Lessons living with Mohanji – Days 217 and 218

By Christopher Greenwood

Day 217 – What more can I do?

Yesterday was our final day in Bosnia, and Mohanji had agreed to take part in a short film that was being made by the M House Media team. Mohanji has been acting as himself in the scenes over the past few days, and yesterday was the final filming on one of the famous bridges in the city. In everything he does, he gives his all; it’s really admirable to watch and a real lesson too.

So today, I re-share an observation about Mohanji, which I know that anyone working closely with him would also say, and that is, whatever he’s doing, he gives his full application. The filming itself went incredibly well. We had planned a few hours to complete the scenes, but with Mohanji, as usual, it was done in the first take. It was finished in a matter of minutes rather than hours, and we could also add in some extra scenes.

This is a small example of how he applies everywhere, and it’s a real pleasure actually working with him because whilst the pace is quick, everything is always done well and promptly. That momentum and movement are really motivating. So, that lesson of giving full application to everything that you do is something that I’m learning to cultivate.

It’s actually probably more of an attitude and an awareness to constantly think, “Okay, I have this activity; I have this task; I’m involved in this. What more could I do to take it to a different level to explore different possibilities? What else is possible? Is there anything that could improve?”

Whether it’s a solo task, planning some activities, having meetings with people, and how the interactions are creating an attitude to explore what else is possible – it’s really something quite amazing to watch because Mohanji always takes what he’s given, interacts with people, and provides the unexpected too – a new, higher, and more positive level.

So, doing the bare minimum is always an option. But I’ve found that exploring those extra possibilities also brings rejuvenation to work, which creates a new motivation and a difference as well. Also, it’s a very important attitude when actually working with Mohanji because the bar only ever gets higher. It’s only ever raised; nothing is ever settled. It’s always what more can we do, what more can be done.

Day 218 – Call for liberation

Yesterday, Mohanji had a really strong calling to feed the birds. He mentioned this a couple of times in the morning and again in the afternoon. So, we arranged to get some food, and we went to a place where many birds had gathered – many pigeons.

You may have seen some of the photos. He was very happy feeding the birds, as he is while feeding all animals. He loves animals, and people who’ve spent some time with him, have travelled with him, and been on trips, will know he regularly stops to feed the local animals.

As he stood there feeding the birds, I couldn’t help but be reminded or prompted about the book Sri Sreepada Shrivallabha, which is the book, Mohanji said; if I read it, I’ll be able to understand him much better. But actually, after reading it, I realised that I understood him even less because it’s really a remarkable book and testimony.

It’s about the first incarnation of Dattātreya in Kali Yuga, which is one of the Indian cycles of time, and it’s the present cycle, the cycle of darkness and corruption, where good and evil exist within one person. It’s an account of one man named Shankar Bhatt, and in one of the chapters, he was facing all sorts of calamities.

He was persistently attacked by crows until they drew blood, and I think he was attacked by snakes, and all sorts of things happened to him. So, these crows were diving and pecking and drawing blood from him, and there were many other incidents. He eventually collapses and is taken care of by a cobbler, Vallabhdas, who then tells him that he knew he was coming and also knows his story and the reasons why all these incidents happened.

In the book, the crows were actually great scholars or pundits in past lives, and because of the merits of chanting the Vedas and names of the Lord, they had achieved the possibility to reach one of the heavenly realms. But because they hadn’t recognised the divine nature of Sri Shreepada as an incarnation, they’d actually argued with him and abused him in their discussions, and it meant that, while they would be able to stay there, they would always be suffering from hunger.

So, they had that option, or an option to remain as crows until they drew blood from someone who was purified from chanting the name of Shri Sreepada Shrivallabha, and that person was Shankar Bhatt, so they’d attacked him, and through that, they’d become liberated.

I hope I’ve told that story well because it’s been some time since I read it, but it came to my mind because of the beings, the birds. The beings who had incarnated as crows had the opportunity for liberation. Intellectually, it’s not something I could grasp. But for some reason, as Mohanji was feeding the birds and because he’d had that strong call to go and feed them and he’d asked about it many times, I had shared that story with him.

I wondered and asked the question if he’d had that similar call because by feeding birds, he could potentially be giving them liberation. He obviously would never say that openly, but he said that he couldn’t refuse a call, or he couldn’t refuse a really strong call for liberation.

For many beings, it’s not possible to take a human form, so they take the forms of other birds or other beings to reach him. Through that, they can achieve liberation or become close to it. For me, it was, what can I say, another glimpse into something which is simply beyond my perception, but it was a strong feeling or intuition that his strong desire or call to go feed those birds would have been something of that nature, to liberate something, or to do something much bigger.

|| JAI BRAHMARISHI MOHANJI ||

Edited & Published by – Testimonials Team, 21st May 2023

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