The Birthday Celebration that Touched the World – Mohanji – February 23rd 2014

Dear Friends,

On 23rd of February, 2014 the whole BTW Family Worldwide celebrated our Father’s Birthday through many Seva activities, programs, and happenings. It was a  day when we globally focused our energies for noble thoughts, feelings, words and actions. We were inspired and guided by His words, “…Clothes to the poor and needy, food to the hungry, shelter to the homeless. This is the communication that I like. This makes me feel happy and rich within. When you do such good deeds, please inspire others also. Let this become a movement. Let this become spontaneous. Let hearts swell with love and compassion. ‘Me’ and ‘Mine’ should melt, wither away, and become ‘Ours’ and “Everybody’s.’ Selflessness should become your very nature. Through positive thoughts, words and actions, when you enrich your consciousness, you get closer to the supreme consciousness, which makes us inseparably ONE…” With His grace, opportunities for selflessness appeared and we used them wholeheartedly.

“If you express non-violence in your daily life, for me this is celebration. Your spontaneous expression of kindness, compassion and love towards all beings, without discrimination, is celebration for me. If you consistently express love, compassion and kindness to all beings, including nature, it is indeed celebration for me. Then my time on Earth becomes truly worthwhile.” – Mohanji

Here’s a summary of  all the activities and how Mohanji’s Global Family celebrated Guruji’s Birthday and touched many people’s lives.

OMAN
– Seva at the Centre for Special Education in Oman
This humble little centre caters to children with Special Needs and various other challenges beyond the barriers of race, religion, nationality, etc. and accept children of all age groups up to 18. Sufficient funds were collected to cover at least ¼ of their total requirement of mainly medical support, furniture, IT equipment, educational toys and tools. Food to 100 laborers was distributed as well.

USA
– Celebrations in the USA
Official USA Newsletter was released, and Tribute to Mohanji video created.

INDIA
– Mohanji’s Birthday Celebration at Madhuban Katra
Mohanji’s Birthday celebrated at Madhuban Katra. Food to 108 slum children at “Sai Ka Aangan” Shirdi Sai Baba’s temple in Gurgaon was distributed as well.

– Special Pooja and Mass Feast
Ramayan Paath (non stop reading of Epic Ramayana) was organised, and  a mass feast was sponsored  for more than 1500 people.

– Mohanji’s Birthday Celebrations in Mumbai
Annadaan (Matar Aaloo sabzi and Puri) was distributed for large number of people.

– Food seva at Ludhiana, Punjab
Annadaan – Home made aloo-poori and toffees were served to kids.

– Celebrations at Mohanji Ka Aangan, Jammu
Special Magic Show was being organised at  Mohanji ka Aangan for more than 150 slum and underprivileged children.  After the magic show all the children did Mohanji’s Aarti, and were served lunch afterwards.

– “Mohan Ji Seva Foundation School” celebrated at Channi Himmat in Jammu
A birthday cake for under privileged children from “Mohan Ji Seva Foundation School” and food seva. Display of baskets from waste materials.

– FOOD for SOULS, Delhi
Dog Sewa Drive was conducted and  nearly 250 dogs in all were fed.

– Mohanji’s Birthday Celebration at Vrindavan
The “chappan bhog” was offered to Banke Bihari ji deity at Vrindavan on behalf of Mohanji, and after that 300 people, including the widows, were served food.

– Mohanji’s Birthday celebration at Baba ka aangan in Gurgaon

Special magic show was being organised for the under-privileged kids of Baba ka aangan, Aarti conducted, and cake was being offered.

– Mohanji’s Birthday Activities in Pune
Clay Modelling workshop for the blind students at Poona School and Home for Blind. 58-60 packets of food with sweets was being made and distributed after Mohanji’s Arati. 

– Seva at Patna, Bihar
A set of quilt, sari, coat and some kilograms of wheat were given to ten needy people.

– Celebration at Kuruvapuram Sreepaada Datta Peedhom
Abishek and pooja being performed of Dattatreya idol

– Celebration at the Shirdi Sai temple in Palakkad
A special pooja done on Mohanji’s behalf. After the noon arati of Sai Baba, Mahabhishekam and annadaan were performed by all. More than 350 people participated in the annadaan.

SOUTH AFRICA
– Mohanji’s Birthday at the Irwin’s Animal Rescue Centre, Johannesburg
A whole day spent walking, playing with, and feeding the animals at the Irwin’s Animal Rescue Centre.

– Mohanji’s Birthday celebrations at Merudanda Ashram, and Seva at Chesterville Secondary School in Durban
Merudanda Ashram had a two day celebration for Mohanji’s birthday that ran over Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday a party was organised for the grade 11 science class of a rural school called Chesterville Secondary School.

– “In the Spirit of Sharing” – Durban, South Africa
Serving of food and distribution of clothing items to the poor.

– Mohanji’s Birthday Celebration at Verulam day and Frail Care Center
A half a day at Verulam day and frail care center was spent with the elderly. 

SERBIA
– ACT Serbia with a Charity initiative in Sangaj, suburbs of Novi Sad
Packages of food were packed and distributed for 10 families. Each package contained flour, sugar, oil, corn grits, pasta, biscuits, juice, potatoes, onions.

UK
– Seva in the UK
Sandwiches given at the King’s Cross Station in London.

– Other happenings on Mohanji’s Birthday

“Feel we are one. Express Compassion, Love and Gratitude towards existence and fellow beings. Exist in Love. Express it fully. Meditate. Shed your skins of conditionings and for once, be yourself. Be your SELF. Express your SELF. Love everything wholeheartedly, without expectations. Love Unconditionally.” – Mohanji

Seva at the Centre for Special Education in Oman
By Biba Mohan

“Mohanji’s birthday was an intense, blissful day filled with many amazing activities. The birthday gift that all of us in Muscat organized for Mohanji was 3-fold.

1) It started with a milestone charity initiative which really touched my heart. I’ve been in Muscat for four years now and for various reasons could not identify a genuine charitable cause that would be suitable for ACT. We therefore kept doing a low-key random feeding of the laborers among a couple of friends, but nothing more substantial.

That changed on Mohanji’s birthday, 23 Feb 2014.

I came to know about Centre for Special Education in Darsait, Muscat through Dr. Pushpa and Dr. Ghajanan. This humble little centre caters to children with Special Needs and various other challenges beyond the barriers of race, religion, nationality, etc. and accept children of all age groups up to 18.

The Centre has been allocated a couple of rooms/ a wing of the Indian School in Muscat. For some reason, they are not receiving any government funding and are functioning purely on donations. Somehow they are also mainly missed during charity drives of the established local charities which give preference to Omani children. This is what really resonated with me and the mission of ACT.

We received a list of items they require at present (mainly medical support, furniture, IT equipment, educational toys and tools, etc.) and managed to collect sufficient funds to cover at least ¼ of their total requirement.

This is just a beginning and we surely intend to do more. After talking to the Head of CSE, Dr. Analpa, it became evident that the children who leave the Centre are by no means ready for what awaits them and there is no effort taken by the government or social institutions to integrate them into the society. A lot of work to be done… One girl and one boy in the wheelchair especially touched my heart with their sad eyes and gentle smiles. One girl shared with us her embroidery work and her eagerness to use her talent for support of the children of this Centre.

We left the Centre with the grand feeling that ground has been set for us to express our love and support towards the needy children of Mother Earth in our immediate surroundings.

2) Distribution of food to 100 laborers – cooked and packed with lots of love by our BTW family members was done just before Mohanji’s birthday celebration at our home.

3) Pada Pooja, Arati of Mohanji and Prasad including birthday cake (to Mila’s delight! She could not wait to sing “happy birthday dear Papa” and made all of us melt with her sweet voice when she did so) crowned this beautiful day of high energy and continuously expanding heart.

Celebrations in the USA
Shared by Ganesh

“We had a beautiful celebration here in Virginia – an evening of music dedicated to Mohanji.

We also had a yummy birthday cake which was cut by the youngest devotee Njeri while all of us sang the Birthday sing!

This was followed by a wonderful vegetarian feast for all attendees!

We formally released the US Bless The World Newsletter. Also we created a Tribute video for Mohanji.”

Mohanji’s Birthday Celebration at Madhuban Katra

Mohanji’s Birthday celebrated at Madhuban Katra. Food to 108 slum children at “Sai Ka Aangan” Shirdi Sai Baba’s temple in Gurgaon was distributed as well.

Special Pooja and Mass Feast

Ramayan Paath (non stop reading of Epic Ramayana) was organised by Mr. Kamal Kishore Gupta and Mrs. Reva Gupta at their house on occasion of Mohanji’s Birthday. It commenced on His birthday and concluded the next day afternoon.

On Mohanji’s birthday after the commencement of Pooja a mass feast was sponsored by Mr. Kamal Kishore Gupta and Mrs. Reva Gupta for more than 1500 people.

Mohanji’s Birthday Celebrations in Mumbai
Shared by Seema Bhatt

Annadaan: This was a very satisfying experience. I have been doing Annadaan since last Jammu retreat every Thursday but yesterday was a different experience.
We had made Matar Aaloo sabzi and Puri( same quantity which we distribute every Thursday at the same place).
But yesterday large number of people turned up ( much more than every time) and they were flocking to take food. There was such a rush and the food got over within 10-15 min.

It felt different and a contentment came over when we saw small children, men and women sitting on street side having the food with love. The feeling I got this time was clearly different.

POP meditation: We were just three of us, that is Vikram, me and Lavanyaa. The experience was however very beautiful. We clearly felt Mohanji giving Shaktipath.
For me personally there was feeling of cleansing. I was very uncomfortable, my whole body suddenly started itching badly and there was intense restlessness. However after some time, deep peace set in. Lavanyaa and vikram both had different experiences.

Food seva at Ludhiana, Punjab
By Mansha Gupta

We organised annadan at 12:00p.m. Home made aloo-poori were served to kids and ofcourse toffees too. What is a b’day without sweets, right?

Celebrations at Mohanji Ka Aangan, Jammu
By Sumit

Mohanji ka Aangan is a centre of learning for slum and underprivileged children in Jammu. The love and care flows in abundance everytime everywhere in Mohanji ka Aangan.

On Mohanji’s birthday a special magic show was arranged for these children as gift from Mohanji. It was first time in their lives that they watched this kind of live entertainment show.

More than 150 children were present and they all attended Mohanji’s birthday celebrations. After the magic show all the children did Mohanji’s arti, the most touching part was that each and every child could do Arti to Mohanji. The children were served lunch after the Arti.

On this occasion 3 cakes were ordered and youngest among the children studying in Aangan formed a small group and cut the cake. This was a very special moment for them as they were cutting the cake for the first time. When the first cake was cut, all the children became very excited and were all the time clapping and singing Birthday song for Mohanji.

“Mohan Ji Seva Foundation School” celebrated at Channi Himmat in Jammu
By Suman Gupta

On the auspicious day of Sadh Guru dev Mohan ji Birthday “Mohan Ji Seva Foundation School” of supplementary education for the under privileged children celebrated his Birthday with great happiness and fun at Channi Himmat in Jammu.

A birthday cake was cut by the youngest child and distributed among the children s and others present on the occasion.

Food seva was also offered to the children s during the program.

Some of the children who have been learning to make baskets from the waste materials and news paper also displayed their products in the process.

FOOD for SOULS, Delhi
By Bharti Kapoor

With Father’s guidance and grace past 2 weeks I have been working on a noble cause “FOOD for SOULS” to create a sanctuary where we work together for healing of the world and its creatures. Helping the needy, that includes animals. And what a perfect day on FATHER’S birthday to start for others too, there are 15 people in all who have come forward for this compassionate cause (other then btw core group).

We did a drive to feed the hungry stray dogs and create an environment that they can live a respectful life, and arrange for their sterilization so that they don’t breed further.

We started at 5 am in the morning and have just finished an hour back @ the Dog Sewa Drive. We fed nearly 250 dogs in all.

We also did Power of Purity Meditation, and every person said that they felt SHIVA and KRISHNA. Such divine energies in Delhi.

Mohanji’s Birthday Celebration at Vrindavan

The “chappan bhog” was offered to Banke Bihari ji deity at Vrindavan on Sunday on behalf of Mohanji. And after that 300 people, including the widows, were served food. As it was orchestrated by the priest and happened around the temple complex, there are no pictures for this. To give a bit of context, a month back we were at Vrindavan for 5 days retreat and had a great time with Mohanji in the place of Krishna, place of love and devotion.

“One hand extended for selfless service is manifold times better then two hands joined for a prayer”

Mohanji’s Birthday Celebration at Verulam day and Frail Care Center
By Sulosh Pillay

In honor of Rajayogi Mohanji Guruji’s birthday celebration we spent half a day at Verulam day and frail care center. It was a bittersweet experience whilst we were grateful to spend time with these wise old souls. We were silent witness to such sorrow and pain, with not one of us coming away with dry eyes. We gave each person a bag, a bath towel, a pen, toiletries and hand sanitizes amidst ” Thank you Ma God will bless You”. One old mum clutched my hand and pleaded with me with tears streaming down her face to ask her children to take her back home in her words, ” Ma I don’t know where I am, this is not my room, I live in Springtown please, I take my both hands to you, please ask my son to take me back home ma, I won’t be a nuisence to them”, one old mum held onto Kesh and Irene’s hand and sobbed while she recounted her sad tale” and she said “I am  waiting for my  son who said he would see me on Friday but he has not come yet, my one daughter lives in  Pretoria and my big daughter lives down the road from here but they don’t come to see me, I also have a grandson who lives and works nearby and even he has not come to see me” others mechanically thanked us and had a far away look in their eyes, still others just wanted us to hold their hand while they told us of their aches and pain, just in need of someone to listen to them. Such disintegration in our family lives was very painful to witness. We need to look after our elderly they once were the only source of love and stability to us yet now they are discarded as old shoes! Maybe it is impossible to care for some yet we do have the ability to at least visit and show our unconditional love, that can’t be much to ask for!

As Guruji said to me today,  “This is just man created suffering.” We can’t remain silent and pretend all is well, we need to take a stand and each one take one and spend some time visiting these beautiful souls and give them some place in the Sun. We are grateful to Our Father for instilling in us to Serve, Serve and Serve, this is what this journey is all about. We don’t necessarily need money for this but sometimes we just need to BE THERE for others! What a heart wrenching day but yet what a blessed day! May we grasp back our humanity and serve all living Beings because We are Them and They are Us we cannot be in blissful ignorance amidst so much loneliness. While we having so much fun Lets not forget the lonely Ones, their only desire is to be loved.

Mohanji’s Birthday celebration at Baba ka aangan in Gurgaon

Mohanji’s Birthday Activities in Pune

We started with Mohanji’s Gayatri and a profound meditation in the morning. His presence was extra strong today 😉

This was followed by Clay Modelling workshop for the blind students at Poona School and Home for Blind- for completely blind and partially blind Boys aging between 10yrs to 17yrs. Sculpture was taught as a medium to add another dimension to their understanding and expression. Basic geometric forms like sphere, cone, cubes etc were introduced followed by animal models and things students wanted to learn. This proved helpful for them and we intend to continue this seva.  This workshop was emotionally, physically and academically enriching for them. They could vent out their emotions, sensitise their touch and learn math, art and science by modelling.

Our evening was further enriched by cooking food together for AnnaDan (food distribution) for the homeless.

We made around 58-60 packets of food with sweets and went out for distribution after Mohanji’s Arati. Mohanji’s grace is so abundant that we found so many truly needy and hungry people on the streets. They were all so happy and satisfied to eat hot dinner, sleeping with a full stomach. (btw this made me realize the ever growing number of homeless here..so many just live on a day to day basis with out food.. it’s alarming!)

It was a great day from the time we woke up till bedtime.. truly enjoyed feeling the warmth and love of HIS eternal consciousness (( <3 ))

BTW Pune Team

Seva at Patna, Bihar
By Usha Singh

“Hatia is a village close to Patna, Bihar. It is also the place, where on 23rd February, Mohanji’s birthday that I was inspired to carry out seva work. Subsequently, I gave a set of quilt, sari, coat and some kilograms of wheat to ten needy people. This act left me satisfied and full of warmth and I could feel Mohanji’s eternal grace flow through me.”

Celebration at Kuruvapuram Sreepaada Datta Peedhom

Celebration at the Shirdi Sai temple in Palakkad

On 23 Feb 2014 early morning 5am, aarati abhishekam with milk and a special pooja that was done on Mohanji’s behalf marked the beginning of his birthday celebration at the Shirdi Sai Temple in Palakkad, India. The priest performing the pooja took utmost care to complete all the ceremonies and on top of that also recited Vishnu Sahasra Naamam with deep devotion. Mohanji’s friends and relatives were present at the temple and all said the experience was really beautiful.

At the noon aarathi of Sai Baba, Mahaabhishekam was performed, followed by annadaan (donation of food) performed by all present. Donation of food to the needy is a beautiful and effective way of cleansing one’s karma and experiencing the joy of unconditional love. More than 350 people were present for the noon aarathi and all of them were fed in the annadaan. It was a sumptuous feast and a truly memorable experience. The temple organizers and many other devotees enthusiastically took part to make the function a grand success.

Mohanji’s Birthday at the Irwin’s Animal Rescue Centre, Johannesburg

Irwin’s Animal Rescue Center is a non-profit organisation that takes in all unwanted, tortured, sick and lost dogs and cats.

Because of Mohanji’s deep concern and love for animals, we have decided, with the help of friend Abigail, to spend the day walking, playing with, and feeding the animals.

To quote our sister Sulosh, it was a bitter-sweet experience. When we entered the gate to the cages, there was an instinctive excitement in all the cages, of which there are many! It was as though the dogs knew that something was going to happen. They barked and yelped with joy, jumping the fences, wagging their tails and just generally making a racket!

We walked the dogs down the road, or rather the dogs walked us! We had to sprint to keep up with them, they were beyond excited and pulled us along with sheer joy at a moment’s freedom to run.

Mitesh was the only one that could really keep up, speedwise, haha. The rest of us oldies hopped along as best we could, it was laughable!! This was the joyful part of the day for us.

After that we just walked through all the cages, to interact with the dogs. They all pressed themselves right up against the fences, just to be stroked and loved and spoken to. They just couldn’t get enough.

But it was when we looked into their eyes, that we all felt like sobbing. Without exception, each of them were pleading. Those eyes were saying: “Please take me, please love me…..” Its impossible to convey this here in writing. Annette gave them Shaktipat wherever she could, and many little paws reached out through the fences, to be held and touched.

We also took some food, and fed them little treats – frankly, they were more interested in us than the food – another sad sight to behold.

Some of them were so over-excited, a few even managed to jump over the fences! One doggy was so besides himself, he kept jumping into his water container, in and out, in and out – it was just mud all over him – what fun…

We intend doing more regular visits there, to help the amazing staff and the wonderful work they’re doing.

Happy birthday Mohanji, we hope we could make your day a little richer. All was inspired by you and we thank you for the opportunity.

ACT Foundation (South Africa)

Mohanji’s Birthday celebrations at Merudanda Ashram, and Seva at Chesterville Secondary School in Durban
By Yashik Singh

Thank you Mohanji, for allowing us to be a part of your birth celebrations. It was your birthday, but we all feel as if we are the ones that got all the gifts. But that is a sign of a great master. A master like Mohanji always gives, and never once thinks for himself. Even if he wanted something, what can we give? Every flower, every candle and every gift is made up of Parabramha. In truth we can not even give ourselves, because we too are made from him. Nothing is separate from him. This year’s birth celebration was no different. He blessed us all with so much, and we at Merudanda want to offer our gratitude to you Shree GuruDev.

After some thought, we decided that we should do some seva at a rural school in Durban called Chesterville Secondary School. Particularly, we wanted to have a part with the grade 11 class that take physics. There were many reasons for this, but looking back we can see the hand of Mohanji guiding each and every step. Nothing happens for no reason. This class has predominantly students from child-headed households. Although they are so young, just looking into their eyes, you can see how weighed down they are by life and circumstance. They all live in squatter camps and low cost housing in a township called Chesterville.

We started preparing the party packs the day before and were wrapping up the prizes for the different competitions. The party pack consisted of sweets, chocolate, fruit and juice. As prizes we gave wonderful, brightly colour maths sets that consisted of two set squares, a 180° protractor, a 15 cm ruler, a metal compass, a 9 cm pencil, a pencil sharpener, an eraser, a divider and a 10mm stencil. We also had stationary packs as prizes, which consisted of brightly coloured folders, books, rulers, pens and other stationary. We also had a huge 1mX1m ludo game and bafana bafana t-shirts as prizes

The day started at 9am with setting up the classroom, one of the very few in the school that has an electricity plug point. There was so much of excitement in the air as the students gathered in the school. They kept their distance from us, maybe they were not too sure what was happening. But after Uncle Kay spent some time with them, and a I had a very short chat with them about Mohanji, they literally entered the class room dancing. They all followed each other in a line and were singing as they walked in. They encircled the class looking at the goddies and got more excited and sang louder. They were so happy and felt an immediate connection to someone they have not even seen. We all just smiled as we saw the kids dance in, and we know why Mohanji sent us here………love…….just to share love and tell them that Mohanji is there for them. They are never alone.

The formalities started with a talk describing why we are having the party with them. We spoke to them about Mohanji and introduced them to Biba and Mila. One look at Mila’s picture and they all “awwwwwwwe”ed in delight. We then spoke to them about Mohanji message and some lessons he teaches in a way they could understand and relate to. We spoke about always working hard and goal setting (moving from tama to rajas), being embodiments of love, being forgiving and selfless, and having faith and purity. They all were engrossed, and we all could feel Mohanji working on them. Love surrounded us all.

Then the party started with games. The first game was drawing Mohanji. Every single kid tried, even if they could only draw a circle with eyes. But that showed us how fast Mohanji works. He broke through their fear and made each child fearless. Lol, even Uncle Kay joined in and drew!!! The kids drew amazing pictures. They were so good, that we had a hard time choosing the best three. So we decided to give four prizes!!! One kid, who shared first prize, looked at Mohanjis face and said: “I see Jesus”. This was so evident in his drawing. The Jesus consciousness just oozed out of the picture. When we saw it, all we did was stare. The kids were so happy to win, and danced and clapped. This really is an important lesson to us…..gratitude! They were so thankful for what they got. We need to learn from them. We have so much, but we keep on asking for more. Mohanji keeps teaching us to be grateful for what we have. We all really understood this lesson seeing these kids.
The second game was writing down what they learned from Mohanji. We put up the slide with Mohanjis pictures, and they all connected to him and they wrote such amazing things. We started reading a few, and honestly we could not hold back the tears. The stories were just amazing. One will stick with me forever. Thubelihe wrote that she failed matric very badly and she decided it would be best for her to start at grade 11 again. Because of this, she was on the receiving end of many painful jokes. Many people make fun of her, and she wrote that her very own neighbours “are saying bad things about me and some are saying I am wasting money”. She was really sad, really depressed, and having such a hard time at school. But she wrote that after listening and connecting to Mohanji : “ I will pass”, “I believe in myself”, ”when I look myself in the mirror I see the climatologist I want to be. I am proud of myself”.

Mkize wrote: “I learnt Mohanji is a good caring man from India” and “don’t have sugardaddys because they will destroy your life”. Fundiswe also spoke about sugardaddies: “don’t love sugardaddy”. Sugardaddies are a big problem in the poorer areas of South Africa, where older men exploit younger girls and end up making them pregnant and increasing the incidence of HIV and other STDs. Mohanji knows this, and thus guided them

Fundiswe also stated that after listening about Mohanji, she believes in god because god believes in her. So many kids said they love Mohanji and that Mohanji is their hero. They said that although they have a hard time in life, they want to be like Mohanji and help people. They cant to meet Mohanji. We could not choose a winner, because all of them opened up and let their feeling out. So we decided at each of them will get bafana bafana (the beloved South African national soccer team) tshirts as a prize.
We then had a singing competition, and five students sang. Two students made up songs for Mohanji where they chanted his name and clapped. The other three students sang soul stirring gospel songs. So much love was in their voice, their voice choked with emotion. But really, the most amazing part of this about this happened afterwards. One of the girls came up to me and said that she is a professional singer in a choir and that she has sung in the playhouse. So I asked her why she did not put more effort in the song she sang, because she made it a joke while singing. She said that was because of what she learned from Mohanji. Mohanji teaches you to be selfless. She said that she already won prizes for singing, so she wanted the other kids to win prizes for singing to. That really touched my heart. It is a lesson that we have to learn.

There were three other games/competitions. They comprised of painting, making bead necklaces and hand chains (which very surprisingly the boys absolutely loved!!) and making birthday cards for Mohanji. Their love for Mohanji showed so evidently in what they painted and in the cards they made. It was a difficult task choosing the top three for each of these activities.

The kids were then treated to a wonderful and tasty meal of vegetable briyani, dhall, salad and the most divine soji I have tasted. They had bhajia and biscuits as they watched a movie. Most of them haven’t seen a TV bigger than a standard ruler, so they had an absolute blast.
The best part of course, was the cake!! We ordered a beautiful cake with Mohanji picture on it. Imagine, a white and yellow cake, with Mohanji seated in white. A red lotus over his heart, with “we love you” written in it. And his motto of faith and purity bordering him. It was soo soo divine. We did not really want to cut it, but luckily we did because it was sooooooooooooo tasty.

We realised that we need to give these kids something more lasting. Since they have not had physics teachers since 2010, Merudanda has volunteered to teach them physics until they get permanent teachers. The gift of knowledge is one of the most precious gifts one can give. It lasts forever, and it helps the people around them.

Sunday Celebrations of Mohanji’s birthday at Merudanda Ashram

The second part of Mohanji’s birthday was at Merudanda Ashram itself and consisted of an entire day of prayer and penance. It was a day that was filled with the joy and peace of chanting, pujas, abhishekam, homa, and meditation. The entire day was charged with a totally distinguishable energy in the air. It was a time we all contemplated on who we really are, what we truly are doing with our lives, and made us think about our priorities. There was never a time that there was no activity done, killing tamas with rajas, as Mohanji teaches.

The day started at 4am, with the offering of Shree Rudram to Mohanji and abishekam  to a special and rare naturally green Baneshwar Shiva Linga. Shree Rudram is an ancient chant from the yajurveda and is the most precious and adored set of mantras to Lord Shiva in the form of Shree Rudra. It is a prayer asking Lord Shiva to become pleased and happy, and shower protection to those that recite of the rudram. It also speaks to the fact that it is Lord Shiva or God that has become all things. Shree Rudram says: “ Salutations and salutations, To him who looks ugly, And to him who looks just as everyone in the world. Salutations and salutations, To him who is a great soul, And to him who is a weak being. Salutations and salutations, To him who rides a chariot, And to him who does not have a chariot. Salutations and salutations, To him who is a chariot, And to him who is the leader of the chariot.” During this time it dawned on us that our own Mohanji shares these very same qualities. In our mind, we heard: “Salutations and Salutations, To him that gives shaktipath, And to him that receives shaktipat. Salutations to him that is shaktipat.”

I then offered Mohanji one part of this birthday present.  I commissioned an international artist, Collin R, to paint a picture of Mohanji and it honestly superseded all my expectations!! It is as if Mohanji is right in front of you. The painting is remarkable and Mohanjis eyes have so much of energy coming out of painting. I could feel waves of hot heat coming out of the altar and painting. I had to literally move backward, and also move the seat in front of the alter backward.  The artist also had an amazing experience with MohanJi. He finished the painting in two days and three nights. He said there was an energy that just came over him. He had other work to do, but could not do it as thoughts of Mohanji just took over his mind.

The painting itself has truly been blessed by Mohanji as there are Siddha signs and symbols that was not on the photograph of  Mohanji I gave the artist. Firstly, the orange moon and dot is a sacred sign representing, among other things, Devi or shakti. That sign is on the painting and not the photograph given. Secondly, if you look closely at Mohanji’s forehead, you will see a meditating Shiva in yellow. Thirdly, the artist said that he was just compelled to add “white spots and areas” on Mohanjis hair, as if something was on it!! Vibuthi!!!! The artist, unknowingly painted ashes on Mohanjis hair!! And the astonishing part of this is that the artist is a Christian and at that time did not know much about Hinduism.  At that time he did not know about ashes, or Shiva mediating, for the shakti symbol. And the best part to me was that at the exact time he handed the painting over to me, a local radio station was playing “ Manasa bhajere Guru Charanam” which I heard when I got to the car. After hearing Mohanji sing this at the Grasemere Sai ashram, this Guru bhajan has an even deeper meaning to me.

Chanting of Mohanjis gayatri mantra then commenced. A sankalpa was taken to finish 108 malas, or  11, 644 mantras of the  Mohanji gayatri, with all benefit going to the whole world  for world peace, and physical, emotional and spiritual healing of all beings. This was an amazing experience. It is so difficult to describe the surge of energy that was generated with this very first mass sankalpa of chanting Mohanji’s gayathri mantra in the world. There was such a powerful presence felt in the ashram, and we all felt such intense processing of karma as we each volunteered to chant the mantra. There was no time from start to finish of the japa, that there was no one chanting for Mohanji.

There was always someone chanting at every second of the day until the goal was reached. Everyone had wonderful experiences. One young man, Mr Ajay Singh, had never heard Mohanji’s gayatri mantra before, let alone chanted it. He was so reluctant to say the mantra and it took a lot of convincing from everyone for his just to sit there with me and try to chant. With a soft broken voice he tried to chant, his voice drowned into mine. Suddenly I noticed a surge of energy within him, and spontaneously he started chanting the mantra louder and loude. After that, he looked forward to going and chanting while others took a break. There was a total change in character, he became so brave. Mrs Shivani Naidoo also never heard Mohanjis gayatri before, but she happily chanted and later commented that it was so therapeutic for her.

For the first time a full puja for Mohanji as the central deity was done, which included invoking Mohanji into a kalsa and worshiping him with different scented powders, jewellery, flowers, a mala, holy water, and other sacred substances. This puja including chanting of the Guru Astakam, Guru Padukam Strotram, MohanJi Sharanam Astakam, and Shree Datta Moola Mantra Strotram. The puja also consisted of offering Mohanji the “Mohanji Kavacham” as one part of his birthday present. This kavacham was inspired by the Mahamritunjaya kavacham, and is a prayer to Mohanji to protect us. It was recited and offered for the first time in the world on Mohanji’s birthday. Here is the kavacham:

MOHANJI KAVACHAM

Om Asya Sri SadGuru MohanJi  Kavachasya ,

Sri Shradha Rishi, Pavritam Chanda,

Sri Raaja Yogi MohanJi devathaa , Om bheejam,

Joom Shakthi , Sah keelakam  Hroum ithi thathwam,

MohanJi Kavacham sadhane pate viniyoga. 

For the armour of the true Guru MohanJi , the sage is Faith , The meter is Purity ,

The God addressed is King of the Yogis MohanJi, the root is “Om”, the power is “joom”,

The nail is “Sah” and the principle is “Hroum” , this all is  being chanted.

Aum ParaBrahmaya Vidmahe,

ShivaTatvaya Dhimahi,

Tanno  Mohan Prachodayat

Om. Let us meditate on the self-enduring, eternal, self-sufficient cause of all causes, the supreme Brahman,  the one who is the essence of Lord Shiva (auspiciousness). May that MohanJi, who is the truest of Gurus, inspire and illumine our mind and understanding.

Shree SadGuru sira pathu , devo MohanJi mama,  ( May the true Guru Mohanji, protect my head)

Shree SadGuru lalatam pathu , devo MohanJi mama,  (forehead)

Shree SadGuru brovow pathu , devo MohanJi mama (eyebrows)

Shree SadGuru nethre pathu , devo MohanJi mama (eyes)

Shree SadGuru cchruthee pathu , devo MohanJi mama (ears)

Shree SadGuru gandow pathu , devo MohanJi mama (neck)

Shree SadGuru naasam pathu , devo MohanJi mama (nose)

Shree SadGuru mukam pathu , devo MohanJi mama (mouth)

Shree SadGuru skandhou pathu , devo MohanJi mama (shoulders)

Shree SadGuru hasthou pathu , devo MohanJi mama (hands)

Shree SadGuru vaksha pathu , devo MohanJi mama (chest)

Shree SadGuru payaadanguli pathu , devo MohanJi mama (fingers)

Shree SadGuru Kukshim pathu , devo MohanJi mama (belly)

Shree SadGuru guhyam pathu , devo MohanJi mama (Reproductive organs)

Shree SadGuru Katim pathu , devo MohanJi mama (waist)

Shree SadGuru ooru pathu , devo MohanJi mama (thighs)

Shree SadGuru paadhu padho , devo MohanJi mama (feet)

Shree SadGuru paahadhi moordha pathu , devo MohanJi mama (feet to head)

oṁ tryambakaṁ yajāmahe sugandhiṁ puṣṭi-vardhanaṁ

urvārukam iva bandhanān mṛtyormukṣīya māmṛtāt

OM We worship Shiva, the Three-eyed Lord who is fragrant and who nourishes and nurtures all beings. As is the ripened cucumber (with the intervention of the gardener) freed from its bondage (to the creeper) May He liberate us from death for the sake of immortality.

Worshiping of Mohanjis sandals was done with the 108 mantras of the Mohanj Pada Puja. With each mantra a flower was offered to Mohanjis feet mould, Mohanji’s sandals and Shree Shirdi Babas feet. Every one moved from station to station offering flowers, and again this did not stop the continuous chanting of Mohanjis gayatri mantra and the continuous abhishekam of the Shiva Linga.

After this, we all did the Power of Purity meditation. It was an amazing feeling. We could all feel Mohanji churn our minds and pull out what was not necessary. The shaktipat was so strong and everyone just sat for a short while taking in the beautiful energies of Mohanjis presence.

The day ended with another birthday cake being offered and the arthi. The cake was lovingly made by Arav and Shai, and was even tastier than the gourmet cake made by the prestigious Fulham bakery for the previous day at Mohanjis party.  After the arti, we then had a long convocation about the time Mohanji was at Merudanda Ashram and all the memories we had of that time. We all were tired, but there was a sense of accomplishment. All we wanted to do was make MohanJi happy, and we all felt that we achieved that  precious goal.

As I said in the beginning, it was Mohanji’s birthday, but it was us that seemed to get the presents. Although they come from impoverished conditions, and go through unbearable suffering, they teach us to help faith and hope and always see the best in a situation. No matter what situation you are in, happiness is an internal matter. Peace of mind comes from inside of you. As Mohanji teaches, you do not need to run to a forest to have peace. Peace is found in your inner space and not the outside space.

Thank you to Ramesh, Seema, Arav, Shai, Ajay, Uncle Kay, Aunty Mala, Vickasen, Tashmin Didi and the kids, Shivani and here family, Shikara and her family, AmiJi and her family, my parents, and Sanam and her family

Regards, and lots of love
Yash

“In the Spirit of Sharing” – Durban, South Africa
By Vishal Mothilall

In commemoration of Shri Mohanji’s advent as an opportunity to spread love through the serving of food and distribution of clothing items. A blessed experience to bring smiles onto the faces of children as they gleam in happiness. Thank you for the guidance.

ACT Serbia with a Charity initiative in Sangaj, suburbs of Novi Sad

Sangaj is a Romani (also known by the exonym “Gypsy”) settlement situated in the industrial zone in the suburbs of Novi Sad. Instead of clean air they breathe the exhaust fumes of NIS Petroleum Industry of Serbia and other companies in the working zone North 4. Nobody with awareness of what it is that they take into the lungs with each breath would live there voluntarily. Red and white tower from the refinery which other citizens of Novi Sad watch from afar can be almost touched by Sangaj inhabitants. Ecology-wise, inhabitants of Sangaj are already underprivileged.

Members of “ACT Foundation” with all the volunteers are not able to clean that air, but we have been given an opportunity to help individuals from Sangaj in another way. We organised a donation of that which is, besides air, substantial for survival and what they surely are missing – food.

Our charity initiative on 23^rd Feb 2014 was a beautiful way of celebrating the birthday of Mohanji, Founder of ACT. When a good team, enthusiastic mood and excellent organisation joined together, like a powerful wave they intensified positivity in our surroundings, so benefits are felt by even those who are not in direct contact with us. With pure heart we gave the gifts to those who needed them most, and today the recipients were the most impoverished families without any income or social help in Sangaj.

Gratitude to Ms Marijana Pavlovic who helped us identify the needy families and do the required coordination in line with our procedures designed to ensure recipients of aid are eligible for the same.

We prepared packages of food for 10 families. Each package contained flour, sugar, oil, corn grits, pasta, biscuits, juice, potatoes, onions… Aside from the purchased food packs, ACT volunteers brought their own packages of food. Furthermore, we donated clothes and toys and the final contribution ended up being was a beautiful loving gift for the needy. One little girl was very enthusiastic about a doll she received as a present. Her face lit up and she immediately started playing with it, chirping with joy, even though the house was full of people unknown to her.

One of the aid recipients was a woman called Marijana, age 38. She is a mother of 12 children, the oldest being 19 years old and the youngest one being 7 months old. She is slim and youthful though she certainly cannot afford any creams for her skin or any anti-aging products. She lives on the verge of existence and but one could never make out that life is hard for her – she does not invoke any sympathy. Each one of them faces numerous problems of daily existence, but there is a sort of heroism out of necessity in that struggle for survival. Her husband does rough physical jobs that he finds in newspaper ads. He carries various loads, or works at the construction sites in Novi Sad. These jobs come sporadically. They all have health insurance but they do not receive any social help. Their grown-up children have started to contribute with their own efforts in a way they can.

It was truly wonderful meeting these people. We are grateful for this opportunity to help and make somebody’s life beautiful at least temporarily and experience the joy of giving.

This initiative was beyond mere donating – it was an offering with love during which both sides benefit. By feeding the hungry, giving water to the thirsty, shoes to the barefooted, clothes to the naked, we bring life where there is slumber and colors where everything is grey. We disperse the darkness, anger and lethargy as the light does not ask whom to illuminate, it gives unconditionally.

With love,

ACT Serbia team

Seva in the UK
By Aditi Singh

“Living in London and on way to work, King’s Cross Station is a permanent fixture in my daily commutes. On 23rd February, Mohanji’s birthday, I was stirred to indulge in seva work. Consequently, I ended up giving sandwiches to the needy I have seen wander around the station everyday. When they accepted the food, the various emotions of gratitude and thankfulness that played out on their faces invigorated me. I felt the upcoming stress at work dissolve then as I headed to the office, feeling Mohanji smile down at me.”

Other happenings on Mohanji’s Birthday

– Another activity was the “chappan bhog” offered to Banke Bihari ji deity at Vrindavan on Sundayon behalf of Mohanji. And after that 300 people, including the widows, were fed food.

– Caroline from Australia besides the POP sessions in Airlie Beach has also started doing POP meditation at the Proserpine Nursing home.

– The Mohanji calendar booklet is launched

– Many posters were made, and here’s a short selection:

– New Facebook group Mohanji Canada has been created.

– “The Power of Purity Meditation” video has been created.

– The picture of Dattatreya was launched and it will be distributed to the temples in North India.  There will be more versions of the picture coming in future. To start with, 5 temples in Gurgaon have already agreed to install the picture of Dattatreaya. The various versions of Datta picture will be available for download (A2 size) soon on Mohanji.org, which can be framed and put in the temples across the world.

 

Please follow this link for more photos from the Celebrations.

And finally, you can hear Mohanji’s Birthday message for the whole BTW Family.

Love Always

BTW Team