Lessons living with Mohanji – Days 65 & 66

By Christopher Greenwood

Day 65 Lesson – Respect Cont. 

When you’re travelling with Mohanji, it certainly requires an element of flexibility and the ability to adapt to the pace because the schedule is very busy. And there’s little time to prepare between one event and the next. To give you an idea of this, we finished the Nila Aarti on Thursday around 9 pm. After food and travel, we reached Guruvayur, our next location, by 11:30 pm, so we settled in the room by maybe 12 am. 

Ananth, Madhu, and I still have other work to do, so the only times that we get to do it is when we’re not travelling. We get up early, by 4 am, to finish emails or anything else that we need to tie up. 

Yesterday was the darshan of Lord Krishna. So, we left the hotel early to visit the temple. Like this, the days are packed, so there’s little or no room to sit idle. 

Yesterday, I spoke about respect, the key lesson I took from Mohanji’s attendance and speech at the River Ceremony because that was all about respecting the Nila River. Mohanji had said that respecting the water bodies and all the other elements brings harmony and peace within. That culture of respect is something integral to the Tradition. 

Today I continue this lesson because we visited Mohanji’s parental home yesterday, where all the temples for his family deities are kept. But leading up until that, I can share some of the morning’s events, too. 

In the morning, we left the hotel room for the darshan of Lord Krishna in Guruvayur temple. This was a new temple for me; I had never heard of it before. The form, the idol in the temple, is an eight-year-old form of Krishna. It’s believed that it’s the idol that Krishna’s parents, Vasudeva and Devaki, actually worshipped. Mohanji really likes that temple. He said that he once stood for four hours in line waiting for the darshan there. 

Being a Westerner, it wasn’t possible for me to enter, but I joined with them and walked around the temple grounds. It’s a very large setting, and the atmosphere is serene. Inside the larger temple complex is a smaller, original temple with beautiful paintings on the outside. Our allotted time was around 7:30 am, but they hadn’t opened yet when we arrived, which meant we quickly changed plans. We visited someone’s local Sai Baba temple there. It was a family home. When we entered, we went straight for Aarti. I thought what a blessing it was for this family for Mohanji to come as it was only because the temple was late to open that this opportunity emerged. But was it a coincidence? Probably not; he’s always meant to go where he’s meant to go. 

We came back to the temple after Mohanji had finished darshan at the home of one of the devotees and then went back to the hotel room. And again, on this tight time schedule, we had 10-15 minutes to pack before leaving for Mohanji’s family home. This is a place that Mohanji visits each year to give offerings and prayers to the family deities out of respect. I inquired about this, and he explained that a family would often have a family deity or a patron saint. This was something new for me, but I’m sure it’s a fairly common thing for some people. 

I wanted to know more about its significance. Mohanji explained it in this way: when you have invited a deity into your family, through worship, it’s like you’ve brought that guest into your home, and it becomes a family member, too. So, if you stop offering to them or respecting them, it’s almost as if you brought somebody to the house and to your table to have food, and then when you start eating, you don’t offer them anything. That type of disrespect can be created, and since deities are frequencies, it also connects with that aspect inside us. 

On this trip, Mohanji made a point that he needed to visit his family temples to make offerings, so we took oil and incense. It was lovely to see the old home and the property. Mohanji shared that some generations back, this was part of a much larger, grander estate. Then we went to where they had the small temples to the main deities – Narasimha, and Lord Ayyappa, which his cousin takes care of. 

I saw the continuation of respect by observing how Mohanji fulfils all his responsibilities with complete dedication, offering to the family deities being one of them. He does this every year. He does what he must do, and there’s no compromise. 

Once we took refreshments there, we left for the next location. Like this, event after event, visit after visit, we’re moving. Tomorrow is the book launch of Mohanji’s father, Achan’s book. He translated Sripada Sri Vallabha. That is going to be quite a grand event. Now we’re about to travel there to prepare for the event and ensure we’re ready for a good program tomorrow. 

Day 66 Lesson – Commanding Power 

This morning is exceptionally busy as we’re in the final preparations for the book launch in Thrissur. This is where Gurulight, the Mohanji publishing platform, is launching his father’s books. 

Achan’s books are translations into Malayalam of the divine book Sripada Sri Vallabha and also The Sage of Sakuri, which is the story of Upasni Maharaj. He was the one to who Shirdi Sai Baba transferred his powers. This very powerful and relatively unknown master lived in Sakuri, which is six kilometres from Shirdi. 

Ananth and Devadas have gone off early to the venue for the final preparations, and myself, Madhu, Mohanji, and a few other people are here, busy on the final touches. Madhu and I are working on our presentation, an overview of the Mohanji platforms. 

I’m sure it’s going to be a great event. There are several important dignitaries who will be attending. And it’s such an admirable achievement for Achan. A lesson I’ve picked up from living with him is a lesson in focus, dedication, and commitment. This event completes nearly two years of work that he’s been doing to translate the books. He even learned the Telugu language so that he could translate it properly into Malayalam because the English translation didn’t have the essence of the original script. He actually learned a new language so that his translation could be as authentic to the original as it could be. 

For the past nine months, he worked on it from morning till night, a very disciplined routine, only pausing for meals and coffee or coming out for a brief conversation. Other than that, he was fully dedicated. 

The whole setup of this event has been an observation that Mohanji’s presence simply gets things done. When he’s around, there’s a transformation in the environment; everything comes together at the right time and the right place. The right people show up to help; the resources come, the materials are found, the props become available. 

Yesterday, I was a witness to all this setup, as I needed to stay back and receive some guests at the hotel that we’re staying at. But earlier in the day, Ananth, Devadas and I went to the venue. It was quite late, around 4 pm, and the person who was meant to come and help arrange everything and show us around was late, too. So, by 5:30 pm, things still were not as they should have been. It was all bare-bones, basic stage, plastic chairs, some rundown furniture. There was nothing there really, so we had to do a lot. We brought some materials, but still, there were many things to arrange. Seeing what had to be done, I knew it was going to be a real feat. At the same time, however, knowing who was with us behind this event, there was no real doubt that it would come together. 

From arriving at this very basic venue and assessing the situation, I thought there was much more to do there. Not that it’s impossible, but there’s a lot to be done. Mohanji arrived later, close to 6 pm. He said, “Okay, I want to go and check the venue.” I stayed back and arranged for guests and the check-in. I shouldn’t have been surprised, but I was a bit when Madhu texted me a picture of the venue just an hour or so later. It was a complete transformation. All the right props turned up; all the materials have come together. I’m positive that without Mohanji presence there, it wouldn’t have happened that way. 

So, it’s a real lesson, but it’s not something I’ve been able to completely learn yet. I’m admiring or aspiring to grasp the power of Mohanji’s presence. Because what he says and puts his will towards – happens. 

We spoke about this as well, because there was a king who lived in this area, which I can share more about another day. We were sharing the idea and fact of commanding power. There are many Shaktis – Iccha Shakti, Jnana Shakti and Kriya Shakti are the ones I am familiar with, but I hadn’t heard of this before, the commanding power, or Aagnya Shakti. I can’t say I’ve learnt it, but it’s something to aspire to.

This was a small update for you today. And now, the breakfast is waiting, and the event is not too far away. So, I’ll go and join, and I hope you have a great day ahead.

|| JAI BRAHMARISHI MOHANJI ||

Edited & Published by – Testimonials Team, 10^th October 2021

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