Drifted in the Deeper Land: Talks on Relinquishing the Superficiality of Mortal Existence and Falling by Grace into the Divine Depth That Is Reality Itself [Paperback]

Avatar Adi Da Samraj (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1997

This remarkable book discusses fundamental human questions -- What is experience for? Why isn't it a lot better? Are you just built to die? What is "you" anyway? -- and probes our uninspected presumptions about how we live and what really ends when we die.

This book beautifully communicates how Truth and profound religion are to be found in a process of letting go more and more into the "Deeper Land" -- the place of Divine Depth that is beyond all experience and suffering.

Product Details

• Paperback: 418 pages
• Publisher: Dawn Horse Pr (July 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570970378
• ISBN-13: 978-1570970375
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,136,859 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Adi Da was born in New York at the outbreak of World War II. From 1983 he lived principally in Fiji and became a Fijian citizen. The author of over sixty books on spirituality and a prolific artist, he also had profound attention for world affairs, particularly during the last decade of his life, as summarized in Not-Two Is Peace.
Adi Da was born in a unique spiritual state. As a young man, he immersed himself in the traditions of human wisdom and spirituality. His Western studies included university degrees--in philosophy from Columbia and in literature from Stanford. Following his university years, he intensively engaged both Western and Eastern forms of spiritual practice.
In 1970, at the age of thirty, Adi Da was re-established in the illumined condition he had known in his earliest life. He began to offer formal instruction in spiritual practice to those who came to him, creating (out of a free interactive participation with his devotees) what is now an unprecedented body of spiritual, philosophical, and practical writings (find the most current offerings at the Dawn Horse Press website), as well as an immense body of visual art (the website dedicated to Adi Da's art is called Daplastique). In 2007, his artwork was exhibited at the 52nd Venice Biennale, and subsequently in several other exhibitions, including in Florence, New York, and Los Angeles.
As spiritual teacher, artist, and "World Friend", Adi Da is not a conventional figure. He is not political in any ordinary sense of the word. Rather, his address to humanity comes from his lifelong communication of the truth of human existence. He is making clear the species-endangering forces of limitation in our world, the means to go beyond them, and the great urgency of this "going beyond".

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing book even for beginners and the more conventional, August 20, 2010

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S. J. Noel "SN" - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Drifted in the Deeper Land: Talks on Relinquishing the Superficiality of Mortal Existence and Falling by Grace into the Divine Depth That Is Reality Itself (Paperback)

I disagree with the reviewer below that states this book will mostly only be valuable to those who have followed him for many years or who have sat in his presence. I have done neither and still have found this book a great work of brilliance and clarity and have no idea how one who would be inclined to pick up such a book could find it boring. In fact I'm inclined to believe that the reviewer's main intention was not an intention to understand but to dispute and that a philosophical bias prevented an opportunity to learn. The chapter "the problem of life is death" is nothing what the reviewer may lead you to believe. What Adi Da means by death is developed later on in the chapter to mean change - and of course Adi Da believes unconsciousness is a problem, his whole effort is to get us to wake up!

This book is about exactly what the title suggests, the deeper reality, and what he constantly refers to as an in-depth process. It speaks about different realms, states, identity, and practice relative to these in the Way of the Heart in a very straightforward and practical way. It is also filled with very insightful considerations that are helpful to understanding his Point of View and and peripheral matters related to it as well. For me it has filled in many specific details that I have found myself questioning about from his other works. Some of the statements made do seem very "far-out" especially in today's world of scientific materialism, especially certain "miracles," however this is only because of the usual conventional viewpoint - anyway this is for you to find out, as Adi Da does not encourage childish belief or adolescent doubt.

If one does not understand Adi Da's point of view its easy to find him quite egotistical and dogmatic and offensive and in effect, reactively turn away. What he teaches is very paradoxical and it helps to have some background or structure through which to interpret what he means. Those familiar with Ken Wilber's Integral theory would find it sufficient as a useful tool to interpret Adi Da. What Adi Da's Teaching represents is an integration between East and West and anyone who takes the time to read such books as this, as well as others that are geared more toward beginners such as Transmission of Doubt, would gain in value, much more than the time spent reading it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Easy to read and fascinating!, May 8, 2011

By 

Learner - See all my reviews

This review is from: Drifted in the Deeper Land: Talks on Relinquishing the Superficiality of Mortal Existence and Falling by Grace into the Divine Depth That Is Reality Itself (Paperback)

One of the first books I read by Adi Da. This book mainly consist of conversations Adi Da had with people that came to hear his teachings. I had never met Adi Da or any of his followers when I read this book, and was very moved by the wealth of wisdom he has given them. So refreshing and easy to read for a book that talks about a serious subject as Enlightenment!

7 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars brilliant but opaque, May 2, 2005

By 

rhynchosaur - See all my reviews

This review is from: Drifted in the Deeper Land: Talks on Relinquishing the Superficiality of Mortal Existence and Falling by Grace into the Divine Depth That Is Reality Itself (Paperback)

Adi Da has is certainly one of the most powerful enlightened beings of modern times and his spritual autobiography ``The Knee of Listening`` (1978 and revised and enlarged continually) is probably the most detailed and fascinating personal account there is of the process of enlightenment. He is a very smart guy and a good writer with a substantial output. However when speaking he is far less interesting as can be seen in any of the videotapes available from the Adi Da web page.

This book is mostly transcribed from his talks to the small group of devotees with whom he lives on a small island in Fiji. It will mostly be valuable only to those who have followed him for many years and know his jargon and style and who practice his meditation or sit in his presence. Others will find it very tough going if not downright boring. Of course as with any master, it is the presence and not the words that matter most. Unfortunately along with the spiritual advice one finds lots of superstition and antiscience nonsense by him and his devotees. The idea that one can stop a fire or storm or cure a disease or end a war with mental force or spiritual practice does not belong in the 21st century and is totally counterproductive. The game of life must be played by mother natures rules by everyone in any possible world and from one point of view has no relation whatever to the spritual quest. If it were possible to create `perfect` people who never get sick or even unhappy they are no longer human and life cannot have any more value for them than it does for a bicycle.

He expresses his frustration that his devotees(many of whom have followed him for over 20 years) are not getting enlightened. Of course very few people manage this regardless of their master or practice. Its contrary to natural selection and bound to be very rare and difficult. Perhaps one day we will find some combination of meditation, drugs, computer facilitation or surgery that can trigger the process in most people. Even so, it is unlikely to change the world as those people or societies that remain unconscious, materialistic, militaristic will automatically dominate. Natural selection is a powerful acid that eats thru all utopian fantasies(eg through the robot society in Kurzweils `The Age of Spiritual Machines--selfish programs instead of selfish genes being selected in this case).

Like all other forms of education, the only point of religion for an educated sane person is personal growth. It is almost certainly a vain hope that human nature can be changed and the world saved. Also, Adi Da is wrong about death being the problem of life--even though he may only be using this as a teaching tool. From a spiritual standpoint, unconsciousness is the problem and even those few who solve that problem need death to recyle the body. Without death there would truly be no hope--even for a world of enlightened beings.