C. Crane Brinton – Addresses, Articles, etc. – Mss. and Criticisms – A – E – HUG 4237.12
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Yesterday, as I delved into Daniel Sheehan’s assertion regarding C. Crane Brinton’s purported declaration of containing ‘The Single Most Important Idea in Intellectual Western History’ in his last lecture of December 1967, I found a copy of the talk within Brinton’s papers.
In the box lay what Sheehan had deemed ‘The Single Most Important Idea in Intellectual Western History,’ carefully preserved under the label ‘Last Lecture.’ This discovery struck me with particular interest, given my ongoing academic pursuits centered around topics both large and small, much like those explored by Sheehan.
Click picture to see reference
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In the midst of my journey home, I found myself contemplating what I dubbed ‘Brinton’s Message,’ (see link above) juxtaposing it against the legacies of three towering spiritual figures with whom I had engaged in study, and in two instances, personal interaction.
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The Tree Has Been Planted
The question is, will it bear fruit?
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The Transition from Realization to Form and Beyond
An Opinion Essay
In the foreseeable future, the trials encountered by spiritual communities in the wake of their leader’s passing loom large. Over the past five decades, the paths forged by three prominent spiritual luminaries—Swami Muktananda who established Siddha Yoga, Chogyam Trungpa ventured to establish the Namgyal Dynasty in America, and Adi Da Samraj introduced ‘The Way of the Heart,’ marking a newly formed 7th Stage Way.—have unfolded, each leaving behind a designated or implied succession community charged with safeguarding and advancing their teachings for the betterment of humanity.
Yet, upon closer scrutiny, it becomes evident that none of these groups have managed to sustain their teacher’s legacy to a significant extent. Instead, they have metamorphosed into entirely distinct entities, sometimes straying far from the original vision. Though these communities endure in varying capacities, they have all encountered—and continue to confront—significant hurdles. While the specific impediments may differ, the underlying truth remains, in my assessment: the profound Realization imparted by the teachers has not been adequately internalized by their students and devotees, notwithstanding assertions to the contrary.
While it remains plausible that the full ramifications of these transitions have yet to fully manifest, the trajectory of each group suggests otherwise. A fundamental reason underlying the struggle to transmit the essence of the teachings lies in the failure to embody the teachers’ Realization within the leadership of the organizations. While external manifestations such as rituals, publications, and physical structures may persist, the core Transmission of that Realization proves elusive.
Adidam’s Charge
An open-ened “channel” of ‘receiving and giving’
The imperative facing those tasked with carrying forth their teacher’s legacy extends beyond mere replication; it necessitates the embodiment of the original vision and Essence.
Without this crucial embodiment, only hollow echoes and empty forms endure, inevitably leading to stagnation and a ‘faded memory’. The future trajectory of these organizations remains uncertain, their current foothold tenuous and absent of any foreseeable assurance.
May the days ahead herald a departure from this trajectory, offering renewed hope and possibility.
What I’m describing to you all is a process that belongs to the further evolution of humanity. I’ve realized why it is frustrating to me because I’m talking to people who are in a moment in the evolution of existence that has nothing whatever to do with the ultimate Truth of existence, that’s only in the, infancy, still in the slime, still dependent, still wanting consolations in the realm of changes, still violent, still self-possessed. So don’t imagine for a moment that it is an easy matter, that you can just listen to this and you’re in Sahaj Samadhi. It is the work of evolution itself, the work of the universe itself, it’s the obligation, the law of eternal existence that we are considering and that our relationship generates and regenerates. You cannot do it casually. You can’t respond casually. You can’t be committed casually to your ordinary destiny. You must become changed. – Evolution is a Grinding Stone, Adi Da Samraj
