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Last spring I listened to a
sweet woman complain about the style of some Zen
Masters and their treatment of their disciples. She
reported how these Masters were often gruff, and
from all sorts of signs, apparently on a
power-trip. They even hit their students with
sticks! She wondered aloud, "Why don't they promote
equality? And where does abuse have a place in
spiritual life?!"
Like most westerners, she
was not acquainted with the "Crazy Wisdom"
tradition, wherein the Realized Master played free
with social norms and common presumptions. And like
most westerners, the idea of a God-Person, a divine
person, a truly superior being, is democratically
untenable. Of course, one must be careful when
listening to unfettered genius [rooted in
ancient Arabic jnna--madness, akin to manna],
and make sure the communication rings not only true
but also heart-deep. For rather than acting in the
mood or style of the idealized human- the ascended,
pure ascetic-the God-intoxicated One would dine and
dance and discipline in all kinds of ways with all
kinds of people, even whores and tax-collectors.
Their actions can be reported in all kinds of ways,
and their behavior presumed to be scandalous. The
western mind has not taken kindly to Free Souls,
and has been downright murderous with
God-Realizers.
I asked the woman, "Have
you asked any of those students who were
enlightened by the stick, what they thought of
their teacher's ruthlessness?"
I thought about the
conversation a great deal. This woman epitomized in
her sentiment for me the preference of common
westerners in this egalitarian, anti-hierarchal
time in history.
Selfhood and
self-authentification are tantamount in our time.
Self-transcendence is anathema to self-esteem.
Self-surrender and sacrifice are ridiculed by the
prevalent voices of promised fulfillment and the
ennui of the status quo. The truth is just another
opinion as equality's blandness has replaced
wisdom, and the preciousness of egoity claims
sacred ground. The Divine Person is suspect,
ignored and discarded. Self or mind is the god of
this mortal time.
Although self-development,
mind, and self-authentification are indeed
important and essential, they must be appreciated
within a larger spectrum for maturation to emerge.
Self must transcend itself for the life-process to
grow beyond self-fascination. It is not by intent,
but by surrender that we yield our human position
into ecstasy. The message of receiving, surrender,
and sacrifice has fallen into misunderstanding and
misuse.
While doubt and questioning
are absolutely necessary surrounding the deep and
intimate issues promoted in religion and
spirituality, even doubt must be understood and the
mind itself set free into openness. After long and
sufficient examination and experience, then
receiving, surrender, and sacrifice flood the soul
again. We must let doubt and mind have their time,
and then let their time resolve into life's
strength. We must understand the arrogance that
discards the Heaven-Born.
This is difficult, for
membership in the human race is to be of the earth
growing upward, as the root of human is related to
humus, rich earth. Our down-to-earth view rarely
sees the horizon of our possiblity, and is
downright incredulous about the voice of the
"other" race of being, those not human, not of
earth ascending upwards, but the race of the
descended Beings, the Avatara, the Fully Conscious,
Fully Evolved Form: the Heaven Born, the God
descended One, the Divine Person Incarnate. Not the
messenger of God, but the Mouth of God.
Fortunately, the human race
is replete with stories of truly superior beings;
all religions have a Blessed Source Person-yet most
were discarded in their day. [Gautama Buddha
being the only real exception, but the Buddha had a
culture to appreciate the One before
them.]
Relationship with such a
Person is incomprehensible, their ego-destroying
actions and speech are often difficult to
understand, and their Crazy Wisdom is easily
discounted. And since the appearance of the Divine
Person throughout the immature ages has never
duplicated the Master in thousands, everybody
rejects Him somehow. While humanity is served,
refreshed, and regenerated by His or Her Great
service, the perpetual Genius is usually discarded,
ignored, fought, discounted, stoned, crucified, or
made to drink poison.
Of course, we humans must
each learn to identify self-serving cult heros and
not become cultic followers who substitute belief
for understanding; falling prey to the exploitive
games of childish sheep and powerful wolf- or like
adolescent consumers, buy the packaged substitute
sacrifice from the cultic hero. In due course, we
should look hard and deep at any wisdom and teacher
as we look hard and deep at ourselves.
I have often wanted to
write these tales for I have had a priviledged view
of the fierceness of a Free Being, a Wild Heart and
True Avatar, the Great One in Person. What you will
find here will offend or even outrage you. Every
human reacts in some way to the Free Avatar: let me
suggest that all opinion is reaction and only
undone in the openness or mystery greater than
position and knowledge. And let me preface quite
clearly: the stick of the true Master gives
liberation and must be understood, not discarded.
The stick is pure paradox.
My gratitude ever
grows.
This tale speaks mainly of
the five months I spent in intimate contact with
Heart-Servant Avatara Adi Da Love-Ananda Samraj, my
Beloved Teacher, from Sept 9, 1982 to February 3rd
1983, the period, place, and Fierce Woman known as
Tumomama. These stories must be appreciated within
that "Crazy Wisdom" context or else they will be
discounted and misinterpreted in the common,
misunderstood way. The ego is offended by the
service of the Free Ones. This is
certain.
There is some appreciation
of my time with Master Da both before and after
that miraculous period, though most of the tales
you hear herein are from that wild
embrace.
There is no way I could
communicate the truth of that time, the words would
melt before you read them. My limitations also
qualify these reports, they are colored by the
myopia of my egoity, and yours. What I remember
changes and grows as I change and grow. Therefore,
this is a partial tale, truly an iota, a brief
slice and limited rememberance of a Heart-Drunk
Person and His Immortal Baptism.
58.
The devotee should
surrender self-possession in the Master's Company,
so that all possessions are given in His
service.
The body, the senses, the
mind, life-energy, emotions, property, children,
lovers, friends-all these should be surrendered and
aligned to the Living One in the Master's
Company.
Beloved Adi Da's The Hymn
of the Master
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