15 Nov 2009 —
Question
Q144: Adam & the apple
Question 144:
“Why did Adam ‘pick the apple’? Was it possible for him not to do so? In his place, could you have refrained from doing it?”
Please reflect deeply on the matter before answering, and make your answer clear and brief (maximum 5 or 6 lines).
it is god’s divine lila that beings come into existence to struggle with the illusion of separation from the atman. since it is all part of the divine play, i don’t believe that ‘i’ nor anyone else could have refrained from ‘picking the apple’ nor would it be good or right to do so. although mysterious to us jivas, god’s will is perfect…
We are like Adam every moment. Either we choose to ‘pick the apple of knowledge’ which is the illusion of mastering our lives and the illusion of mastering pleasures. Or we choose to surrender our life, moment by moment to the universal innocent divine play… Either we follow the mind or we stay in (and trust) the original purity of existence (paradise) like babies do… Very very rarely does Adam (you and me), not pick the apple… We’ve just took the easy way of picking that apple again and again…
i think the mythology of the Garden of Eden story where Adam eats the fruit and is expelled from the Garden is a personal and collective energetic portrayal of evolutionary Awakening. . .A child must leave the mother/garden and separate, go through an individuation process, in order to realize True Self within. . .Adam had to get the apple, and thanks to Eve for helping him to see that all creatures are to take the journey back to oneness. . .
They say God is everywhere and right here. So why the forgetfulness and longing?
These seem to be the conditions that make a perfect bowl of oatmeal.
At some juncture THIS was more important than God, otherwise it wouldn’t be.
Besides, some people just come down to help, not a bad reason to ‘jitter-bug’ with creation.
It may be that Adam fell prey to temptation (Maya) and the “Absolute” veiled itself to believe that it is different from the rest of creation
No clue. Maybe adam was hungry. ;D
curiosity killed the cat!
Wasn’t only Adam’s fault, it was the Kundalini who tempted Eve, who in turn tempted Adam. And the fruit wasn’t necessarily an apple, it was the fruit of knowledge of good and bad. What is that? It is the mind and intellect asking is that good or bad for me for my survival? Like and dislike, once you start interpreting the world in that way, innocence is lost and you are thrown out of paradise.
This has been well explained in “Autobiography of a Yogi”, the book written by Swami Paramahansa Yogananda. Here is a quote by Sri Yukteswar ji “Knowledge of ‘good and evil’ refers to the cosmic dualistic compulsion. Falling under the sway of maya through misuse of his feeling and reason, or Eve—and Adam—consciousness, man relinquishes his right to enter the heavenly garden of divine self-sufficiency. The personal responsibility of every human being is to restore his ‘parents’ or dual nature to a unified harmony or Eden.”
It has two meanings. Firstly it is the “fall” of man, our loss of awareness of the divine reality underlying us. We forget that we are the Universal Atman that is not other than the Ultimate Brahman. Secondly it is the “rise” of man, our growing of self-consciousness. It is the spirit of knowledge, of enquiry, our desire to know the truth that shall lead to our Self-Realization.
After eating apple for the first time, both indulge in a blame game, so people were same then as are now. I’m glad they ate the apple. The apple of knowledge brought with it sorrow and the appreciation for happiness. How can one enjoy sweets if sweetness is the only taste. People with eternal peace of mind have always replaced unrest with peace, except perhaps Amma, God.
According to the sacred Bible Adam ate the fruit of knowledge. Apple can be a fruit of knowledge. Amma on one of her international trip had plucked an apple from a garden and after eating some part of it she distributed the rest to her devotees. From then onwards every year she plucks an apple from that same garden. Its a divine secret that Amma only knows.
Apple is knowledge of good and bad in sense that the world operates sooner or later we learn, picking up the apple is just part of growing up. it is the experience on this plane. it’s inevitable that sooner or later one is opt for eating apple pie followed by good exercise. Eve is Maya offering us both illusion and ultimate truth.
Adam ate the apple because it was a forbidden thing. When he ‘fell’ in love with Eve – because she was made from a rib close to his heart – he must have also fallen out of love with God and so he failed in obeying Him. He listened to his desire – snake- instead. Having lived in paradise, he may not have known the consequences of breaking rules. Earlier he loved God and didn’t see the rules as anything that constrained him. No – everything is God’s will. The cycle of ages move downwards from satyuga because of God’s plan.
i have not much knowlege about this Adam story. I think the Apple is forbidden. What ever is forbidden, the temptation to apt it and the curiocity to know about it will increase naturally to a person who is under the controll of Maya… Eve is Maya. Maya has two powers. The projecting and veiling.(Vikshepa and Avarana). Adam couldn’t conquer these powers of Maya. Adam was dear to God before eating the Apple but after eating Adam who was Pure conciousness had become a being with identification of body mind and intellect and started to feel shyness and fear of God and at last he was thrown away from the Eden garden.
Temptation or desire made Adam pluck the apple. Adam had a choice to pluck or not to pluck. We always have the choice between right and wrong but we are not always blessed with a Guru to guide us internally.
I think we are in Adam’s place almost everyday and every moment. To be constantly alert and be able to discriminate between right and wrong is a choice that we need to make with every thought that crosses our mind. AMMA’s guiding presence makes me more aware now so there is a fair chance the apple would stay unplucked, on the tree…
Adam picking the apple is “me” looking at the new morning and thinking it’s time to get out of bed, or any sense organ attaching in any way to some sense object.
If Adam refrained from picking the apple we would not be here in this world. Or the moment “you” stop picking apples “you” will be ONE…
So..In other words, we are picking apples all day long and deep into the night, all of us, except of course Blessed Amma. For Amma is The Apple.
Apple ? where ?
God told Adam not to eat the apple. It was in Adams willful ignorance of Gods command that he did it. Now we are the children of the first man and therefor inherited Adam’s mistake. We are still going out. Once we learned the lessons of this material world we will return. The same will be given by God to choose and used by Adam to choose to pick the apple has to refrain from picking the apple. Then we are free from the slavery to sense objects. I pray to Amma to lead us to the final goal to be One with Her/Him.
Adam ate the apple to keep the doctor away
Adam ate an apple in the Eden garden is an example of men being tempted in the gardens of life. Of course, I too could be tempted if I were to be indolent.
We are doing everything as decided by God,we are puppets.
unnikrishnan, don’t you agree, that human kind is different from plants and animals, in that we have the freedom to choose ?!
I never could understand why Eve got blamed for Adam’s so-called “bad”
behavior. I think she knew the apple was full of wisdom and God was challenging them to use their free will. Somehow they became demonized and cast out for exploring the beautiful garden. (and disobeying God) I think any spiritual seeker could not refrain from eating something so yummy and ripe with mystical juice. I know I would eat it, and perhaps share it with Adam.