The heart of the relationship
to Avatar Adi Da lies in constant turning to Avatar Adi Da Samraj
in true devotion. You turn to Him simply because you recognize Him as the Divine Avatar,
and He is so Spiritually Attractive, so Beautiful to Behold, that
you are naturally moved to turn to Him.
The practice of devotion to Avatar Adi Da is based on two esoteric
laws:
| 1. |
You become what you meditate
on. Putting your attention on something is a very
powerful act. When you fix your attention on something over
time, it influences you profoundly, and you create a habit-pattern.
This principle works to your advantage in the practice of devotion
to Avatar Adi Da. Because the “Bright” is Shining
in (and as) Avatar Adi Da’s human form, turning attention
and energy to Him awakens direct Communion with His “Bright”
Divine Condition Itself. |
| |
|
| 2. |
Whatever is not used becomes
obsolete. The other side of the first esoteric
law is that whatever you do not put your attention on tends
to fall away. By doing this practice of turning to Avatar Adi
Da, you relinquish self-oriented and loveless habit-patterns
of thought, feeling, and action. Thus, these ego-patterns gradually
become obsolete, and you are more and more awakened to the constant
process of heart-Communion with Him. |
| “If you make
Me the Object of your attention, all the other ‘things’
of attention (which have no permanence) will dissolve.”
– Avatar Adi Da Samraj, Da Love-Ananda Gita. |
How does practice of devotion actually occur? Avatar Adi Da has
explained that the human being can be precisely defined as consisting
of four dimensions of existence, which He calls the “four
principal faculties”. These are:
| 1. |
mind (or attention) |
| 2. |
emotion (or feeling) |
| 3. |
the physical body |
| 4. |
breath |
Altogether, then, the practice of the Way of Adidam can be
described as the persistent turning of all four of the principal
faculties to Avatar Adi Da Samraj, as one’s Beloved Divine
Heart-Master. This turning is the means by which the ego is
surrendered, forgotten, and transcended. It is an inherently
effortless practice, because the faculties are naturally drawn to
Adi Da by means of His Spiritual Attractiveness.
“Instead
of wandering in the maze of thoughts, give Me the faculty
of mind—which is epitomized by, and as, attention (itself).
Instead of being tossed about by the waves of emotions,
give Me the faculty of emotion—which is epitomized by,
and as, feeling (itself).
Instead of seeking bodily pleasure and avoiding bodily pain,
turn the body toward Me, and (altogether) give Me the body—through
full feeling-intention, enacted through constant devotional
service to Me.
The faculties of mind (or attention), emotion (or feeling),
and body are connected to one another via the breath—and,
thus, the gesture of surrender to Me must also be done via
the breath.
Therefore, altogether, in the right and true practice...mind (or attention), emotion
(or feeling), and body are given over to Me, and breathed
in heart-Communion with Me.”
— Avatar Adi Da Samraj,
Da Love-Ananda Gita. |
Devotional turning to Adi Da Samraj is summarized in His Admonition, “Invoke Me, Feel Me, Breathe Me, Serve Me.”
Right and true practice of devotional turning to Adi Da Samraj is relinquishment of ego at the root. It is not a form of self-effort
or self-manipulation. It is not about intentionally changing the
sensations in your body, or the thoughts in your mind, or emotional
feelings, or patterns of breathing. Even the smallest gesture of
real heart-turning has profound effects, because every act of such
turning loosens the grip of ego, the act of presuming separation.
Without that turning, the presumption of separateness is constantly
active at every level of the being. It is the Divine Blessing, the
Transmission of the “Bright”—Granted by the
Divine
Avatar, Adi Da Samraj—that releases the knot at the heart
and illumines the being.
It does not matter how you are feeling at any given moment—which
what wandering in mind, what intense emotions, or what
bodily discomfort is being experienced. The practice
is to give attention to Avatar Adi Da Samraj and not to struggle
with anything that is arising in the body-mind. The liberating truth
of devotional turning to Adi Da Samraj is that it is not governed by your
experienced. It can be practiced in any circumstance, in the “worst”
as well as the “best” moments of your life.
To persist in that turning means that you cannot avoid anything.
All contents of mind and emotion, the knots in the body, and the
obstructions in the breath stand out more than ever, as the process
of purification takes place. They will also be released by the Grace
of the Divine Heart-Master, Adi Da. The practice is simply to feel
toward Him, to allow His “Brightness” to Attract you.
In that surrender, a door is opened to His Spiritual Blessing. The
Divine Avatar Works in the body-mind of His devotee, releasing its
psycho-physical knots and establishing a profound equanimity in
the being.
“You
must be able to breathe Me, feel Me—beyond fear, sorrow,
anger, all un-love, anxiety, the stress of reaction to the
gross physical situation.” —Avatar Adi Da Samraj |
Real devotion to Avatar Adi Da is free of any egoic strategy or
search. It is love-surrender, made from the heart’s own depth—an
impulse born of a deep and passionate longing to Realize Him. It
is the recognition of Him as one’s only true Refuge and Happiness
in the midst of all the changes of experience. This is the First
Fundamental of the Way of Adidam. |
