By Michael Draper, UK
“Embark on a sacred pilgrimage to Shirdi with Mohanji, a journey that transcends mere physical travel. This transformative experience invites you to delve deep into your spiritual essence as you walk in the footsteps of Sai Baba, the revered saint. Mohanji’s guiding presence throughout this pilgrimage will be a beacon of inner peace and divine connection, enhancing your communion with your inner world. In this hallowed space, miracles unfold, inner barriers crumble, and a profound sense of oneness envelops you. Elevate your soul; find your eternal truth.”
This was the call for the Shirdi pilgrimage in December 2025 with Mohanji; Jenny and I answered it as soon as the event was posted on the Mohanji organisation website.
Over the two years that I have been in the physical presence of Mohanji, I have connected with Shirdi Sai Baba with increasing intimacy. I was delivered to Mohanji by Dirk (Bhola) in June 2023 at the inauguration of the Shirdi Sai Baba temple at the global power centre, the ashram of Skanda Vale (the community of the many names of God), divinely inspired and established by Guru Subramanium on the instruction of Lord Murugan. I have previously written about this experience and how it inspired an all-night drive to the Mohanji Centre of Benevolence in Aberdeen, Scotland, for the inauguration of this global power centre and the Shirdi Sai Baba temple at MCB Scotland within a few days of meeting Mohanji.
I was first briefly introduced to Shirdi Sai in the 1990s at Prashanti Nilayam, the ‘ashram/office’ of Sathya Sai Baba. I was aware from readings that Shirdi Sai had been the previous incarnation of Sathya Sai, and their pictures often appeared together in various locations in Prashanti Nilayam. I was also given a picture of Shirdi Sai in Sathya Sai’s ashram by someone who suggested I had a past-life connection with Shirdi Sai. Even so, from the 1990s onwards, my devotional focus has been on Sathya Sai Baba.
Mohanji places great emphasis on Shirdi Sai Baba, considering him a supreme Master, an avatar of the supreme consciousness and a phenomenon whose presence is still very much alive and active. Mohanji’s spiritual awakening was graced by Sai Baba, and Mohanji’s teachings include Baba’s core message of faith (Shraddha) and patience (Saburi).
Mohanji emphasises that being connected to Sai Baba, and indeed to any Master, means living their teachings in a visible way in the world, primarily through compassion, non-violence, and selfless service to all beings. Masters are not confined to their physical form but are pure, universal consciousness that operates through all forms.
Mohanji encourages that we experience the universal consciousness in every person, animal, and element of creation, deepening an attitude of humility and kinship towards all as a prelude to experiencing the unity of the supreme consciousness that pervades all creation. Simply by remembering Baba, Mohanji, or any Master and having unwavering faith, all are eligible to experience their presence and grace, without the need for complex rituals. Many have had this experience through Mohanji, which leads to further integration, self-awareness and transformation. Mohanji does his job, and I (mostly) do my best.
Mohanji has made Shirdi Sai Baba easily accessible to many born into the Western tradition through free practices such as the Shirdi Sai Baba Miracle Meditation and the Shirdi Sai Mantra Chant. Mohanji urges us to connect consistently with conviction, and I have done so by regularly attending the online meditation and participating in the weekly reading of the Sai Satcharitra. Such is my excitement for Baba’s message that I review the allocated chapter for Baba’s message as soon as it is released.
I was due to fly to India with Jenny and Jo (the acting priest at MCB Scotland) on Thursday, 18th December. Rashila, who facilitates the reading, asked both Jo and me whether we would like to be included in the parayan on the day of travel. We both immediately said yes, understanding the value of the practice and the message it would convey, giving a flavour of our pilgrimage to Shirdi.
I was allocated chapter 26.
The opening paragraph of the chapter states, “All the things that we see in the universe are nothing but Maya’s games− the creative power of the Lord. These things do not really exist. What really exists is the Real Absolute. Just as we mistake a rope for a garland or a stick for a serpent in the darkness, we always see things as they outwardly appear and not as what underlies all those visible things. It is only the Sadguru who opens the eyes of our understanding and enables us to see things in their true light and not as they appear.
Let us therefore worship the Sadguru and pray to him to give us true vision, which is God-vision.” Introvert our mind, turn it inward, help us to discriminate between the Unreal and the Real and attain non-attachment for all worldly things and thus enable us to attain Self-realisation. We surrender ourselves, body and soul (body-consciousness and ego), to you. Make our eyes yours, so that we shall never feel pleasure and pain. Control our body and mind as you wish. Let our mind attain peace at your feet.”
I read this at 3:00 am on Thursday, 18th December, and then left home with Jenny for the 3-hour-plus drive to Heathrow. At Heathrow, we met Jo and, without any prior discussion or arrangement, we had all ‘decided’ to wear our Mohanji sweatshirts for travel. Jo and I were in pink, and Jenny was in blue. We were very happy.
We arrived in India with excitement, despite the 8-hour-plus flight, to meet our first play of Baba… the immigration queue, uniquely designed to test faith (Shraddha) and patience (Saburi) through what seems like an eternity of waiting. I will leave it to Jo to share the test that came her way, but suffice to say that two hours later, we passed through the Indian border. A four-hour taxi ride brought us to the St. Laurn spiritual resort in Shirdi, which would serve as the base for the Mohanji pilgrimage. Within an hour, we had dropped our bags, washed up, and were on our way to the Masjid to say hello to Baba at the 12 noon aarthi.
There is much I could write about the experiences that Jo, Jenny and I shared, but for the sake of conciseness, I will focus on a few of them.
I had the opportunity to discuss with Mohanji an event that occurred a few weeks before the Shirdi pilgrimage, involving the transition of many trapped beings from the subtle physical to the astral plane. I had arranged to stay the night at a hotel in North Wales, which was originally a fifteenth-century coaching inn. I knew in advance that it would be haunted, and I also knew that I would play Mohanji chanting the Shiva Kavacham to aid in their transition.
I should add that I have previously used chanting as a method of assisting trapped beings to transit to the astral plane on a number of occasions in my life. I am sensitive to other energies, but these transitions were on a small scale. The experience of the hotel in Wales is recorded in a conversation with Mohanji during the usual weekly online Satsang with Mohanji. Mohanji knew exactly what was going on, made sure I was protected by energetically sealing the room I was sleeping in (I noticed the energy change), and, with grace, allowed me to watch numerous beings crossover for nearly four hours.
The number was significant, and, according to Mohanji, all had been trapped by attachments and ownerships that could not be left behind. The transition ended promptly at 2.59 am. Apparently, Mohanji was on a flight at the time, and he shared that he insisted that his secretary, Pooja, eat two full meals on the plane as a medium (no pun intended) for assisting in the energetic transition. Very hungry ghosts indeed.
Following the Satsang with Mohanji on Saturday, 20th December, I discreetly followed Mohanji from the venue to the shrine at the centre of the hotel. This shrine has idols of Sri Swami Samartha, Shirdi Sai at the centre and Lord Dattatraya to the right. Mohanji performed aarti to Shirdi Sai, then turned and beckoned a few of us to approach and take in the flame’s energy. It was through observing Mohanji that I realised these were not ordinary idols, and the next Sunday morning at 5:00 am, I attended the kakad aarthi performed by the ‘hotel’ priest.
That morning, a small number of participants were to be blessed with Kriya initiation by Mohanji, including Jenny. Dragan from Serbia and I joined the prospective initiates to offer support and reassurance as to the process and stand with them outside of Mohanji’s room, in which the initiation would take place. I have a feeling that this act led to what transpired in the evening Satsang with Mohanji, which concluded with a raffle of items blessed and energised by Mohanji. During the Satsang, Mohanji had been resting his feet on Kriya yoga pads, and these were included in the raffle items. Both Dragan and I received an energised Kriya yoga pad blessed by Mohanji’s feet as part of the raffle.
Just before the Satsang started, Anu and Saroj from the UK messaged to request blessings from Mohanji. I immediately asked Mohanji internally for blessings, and at that very moment, he turned his head in my direction to deliver his best Shiva transmission. I took a photo and sent it straight to the UK Mohanji Baba and Masters group. Mohanji’s grace is immediate when the call is made.
That night, I went to sleep very happy and with gratitude for all the experiences that grace had brought. I was awoken at around 3:00 am by a headache. I don’t usually experience headaches, and on the rare occasion that they occur, I associate them with an energetic shift or process. I couldn’t sleep, and at 3:30 am got up to have a shower and chant the Gayathri mantra. The headache was persistent, so I left the room to get some fresh morning air. That walk led me past Mohanji’s room to the hotel shrine. I sat down to meditate, and shortly after, the Kakad aarthi commenced at 5:00 am. It was Monday (Shiva’s day), the 21st December and the winter solstice.
There was only one other hotel guest present along with the priest, and we joined in the aarthi. I was very happy, clapped, and chanted away with some of the vigour you may have seen at MCB Scotland or Kumbh Mela. The aarthi process was coming to a close when something completely unexpected happened. Shirdi Sai Baba’s face appeared transposed over the face of the idol. I was simply being happy in the moment without expecting anything, and grace flowed.
The face was alive (definitely not a mental photographic image) and pulsating with a translucent quality, so I could still see the face of the idol behind it. My immediate reaction was shock, followed by tears welling up in my eyes at seeing Baba. Within three days of meeting Sathya Sai Baba in Prashanti Nilayam, I had become a blubbering public wreck in the mandir.
A dam had burst there, and I recognised the same experience here, but with a difference. This experience was followed by a feeling of immense stillness, and I felt cocooned in a bubble of grace and silence, which lasted the entire day. Further experiences happened during the day, demonstrating Baba’s grace.
We were due to leave Shirdi at 7:00 pm that night. Mohanji was giving a Satsang for Mai-Tri practitioners at 5:00 pm, and I resolved to wait for Mohanji outside the venue to offer my thanks and gratitude and to share the experience with Mohanji. Mohanji arrived ….’Michael’ he called out to me. I explained we were about to leave and briefly narrated the experience with Baba.
I was standing very close to Mohanji, looking into his eyes. I have never previously seen so much depth and light, and his eyes glistened like diamonds. Mohanji invited us into the Mai-Tri satsang. Mohanji carefully explained the Mai-Tri process to the attendees and, with characteristic humour, answered questions from the participants. With 7:00 pm approaching, Jenny and I left our seats at the back of the venue to leave quietly.
We turned to Mohanji by the door to offer our silent pranams. Mohanji noticed we were leaving, called out to us and wished us safe travels. Then he announced to the participants that I had something to share and requested that a microphone be brought to me. I narrated my experience with Baba and concluded by affirming that Sai Baba is alive. I felt that the experience had occurred in the hotel shrine and not the Masjid because Baba wanted to show that he manifests through all idols. Had this occurred in the Masjid, I might have concluded that this experience was only possible there.
Mohanji announced to the room that Sai wanted me to know he is alive and wants the world to know it. Presence is eternal. Mohanji then said he had spoken with Subhasree about this, particularly in the context of the powerful presence of Shirdi Sai at MCB Scotland. Mohanji has advised that we should talk to Baba as if he is present and listening. Baba will respond. Mohanji has said that the idols of Baba have a particular flavour, and Baba in Scotland manifests abundance. He has previously appeared to Vignesh at MCB Scotland.
With thanks and best wishes from all present, we left the venue. At the outset, Mohanji had welcomed us home, and we left with hearts full and energetically transformed for what is to come.
Kailash calls!
With utmost gratitude to Mohanji, Sai Baba and the Masters of the Tradition. Aum Sai Ram. Jai Mohanji.
|| JAI BRAHMARISHI MOHANJI ||
Edited & Published by – Testimonials Team, 8th January 2026
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