Adi Da
5.0 of 5.0 Stars infinitely more than idealistic philosophy
By Terry Cafferty on February 25, 2009
I was initially drawn to this book by the unusual title and cover, and bought it on the basis of the many praise-filled endorsements by many different kinds of people, some of whom are known and respected from previous study. I had recently read Paul Hawken's Blessed Unrest, which presents very powerful evidence that the single living being that is this entire planet (or even the entire Universe) is now exercising its total immune system to right itself. And Adi Da's book, Not-Two Is Peace, fundamentally verifies the truth of Hawken's claims.
The core message of this book is not limited to the literal meanings in what is written, which can easily be mistaken for more (unrealistic) idealistic humanistic philosophy. The core message of this book is in the felt reality or intuited ‘ground', or fundamental, pre-verbal truth which it somehow mysteriously communicates.
Initially while reading this book, I got hung up thinking about the author's claim that all existence is ALREADY a ‘prior unity', and that it is therefore possible (and necessary) for humanity to begin to live on that basis. But then I realized that (although I think of myself as being defined as my body-mind) this body-mind is made up of a vast multitude of individual living cells, each of which (like all humans) might be presuming itself to be a separate and independent entity. Of course from my point of view as the sum-total of all these individual myriad cells, this is obviously absurd.
As I pondered these notions, I began to connect with my real situation, which is, on such serious reflection, patently NOT separate. I am intimately, totally and perpetually dependent on air, water, light, energy, and love. I simply do not and cannot exist separately. I only presume and act as if it were so, and I am therefore always more or less afraid that I will be snuffed out. And therefore I am always wary, looking to protect myself from death, and to establish myself in a safe and comfortable position, even at the expense of others, human and otherwise.
At a certain point I suddenly and very unexpectedly realized, while just relaxing and reading this book, that I am always unconsciously PRESUMING myself to be separate. And in the noticing that I am doing that presuming, I intuited undeniably, in feeling, my state or condition as actually being what the author calls ‘prior unity'. This was not a thought or the result of an argument, but rather a realization or awakening. In this awakened condition, I am happily and freely just being, not fearfully and self-protectively separate.
The core message of this book, then, is this mysterious awakening to the TRUTH of ‘prior unity'. It is not about a bunch of self-presumed, highly-opinionated separate people trying to figure out how to solve all our problems so we can all be comfortably separate. It is about waking up and acting on the basis of that awakened, realized truth of ‘prior unity'.
I highly recommend that you buy this book and just spend time with it. Just go through it without trying to figure it all out, without arguing with it, just allowing for the possibility that the author just might know what he is writing about. It's pretty obvious that the professional politicians and philosophers and scientists and religionists are not effectively dealing with the ever-growing crisis facing the planet. But it is now intuitively clear to me that the author of this book is, as claimed, an awakened or enlightened master of truth. The way I feel when I read his words is proof enough of that.
