The Causal Position
8/11/95
Adi Da Samraj
Devotee: (speaking with a Dutch accent) Can I ask my question?
Adi Da: Defintely.
Devotee: Its about… I hope I pronounce it well… the causal being.
Adi Da: The causal being, yes?
Devotee: You spoke about it last week as being not the originator of changes.
Adi Da: Yes.
Devotee: But the term seems confusing to me. Maybe that’s the English, but “causal” being, it looks like is that causing something?
Adi Da: Yes, that’s the general notion. In the Western tradition of religion, Christianity for example, arguments are given for the existence of God and most of them are about looking at the world as a whole bunch of effects and God is said to be the First Cause.
Devotee: Yea, ya, ya.
Adi Da: But then the idea of cause is described in a number of ways. Cause can be understood as being something very direct, you see, like you pick up a pool cue and you hit a ball and directly in that way cause it to move. You see?
Devotee: Uh huh.
Adi Da: But that is not the only notion of cause, you see. Something can be said to be cause by merely being there. So the idea of cause doesn’t necessarily mean something direct and material or moving. The causal body can be said to be cause because it is the egoic root.
Devotee: Yea.
Adi Da: The ego, the fundamental self-contraction, or the presumption of separateness, can be said to be at cause – functioning as cause relative to – subtle and gross appearances and activities of the individual body mind. But the ego doesn’t move in order to do that, you see. Attention itself – or the presumption of separateness itself – need not move or take an active or thing-like form to be in the causal position relative to subtle and gross appearances, you see?
Devotee: Uum. It does explain my question.
Adi Da: You’ve everything in the subtle and gross aspects of the being can be rightly said to be rooted in the ego, or in egoity itself.
Devotee: That is what I saw.
Adi Da: Egoity stands at the beginning and is causal in that sense.
Devotee: Yea, ya.
Adi Da: Without itself having to do something. You see? That is the reason why the rest of it exists, you see, without having to make them in any direct sense. All the making operations are in the subtle and gross aspects of the being. Understand?
Devotee: I think for 80%. (laughter) But I feel like the whole notion of causal being is also an esoteric, meaning what, you know, me as a still ego-based person hardly can grab.
Adi Da: As what?
Devotee: Grasp. Hardly can grasp that.
Adi Da: But you are functioning at the causal level in this very moment! By presuming to be here as a separate consciousness. When you think, then you activate the subtle part of your personality, but you don’t have to do anything with your separate consciousness to make the mind move. All you have to do is be attentive to it. All the movements are in the subtle or in the mind. As a separate consciousness all you have to do is be attentive or aware. But you are in the first or causal position relative to the mind and to all those motions. Do you see?
Devotee: And that is related to the causal being?
Adi Da: That is the causal being, yea – attention itself, the presumption of separateness.
Devotee: Yes, I do understand it now.
Adi Da: The presumption of relatedness, you see? The presumption of difference, or separateness. All you have to do is be that, which is attention, and that is to be in the first position or the causal position relative to the body mind. You see?
Devotee: Yes. Thank you very much, Beloved.
Adi Da: Attention doesn’t move anywhere, attention just addresses, or refers to everyplace. The places are where they are. Attention has no substance at all. How can attention move? (laughter) Do you move your attention?
Devotee: I don’t think so. (laughter)
Adi Da: All you do is so to speak “put” it on this and that. Right?
Devotee: Uh huh.
Adi Da: And whatever you put your attention on moves.
Devotee: As an ego I do that often.
Adi Da: As an ego you do it all the time. (laughter) You may have this notion that you move attention, but actually, attention itself doesn’t move. It only just stays where it is. But it relates to things that move.
Devotee: (sotto voce) It relates…
Adi Da: And in relating to the things that move, mysteriously they move, but attention itself doesn’t move. So, in this sense, attention is causal, it’s in the first position, and by merely being there it causes motion in the subtle and gross dimensions of the personality. You understand?
Devotee: Yes, I do.
Adi Da: So you see how the causal can be causal without moving.
Devotee: Yes, Beloved.
Adi Da: Anything else?
Devotee: Not on the moment. Thank you very much.
Adi Da: Tcha.