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The Spiritual Necessity for Self-Understanding and Self-Transcendence

"The self-Contraction Is Separative (or Dissociative), and Only Destructive. This Must Be (Directly) Observed and (Most Fundamentally) Understood. That Most Fundamental Understanding Must Not Merely Inform the mind. It Must Unlock The Heart."
-- Avatar Adi Da Samraj, Santosha Adidam

From the beginning of His Teaching Work, Avatar Adi Da Samraj has emphasized that the two primary requirements for Spiritual growth are: (1) the devotional and Spiritual relationship with a genuine Spiritual Transmission Master, and (2) ongoing self-understanding -- the progressive insight into the mechanism of self-contraction, which is the fundamental activity that separates us from the Divine Reality.

What Is the Self-Contraction?

The self-contraction is not a thing or an entity. It is an activity -- a chronic pattern of recoil and separation that we are always doing, but which is so habitual that we are typically unaware of it. It is like a fist that is always clenching, creating a sense of being a separate, isolated self in a threatening world.

This activity of self-contraction is the root cause of all suffering, seeking, and dissatisfaction. It is not something imposed on us from outside, but something we are actively doing in every moment.

The Process of Understanding

Through the practice of the Way of Adidam -- particularly through devotional turning to Avatar Adi Da Samraj and the reception of His Spiritual Transmission -- the devotee gradually becomes aware of this activity of self-contraction. As understanding deepens, the hold of self-contraction loosens, and the inherent Happiness of uncontracted being is progressively revealed.

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