By Bharat Sivasubramanian, Canada
Bharat, an ardent follower of Mohanji, shares two beautiful experiences of seva and Kriya. The common thread between the two is listening to the inner voice that guided him to take action without a doubt. The only thought in his actions was to follow the guidance received as an instrument of Mohanji.
I surrender these testimonials of seva miracle and kriya to my Guru, God, Master, and Amma – Mohanji. It is he who writes. I am just his instrument.
My wife and I are animal lovers with a pet cat of our own and have always been drawn towards causes/organizations that promote animal welfare. Indeed, animals have a special place in my heart. They are such unassuming, simple, and innocent beings. I feel that I personally have a lot to learn from animals. Animals are embodiments of unconditional love with the purest of hearts. My cat, for example, does not care about how much money I have in my bank account, what type of car I drive, or if I am overweight or thin. He does not judge me at all! He always shows me his love and affection and does not ask for anything else in return.
Being new volunteers of ACT Foundation Canada, my wife and I were, in June 2024, researching for places where we could offer annadaan (donation of food) in our local area of Greater Montreal, Quebec. My wife came across one such organization, the Fauna Foundation, in Carignan, Quebec, which is about a half-hour drive from our home. Fauna Foundation is the only chimpanzee sanctuary in Canada and currently houses five chimps and one monkey.
Founded in 1990, Fauna is a sanctuary for chimpanzees and monkeys, who have been subject to biomedical and pharmaceutical experimentation. Their mission is to provide a safe haven for abused and often neglected animals who have been subjected to incredible amounts of torture and pain through medical experimentation. Since Fauna’s establishment, over 250 animals have spent the rest of their lives there in an atmosphere of love, caring, companionship, and peace.
Here is the beautiful leela by Mohanji that shows us his omniscience and unlimited grace. It so happened that, in June 2024, I was taking Empowered 3. The very next day, after we had come across Fauna Foundation, I had an Empowered session, where Mohanji spoke extensively about Ahimsa (non-violence) and specifically about the cruelty that apes are put through via animal experimentation and how we need to help these beings. It was the very first time that I had ever come across Mohanji speaking about animal experimentation, specifically about the ill-treatment of apes subjected to pharmaceutical experimentation. I realized that this cause was very close to Mohanji’s heart.
As soon as I heard this talk by Mohanji, I was wonderstruck at his all-pervasiveness and omniscience. I was at once sure that it was Mohanji himself who had done the research for us and had brought the Fauna Foundation to our attention. We would not have otherwise known about Fauna. His talk about the plight of apes used for scientific experiments immediately highlighted his divine sanction, blessing, and approval for us to go ahead and support the Fauna Foundation. He was the orchestrator of this initiative, revealing this to us via the Empowered video. This was a true miracle, His divine sanction!
Indeed, Mohanji’s compassion is just amazing. He cares about all beings of creation, especially the most helpless and vulnerable. This example of his unbounded compassion towards apes subjected to cruelty shows us that he is verily an incarnation of Lord Dattatreya. His compassion towards all beings has definitely inspired me to be more kind towards all. Mohanji’s love is truly infinite!
Immediately the next day, I visited the Fauna Foundation and spoke to the staff there. They were very cooperative and pleasant and approved us bringing vegan food for donation to the chimpanzees, who are, by the way, mostly vegetarian/vegan. Within the first week of June 2024, we brought our first donation of romaine lettuce, bananas, carrots, apples, pasta, rice, and other food items to Fauna. It was extremely gratifying to see Sue-Ellen, 57, one of the resident chimpanzees, gleefully accept a banana, eat it to her heart’s content, and nod her head. Binky, 37, another resident chimpanzee, gestured to the staff members to give him some romaine lettuce, which he loves and proceeded to eat it with satisfaction. We felt as though it was Lord Hanuman himself eating our offering with love.
Our love affair with the Fauna Foundation has since continued, with monthly annadaan. We had a chance to observe some of the resident chimpanzees closely when we brought in the donation. They look at us and sometimes nod their heads or move their heads from side to side, which the animal caregivers mentioned is a sign of them showing their appreciation. We are currently in our third month of annadaan and are truly humbled and touched to see these wonderful beings who, despite being subjected to a lifetime of cruelty, are so content and at peace. We would like to continue this seva initiative through ACT Foundation Canada for as long as we can.
Anyone who is thinking about volunteering with the ACT Foundation should look into local organizations that they can support. You will be truly amazed at the impact and difference that you can make in your own local community through the ACT Foundation and its numerous branches worldwide. We are extremely grateful and indebted to Mohanji for bringing Fauna Foundation to our attention through this miracle and for making His Instruments for Seva and helping the helpless.
Kriya and Bilvashtakam
I have been practicing Kriya for around five months now and had the honor of being initiated by Mohanji in April 2024 at the MCB USA in Dugspur, Virginia. If I do Kriya early in the morning, it keeps me centered and aligned and ensures that I don’t lose my temper throughout the day.
On Monday, August 19, 2024, I was doing my Kriya as usual. During the practice, I suddenly started recollecting chapter 28 of the Shirdi Sai Satcharitra, which features the life and experiences of the great devotee, Megha. I contemplated on Megha worshipping Baba as Lord Shiva and offering Bilva leaves to him. Megha’s devotion to Baba deeply moved me, resulting in my feeling overwhelmed with love and devotion for Baba and Lord Shiva. I was choked with tears of joy and love as I continued doing Kriya. Then, suddenly, a strong thought or something that resembled a voice told me, “Do Bilvashtakam!”
I had heard of Bilvashtakam and knew about it as a powerful prayer to Lord Shiva written by Adi Shankara. Although I have recited other prayers and Ashtakams (songs with eight stanzas) for Lord Shiva, like Lingashtakam, Vaidyanathashtakam, etc., I have never heard a recording of Bilvashtakam, nor have I recited it myself. So, after I completed my Kriya, I looked up Mohanji’s recitation of Bilvashtakam from the Shiva Chants album and did an abhishekam to the Shiva Lingam that I have in my prayer room, whilst playing Mohanji’s Bilvashtakam recitation. I then played the rest of the powerful Shiva chants recited by Mohanji and completed the abhishekam.
It so happened that August 19, 2024 was the Shravan Poornima, the full moon day of the month Shravan in the Hindu calendar. This day is supposed to be auspicious to Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu. I was filled with gratitude that I was able to do this offering of Bilvashtakam to Lord Shiva on this holy day.
I have been doing Lord Shiva’s abhishekam for the last three days whilst playing Bilvashtakam. I plan to continue this practice and learn the chant by heart. Bilvashtakam is a beautiful chant that emphasizes the importance of offering Bilva leaves to Lord Shiva. What is so amazing about Lord Shiva is his simplicity. He does not need anything from us. He accepts even a sincere offering of a single leaf from a devotee. He essentially accepts the love and sincere devotion offered. This reminds me of the verse in the Bhagavad Gita (9:26), where Lord Krishna says, “Whoever sincerely with a pure mind offers me a leaf, flower, fruit or water, I accept it.”
Why Bilvashtakam? Why was I reminded of that particular chapter from the Shirdi Sai Satcharitra out of the blue? Why did I have to remember it while doing Kriya? What is the connection between Kriya and Bilvashtakam? I have no idea. And I do not want to know the answers to these questions either. Based on my experiences with Mohanji, one thing I have learned is “don’t over analyze.” In fact, don’t analyze anything, period. Mohanji knows the why and the reason. As an instrument of Mohanji, all you need to do is enjoy such beautiful experiences when they happen with gratitude.
|| JAI BRAHMARISHI MOHANJI ||
Edited & Published by – Testimonials Team, 22nd September 2024
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