The common state we all share is survival stress, or a very tangible form of what Adi Da calls the self contraction (in its most basic gritty form). It is the ordinary driven compulsive life. Any one who has at any time experienced real poverty will appreciate just how strong everything connected with basic survival is
There is not much room for airy philosophy then. You need to eat, be clothed and have a roof over your head and provide for your family, absolute basic needs. In that situation you may justifiably cry out to a creator God for better fortune. I once saw a man on a religious documentary praying for a new stove, or to get his current one miraculously fixed. Watching it, it seemed absurd to me, but it was because I was not in his desperate condition. I had also forgotten that I have been in that same state and I have done similar things to this man and much more, so there is no self-righteousness about it, when you are in that sort of space, you have very limited means, very little room to move, any solution real or imaginary may seem worth trying.
My friend is unable to leave an intolerable living arrangement because of his survival stress (he needs a roof over his head and cannot pick and choose), so he constantly makes bad choices because the choices that are available are very limited, he is trying to practice Adidam Student Life without any real freedom to do so, the tension he endures makes real equanimity unrealistic (at least)
For these and many more reasons Adi Da Samraj suggests cooperative living as a fundamental solution to the comon survival stress we all endure to different degrees.
Cooperative Living may create a “buffer” for all who share in the project. However it is not just a survival buffer wherein people cooperate together in order to make their conventional lives easier (though that must be an aspect) It should also be a means to support “The life of equanimity”, which is basic student practice in Adidam It should simplify, clarify and promote the conditions for a life of consistent well being and conscious choice, rather than one of unconscious compulsion, driven by survival stress.
Imagine how much stress you could release from your life if you agreed to live simply, to reduce the costs of life, and to cooperate with one another. This cooperation is the true politics to which I call My devotees. When will you abandon your castle and live in common with others? All of a sudden, you will have excess money, excess time, excess energy, more time for Spiritual practice, less money wasted in consoling yourself with the ordinary life. You can use your resources to develop your cooperative life and the circumstances and the facilities you share with others. That is what I actually Call you to do! Live on the basis of truly right principles of living, and live very happily, very productively, and have full time for all the practices of the Way of Adidam. Just give up your diversions and stop trying to blend in with the herd of the common world. Embrace the principles that enable you to handle all your life-business while living in this world of stress.
Adi Da Samraj
Tags: Adi Da, Adi Da Samraj, Cooperation, Cooperative living, Practice