Getting in Touch with Who You Really Are,
as Based on the Spiritual Revelation of Adi Da Samraj
(Read Part 1 of this essay first)
The Grid of Attention
Adi Da refers to the disruptive activity of the Illusion of Relatedness as self-contraction, a spontaneous occurrence in which awareness seems to separate from love-bliss, and attempts to cross the apparent gap between them through the only means available: attention. In other words, as awareness becomes aware of love-bliss, rather than simply being aware as love-bliss, awareness focuses on love-bliss—thereby becoming attention. It is only at this point that the conventional idea of consciousness comes into play—that consciousness must be about some object, which is put attention on some object. Indeed, the focusing of awareness that is attention can build to a point of tension, ultimately erupting into the menagerie of colors, odors, flavors, and different kinds of touch that we commonly associate with life and experience.
But, again, this is all an illusion. It is not that these shards of light do not appear as reflections within the mirror. Rather, they merely appear as reflections within the mirror. The focusing of attention produces a Grid of Attention (or screen) upon which every appearance of existence is not only displayed but initially generated. In other words, it is not simply that the body and world interact, thereby sending nerve impulses to the brain, whereupon the mind interprets the experience and displays it to awareness. The reverse is also true: by focusing attention, experience is displayed to the mind—which is precisely the body and the world in the first place. Indeed, even the entire apparatus of the mind is itself a feature of the grid. The notion that the world exists “out there” and exterior to the body is an illusion, for the body and world are nothing more than permutations taking place within the grid. This blending of mind and experience is what Adi Da calls the body-mind, or psycho-physical reality.
It is for this reason that shamanistic and mystical practices allow one to voluntarily and intentionally affect their experiential register (Eliade, 1974; Krippner, 2000)—these spiritual masters are able to influence their experience by way of the very imagery taking place within the grid (Achterberg, 1985). Nonetheless, conscious awareness exists outside of the confines of the grid, and the multitude of objects and experience appearing to take place there:
You can think of attention this way, then—an unmoving point on a grid, a grid of infinite size. Or, in other words, made up of an infinite number of possible points. If attention appears to move, or is willed to move, it’s the grid that moves. The point of attention is the same, it never moves. And apparently, then, attention has shifted to another point on the grid…. Fundamentally, then, in terms of the mechanics of attention, that is all there is—the point of attention and this grid, apparently modified energy taking on the form of apparent objects, or points in space/time…. (Adi Da, 1995)
In other words, it is not attention that creates anything. It is the mechanisms that are in the grid—i.e., mind—that make the changes, generate the thoughts, the feelings, the sensations, the ideas, and the perceptions. All the “objects” or “entities” appearing in the grid, including human beings, are nothing more than the patterns that appear among these experiential sensations and perceptions. It is for this reason that Adi Da (2002) refers to these dynamics as “patterns patterning,” to indicate that no objects or entities actually exist, just the incessant maneuvering of the patterns as they engage in the patterning. Further, the term Klik-Klak is a play on words that suggests the operation of the grid is as automatic and impersonal as a machine, uncompromisingly rattling down the track. Like samsara and maya, the patterning of the grid operates according to its own principles, utterly devoid of concern for any particular condition or being.
Perhaps more to the point, like the traditional Buddhist concept of impermanence, there is nothing but endless flux on the grid, utterly indifferent to anyone who happens to appear there:
Well that’s not Klik-Klak’s business, you see, it doesn’t care about that concern of yours. You don’t belong there anyway, you see. You’re from Consciousness land. This is Klik-Klak land. Klik-Klak doesn’t care about the illusions of those who wander from Consciousness land, because all Klik-Klak deals with is the material of Klik-Klak….
Klik-Klak has no notion of permanence, has no permanence in itself whatsoever…. [Y]our desire to be loved, to be permanent, to have your desires satisfied, and so forth, that’s your interests. Klik-Klak doesn’t [care] about egos, you see…. Your complaints are of no interest, they are not registered in the pattern. It keeps Klik-Klaking, regardless of your pleas and your complaints. (Adi Da, 2002, track 3, 11:18 min.)
In a sense, the philosophy of scientific materialism has a basis in reality, although only as it applies to the realm of Klik-Klak. Unfortunately, such views usually equates reality with Klik-Klak, overlooking the very essence of what it is to be a living being, actually residing in the deeper realm of consciousness.
Heidegger (1927) describes human existence as being “thrown” into the world (i.e., grid), from God knows where, and forced to make life and death choices without any base of expertise. Being in such a situation is usually thought to be disconcerting ( Morris, 1998). Indeed, existential writers typically refer to this circumstance as absurdity, meaning there is no ultimate rhyme or reason to existence. Yet, absurdity is sometimes mistaken for being capricious or frivolous, but the two are not the same. To be without reason does not necessarily mean to be unreasonable. After all, the conditions taking place in the grid often appear congruent or consistent with one another, creating the impression that the machinery is meticulously constructed—even suggesting to some the presence of “intelligent design.” But the best that can be said in this regard is that there is a bigger picture to reality, beyond one’s present understanding. That is, the issue for existentialism is probably better said this way: thrown from where?
As can be seen, this involves a subtle shift in perspective, depending on which end of the question one puts their focus. However, people are often attached to the outcomes taking place in the grid, which usually strikes them as perfectly ordinary and reasonable. Yet, the arbitrary nature of the pattern patterning suggests these outcomes are, in reality, meaningless—nevermind how attached to them we might be. Indeed, it is precisely for this reason that existential writers claim one of the most important objectives of human beings is to provide meaning to an otherwise meaningless existence. Even so, Buddhist spiritual masters are likely to recommend otherwise: “So try not to…achieve anything special. You already have everything in your own pure quality…. We do not emphasize anything…. Because we put emphasis on some particular point, we always have trouble” (Suzuki, 1986, pp. 61, 120).
In other words, meaning cannot really be provided by human beings. Or, perhaps better said, there is a meaning for both—the divine realm and the grid. Yet, even so, the two are not equal, for the latter arises out of the former. Even more to the point, the nature of the pattern patterning involves particularly unsavory consequences: “The appearance of an ordinary checkerboard is very orderly—suggesting that everything is in order, and (thus) ‘all right’…. However, the seeming order of the checkerboard… is suffering. It is not merely a matter of how any particular game of checkers works out” (Adi Da, 2006c, p. 98-99). That is, the seeming order that comes out of chaos is still nothing but a random pattern appearing within the grid, endlessly replicating itself, indeed, perhaps even from lifetime to lifetime (e.g., karma and reincarnation). This is why it is important for one to realize that consciousness is not inherently about objects, for attention in this case is bound to the illusions of the grid—rather than aligned to love-bliss.
Consequently, the underlying situation for the individual can be diagramed as follows:
As can be seen, the situation is something like that of cell meiosis, in which the exquisite delight of love-bliss awareness seems to be split asunder. Indeed, the separation of awareness and love-bliss (via the grid) could be thought of similarly to the chromosomes of the cell being cut in half—except that, in reality, the intimate connection between them is never actually severed. At some point prior to one’s birth, the unity of awareness and love-bliss undergoes its unfortunate and merely apparent sense of separation. In a sense, as the meiosis of this separation occurs, instead of the chromosomes pulling apart a “bulge” takes place in the sphere of awareness, pushing toward love-bliss. This bulge is the focusing of attention toward love-bliss. In doing so a tension emerges at its tip, ultimately erupting into the Grid of Attention. In a sense, the point at the tip of attention is like a phonograph needle, pressing into the living presence of love-bliss, thereby eliciting the apparent movement of the spinning record that is the grid—which is, all the while, comprised of love-bliss.
This set of circumstances could also be compared to a T.V. set, in which the evening’s programming is transmitted to the viewer—except that in this case, the programming consists of holographs with which the viewer feels they are actually interacting. The sense one has of a concrete reality is nothing more than images appearing ephemerally within consciousness, not unlike the way that images flicker across a T.V. screen. It is only in this sense that it could be said that the world was “created,” whether by God or clever network executives. Therefore, creation does not issue forth into an actual world of reality. Better said, it splashes up onto the grid, as if from a rock plummeting into a pool of water—and then projected out as if into a world of reality. Indeed, the splashing water is the grid, and the various patterns simply ripples following the course set by the initial impact. But none of this is intended to be taken seriously. Each of the functions and various levels of mind present in the grid can be thought of in a similar manner: “All of this is a dream, if you like…. If you awaken…[w]hat happened within the dream is suddenly not your present condition. It is of no consequence any longer, once you are awake” (Adi Da, 2006a, p. 18).
Although the dream world is usually taken very seriously by the dreamer, it actually has no substantive reality, and all efforts committed within its domain are only more actions of the dream; and, therefore, of no consequence to the spiritual process of awakening. Only one’s own divine nature can serve as a useful means to disrupt the deluding influence of the dream—which is precisely the case, for God is actually in the process most auspicious for your awakening: trying to reach you. This is why spiritual masters manifest within the grid and disrupt its usual operation, which is to say, appear in the dream and alert you to the truth—for the sake of your awakening. Such is certainly the case for Adi Da Samraj (see Adidam, 2003a, b). In this way, it could be said that the living God is truly alive, appearing within the grid in human form. “Radical” Non-Dualism is not merely another theory of spirituality—it is God’s own revelation about God.
Conclusion
The nondualist approach dramatically reverses the usual understanding of sin and the relationship of God and humanity. More to the point, only “Radical” Non-Dualism can account for the three issues most pertinent to spiritual discourse: the problem of the One and the Many, the difference between reality and illusion, and the nature of the relationship between God and human beings, especially as it manifest in terms of the problem of good and evil. Indeed, it puts the real issue underlying these issues on its proper footing: the separate self arising within God as an act of self-contraction (i.e., sin). In nondualism the essential nature of the separate self is understood to be an impediment to love and happiness, a false and misguided illusion. Loy puts the situation this way: “the nondualistic systems also agree that our usual sense of duality—the sense of separation (hence alienation) between myself and the world ‘I’ am ‘in’—is the root delusion that needs to be overcome” (1998, p. 178).
Yet, this depiction runs counter to certain appraisals of what is of value in being a human being. In fact, such appraisals sometimes impose their own untenable interpretation of nondualism:
Love does indeed come from beyond us, from pure being, from the absolute source that shines through us and those we love. And the essence of love does involve a dissolving of the boundaries of separation. Yet, defining love purely as a mutual recognition of transpersonal being is incomplete and unsatisfying in human terms…. Nondual teachings that mainly emphasize the illusory quality of human experience can, unfortunately, serve as just another dehumanizing force in a world where our basic humanity is already under siege at every turn. (Welwood, 2003, p. 145)
As can be seen, this passage speaks of nondualism in terms of the first meaning of spirituality offered at the beginning of the paper: feeling part of some larger spiritual reality; yet, not the defining feature of nondualism: enjoying the complete cessation of the boundary of separation. Indeed, this passage suggests that the eradication of separation is in some sense inappropriate, perhaps even dehumanizing.
Unfortunately, speaking of nondualism this way takes away the very essence of what is valuable in being nondual. Speaking equivocally about the separate self only undermines the ability to address its limitations. Yet, it is understandable how this objection might occur. Attaching meaning to experience is usually thought to be extremely important for human beings, perhaps even the most important part of life. Nonetheless, this activity can be understood in a larger context, whereby it is rendered meaningless. Simply put , meaning making puts the emphasis on the wrong end of the equation—human, rather than God—and thereby has the tail wag the dog. Indeed, it is precisely in putting our basic, egoic humanity under siege, ultimately even to the point of eliminating it, that the reality of nondualism makes its appearance—and in so doing, replaces egoic humanity with the resplendent delight of Divine Love-Bliss.
T here is an intimate—nondual—relationship between love-bliss and awareness. They are utterly inseparable from one another, except under the illusory conditions of the self-contraction. Awareness can be thought of as the living presence of the human being simply because the human being is literally made of love-bliss. On the other hand, attention results as the self-contraction operates in the midst of love-bliss awareness, mistakenly directed toward its surrogate objects of interest and intention. In this latter case, one is not able to enjoy the present and ongoing reality of love-bliss awareness, but degenerates into obsession over ever more futile substitutes for love.
And so it’s not a matter of finding out that [Reality] Loves you. It’s a matter of understanding yourself, Realizing Reality, being Love. If Reality is Love, it’s not a matter of It Loving you. It’s a matter of you being Love. You see? Because Reality being Always Already the Case, the “you”—however it might be described— is That. And if you’re not being Love, that’s your problem. That’s what you have to understand. You must transcend your impediment, the “you” that’s looking to be loved…. It’s not that you shouldn’t, however, luxuriate in love and being loved. You should. But you’re seeking it. And you are not being it... (Adi Da, 1997a, p. 41)
This is why being loved by God is ultimately beside the point, and so, too, even loving God. Of real concern is being the Love of God. Yet, obviously, doing so is no easy matter. The curious nature of our situation could be put this way: although love is in this world, it is not of this world. Perhaps no single principle more fully captures the distinction between the sacred and the profane than this: love comes from elsewhere than this world. Therefore, it is not properly said that love is in us; rather, we literally exist within and as love.
Consequently, spirituality is not about being better adjusted or espousing a better social ideal—even if for the admittedly useful purpose of getting confused and willful people to behave better. Indeed, the point of manifesting on the grid involves a perhaps surprising turn: “The purpose of existence, then, is to transcend conditions.… The physical is not there for its own sake. It is there to help you purify the deeper being, the deeper personality, to the point where you can Realize What Transcends even the deeper personality” (Adi Da, 1997b, pp. 55, 60). And, as a result of that process, eliminate karmic propensities—at every level of the grid.
Therefore, the recommendation of “Radical” Non-Dualism is to put attention on God, for this is the very source of love-bliss. As one surrenders and releases (i.e., transcends) their identification with the grid, the contents of the grid simultaneously align with their underlying substrate of love-bliss. In this way, love-bliss naturally asserts its own influence, aligning the contents of the grid accordingly. As one releases their hold on the grid, the tension within the rubber band snaps them back into place, as it were. As a result, one’s native state is simply revealed: “Real God Is Reality, and Truth, or That Which Is Always Already The Case” (Adi Da, 2000a, p. 141). It is in this way that one’s well-being is most directly connected to their greatest succor.
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