Gateway |
Home |
Events |
Contact |
Magazine
An Invitation
This newsletter is an invitation to enter a different world. A world that is completely real, in the largest possible sense of that word. A world in which none of the sufferings and difficulties of life are ignored or denied — but also a world in which yearnings for truth, wisdom, happiness, and love are addressed at an extraordinary depth. A world in which there is real, trustable guidance through the "maze" of life's confusions and crises. A world that vastly exceeds all limited notions of what is "real". A world of deep, abiding joy.
People from all walks of life have felt this world open up to them when they enter into the company of Avatar Adi Da Samraj through reading His books and participating in the way of life He has given called "Adidam".
Those of us who have done so have felt our deepest questions answered, our most profound heart-longings satisfied. We have treasured His Instruction about the real issues everyone faces: death, sex, intimacy, emotional maturity, community life, and many more. We have marveled at His precise "map" of the entire course of Spiritual life, and at His description of the nature of reality in all its dimensions.
We have been sobered by His criticism of the universal human bondage to the self-centered desires and purposes of the ego. And, altogether, through His words, we have felt His Divine Spiritual Blessing deeply affecting our lives.
The Impact of His Truth
Those of us who have been drawn to Avatar Adi Da have discovered that the impact of His Truth (and the Blessing it conveys) is so great in our lives, so far beyond anything else we have known, that a truly amazing recognition began to grow in our hearts and minds: Avatar Adi Da Samraj is not merely a great human being who speaks profound Truth — He is the Divine Reality Itself, Appearing in a human body in order to Offer His Revelation of Truth directly to all of humankind.
Often, this awakened recognition of Him — as the Divine Reality Present in human Form — comes as a complete surprise. In this age of skepticism, many regard the idea of a Divine Incarnation as strictly mythological. But Avatar Adi Da Samraj is not a myth — He is an intensely real living being. He is an utterly spontaneous and free manifestation, moved (by overwhelming love) to serve the Happiness and Liberation of beings everywhere, and to bring our global home out of this time of potential political and ecological disaster.
"You Must Not Believe In Me"
However, no one is asked to "believe" that Avatar Adi Da is the Divine. He has even said, "You must not believe in Me." Why? Because mere belief is not transformative. Only what is revealed in one's real experience — of body, heart, and mind altogether, rather than mind only — can transform the being.
Therefore, Avatar Adi Da does not offer you a set of beliefs, or even a set of Spiritual techniques. He simply offers you His Revelation of Truth as a free gift, to respond to as you will. And, if you are moved to take up His Way, He invites you to enter into a direct Spiritual relationship with Him.
Those of us who have taken this step have found the Spiritual relationship to Avatar Adi Da Samraj to be a supremely precious gift, a literally miraculous blessing, the answer to our deepest longings—greatly surpassing anything we have ever experienced or even imagined to be possible.
Indeed, we have found Avatar Adi Da's Revelation of Truth to be so all-encompassing and His Spiritual Power and Love to be so overwhelming that we recognize Him as the Promised God-Man—the One capable of fulfilling the yearnings of people everywhere, the One Whose Appearance has been foreshadowed by prophecies in many religious traditions.
Avatar Adi Da began Teaching formally in 1972. In the years since then, He has communicated a vast store of Wisdom. But He has also done far more than that: He has created a whole new Way of life, a new religion, which is now practiced by people of different cultures in many parts of the world.
Just as the religions of Christianity and Buddhism are named after their founders, the religion founded by Avatar Adi Da is named after Him. It is called "Adidam" (AH-dee-DAHM). Adidam is an all-embracing practice that takes every aspect of human life — the "lowest" as well as the "highest" — into account. The foundation of Adidam is the response of heart-felt devotion to Avatar Adi Da Samraj, in loving gratitude for His Gifts of Wisdom and Spiritual Blessing.
Avatar Adi Da's books are full of ecstatic proclamations of His Divinity — and there is a secret to understanding these proclamations fully. The secret is this: Avatar Adi Da is not speaking as a separate being who presumes himself to be irreducibly "different" from every other being. No, He is speaking as the Divine Heart of every being.
Therefore, His most fundamental message may be summarized as follows:
There is no ultimate "difference" between you and the Divine.
There is only the Divine.
Everything that exists is a "modification" of the One Divine Reality.
However, even though it may be true that there is only the Divine, this is not, in fact, our common daily experience. Far from it! Our usual daily life is full of events and people (including ourselves!) that we experience as distinctly un-Divine.
Therefore, Avatar Adi Da is humanly present in the world in order to Reveal the Divine Condition, and to make it possible for human beings to Realize that that Condition is our True Nature. That this is so is the deep heart-certainty of Avatar Adi Da's devotees — after many years of studying His Teaching, hearing His Discourses, enjoying His Company in all kinds of circumstances, and knowing the profound Ecstasy, Joy, and Peace of His Spiritual Transmission.
Thus, when Avatar Adi Da Samraj says "I Am the One to be Realized" or "I Am the Very Divine Person" or "I Am the Divine Heart Itself" (and many other variations), He is confessing that He is, paradoxically, the Divine Condition of everyone and everything — seeming to be a separate being, in order to offer us the Way to Realize our Inherent Condition. And it is our confession to you, as those who have become His devotees, that to behold Him with an open heart is to fall into an indescribable Love, Bliss, and Happiness that is self-evidently the deepest Truth of one's own heart and the Very Heart of Existence.
As Avatar Adi Da Samraj says, with great passion and emphasis:
Beloved, Even I Am Only You (As You Are).
This is the great mystery that you are invited to discover for yourself.
Each issue of this newsletter will introduce a section of the Sacred City Online, and guide you through some of its features. Even though there are thousands of pages already online, we have just begun to build the Sacred City.
We invite you to learn more about Avatar Adi Da Samraj
and the many facets of His Wisdom-Teaching.
I do not simply recommend or turn men and women to Truth. I Am Truth. I Draw men and women to My Self. I Am the Present Real God, Desiring, Loving, and Drawing up My devotees.
I have Come to Be Present with My devotees, to Reveal to them the True Nature of life in Real God, which is Love, and of mind in Real God, which is Faith.
I Stand always Present in the Place and Form of Real God. I accept the qualities of all who turn to Me, dissolving those qualities in Real God, so that Only God becomes the Condition, Destiny, Intelligence, and Work of My devotees.
I look for My devotees to acknowledge Me and turn to Me in appropriate ways, surrendering to Me perfectly, depending on Me, full of Me always, with only a face of love.
I am waiting for you. I have been waiting for you eternally.
Where are you?Avatar Adi Da Samraj [1971]
Email Your Questions or Comments
Do you have a question or comment about what you've read? Would you like to learn more about becoming a devotee, or be kept informed about Adidam events in a region near you? This link will take you to a contact page, and a devotee will respond with a personal answer for you.
Purchase "The Promised God-Man Is Here"
This book is the moving biography of Avatar Adi Da's life and work, and an introduction to the Way of Adidam. It includes many photographs, excerpts from Avatar Adi Da's Teachings, and stories from His devotees.
Free Newsletter Subscription
If you are not already a subscriber to the Sacred City Newsletter, we invite you to register for a free subscription. When a new issue is available, you will receive an e-mail notice with links to the new page. Your e-mail address will be kept strictly private.
Your e-mail address:
