The following is an example of the thematic format, which Beezone created in response to a reader’s question.
A look into the teaching of Adi Da Samraj
Question:
I’m curious about tying “noticing” Bhagavan to the “listening” process. I have looked at The Dawn Horse Testament, but I thought you might be able to do a search on “listening” just to see how it ties in to Beloved’s description of “noticing”.
Beezone’s Response
Thank you for the question as it is very much in line with the kind of study Beezone is interested in.
After looking at the way in which Adi Da uses the terms “listening” and ” noticing” it is clear he uses them in very different ways, but at other times in a similar manner.
I prefer the reader draw his or her own conclusions from the research I’ve provided. So I will first present various excerpts from the writings and talks of Adi Da in which he uses both terms, and then the reader can make his or her own understanding out of it.
I will only say as a guide, that it is clear from the way Adi Da uses these terms that the following could be said: “listening” is used in relationship to self-observation, and “noticing” is used in relationship to ‘recognition’ – and they are both associated with a preliminary and beginning process.
Listening
Listening is considering Adi Da’s argument and applying it to your life. Listening is the beginning of self-observation and self-understanding.
Listening
The following is from The Life of Understanding, a twelve week course Adi Da gave to his early devotees, in 1974. The following is from the chapter “The Seeker”.
Since my awakening in college I had developed an internal process of a kind of listening. I would focus on the plane of the mind and allow it to be the focal point of experiences within and without. This describes something in a primitive way of that force of meditation later described, of focusing in the plane of consciousness, at the point of consciousness above, and reflecting the activities above and below the conscious mind, within and outside in the world, whatever. So this is the origin of that activity.
…
I thoroughly believed that the individual human being was involved in and controlled by a profound, largely unconscious or preconscious logic or structure, a motivating drama or myth. I felt that this myth, prior to becoming conscious, acted only as an arbitrary limitation and it never appeared directly in the mind, or in our works and actions. This myth was perhaps common to us all collectively, but it was effective on the level of the individual, and it needed to become conscious in each of us before any creative work or freedom was possible on its basis or beyond it. So this was the fundamental dilemma, or internal contradiction, that appeared mysteriously as the essential motivation of all activity, of seeking. It was now conceived by me, in more or less specific terms, to be not many things but essentially – at its base – one fundamental structure or condition in consciousness. I combined this internal work of listening with the activity of writing. It was my intention to remain actively attentive to the movement of my life on every level to an exhaustive degree. Thus I had become exhaustively aware, by a critical and constant act of attention, of whatever experience or movement occurred on the plane of life and consciousness. Whereas the previous form of my program of life or sadhana was to experience exhaustively, here it was to become aware, exhaustively aware, of experience itself…now that was a sort of side light in the midst of this larger description of the process that was taking place at this time, which was this process of listening, of turning to the plane of consciousness and observing exhaustively everything within and without, in order to grasp this pre-conscious condition, logic, motivation. And this became fruitful at some point. This myth that I expected did begin to become apparent.
Notice Me
The practice of Adidam is not about listening to Me talk all the time – as if there were something I must yet say in order to convince people to be devotees of Mine. Indeed, there is nothing that I can say to make people devotees of Mine. People will become My devotees only if they notice Me and are (thereby) moved to Me. That is it. A hermitage is a place where people go who are attracted by a Spiritual Master. Perhaps they hear about the Spiritual Master from others, and then they go to see the Spiritual Master. That is typical in the traditional setting.
If you are disenchanted with the “world” (and not merely governed in your attention by its possibilities), you are (thereby) open to noticing My Primal Divine State and capable of surrender into the Inherent Attractiveness of My Primal Divine State. My true devotees notice Me exactly As That Primal Divine State. If you are not merely bound in your attention by your own ego-patterning, you can notice Me and become My devotee. Simply to see a photograph of My Bodily Form should be enough. To “Know” Me Is “Perfect Knowledge” of Reality Itself.”
The Aletheon – Adi Da Samraj
Such fools already have Me in every human form, but they do not notice Me. They do not Realize Me in My Transcendental Nature, the Master of everything and the true Self of all manifest beings.
The Song of the Heart of God – Adi Da Samraj
Devotee: In some moment I became transparent enough to notice You.
AVATAR ADI DA SAMRAJ: Mm-hm. And the only way to notice Me is to not be able to tell the difference.
AVATAR ADI DA SAMRAJ: How did you think you would notice Me if you found Me, if you saw Me? Do you think I always look this way?
Devotee: I-uh. I
AVATAR ADI DA SAMRAJ: “I ” That is the word, right there. That “I” is reflected in your own mind. That is looking into the pond. Look at Me instead. The faculties are all wrapped up in themselves, always tending to be wandering somehow or other. So it is a discipline to do this turning to Me all the time. And that is right. That’s what it is. It is a discipline and you have to work at it, you see. And get the secret of it, the secret of really doing it. And it’s not about some arrangement with the faculties. It’s about coming to the end of that. It is truly about recognizing Me and being moved to Me. Truly moved to Me, not pleasantly, casually, superficially, tentatively, reservedly, thoughtfully, temporarily, politely, ceremonially, talkatively, you see.
The Advatraic Discoures – July 28, 2005
In this excerpt, a devotee is asking Adi Da about Perfect Samadhi.
AVATAR ADI DA SAMRAJ: How could it be formless if there’s a five-pointed star?
DEVOTEE: Well, in terms of the, just going into the light…
AVATAR ADI DA SAMRAJ: No, there is no light. There’s no picture show.
DEVOTEE: But you are in that part of the Cosmic Mandala in that state…
AVATAR ADI DA SAMRAJ: There is no Cosmic Mandala in that state. I have described instances of it, for instance in Ganeshpuri in 1968. I described the event of immediate transition into Nirvikalpa Samadhi. If you have read that description did you notice Me mentioning any visions?
DEVOTEE: No, no.
AVATAR ADI DA SAMRAJ: There are none, you see. Visions are of another order of experiencing, a lesser order of experience, still associated with the mind, and even with the brain. Most visions. There are visual dimensions that are beyond the brain. Then there is beyond all that. In any case, so what? None of that really makes any damn difference whatsoever. It is totally unsatisfactory and insufficient. And so ultimately, one comes to the end of that. The Realization of that which is always already the case, which is otherwise standing as, merely in the Witness position, prior to all conditional signs, all conditional dependencies. Any vision that’s possible arises within it, merely apparently, totally without necessity, without binding force, without ultimacy.
Adi Da Samraj, August 2004.
The “Un-Washed dog” of self-Contracted body-mind Does Not think To notice Me – The Divine Heart-Master Of its wild heart and Wilderness.
The Lion Sutra
You really know almost nothing about Me. You’ve seen Me reflect you to yourselves and you have remained so preoccupied with yourselves that you have NEVER noticed Me. Therefore you have never made the culture of Adidam which is the culture of recognition response to Me, you have made this revisionist gathering, this rather exoteric gathering, in which I am a subordinate, a kind of stranger – not only unexpected, but unwanted, a kind of intruder imposing on you, so you have found a way to be dissociated from Me, immune to Me – utterly disobedient, but standing at such a distance that there is nothing that I can do about it. You have no Master. You have put the lion in a cage.
The Blessing I Give is not manufactured in the body-mind, or from the body-mind point of view. I do not Bless via mechanisms figured out somehow in the body-mind. I Bless As I Am, and My Blessing is the simple Recognition of you, Divine Recognition of whatever. The apparent body-mind can seem to be involved in it in various ways, too, talk about it or whatever – but it is just this Diving Blessing Recognition, My Regard, or you even entering into the Sphere of My Radiance, devotionally and Communing with Me. My Presence is the Power of the “Bright”. It is Unique Siddhi. It is just That. Everything is Recognized. Everything is “Brightened”, therefore by My Presence, and My perhaps Giving you My Regard at times. but fundamentally you giving Me your regard, all the faculties submitted to Me into Communion with Me, to the point of Communion with Me, moment to moment.
The Yajna Discourses, ‘A Mastered Life’ – December 29, 1995
Fundamentally, the only-by-Me Revealed and Given Reality-Way of Adidam is a tacit (or wordless) matter. The Reality-Way of Adidam is inevitably practiced by someone who devotionally recognizes Me-just as the Way of devotion to the Spiritual Master has been practiced in spontaneous response to the Spiritual Master since the most ancient of pre-historical days. If you are disenchanted with the “world” (and not merely governed in your attention by its possibilities), you are (thereby) open to noticing My Primal Divine State and capable of surrender into the Inherent Attractiveness of My Primal Divine State. My true devotees notice Me exactly As That Primal Divine State. If you are not merely bound in your attention by your own ego-patterning, you can notice Me and become My devotee. Simply to see a photograph of My Bodily Form should be enough. To “Know” Me Is “Perfect Knowledge” of Reality Itself.
The Ancient Walk-About Way, – Adi Da Samraj
***
There always will be My “Play” with My devotees. I am Teaching you about it in My physical Lifetime of Divine Avataric Incarnation – such that, after My physical Lifetime of Divine Avataric Incarnation, you will have this Learning, the cultural supposition, this understanding, this Yoga to do, and I will not have to be physically present. But you will know that It Is Me.
I will Be Present. I will Be with you – not gone forever.
I have Helped you, by My physical Incarnation, to identify (or “Locate”) Me As I Have Always Been Which you never noticed before.
And when, having physically incarnated, I have Taught you about how to notice Me, thereafter you will be able to associate with Me As I Have Always Been before – and, having noticed Me, you will be able to “Locate” Me forever.
I will not ever leave you or ever be dissociated from you or ever be separate from you.
I am not separate from you even now-but I am in “Play” with you in My physical Manifestation.
And, after My physical Lifetime of Divine Avataric Incarnation, I will be in the same Divine Avataric “Play” with you – equally, exactly As in this present time with you.
As devotional Means for concentrating on Me after My physical Lifetime of Divine Avataric Incarnation. you will have My Representation-Forms and My Holy Locations, and so on.
It will not end.
It will always be Fulfilled, and It will always be Mysterious-and I must never be taken for “granted”. but I must always be heart-Found, by means of your (ego-surrendering, ego-forgetting, and ego-transcending) devotional recognition of Me.
“I Am One-Pointed in You”, Aham Da Asmi – Adi Da Samraj