes, it is true that most devotees would not know what the Seven Gifts even are. Probably could not tell you all seven from memory. And so refreshing these gifts is a good idea. Recently someone send me a text asking where they could even find them listed (look at the Epilogue to The Dawn Horse Testament). I would think that in that course book there would be material that is likely not in print anywhere else that might be useful and relevant to your practice. But there would also likely be usages of words and even some practices that are no longer current. If you are completely familiar with what practice is currently and what are the ways that Bhagavan uses language, then taking a tour into these past books will not be confusing. Instead it would be an interesting look at things that have changed, as well as wonderful ways that Bhagavan Adi Da might have expressed things in the past. Or even topics and discussions that are useful, that do not appear elsewhere.
But be wary of old practices that are no longer used. In the course of Adidam there were many such practices. For years I practiced “self-enquiry” using the phrase “avoiding relationship”. For a time I meditated using the word “God” as my “mantra” under Adi Da’s Instructions. (When Adi Da found out I was till doing this some months later, He commented that I was in the “dark ages” of Adidam practice). So as I say, you must be aware of what the current and final Instructions for practice from Adi Da are, otherwise there might be some confusion in encountering the old practices.
All of which to say that I still recommend The Knee of Listening as the first book for people interested in Adi Da and practice, and sometimes My “Bright” Word. (I find that it is a individual matter and that it is good to pick a recommended first book for the person in front of you, rather than rotely choosing one.) And some of the earlier books are often “easier” to read, with a language style that is very user-friendly. But if one is to practice the way, you must be informed by The Aletheon and Bhagavan’s Final Word of Instruction and the practice of whole bodily recognition-response. But as this is really just turning, then if you were doing Ruchira-Avatara Bhakti Yoga, or really any of the earlier practice, you would likely be doing the same thing!