Turkey, ACT Foundation disaster relief Feb 2023 – Part 1

Posted on by Mohanji Testimonials

By Linda Abrol, Netherlands

I am not strong, not so fit and not so courageous

Suddenly I found myself in Adana, Turkey, a two-hour drive from the epicentre of the recent earthquakes, where with a small team and the Serbian ACT Compassion van, we bought necessities in the morning and brought them the same day to families that we picked very selectively in the afflicted areas. They were in dire need of food, toiletries, blankets, stoves, thermal underwear, warm sweaters, socks, etc.

How did I end up here? What happened? Something moved me to sign up for disaster relief during the earthquake in Turkey. Why? I am not brave. I shiver just from the word earthquake, and the slight shaking in Limburg many years ago upset me for a year. During that year, I was disproportionately shocked when I heard a sudden sound, as if the base of my physical safety was gone. 

I’m not strong either due to osteoarthritis and a broken shoulder tendon. So, apart from the light stuff, I can’t help lift and hand out the supplies. I told Selma that the only thing I could offer was to be available and willing. Selma suggested that I do the filming. That would be nice for her because she had her hands full herself. And the footage was desperately needed to raise funds. 

During the layover in Izmir, I met a friendly blonde woman, Sibel. She lived in Adana and had just taken her infant son by plane to a safer city. When I asked her how safe it was in Adana, she told me that the shocks were intense there, too. The buildings collapsed, and 500 people died. Among them was her friend. I started to console her, and she shrugged timidly. I asked how she felt now in Adana. She told me that she and her family no longer feel safe and want to move. I completely understood. I hid the shock I got at that moment. So far, I was under the assumption that our hotel was situated in a safe area. It wasn’t! I jumpstarted my two-step remedy against all fear: step 1, breath in and breath out. Step 2, Repeat step 1!

The first working day

After yesterday’s exhausting trip and my arrival at the Yellow Mansion Hotel in Adana, our ACT 4 Turkey crisis team of four people was complete: Mircea from Serbia, Selma from the UK, Melanie from Canada and me from the Netherlands.

Micea drove the ACT Foundation van with Melanie as a co-driver, and I drove my rental car of the “no idea” brand. I didn’t even bother to look at what brand it was. It wasn’t long before I started calling Selma ‘boss’. She had already gained a lot of experience in Ukraine and knew the ins and outs of the actions to be taken. Be it buying food boxes, finding heaters, toiletries and thermal clothing or finding families in need, etc. Her telephone was her office.

The first thing she did in a new country was find contacts and make friends. She always succeeded. Mustafa and Juzuf, two cousins from Arsuz, were so helpful to drive with us that day and not only acted as interpreters but directed us to the homes and tents of families who needed our help the most, as well. Mircea was great at efficiently loading and unloading the van, and Melanie supported him. Apart from compassionately listening to the victims, hugging them and connecting, I supported Selma as her driver and cameraman, made sure she ate and took care of filming, photography and writing.

Selma edited the material till the early morning hours, hardly sleeping. She posted her powerful and beautiful videos daily, and I shared them immediately with my friends and followers on Social Media. By sending her compositions and my stories to Dutch Social Media, I could contribute a bit to the fundraising. Wherever I could be useful made me extremely happy.

Shiva’s blessings on Mahashivaratri

During Mahashivaratri, I thought: for me, Mohanji is Shiva. For me, this is another Kailash Yatra. When we went for dinner at Mustafa and Juzuf’s family home after a long day of work – their house still standing but every wall showing cracks – Michea parked the van in front of the house. Unconsciously watching his manoeuvre, I noticed an egg-shaped plaster dome just behind the van. It resembled an enormous Shivalingam. In front of it was Mohanji’s face, pictured on the back of the van. Behind it, a snowy mountain landscape basking in the final evening light.

At this point, I was one hundred per cent sure that this was another Kailash Yatra. On Mahashivaratri eve! A greater blessing didn’t seem possible. Mohanji was with us. That much was clear. We enjoyed the hospitality of this dear family, and I marvelled at how cheerful, open and welcoming people can still be when the world around them has literally collapsed. 

The second working day: an enervating day 

In the middle of the night, I started doubting. Mohanji, is it smart if I join you today? It will be such a long day. I am not so fit. I am still recovering from my illness in India which was only a little more than two weeks ago. It might not be effective for the team. I want to add value. I certainly don’t want to be a nuisance. Mohanji, what do you want me to do? Fortunately, my inner Mohanji replied quickly. He said, ‘Linda, I am simply protecting you all the time.’

He doesn’t want me to do anything! I have to make my own choices. We don’t do anything for him. He is complete in himself. He is simply giving us opportunities to develop ourselves. Wherever I choose to do work from my heart, he will protect me. The emphasis here was on the words’ all the time. It made me really feel protected. He knew we were not safe, but he made sure we escaped all serious trouble. I will tell you about that later. For now, I knew I could simply start off with the team and surrender to the protection of Mohanji.

In the car, on the way to our destination, Mustafa, the Turkish volunteer of our team, tells us that last night after we had dinner with his family, another slight earthquake woke him up in the night. It was only 3 on the Richter scale. And nothing serious compared to the earthquake two days back in his town, where so many houses collapsed. So he literally did not lie awake for long. We were happy, we were not there.

Deep loss, fear and pain

We were on our way to Antakya. The area hardest hit. Before we went into the city, we visited some families just outside the city centre. What brought me to tears was a father with an adorable six-year-old daughter. She was radiantly cuddling with the new doll she had received from us. She looked at me with her big, innocent eyes. From her father’s gestures, I gathered that they were upstairs when their house collapsed. 

He told me in a few simple words, with deep sadness in his eyes, that her eight-year-old sister had not made it out alive from under the rubble. I expressed my condolences for his great loss. I couldn’t stop tears from rolling down my eyes. We saw some cows in a barn. The owner told Selma that the first thing he did after the earthquake was run to check if his cows were ok. He had found two cows dead under a collapsed wall. The rest of the cows were safe. That also made quite an impression because animals are such innocent and helpless creatures.

A woman showed me that her hand was wounded by falling rubble. I softly took her hand and felt like kissing her wounds as we do with our children. Another woman took us upstairs to her house to show how much of the house was destroyed. I felt shaky, walking up the stairs. Seeing the broken walls, the enormous mess of glass and tomato paste amidst pieces of furniture and damaged walls was surreal, and seeing the devastation in the woman’s eyes made me feel like hugging her, which I did. There was literally nothing which was undamaged. Windows were not needed to see the blue sky outside. One could simply look through the holes and cracks in the wall.

Dozens of people and children were made happy this day with the stoves, drink bottles and toys, blankets, ground insulation material for tents, gloves, socks, leggings, sweaters and the food that we gave them. My ‘job’ of showing compassion, filming, photographing and driving was very fulfilling. I comforted, hugged, filmed, listened or read sign language. 

The dangers along the way didn’t lie either. In the afternoon, in the mountains, our fully loaded car slid backwards down a gravel slope instead of going up. And we almost reversed into a ditch before I managed to change course. The bus got stuck on the same slope and also had to slide back down and find a new route. Moments later, I drove behind the bus and saw it narrowly avoid another deep ditch on the street narrowed by debris. 

A horror city

After dark, we drove through the city centre of Antakya, now a ghost town. Not even a ghost town. This was much worse. This was a city of horror, a city of dust and debris. No building was safe, and nearly all of them were not standing upright. Knowing that hundreds of people were still buried under the rubble was like watching a bad movie. Knowing that the official search had ceased was like a nightmare. The focus was only on clearing the debris. Imagine someone is still alive and waiting to be saved, we thought. Horror scenarios passed through our minds. We saw furniture being removed from tall buildings with huge cranes.

Ambulances, police and firefighters with or without sirens were a normal sight on the roads. Tents were everywhere. The military was in action. Semi-trailers with tiny houses (a kind of container with doors and windows) were now being purchased and used by some instead of tents. Our Mustafa, the Turkish young man who was helping us with his cousin to locate the right families to take our goods to, told us in the car after our long day’s work that he had an App-group with his friends and many of his friends, his nieces included, lived in the worst affected area.

Every so often after the earthquakes, they started getting messages from friends on the same App-group who were under the rubble but still alive. So was his niece. She survived for three days but was not rescued. Neither did most of his friends except one, a boy who was freed from his apartment by his own father. His father counted the floors, and on the right floor, he smashed the wall and freed his son. 

We heard first-hand stories, and that made an impact. We cannot distance ourselves anymore, like with the news on the television, that we shift off from once the food is on the table. After lots of hugs and expressions of thanks by us for the full efforts of the boys, we drove the two-hour trek back to Adana at midnight. How did I keep that up when I can’t drive to Amsterdam in the dark yet? That must have been fuelled by a secret power. I had an inkling which one….

We arrived late but safely back at the hotel but not without the help of providence, that is for sure. Even after seeing so much of the most severe misery, the sense of belonging, love, cooperation and friendship was what lingered.

Donations are welcome via the link below:

https://mifoundation5.payrexx.com/en/pay?tid=97eba27d

(Please select the “Disaster Relief” option)

|| JAI BRAHMARISHI MOHANJI ||

Edited & Published by – Testimonials Team, 16th March 2023

Disclaimer:

The views, opinions, and positions expressed by the authors and those providing comments on these blogs are theirs alone and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions or positions of Mohanji, Mohanji Foundation, it’s members, employees or any other individual or entity associated with Mohanji or Mohanji Foundation. We make no representations as to accuracy, completeness, timeliness, suitability or validity of any information presented by individual authors and/or commenters on our blogs and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries or damages arising from its display or use.

We reserve the right to delete, edit, or alter in any manner we see fit blog entries or comments that we, in our sole discretion, deem to be obscene, offensive, defamatory, threatening, in violation of trademark, copyright or other laws, of an express commercial nature, or otherwise unacceptable.

Mohanji Testimonials team

Inroad

Posted on by Mohanji Testimonials

By a Mohanji follower, H

I wasn’t looking for a Guru. I just wanted that elusive road map to the heart. To that wide, split-open channel through which the source charges. Forcefully. Endlessly. Lovingly. Shining upon every conceivable thing and being. The source of love. God. I wanted that. It was a place I had briefly, powerfully experienced in a dream.  

I was 19 then. I’m 46 now. Through the years, the desire for this map waxed and waned but never quite dissipated. Lately, it was pulsating like a deep point of pain. Especially now that I was a parent. 

I had always assumed I would be a loving parent. 

I am. 

But along with love, what I didn’t realize I would also cultivate was a blossoming field of expectations. There’s nothing unconditional about love in the relationships we’re accustomed to in our daily lives. Love holds them together, no doubt, but what it holds turns from desire to expectation to disappointment to resentment in predictable ways, in predictable cycles, repeatedly. And the deepest disappointment, the deepest resentment, is continually, steadily, pointed inward and expressed outward. We judge ourselves harshly and condemn others for it. 

But I didn’t know this then. All I knew is, I was tired of being angry. Of being disappointed. Of being furious in love. I tried all manner of meditations and esoteric studies. Each attempt, each avenue I had explored so far, felt like a little vein bearing the pulse of something familiar, something essential. But where was the heart? 

In early Autumn 2021, I caught sight of a poster on social media in a language I couldn’t read – someone had written a brief English translation. Two words caught my attention: Self Realization. A person named Mohanji was going to guide folks through 11 days of transformation online. It struck me instantly: this is just what I’m looking for. 

But who was Mohanji? 

The beloved relative on whose social media page I had seen the poster was a follower, but I had never discussed their engagement with their spiritual mentor. I toyed with the idea. Let it rest. Toyed some more. Before I knew it, the workshop was beginning the next morning. I called my relative, but I couldn’t get through. Not that evening. Not the next day. This was unusual. (Now, as I think back, I chuckle. The leela, the leela.)

By the next evening, I left an urgent message. Finally, I had a response. Calls were made, payments dashed off, and on the third day, I sat at the computer, listening to this bearded man exuding love, humility, and patience. So much love. So, so much love. 

It was clear. He was there. In that Godspace. He was channeling pure love. He was Love. 

Empowered 1 changed me. It caused me to drop some things easily and overnight for good. Some things were temporary, but the change was palpable. 

Several months and a couple of more Empowered workshops later, I recall telling my sister over the phone, “You know, I feel happy for the first time. Truly happy.” Depression is a secret that courses quietly through my family. We don’t talk about it. We just cry silently behind closed doors and ache deeply under broad smiles. 

More than a year later, I can say for sure that this happiness is real. That being happy is possible. Even when other emotions rise as they do every day – irritation, disappointment, anger, frustration, the deep undercurrent is one of satisfaction and happiness. Life feels bearable. Enjoyable even. And most significantly, it feels meaningful. 

But the anger. It was still there. Nothing had diminished it. It rose as frequently, as powerfully as before. And it swept me off my grounding each time. I was still far from even a glimpse of that place saturated with peace and love. 

By the end of Empowered 4, I felt I understood exactly what Mohanji was trying to ingrain in us. If you’d ask me to explain it, I could. Easily. I could see the map now. Clearly, but I hadn’t walked it yet. I didn’t know how to walk it. The practices so far had brought me to a point of deep insight, no doubt – but that subtle shift into actually experiencing the Self, even momentarily, beyond mind, body and ego was proving to be elusive. 

Months ago, my local Acharya had reached out as part of an initiative to make a video on how practitioners felt transformed through the practice of Consciousness Kriya. I told her then, “Ever since meeting Mohanji (virtually), I definitely feel transformed. But I don’t notice a shift through Kriya specifically. And I can’t bring myself to make an exaggerated claim – that would feel like a lie.” I respectfully bowed out of submitting a testimonial. 

Cue Empowered 5. I couldn’t make it to Serbia to attend the retreat in person. But I committed fully and wholly to participating online. Arrangements were made. People were informed. My partner took full responsibility for everything in our home. I switched off my phone and entered my cave. Doors shut. Ears shut. Eyes shut. The only thing I kept on was the zoom call. I let it stream through all 8 hours each day. Even though there was mostly silence, keeping it on brought in a shared energy with the satsang and a sense of being in Mohanji’s presence. 

Day 1 ended. I didn’t feel particularly successful with the practice. I had kept my eyes covered, my ears plugged, and I did the breathing as instructed. But nothing. I felt nothing. No shift. 

That night the dreams arose. Vivid. Incisive. Showing me a clear mirror to the things that drive this person called me. Hidden things. Unacknowledged little traits of vanity and pride, desires, and the subconscious projection of a carefully cultivated personality. 

On day 2, the breathing was slower and longer. I struggled with it a bit. But I practiced steadfastly – again, with little sense of success. There was no conscious, waking breakthrough. I hadn’t seen my family in two full days. I hadn’t checked my phone in 48 hours. I didn’t know what I was doing. It all seemed a bit pointless. I was weepy and exhausted. And I wanted something to hold on to, something familiar. Again, that night, more dreams. More hidden desires and traits revealed. 

Day 3, by now, the dreams were arising during daytime naps as well. (I was waking up at 2:30 am in my time zone to catch the start of the program, so I was quite drowsy by 6 am). For the first time, I felt I was getting the hang of it. Don’t expect any breakthroughs. Just power on. Breathe. Just breathe. No expectations. Just put in the work and connect with Mohanji. The breathing was even longer and slower. At some point, without realizing it, I switched to doing Kriya because it somehow made the breath less laboured. It felt natural. 

At some point, I dozed off again, and there they were. More dreams. This time bringing to light issues of shame around certain aspects of my life. Interestingly enough, there was time travel. Beings that existed outside of time (a Master) and from other timelines (some friendly, several hostile) made appearances.

That evening I had every intention of getting to bed, falling asleep, and receiving more insight through my dreams. But I tossed and turned. And every little sound in the house brought me out of my effort to sleep. At some point, the agitation was so high I directed it at my children and partner, accusing them mentally of sabotaging my ‘great spiritual effort’ by walking loudly, resenting them for willfully being in the way of my big awakening with their clumsy footsteps. 

There it was. The trap of expectation. Followed immediately by its beloved bedfellow, guilt. This time, during the brief couple of hours of fitful sleep, the dreams revealed some of my hidden fears. This was getting more and more unpleasant. 

Day 4, during the morning satsang, I learned that many people hadn’t been able to sleep the previous night. Mohanji smiled mischievously and said, “Me neither”. Aha! (A stab of guilt resurfaced for my resentment towards my family).

Mohanji explained, “What happens is, this whole thing is churning you. Your usual patterns, habits are changed… the toxins are leaving. It’s all connected to the expulsion of toxins”. Mental apologies were beamed off to my beloved family immediately. It wasn’t them; it was me. It always is. The flavour of every experience originates in one’s own mental state. Of course. Didn’t I already know this? 

The breathing was even longer and slower. And again, Kriya did the magic. By now, it was dawning on me that there really was something to the cleansing powers of Kriya. Earlier, I had to drag myself to go through the preparatory steps of Kriya – now, I couldn’t wait to do them. 

By the end of the day, the first waking realization occurred. Everything had quietened down a fair bit. The inside of my body felt like a vast dark emptiness. Everything else was outside it. Every sound, every physical thing. The only sound that lay within was my heartbeat, pulsing loudly. Boom. Boom. Boom. And further inward was the dot of awareness that was noticing this. Noticing everything. 

That’s it. Then it was gone. The briefest moment of cognition.

The whole day, my head felt strange, and my eyesight felt different. Like I was looking out through several layers of reality. This was likely due to wearing an eye mask for most of the day. Sudden re-exposure to light was perception-bending. A potent reminder that one mustn’t always trust in sensory perception or rest in the comfort of seeing things only in certain accustomed conditions. It was incredible how each aspect of Empowered 5 brought in so much insight!

That night I went to bed with fewer expectations. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I was also excited at the prospect of being reunited with my family soon – it was the last day of isolation. I felt so much love and gratitude for them. I missed them. I felt their preciousness so intensely. But I also felt a familiar pain at the imminence of not being in satsang with Mohanji after the next day. Though this time, the tears were not so much from the pain of separation but from gratitude. This time, I was able to fully trust in the ever-present knowing that my Guru, the Guru Tattva, is ALWAYS available in the spiritual heart; that I can access it anytime, anywhere. 

This realization has a lot to do with Devi’s group Mai-Tri sessions during Empowered 5. In the past, whenever I had been part of group Mai-Tri sessions, I would eventually feel completely disengaged because of my intellectual discomfort with the heightened emotionality of parts of the practice. The moment I’d hear emotion rising in the instructor’s voice, I’d be jolted out of the experience by a snarky voice in my head. “WHAT?! This is so dramatic! How can this be spiritual practice?!” the voice would say unkindly. That’s it. I’d sit there, eyes closed, fully in judgement mode. 

This time, just as I was beginning to feel discomfort from hearing deep emotion in Devi’s voice, something urgently asked me to trust. Just trust the process. That’s all it took. The snarky voice in my head was quietened by the revelation that drama IS the very nature of existence. Of the Divine Mother. Isn’t ALL of it drama? Aren’t we all here, mired in Maya because of the Mother? This is all the play of Shakti, and if She’s sitting here, guiding me Herself, then sit back and bask in it. Feel each bit of the instruction. My deepest gratitude to Devi for her sessions and for bringing the grace of the Divine Mother to our practice during Empowered 5. 

The second session with Devi revealed the biggest gift of all. It removed the veil of duality between all the beloved Gurus empanelled in my heart. During one of the early Empowered workshops long ago, I had asked Mohanji, “What if you hold more than one Guru dear in your heart?” and he said, “That’s fine, as long as you’re not connecting to the form.” I couldn’t fully comprehend it then. When Devi guided us to connect with the Tradition during Mai-Tri, even though not all of my beloved Gurus belong to the Datta tradition, I felt each one’s energy melded inextricably with that of the Tradition. 

The Tradition was a gateway to my Gurus, and my Gurus were a gateway to the Tradition. I truly felt what it means for all Gurus to be an expression of one Consciousness. Now Mohanji doesn’t just sit with Babaji and Baba in my heart; they transform into one another playfully, one speaking lovingly through the words of the other. They still have their forms, but they are one in love.  

That night, the dream was hazy. I was hovering above the ground (not walking on it) with a group of others who, like me, were dressed in white. We were all connected, and there was uniformity in our appearance. I wasn’t even in my current form or body anymore. There was a sense that we were upholding the very fabric of order. Fighting an ancient fight, not with weapons, but with an indwelling strength that was inherently loving. But it wasn’t a happy dream or a victorious one. There was uncertainty and strife on the ground. 

It wasn’t surprising when, the next day, Mohanji reiterated the need to create a strong community of brightness and positivity in each region to prepare for an uncertain future. During Mohanji’s satsang that day, I noticed a feeling of agitation rising. The online participants couldn’t have many of their questions read out and answered. Though I didn’t type any questions for Mohanji in the chatbox, many others did. And most of them seemed to be going unasked. Were the onliners being overlooked?

This feeling was short-lived. It soon became clear that this was another instance of Mohanji’s leela. Even though he would occasionally ask if there were any online questions, he didn’t need this drama of physical-world engagement. He was meeting each one of us exactly where we were in our hearts, in our homes, through every channel available to our senses. However, we still needed the drama. And so, he played along, turning to the online coordinator every now and then to check, “Any online questions?” 

How could I even entertain a doubt? Of course, I know he knows every heart. On my best days, he’s the one beaming out of mine. 

I found EACH of my questions was answered. The moment I felt I needed an answer, someone in the audience in Serbia would raise their hand and out trotted the very words that were in my head, followed by his loving answers. A few weeks later, when I met one of the in-person participants, I grinned and thanked her for asking my question. She laughed, “So it was you! I was wondering who prompted that question because I’m usually too shy to speak in front of Mohanji, but at that moment, I don’t know how the urge to raise my hand took over.” 

When Empowered 5 ended, even though I hadn’t yet experienced what I’d been looking for all these years (through lifetimes, likely), I did have the deep conviction that I had placed my first foot forward. Beyond all ideas and notions I had gathered along the way on the ‘how’ and ‘why’, I had taken my first step into actually experiencing this ineffable realm in my waking hours in a way that only this set of mental lenses called me could truly appreciate or comprehend. 

A lot of fundamental things became clear in a tangible way during those hours of seclusion and silence. Witnesshood is one such biggie. Thanks to Empowered 5, it isn’t just limited to the times I practice Mohanji’s Feel-the-Feelings process. I find I’m being able to cultivate it in my daily life – with shorter and shorter gaps between occurrence and witnessing. 

I’m able to see the cycles and patterns of unlove and closed-heartedness in tense interactions. I’ve become quicker at accepting the role of personality and conditioned defensiveness at these moments. Because of this, I’m also quicker to seek the ever-outheld hand and love-drenched embrace of my beloved Guru at such times to make a rapid recovery and to make amends that were beyond the reach of my ego earlier. 

I’m deeply flawed, but I’m beginning to get past the frustration of its endless drag. Because when the weight of the ego gets too heavy to carry, there it is, my beloved Guru’s grace, love, and acceptance. All I need is to let go, allow grace to take over, and retire Sisyphus for a moment. 

To briefly loosen the suffocating grip of this karmic garb and let the cool breeze of grace waft in for respite, lightness, and a whiff of what it could mean to be free. 

Most significantly, very slowly, I’m beginning to allow others their own perfection. To reduce the distance between my resistance (and consequent suffering), and their roles in being instruments of grace through their karma-garbed perfect presences. I see this now, clearly, though mostly still in hindsight. I’m yet to learn to be present to this Truth in the moment. 

I’m not an accomplished cartographer of the heart by far yet, but with my Guru’s infinite grace, I’ve made my first firm step into an arterial inroad. 

|| JAI BRAHMARISHI MOHANJI ||

Edited & Published by – Testimonials Team, 23rd February 2023

Disclaimer:

The views, opinions, and positions expressed by the authors and those providing comments on these blogs are theirs alone and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions or positions of Mohanji, Mohanji Foundation, it’s members, employees or any other individual or entity associated with Mohanji or Mohanji Foundation. We make no representations as to accuracy, completeness, timeliness, suitability or validity of any information presented by individual authors and/or commenters on our blogs and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries or damages arising from its display or use.

We reserve the right to delete, edit, or alter in any manner we see fit blog entries or comments that we, in our sole discretion, deem to be obscene, offensive, defamatory, threatening, in violation of trademark, copyright or other laws, of an express commercial nature, or otherwise unacceptable.

Mohanji Testimonials team

Traveling with grace

Posted on by Mohanji Testimonials

Getha Padmanathan, Malaysia

I would like to share my recent experiences with Mohanji in Shirdi Program, 16 – 18th December 2022. As soon as I signed up for the program, I started to face a few challenges and obstacles until the day I reached Shirdi.

At first, I had a tough time getting the passport ready and then went through a messy way of booking the flight ticket. On top of that, my sister, who usually helps me with flight bookings, complained and was very stressed, but I needed her as I was unfamiliar with flight bookings.

Finally, we managed to book the tickets (Kuala Lumpur – Chennai – Shirdi) with my sister’s help and input from the Mohanji Malaysia family, not knowing the challenges we had to face this time. During the journey, we were supposed to transit in Chennai, but unfortunately, the plane could not land due to cloudy weather. 

We were told that we had flown round and round 9 times before the plane decided to land at Hyderabad airport. After waiting for an hour or so, we flew back again to Chennai. By then, we had missed the connecting flight, and there weren’t any flights to Shirdi on that day. So we booked the earliest flight available on the 16th, arriving in Shirdi at 10.45 am, and sadly we missed the half-day program, which I was not happy about.

Initially, my plan was to visit the Samadhi Mandir and Dwarkamayi first before attending the program. But this did not happen and I prayed silently in my heart that by Mohanji’s grace, I wished to see him first before going to the program. 

Once we arrived at Shirdi airport, we rushed to our hotel, which was near Samadhi Mandir, and when we came out to look for an auto, someone near the mandir handed over two packets of Udi to us. Wow, we were surprised and so happy and took it as a sign of Baba’s darshan. And I thought, as I could not visit him at the Mandir, Baba himself came to me. Thank you so much, Baba.

Then we got into the auto and went straight to the St Laurens Hotel for the program, and when we reached there, we were again surprised. Mohanji was standing outside the hotel entrance, smiling as if waiting for our arrival. We immediately bowed down at his feet to seek his blessings. I was so happy Mohanji fulfilled my wish. We were indeed grateful to be blessed by two great Masters. Thank you so much, Mohanji and Baba, for this wonderful darshan.

 Thank you, Mohanji, for your grace and protection as I was able to walk even though I fell and injured my knee a few days before the trip. The pain was there, especially going up the hotel staircase, but it was bearable and also Thank you, Mohanji, for protecting my family members and me on our way to the airport when the car accidentally went onto the oncoming lane, but we managed to make a quick u-turn back to the right lane. 

Thank you, Baba, for your love and guidance and thank you, Mohanji, for all these experiences and the wonderful and amazing opportunities I had during the program. And Thank you so much, Mohanji, because all your teachings, meditations, chantings, Consciousness Kriya, Empowered program 1-4, and others which I have attended since 2022 have helped me so much in my spiritual progress. I was able to witness my own strength and stability in accepting the above situation with calmness and with full clarity.

|| JAI BRAHMARISHI MOHANJI ||

Edited & Published by – Testimonials Team, 18th February 2023

Disclaimer:

The views, opinions, and positions expressed by the authors and those providing comments on these blogs are theirs alone and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions or positions of Mohanji, Mohanji Foundation, it’s members, employees or any other individual or entity associated with Mohanji or Mohanji Foundation. We make no representations as to accuracy, completeness, timeliness, suitability or validity of any information presented by individual authors and/or commenters on our blogs and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries or damages arising from its display or use.

We reserve the right to delete, edit, or alter in any manner we see fit blog entries or comments that we, in our sole discretion, deem to be obscene, offensive, defamatory, threatening, in violation of trademark, copyright or other laws, of an express commercial nature, or otherwise unacceptable.

Mohanji Testimonials team

Experiences of Empowered 5 – Part 3

Posted on by Mohanji Testimonials

By Linda Abrol, Netherlands

In the final part of this testimonial, Linda shares some of her beautiful experiences with Mohanji in India after the Empowered programme.

The moment I got home from Serbia at the end of October 2022, my existing problems worsened. It was as if the Kailash challenge had come home with me. And not unsolicited or unwanted. It was welcome but also extremely painful. 

Energy prices were skyrocketing, and our popular vegetarian Indian restaurant, where energy is used in abundance for the tandoor oven, the big gas stove, and all the refrigerators and freezers, the dishwashers, the grease filtering system and lighting, was quickly heading toward bankruptcy. 

My husband’s depression worsened together with our marital problems. And that to an unbearable point where my husband and I began to discuss divorce seriously. Since I didn’t have a job, ageing and osteoarthritis made the chance of finding a job difficult – living on my own seemed virtually impossible. Not wanting to depend on others, I faced the worst-case scenario of becoming homeless.

I simply witnessed the possibility and was amazed at how balanced and empowered I felt beneath the emotions and mind games. I kept my back straight and continued to practice my focus on alignment by concentrating on Guru Consciousness, self-acceptance, Kriya, inner silence and, in extreme situations, Pause Technique. 

The same issue I faced during the days of the Empowered retreat in Serbia surfaced again and again – misunderstanding – but with more intensity. To the extent that I thought that no one really understood my pure intentions. Many loved ones seemed to look at me through a veil of their convictions, colours, ideas, and opinions and judged me for almost every decision I made with a pure heart.

My decisions seemed totally egoistic in the eyes of nearly all my dear ones, and their judgment seemed final. I felt extreme loneliness. Kailash and Empowered 5 energies seemed to intensify my challenges. Shiva takes everything and leaves you empty, but only with your permission. It is like buying a ticket for a rollercoaster ride and yet being surprised by its ferocity.

Fortunately, I didn’t resist even the deepest feeling of desperation and fear of the unknown and stayed considerably stable. Both Kailash and Empowered didn’t only trigger the trials. They gave the ‘medicines’ as well in the form of a deep underlying peace, acceptance and a feeling of absolute safety, no matter what happened.

In the midst of all personal trouble and trauma, I bought my ticket for India to attend Sri Sathya Sai Baba’s birthday celebration, which was being conducted yearly on the 23rd of November 2022 in Sri Soma Sai Skanda Ashram in Nidugatha, Maddur taluk, near Bangalore. This was the first time the celebrations were held without the presence of Swami Gopal Baba, who took samadhi in 2020.

After his samadhi, covid prevented any celebration in the ashram. While still in the body, he had asked all of us devotees to keep attending the celebrations even after his samadhi. I couldn’t disappoint my Guru, and although our financial situation seemed to be under immense pressure, I completely trusted that the universe (the Tradition) would take care.

But the deciding factor to go was the chance that Mohanji would attend the celebrations. A few months ago, I woke up with a strong feeling: how wonderful would it be to celebrate our beloved Sathya Sai Baba’s birthday in Swami Gopal Baba’s ashram in Mohanji’s divine presence? 

Experience has taught me that those ‘satwic desires’ tended to come true. I called my friend Sita and told her of my vision. She said that her husband Nico had a dream in which he saw Mohanji in ‘Kalyanpur’s room’. Kalyanpur was a businessman who donated the money for many constructions in the ashram. He had an apartment in the ashram where he would stay when construction work was going on. This sounded wonderful to me. We decided that B. was the best person to invite Mohanji to the ashram personally, and Sita asked him if he was prepared to do that. He loved the idea and said he would consider it.

We took that as a ‘yes’ and assumed that Mohanji was officially invited. Every time I thought of my coming journey to the ashram, I felt the joy of Mohanji being there. Both Sita and I sent an unofficial WhatsApp message to Chris Greenwood, Mohanji’s EA, and I mentioned in a message to Preeti Duggal – still assuming that Mohanji was already invited – our sincere prayer that he would be willing to be present at the coming celebrations in Sri Soma Sai Skanda Ashram.

Mohanji was in Delhi and appeared to have extended his stay there beyond the expected arrival time in the Sri Soma Sai Skanda Ashram. He was North, and we were South. Somehow, I knew he would change his mind. There was no fear, doubt, or desire, simply a happy anticipation. And a prayer that all Swami’s disciples would feel Gopal Baba’s love through him.

Always when a great Master takes samadhi, and there is no appointed successor, a situation arises where there may be confusion about future plans, convictions, positions and opinions, mixed with intense feelings of mourning about the Master. As far as I could see, despite this turbulent time, Swami’s boys and sevadals did an amazing job of upholding the Guru’s will and maintaining the ashram according to his liking. They never missed performing a ritual that Swami Gopal Baba would have done, even if no attendee or visitor showed up.

A few days before the birthday celebrations, my travel companion, Yvonne, and I visited Mohanji’s ashram in Bangalore to join in the noon aarathi and to embrace Amma and Acchan, Mohanji’s parents. Rajesh Kamath was home and told us that Mohanji had changed his plan and cut his visit to Delhi short to come to the ashram in Nidugatha. I was over the moon with joy, as you can imagine.

On the 23rd of November, I heard Mohanji’s voice inside me: ‘… therefore, I was sent (from Delhi) to the South to look after my children.’ I experienced it as a confirmation of my prayer that Gopal Baba would bring clarity and happiness in the form of Mohanji. Swami Sri Gopal Baba was the embodiment of the divine Mother and – although occupying a male body – would call us her children. Now it was absolutely clear to me that she had come on this auspicious day to look after her children in my beloved Mohanji’s form. 

When Mohanji actually arrived, and I got the chance to express a few words of gratitude, he simply said: ‘I had to come!’ What a blessing it was, and what a confirmation! Mohanji was received by Swami’s disciples with all regards, was invited to the sanctum sanctorum of the main (Kamakshi) temple, had lunch in Kalyanpur’s apartment, just like Nico’s dream had already predicted a year earlier, visited Swami’s house, walked hand in hand with the main trustee of the ashram, inaugurated the newly built dispensary and made each and every disciple happy by his unconditional love.

Beautiful pictures of this joyful occasion can be found on Mohanji’s official Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/MohanjiOfficial/posts/pfbid028ApVHoTyYQ5bYromd7Fn8mm3rHXtSYZHJaogaub8h2PCwwJuSd82P4WiEPWbD4awl

After the celebrations, the real mystery evolved. Who had officially invited Mohanji? It appeared that our assumption B. would do it had not come true. B. had not been able to invite Mohanji for some understandable reasons that he explained to us later. But he told us that Dinesh – one of Swami Gopal Baba’s devotees from Delhi, who happened to have walked the Outer Kora with Mohanji – had invited him during his recent stay in Delhi.

My Sherlock Homes instinct woke up. I sent a message to Dinesh. He answered: ‘No, I didn’t invite Mohanji. I only mentioned the celebrations to him. Mohanji then told me that He had heard about the celebrations from Preeti Duggal and a few others, and He ‘impulsively’ decided to attend them while talking to me.’ I was stunned to hear this.

Then who invited Mohanji officially? How did The Mother come to her children? Was it simply the innocent and sincere prayer of two of her children and a dream of a third that invited her all the way South? Dinesh and Sita said: ‘It was the Tradition that invited Mohanji.’ My inner voice had already confirmed that statement. Which mother needs an official invitation to come to her children? The mother is simply drawn towards her children when they need her. She knows every need, even before her child cries. 

Miracles do happen, but it is not a good thing to assume things without checking facts and turning them into a miracle. Therefore I didn’t end my search here. I asked the managing trustee of the Sri Soma Sai Skanda ashram, and the missing part of the mystery got solved.

After hearing from Dinesh about Mohanji’s change of plans and his intention to visit the Sri Soma Skanda Ashram, they officially invited him for lunch and the inauguration ceremony of the dispensary, despite the intern rule of the Trust to not invite any spiritual Gurus or Masters to the ashram during major functions like Swamy aradhana, and Sathya Sai birthday. The reason was understandable and simple. They all would be busy with function activities and probably would not be able to receive their official and holy guests with proper rituals. 

So, the actual miracle was that for Mohanji, the Trust members made an exception to their own rule. A miracle was that Mohanji came spontaneously, despite having other plans in Delhi. That it so happened that he had another function in Bangalore on the same day and could combine them conveniently.

Nico’s dream was part of the miracle, and our prayers that came true were part of the miracle. Our hearts being filled to the brim with love and joy was part of the miracle. Kannaiah’s presence and his being able to officially welcome Mohanji and attend to all his needs while Swami’s Indian disciples were busy with the function was part of the miracle.

Seeing Mohanji humbly bowing down in sincere respect to our Guru’s picture in his house, despite his own immeasurable spiritual status, was part of the miracle. Mohanji’s remark during our goodbye was that we were welcome in his ashram in Bangalore during the remainder of our stay in India was part of the miracle. 

Sita, Nico, Yvonne and I were blessed to spend three afternoons with Mohanji before we flew home, with many hours of satsang. And with blessings and hugs of dear Amma and Achan, his parents who felt very very close, eating with the family, attending aarathi, watching Mohanji in the set up for a live zoom session, meditating in the guestroom while he was doing some other work.

On the day before our flight, Mohanji served us our meal like a divine Mother. He served every item with his own hands and didn’t forget anybody or anything. Once again, during this journey, he proved that he is not only the embodiment of the Divine Father but the Divine Mother as well! 

These were sheer miracles and completely unexpected. On how we deserved this grace while Mohanji had such an incredibly busy life being involved in activities in 91+ countries, He answered (as I remember): ‘It is not easy to get to me like this. You have been involved with sadhana and with Masters for many years.’ 

We experienced so many blessed miracles on this journey that we had to ask ourselves: are we able to digest all this? As soon as I heard my limited thinking, I recognized the mind talk and directed my mind towards more elevated ways of watching the course of events: being with our Guru involves being open and limitless. There is nothing to digest. Digesting is limited to a person.

Being in divine presence requires simply flowing and experiencing the grace of every living moment. In the best-case scenario, there is only Him. My sincere prayer is: May we all be able to flow in Guru Consciousness, where there is no mine or me. Experience moment by moment. And as soon as we forget, may we wake up to his presence once again.

Experiences of Empowered 5 – Part 2

|| JAI BRAHMARISHI MOHANJI ||

Edited & Published by – Testimonials Team, 4th February 2023

Disclaimer:

The views, opinions, and positions expressed by the authors and those providing comments on these blogs are theirs alone and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions or positions of Mohanji, Mohanji Foundation, it’s members, employees or any other individual or entity associated with Mohanji or Mohanji Foundation. We make no representations as to accuracy, completeness, timeliness, suitability or validity of any information presented by individual authors and/or commenters on our blogs and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries or damages arising from its display or use.

We reserve the right to delete, edit, or alter in any manner we see fit blog entries or comments that we, in our sole discretion, deem to be obscene, offensive, defamatory, threatening, in violation of trademark, copyright or other laws, of an express commercial nature, or otherwise unacceptable.

Mohanji Testimonials team

Experiences of Empowered 5 – Part 2

Posted on by Mohanji Testimonials

By Linda Abrol, Netherlands

In part 2 of this testimonial, Linda shares her wonderful experiences during the Empowered 5 program and her journey afterwards.

For me, the absolute highlight of the event was the following experience which I am so happy to share. In the week before the event, I started the translation of the book Kailash with Mohanji, The Inner Kora. On the evening of the third day, I suddenly felt inspired – and this came from an intense, deep longing from somewhere inside – to write a small note for Mohanji and place it between the cover and the title page of the book. 

Having had the opportunity to dive into the vastness and stillness of the Himalayas by translating the Miraculous Days by Rajesh Kamath, a longing to experience the life-changing pilgrimage had occurred. I wanted to honour the authenticity of the experiences described, and what would support that purpose better than becoming an experienced expert? Since it was likely that I would never be able to make the pilgrimage in this life because of a life-threatening blood disease, I asked in my note if Mohanji would bless me to walk two circumambulations around him: one for the Outer Kora and one for the Inner Kora experience. For I suddenly felt very deeply and clearly that He represented both. 

Waves of emotions arose from inside of me at the very thought of it. I received his short and sweet answer the next day. He wrote underneath my request: Definitely Linda, Mohanji. I was thrilled and anticipated the feeling of making the rounds and feeling so much freedom, but I had no clue how and when this would happen. 

Day 4 arrived. This time, I joined the line of people waiting for a word or a blessing from Mohanji or for a personal question. My heart was pounding with the beats of a sledgehammer when I thought of the question I had already asked in the letter. I literally thought for a moment that I would die on the spot. What would people think of this action? It scared me. But I decided that no fear would stop me from doing what my heart clearly dictated. 

The blood condition I was diagnosed with in August, which caused my blood to attack itself, made me vulnerable to a heart attack or a brain infarct. This was not a time to get guided by fears for anybody’s opinion. So I told myself what I learned from my daughter when she was young: be afraid but don’t stop. 

When it was my turn to spend some moments with Mohanji, I touched his feet with all my love. He looked at me with bright eyes and with a big smile he said encouragingly: ‘Linda! You wrote me a letter?!’ ‘Yes, Mohanji,’ I smiled back. ‘Repeat your question,’ he said. ‘You are my Kailash, Mohanji, would you kindly permit me to…,’ before I could even finish my sentence, he said: ‘I will stand up,’ and he positioned himself right in front of the stage on the floor, giving me ample space to walk around him. 

I bowed down at his feet to receive his blessings to finish the journey safely, for I considered it as The Real Thing. And very reverently, I finished the first circumambulation for the Outer Kora and inwardly asked blessings for the Inner Kora round. It was an intense experience, and I thanked him from the bottom of my heart after the last round. I sat down on my chair to meditate, but my teeth started chattering profusely as if I just came from the coldest of places. 

I ordered them to stop and tried to relax to allow it to happen, but it continued with regular spastic movements of the whole body. A clear sign to me that it had not been an ordinary journey. Bodies never lie. Even the next two days, the spastic movements happened but only when Mohanji looked my way or when I felt the Kailash experience. I have no words to describe my gratitude for the immense grace that fell upon me, and I can only thank Mohanji times and again for his consent. 

When the alarm rang on the morning after the five silent days, my body was still tired, and I felt like pulling my blanket over my head and continuing my sleep. I said to Mohanji inside: ‘I would like to catch some more sleep.’ His immediate answer came unexpectedly: ‘Better put your mind to sleep.’ But my mind went off enthusiastically, louder than the alarm clock. Again I heard his voice: ‘Better give your mind a break.’ With this valuable advice, I went back to the world of noise. Absolutely sure that my life will never be the same. 

On the way home from the Empowered 5 retreat in Zlatibor, we were ready to check in at Belgrade Airport, and I suddenly remembered that I had my fanny pack with my passport in my check-in luggage. I searched my entire suitcase, but to my horror, the passport was not in its usual place in the bag. My friends asked if it was still at the reception desk of the Zlatibor hotel. 

In the hustle and bustle of meeting dear acquaintances, I had not noticed that I hadn’t gotten my passport back when I got the room key. At check-out, the receptionist hadn’t mentioned anything. To summarise, I was not allowed to fly and stood like a bunny in the spotlight, trying to control my heart rate with the pause technique. Two conflicting currents ran through my system at the same time. 

The current one was an expectant ‘Just move on to the next most effective step. Everything is ok. Maybe it will even be an exceptional fun detour with a possibility of extra satsang and a nice chill with Mohanji family members.’ Stream two was the fear stream, and it was slowly trying to overrule stream one. It succeeded quite well. A whole arsenal of questions shot through my head in a matter of seconds. Realistic and fearful and mixed. Mohanji would have been fine with the realistic ones. 

Who to call first? How do I reach people if I’m somewhere with no wifi and I’m in a pickle? How does my passport get from Zlatibor to Belgrade? Can I rebook my flight? If not, will I manage to pay for a new ticket with my credit card this time? It didn’t work out the last time when I was in India. What will be the extra costs? When will there be a new flight? Is it dangerous in this country for women alone? Mohanji help! This is very much out of my comfort zone. India is already so familiar, but Serbia is so unfamiliar to me. 

Meanwhile, an empowerment participant, Jesus from Mexico, cast himself as an unexpected guardian angel, and I immediately saw Mohanji’s hand in the play. On the one hand, I was once again faced with the consequences of ‘not being present’, and on the other hand, there was immediate relief in the form of help. My friends spoke words of support. My friend and roommate in Zlatibor, Sylvia, stayed beside me with Jesus until they were assured that the most important questions had been answered through Jesus’ phone calls to the right people. Then he ran from counter to counter for information. 

They kept supporting me until they almost missed their own flight, but when they saw I was fine and under the covers, they ran to catch their own. If this is not divine intervention… That touched me immensely, and I told them so at length afterwards. Mohanji’s intervention did not end there. I found a desk with a friendly ground staffer who arranged a new ticket at a very reasonable price for me with KLM, and payment went smoothly. 

Cecilia, a friend of Jesus from Belgrade and Mohanji Angel number three, picked me up by car and gave me the key to a studio where I could sleep. How cool is that? I didn’t even know her. Only the connection with Mohanji was enough for her to offer her hospitality and full support. Unfortunately, she herself didn’t have time for satsang and had to rush home to manage her urgent affairs. 

I felt seriously lost once I was alone. The energy of the city hung over me like a heavy blanket. Eating alone in a restaurant was not very helpful. I kept trying to connect inwardly and feel what I was feeling. What I felt stayed with a dreary frozen-bunny-in-the-spotlight feeling because I was alone and uncomfortable, but it was what it was. ‘Take a breath and be present’ was my advice to myself. Then came a redeeming app from Tijana, who was on her way by bus from Zlatibor with my passport because she had to travel to Belgrade anyway. Wherever I would be in Belgrade, she would come to me, was her promise. That was Mohanji Angel number 4! 

She appended that just around the corner from my studio happened to be the weekly meditation evening being held that evening at Belgrade’s Mohanji Center. A Mohanji Center is around the corner! In a giant city of over a million people where even regular residents lose their way! And the start time was in half an hour. What a synchronicity! After a curious search (I had been given the wrong address) where, in the spirit of ‘don’t give up before you are defeated’, I had to ring the doorbell of total strangers to tap into Wi-Fi for a while, Finally, I found the Center and was warmly welcomed. 

It was not until the meditation that I discovered a strong inner resistance to my fear of being alone in a strange city. The fear had been obvious during the afternoon, but the resistance to the fear had not, and it was the very one that caused a blockage in my flow. Fear in itself is not a blockage. It is natural. But fear of the fear or resistance to the fear is. It makes you not really allow yourself to feel the fear. With Mohanji’s ‘feel the feeling’ in mind, I was able to feel and embrace the fear and through that softening, it finally gave way to the enjoyment and gratitude that lay underneath. 

Mohanji Angel number 5 – she had a difficult name – gently translated the Serbian spoken information into my ear before and after the meditation. After a lovely Bliss of Silence meditation, we took fun group photos, and someone ran away, only to reappear after a few minutes with bags full of yummy goodies. “Why don’t we make an impromptu Happy Tuesday instead of Happy Wednesday?” he said enthusiastically, establishing himself as Mohanji’s Angel number 6 to materialize the chill-satsang that I had imagined at the airport. 

Everyone was so sweet, and when we started translating ‘I love you’ into two languages, all the remaining Mohanji Belgrade angels laughed very much at the sound of the Dutch word for ‘you’. To them, it sounded like a cat and ‘you’ conveniently became ‘meow meow’. Two days earlier, on the morning of the Diwali celebration, I woke up feeling: Mohanji is the manifestation of the Wish-fulfilling Tree as the Sathya Sai Baba devotees among us know it from Puttaparthi. Thank you, Mohanji! 

My most delicious recipe for manifesting my vision: I imagine what would make me very happy and what is within my purpose. I offer it at the feet of my Guru. I feel joy and gratitude in advance. Then let go of any outcome and stay with a sense of expectant joy, and remain curious as to how the Guru will manifest this or something better. The taste and outcome of this recipe are sheer grace.

After arrival at Schiphol Airport, while driving home with my husband, I received a phone call from the hospital. The result of the latest blood test of my ‘incurable’, ‘untreatable’ and life-threatening autoimmune disorder was negative! I was completely cured. The diagnosis of the illness and my miraculous way towards this result are described in three previous blogs about my treatment in the ayurvedic hospital Vedasudha in Kerala. The only thing that I could do that moment in the car was a loud and extremely joyful: Yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you, Mohanji!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When I started editing the above experiences, one month after the retreat, Cecilia came to my mind and my gratitude towards her. I opened WhatsApp, and who was writing to me? Cecilia! Saying: ‘You came to my mind, and I thought of writing you…’ 

I decided to keep the above testimonial with me for a while to experience the post-Empowerment effects and to add them to my testimonial. 

Part 3 to be continued…

Please click on the link below to read part 1 of this testimonial.

https://mohanjichronicles.com/2023/01/21/experiences-of-empowered-5-part-1/

|| JAI BRAHMARISHI MOHANJI ||

Edited & Published by – Testimonials Team, 28th January 2023

Disclaimer:

The views, opinions, and positions expressed by the authors and those providing comments on these blogs are theirs alone and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions or positions of Mohanji, Mohanji Foundation, it’s members, employees or any other individual or entity associated with Mohanji or Mohanji Foundation. We make no representations as to accuracy, completeness, timeliness, suitability or validity of any information presented by individual authors and/or commenters on our blogs and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries or damages arising from its display or use.

We reserve the right to delete, edit, or alter in any manner we see fit blog entries or comments that we, in our sole discretion, deem to be obscene, offensive, defamatory, threatening, in violation of trademark, copyright or other laws, of an express commercial nature, or otherwise unacceptable.

Mohanji Testimonials team

Mohanji within me

Posted on by Mohanji Editorial Team

by Meghan Rose, USA

During the evening part of my daily sadhana, I face a tapestry of Shirdi Sai Baba and an image of Mohanji. Around the last week of December, when I would do my sadhana, I would look into the tapestry and get the feeling that Baba is myself, and I am Baba. On December 28th, Baba’s presence was with me the entire time I did the sadhana.

The next night, I was in the car driving back from my dad’s, and I got the similar lovely feeling I had the night prior. I parked my car, closed my eyes and took in the beautiful sensation. I began to feel Mohanji inside of me. I had a vision of him sitting inside my body; he was meditating in this blue ball or aura. It disappeared quickly.

I tried so hard not to get my mind involved in this experience. My mind began wondering what if my neighbours saw me sitting in my car, but the feeling was too lovely to leave! At one point, I even tried to turn my neck, and it was like my spine wouldn’t let me. I knew I could move but at the same time…. Could I?

I simultaneously felt that I was in Mohanji while Mohanji was in me. I started to get the sensation that I was Mohanji.

I then felt this sensation on my scalp, like something was about to be pulled away. I wondered if my personality was going to go. I felt that it would be like death; my mind/personality would be gone. Not a death in the sense of me leaving the body. I could feel something in my head physically, almost being removed. My mind presented its concern about what would happen if it was not there, and at the same time, I was begging to continue feeling that connection. I didn’t want the feeling of Mohanji inside me to leave.

I then felt from my heart Mohanji say he would never leave me. It wasn’t an auditory experience. In fact, there was only silence. It was something from inside me that I was able to know. I could also feel the sensation of wanting something to be pulled away from the back of my spine, too, like the sensation of taking off a tight t-shirt. I wanted it to be gone! Get it off me! Please. It may not be time yet.

I couldn’t help but not want to move and continue with my experience. Still, I felt I should go upstairs, as if that was the solution preventing my mind from bothering me about the neighbours seeing me sit in my car with my eyes shut. I came into my room and stood before my photo of Mohanji, then closed my eyes. I could see myself in white clothes and Mohanji also in white clothes; he was standing a little behind me, to the right. We were in bright white light!

If you have met me, you know I am very short. I am only 4 feet 9. But at that moment, I felt BIG, taller, and expanded. Even though I am shorter than Mohanji in height, it felt like we are energetically equal. I felt more of myself; it was different again than how things feel in the waking state when I am distracted by something outside of me. The waking state is so heavy and dense. Things go fast. But in this sensation, there was no sense of time. I noticed it was only my mind keeping track of the time because I still needed to do my daily sadhana!

Before, I couldn’t understand how to look inside and see the Master there. After seeing him sit there in my chest, I understand why he says don’t look for him outside. Since this night, things have been changing inside me. Things have been changing for a long time, but after this night, a series of events kept occurring. After I saw him meditating inside me, I started to feel his presence more and more from within.

The following week, January 5th, I started a new part of my sadhana. I had a candle lit as I did mantra japa. I gazed into the flame and laughed, remembering how Mohanji said he did the same when he meditated. I felt I’m following in the footsteps of my Master. I then got the sensation of a hand on my head. I could feel the fingertips along my scalp. The grip became strong. I closed my eyes and knew it was Mohanji. This love pierced my heart, and I cried. Love was growing in my heart; I also began to do the Power of Purity. My heart has been expanding over days and weeks. I feel a sense of peace and stillness inside, and I feel very connected to all from my heart centre.

As some may have noticed, I also became insanely inspired out of the blue. I started to make videos of Mohanji and his quotes. I did not plan this out prior. I just did it spontaneously. I am falling in love with spontaneity. When I began making the posts each day, more internal changes inside me would take place, and other quotes would appear that matched exactly what I was processing the night before. Some synchronicities have been occurring.

When I have a realization from within, not long after that, I would see Mohanji’s quote posted saying the same thing. So I make a post out of it. For example, I felt very empowered to begin speaking about Mohanji. Talking about Mohanji is something I do almost 24/7 with people who talk to me. But this is the first time I have done it with a social media platform. I felt really good to be showcasing it more online.Talking about Mohanji is talking about my own self, life and heart. We can make our Guru’s message and presence available everywhere without expectations. We can do it out of the sheer love that we have.

Around this time, I saw a quote by him saying, “The easiest thing to do for liberating oneself in this world is to spread the message of our loving Guru while spreading the love with our very existence unconditionally. Your personal wealth has nothing to do with it. If you are afraid to talk about your Guru, who gave you himself, you are a hypocrite. Grace will not enter your doorway. Hypocrisy prevents grace.” That is a big confirmation for me that I will keep going.

I made a video out of that quote I mentioned above, and as I was making it, I asked Mohanji to select the music because I couldn’t decide. Somehow it got picked, and I thought to myself how much better it feels when there is a sense of togetherness, Mohanji making the videos along with me or even through me! Again, I saw a quote not long after that where Mohanji mentioned the joy of togetherness and non-doership.

One night this week, I was asking Dattatreya, Mohanji and the Tradition to protect me, cleanse me, and do something with me! The Tradition is my family, and I wish to be part of it, doing something for the Tradition. Hours later, a Mohanji family member saw my posts and asked me to make some for MyDattatreya platform. I agreed! I made the first video for it and started to feel very connected to Datta, from the heart and not the mind. Actually, the feeling of connectedness I get in my heart about Mohanji and Datta is the same. There’s no difference in the feeling in my heart.

A couple of days later, I was walking home and decided to cross the street, meaning I didn’t use the crosswalk to get to my apartment. A couple of moments before that, I thought about how we shouldn’t be scared of any negative forces as we are protected. I didn’t see any cars, so I took a few steps. What I didn’t notice was the fact that to the left, a car was making a turn towards me. But a parked mail truck was on the way, and I couldn’t see the car coming. I thought the road was clear. The car came right towards me; her car was going towards the sidewalk and not straight into the road. I backed away, and the lady even had to turn her wheel quickly not to hit me.

In the past, when such things happen, I would feel a sense of guilt or worry after that. “How could I have been so stupid?” But this time, things were different. I felt an insane amount of peace and stillness inside my heart. I felt that Mohanji had just saved my life. I asked for protection, and I truly got it. I could feel this certainty inside my heart. I was actually so happy to have experienced that. I really feel it inside my heart. I am changing. I can’t describe the feeling and will leave it at this for now. I’m nothing but a child of the Tradition. My life is for them! 

Mohanji, I wish to dedicate this post to your consciousness. And I really thank you for your presence which is turning me towards my true nature. You sparked inspiration inside of me, and I’m grateful for you. I love you so much. You are my life. Spreading the word of God has sparked so much joy and courage inside of me. This sensation that has awoken my heart makes so many other silly things not worth anything. The words of George Harrison from his song, ‘Your Love is Forever’ describes what I mean as well, “I feel it and my heart knows you’re the one guiding light in all, your love shines on, the only lover worth it all, your love is forever.” 

|| JAI BRAHMARISHI MOHANJI ||

Edited & Published by – Testimonials Team, 26th January 2023

Disclaimer:

The views, opinions, and positions expressed by the authors and those providing comments on these blogs are theirs alone and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions or positions of Mohanji, Mohanji Foundation, it’s members, employees or any other individual or entity associated with Mohanji or Mohanji Foundation. We make no representations as to accuracy, completeness, timeliness, suitability or validity of any information presented by individual authors and/or commenters on our blogs and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries or damages arising from its display or use.

We reserve the right to delete, edit, or alter in any manner we see fit blog entries or comments that we, in our sole discretion, deem to be obscene, offensive, defamatory, threatening, in violation of trademark, copyright or other laws, of an express commercial nature, or otherwise unacceptable.

Mohanji Testimonials team

Experiences of Empowered 5 – Part 1

Posted on by Mohanji Testimonials

By Linda Abrol, Netherlands,

Honestly, this was the most challenging retreat I have ever attended. And I can tell from experience, for I have been attending holistic retreats ever since 2004. Now that the time for comfort zone spirituality (quoting Rajesh Kamath) seems to be over and the real thing is being chosen by many, we all plunged into an unknown zone of sitting for hours without much sensory diversion (apart from snoring – a so-called zoo according to Mohanji), fully focussing on our inner world. 

Initially, Mohanji supported huge inner cleansing by asking for two group Mai-Tri sessions on consecutive days. We were blindfolded, no eye contact or communication was allowed, we had earplugs, and while walking to the diner room or the toilet, we looked down to the ground in front of us. The simple fact of being ignored by the other participants brought up a lot of stuff for me. We tend to take everything personally and attach the energy of the present moment to some past traumatic experience. In the past traumatic event, we took some conclusions that were actually meant to prevent a similar painful feeling in our futures but, in reality, transformed into convictions and patterns that only prevent living a life of wholeness. 

During the start of Empowerment 5, these convictions and emotions initially rose quickly to the surface. But since I have done so much emotional and mental cleansing over the years, they didn’t cause huge inner turbulence, only discomfort. With the help of the instructions given by Mohanji, I could simply watch them. But I couldn’t escape the restlessness that arose from the feelings. Later I found that it was because I didn’t really allow myself to freely feel what I was feeling. 

I mentalised my feelings by witnessing them. It was another form of suppression. Witnessing is great as long as one doesn’t resist feeling the feelings which I did unconsciously. The restlessness caused by feelings of worthlessness, misunderstanding and ‘being tolerated instead of loved and appreciated’ came up for me because I was being ‘ignored by others.’ The inner system – because of past trauma – translates the fact that somebody didn’t look at me as ‘being judged and being considered as trash’ whereas the truth is that they didn’t ignore anybody but simply focused inside as per instructions. 

The feeling of discomfort invited me to think: what do I miss most in this setting? I wrote down in my writing binder: Acknowledgment, exchange of love, touch, and a loving glance. I carried some inspiration cards in my suitcase, and in the evenings, I would randomly pick one, and the first one read: ‘Stay happy with yourself’. It shifted my focus from looking for an outer acknowledgement to allowing inner safety to surface. The simple text turned into my ‘mantra’ for the rest of the week whenever I caught myself in self-judgement. 

I had come with high expectations of breaking through everything that kept me away from the deep silence and consequently elevated experiences, but they seemed, except for a few wonderful moments and hours, to remain out. I noticed that when my mind would drift off from the breathing technic, we were instructed to do, I tended to tighten certain facial muscles. After loosening them consciously, my mind reacted by relaxing a bit as well. 

Fortunately, I was quite balanced during the rest of the five days. Only initially, the restrictions of sensory input caused some adolescent feelings of rebellion. When Mohanji advised us to focus on our purpose and vision instead of resisting the rules that were made to benefit us, I was able to remember that I was there because of my deep longing for total liberation. 

Yet, the silence and closure to the world of the senses seemed to bring me little except muscle pain and resistance, and I wondered what shift was already taking place subconsciously; for after all, Mohanji had promised: no one would go home empty-handed. The resistance kept playing tricks on me no matter how I tried to relax into it and accept it. I could not find the switch to turn. As we had been advised, witnessing’ was what brought us closest to (relative) peace. 

But the various energies of other participants, the noises, the snoring and the emotions of the people around me caused my head to be always active and in vigil mode, except when Mohanji spoke and the period shortly after He left us to meditate till lunchtime. Then I sank into bliss. Not the deepest form of ‘total dissolution’, but a wonderful calmness, love, acceptance and relaxation and the feeling everything is ok. 

So, when I started asking myself what were the benefits so far, if any, I found to my surprise, that there were quite a few:

I felt lighter because of the simple – and, in my opinion, tasteless – food. 

I was getting clearer in my head by the day.

I was again taking every step and making each movement with conscious attention, just as I had done for so many years after meeting Sathya Sai Baba in 1991 and before mobile phones made an appearance in my life.

It was not until that moment that I consciously noticed how I had grown in ‘being a witness in difficult circumstances’ over the last six dramatic years – during which my life had been turned quite upside down by moving house, by a completely new business venture, two accidents with chronic, physical consequences, two parents with dementia and their transition to the other world, the parting of my parental home and more. I started to consciously feel gratitude again. A Mai-Tri session during the retreat allowed me to sit without back pain. More gratitude.

On the morning of the third day, a shift seemed to happen. Both in me and in the group energy. I woke up with an inner message from Mohanji, asking me: ‘Absolute calmness, what is your trigger to come out of that calmness?’ I replied automatically, as if from a higher knowing: ‘Misunderstanding.’ I parked the message in some part of my brain and proceeded to the event hall. 

Two days of group Mai-Tri had cleansed a lot of clutter from the entire group’s energy, and the air felt lighter. Mohanji watched us with happiness, mentioning both the cleansing and the determination of the whole group, young and old. I am highly sensitive to group energy, so, together with the group energy, my own energy got elevated. And the high energy frequency that emanated from Mohanji stayed with me until lunchtime. 

Soon after lunch, the restlessness came back, but this time I watched the rising thoughts with more interest to find out their origin. I discovered that more than ninety per cent of the disturbing thoughts that kept me away from calmness were about misunderstanding indeed! That was a revelation. It was all about mentally trying to make people understand my good intentions and trying to avoid their anger and irritation. And the more I tried, the more misunderstandings showed up in daily life, making me feel insecure, lonely, unloved, useless, etc. And why did I do this? 

Because deep down, I was still afraid that misunderstanding would cause a whole village to stand up against me and throw me from a cliff. The anger on their faces never left me, and the incredible pain of knowing that these were my loved ones whom I had tried to make happy and healthy but now seemed to hate me so much. This was a previous life memory, of course. And every time I see anger in anybody’s eyes, the cells in my body fear I will be murdered. The good news of this revelation is that when this one memory will be desensitised one day – and I firmly believe help will come my way – ninety-five per cent of my restlessness will be gone! 

Part 2 to be continued …..

|| JAI BRAHMARISHI MOHANJI ||

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

Disclaimer:

The views, opinions, and positions expressed by the authors and those providing comments on these blogs are theirs alone and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions or positions of Mohanji, Mohanji Foundation, it’s members, employees or any other individual or entity associated with Mohanji or Mohanji Foundation. We make no representations as to accuracy, completeness, timeliness, suitability or validity of any information presented by individual authors and/or commenters on our blogs and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries or damages arising from its display or use.

We reserve the right to delete, edit, or alter in any manner we see fit blog entries or comments that we, in our sole discretion, deem to be obscene, offensive, defamatory, threatening, in violation of trademark, copyright or other laws, of an express commercial nature, or otherwise unacceptable.

Mohanji Testimonials team

Experiences with Mohanji, India 2022 – Part 4

Posted on by Mohanji Testimonials

Linda Abrol, Netherlands

Yesterday afternoon, on the 31st of August, I had the unexpected good fortune of attending the Ganesh Charturti event with Mohanji, and I was still staying with Harish and Neetha, two dear friends I had not seen for a decade. Harish was, in succession to his father, Dharmadarshi NC Nannaiah, the Managing Trustee of the People’s Trust, a charity that had incessantly worked the past forty years for the welfare of eighteen of the poorest villages in the countryside around Bangalore.

After waking up at 4.30 this morning, I did my daily sadhana practices. When I opened my eyes, a beautiful surprise awaited me. The reflection of the candlelight, shining through the transparent frame of a small Shiva picture, created a cross of light on Mohanji’s heart on the picture behind it. From a physical point of view, the appearance of the cross was perfectly explainable, but it was a miracle for my heart and gave me an intense feeling of being connected. Born a Christian, the very first thought I had during the satsang with Mohanji in Onderdijk last year in 2021: ‘This is how the disciples of Jesus must have felt at the feet of their Master by the waterside two thousand years ago.’ I posted the picture on the Mohanji Netherland app, and this was the immediate and astonishing reaction that followed from Selma, one of the devotees: 

This is really remarkable… Early this morning, I did a prayer to Jesus. I said that I just wanted to be in his presence; I closed my eyes and just kept seeing Mohanji in front of me, I often feel Jesus and Mohanji as one energy, so I jokingly said to Jesus: ‘You will have to give a sign with a cross or something hahaha’.I fell asleep…and see this picture now that I just woke up!

After visiting the People’s Trust project in Sriramanahalli that day, we went to Mohanji’s home address, where we were expected at half past three. Because the main road to the airport had been blocked, it became a bumpy ride through small villages and fields, which made them silently wonder if we would be too late this time, too. But no, we were kindly received, and Mohanji entered his reception room after a few minutes, dressed in white cotton trousers, a plain cobalt blue t-shirt and his hair in a ponytail that had been twisted into a bun at the back of his head. It looked casual and gave us the feeling of talking to a good friend. He inquired about my trip to Kerala.

At Mohanji’s right hand was a beautiful, lifelike painting of himself. To my surprise and amazement, the booklet In Silence with Mohanji, which I had only recently written and was published by Gurulight, was leaning comfortably against his picture. It gave me an enormous feeling of connection and also recognition of the – for me – life-transforming experiences that are described in the book. Rajesh told me afterwards that Mohanji had placed the book there himself a few weeks ago and, in the meantime, had shown it to several people and also given it as a gift. That touched me tremendously and made me think of Swami Gopal Baba, my deceased Master. He, too, did not give direct compliments, but through others, one heard how happy he was with your work. 

A week earlier, a spontaneous thought had come to me: how wonderful would it be if Mohanji would come and visit the People’s Trust project. After all, People’s Trust had already committed itself for forty years to social work for eighteen of the poorest villages around Bangalore and had provided children from poor families with free schooling, nutritious food and much more. One never knew what cooperation or inspiration from both sides with Ammucare (Mohanji’s charity foundation in India) might result from it. Harish had brought a leaflet of the Trust and handed it to Mohanji. Mohanji looked at it calmly and agreed to come. The condition was that there would be no ceremony or garlands, gatherings, speeches, etc. He just wished to come incognito as a mere guest. That, too, is great, so Harish had no problem with that commitment. 

Soon our conversation became what could rightly be called a satsang. Mohanji visibly enjoyed answering the in-depth questions that were asked. When Milica came and pointed out the time and that his next meeting would start elsewhere, he replied nonchalantly: ‘Just tell them I’ll be there in twenty minutes. No, tell them to start already.’ The importance of silence was discussed at length, and briefly, he explained daily life techniques. Freely translated, the technique went like this: Imagine a busy road (symbolising all the mind matter and daily concerns), and on the other side, you see a quiet bench. Now stay focused only on the peace that the bench radiates. As if you were looking right over the passing cars and buses. After a while, there will only be silence. No matter how many cars pass by.

Mohanji also told us about the tremendously beneficial effect of Pitrupaksha, freeing you from the karma and inclinations of your ancestors. And he also said that even without giving annadaan to saints and the needy, you could already experience a great difference in your life by simply offering all your food and drink to the following six forms of Gods: 1. Ganesha, 2. Kul Devatas (to the God who your family worships), 3. Naga Devatas (High souls who return to earth in the form of snakes – nagas – because then they are most likely to be left alone and to function unseen as saviours of the consciousness of the world), 4. Ishta Devatas (your personal form of God), 5. Pitru Devatas (the ancestors), and 6. Gurus.

He spoke about how Mina (a devotee from Serbia) sat next to him on the floor in Novi Sad, Serbia, while he was busy with the messages on his phone. He heard her inwardly repeat the question: Who is Mohanji beyond the physical body? He looked up from his phone and told her to touch his big toe. Finally, after wondering about this question for five years, she got a fulfilling answer when Mohanji took her on a wondrous journey to the sun and through the universe. She has described her experience in a three-part blog. Mohanji asked me to share the link to her experience with one of the attendees, and now I am sharing it with you. Read the first part of her incredible experience: https://minaobradovic.wixsite.com/understandingtruth/post/mohanji-the-universe-a-true-experience 

He took all the time for us and, when a few more people arrived, for them too. Calm, interested, clear and loving as always, he asked us not to leave yet, but to remain seated while he spoke to the other guests. When he finally had to go, he asked us to stay for a meal. We felt at home and welcome and accepted the invitation with both hands.

The arathi in the house mandir started and was similar to the arathi during the Ganesh Chaturti event one day ago; anyone who wished could participate in the flame-waving. Being able to experience this sacred ceremony at Mohanji’s own home will certainly add a special dimension to my daily Mohanji-arathi at my home temple. Mohanji’s parents were watching with shining eyes, and I felt strongly attracted to them. Realising at that moment that calling Mohanji my bada Bhaya (big brother) included them to be my parents as well! While the others were in the living room, I had a long conversation with both of them. They did love the bustle in their house. There were people coming and going all the time. Mohanji’s father had been a surgeon and had worked till old age. If I remember correctly, he was seventy-two when he finally stopped performing surgeries. 

He told me that when he saw me, he thought: ‘I know her. I have seen her before, but where and when?’ Then he went to his sleeping room and returned with a triumphant look and a copy of my booklet. He pointed at the picture on the cover, showing Mohanji and me. That was why I had seemed familiar to him! Now he knew! He smiled. He had even read all my testimonials and therefore felt he already knew me. I was delighted. Mohanji’s father wondered why I did not write a thicker book about Mohanji. His idea was to add new experiences to the book and let it grow. Both parents were so sweet and involved. Mohanji’s mother was a woman of great integrity, and when I mentioned that because of their great example, the world had gained such a Divine Friend, tears ran down her cheeks. We looked deep into each other’s eyes and shared the emotion.

We had a delicious meal of dosa and puri, and when I asked Rajesh why he was not eating with us, he said that he had eaten before, and that his current habit was to eat no more than two meals a day. I smilingly asked him if that was difficult for him because I knew from translating Miraculous Days how fond he was of food. To which Aditya, president of Mohanji Foundation India, said that Rajesh had changed a lot. So he had not only given up smoking (as he wrote in the same book) but also eating a lot since he was with Mohanji. Transformation with Mohanji is unforced and lightning fast; I have had the feeling (and the experience). 

Rajesh, as coordinator of Gurulight, helped enormously with the process of translating and publishing MAST and In Silence with Mohanji, and I had never seen him in person, although we must have exchanged dozens if not hundreds of messages with each other. So he got not one but more than four hugs spread over arrival and departure. After which, I asked him if he had already received a hug from me. After a short photo session with all of us, we said goodbye smiling, satisfied, grateful and happy.

Three beautiful days with my friends later, my flight was leaving at 6 o’clock in the morning of the 4th of August. My loved ones at home were joking that they were doubting whether I was coming home this time or making a new impulsive decision again to stay in India. But this time, I arrived safe, grateful and immensely happy. Being inwardly connected to Mohanji all through the process, I felt safe, loved and cared for, and I was guided to the right people and given the right inspirations and prompts at all times. I had continued my daily Shiva Kavacham listening sessions every night in Vedasudha Hospital, and I felt confident that nothing untoward could happen to me. 

To be continued after the coming blood test results from the hospital in the Netherlands are released within two months…

Links: Pitru Paksha: https://www.facebook.com/sacredbharat/posts/pfbid0XFgpugrVEfhsVNbKv5EvSjeA1ywZAsZ81chctPPcXzUnBKvP7hxNZktFiacLoRFel(https://spiritualpracticecalendar.wordpress.com/)

|| JAI BRAHMARISHI MOHANJI ||

Edited & Published by – Testimonials Team, 26th November 2022

Disclaimer:

The views, opinions, and positions expressed by the authors and those providing comments on these blogs are theirs alone and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions or positions of Mohanji, Mohanji Foundation, it’s members, employees or any other individual or entity associated with Mohanji or Mohanji Foundation. We make no representations as to accuracy, completeness, timeliness, suitability or validity of any information presented by individual authors and/or commenters on our blogs and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries or damages arising from its display or use.

We reserve the right to delete, edit, or alter in any manner we see fit blog entries or comments that we, in our sole discretion, deem to be obscene, offensive, defamatory, threatening, in violation of trademark, copyright or other laws, of an express commercial nature, or otherwise unacceptable.

Mohanji Testimonials team

A new voice!

Posted on by Mohanji Testimonials

By Natalija Mejandzieva

On the last day of Empowered 5, Mohanji was finishing up with a final satsang. It was quite a long one. He was, as always, giving love unconditionally, focusing his time on us completely. 

“Consciousness is experiencing life on earth through me” – this rang in my head. I resonated with this very much, and I could honestly feel it after intensely working on the silence inside for the past couple of days as I experienced earlier that my emotions are here, they are happening, and they will go again. I saw this drama that the mind creates based on emotions. I felt so much lighter and was so grateful that I was aware of it. 

After the satsang, Mohanji got up from the chair he was sitting on and continued to walk towards the exit door. As always, there was a river of people who wanted to hug him. It was an unusually big number of people, so I stayed aside. I went a little closer, but still far behind people, just to watch and observe him. I stood there for a little while when he noticed me and called me himself. He asked: “Don’t you want a hug?” I was thrilled and said “Yes!” like a little girl. I hopped towards him and slipped into the hug. He then asked me, “Are you singing?” I said that I was. Then he touched my throat, gently squeezed it and said to me, “You should sing more.” I felt so grateful for the opportunity he gave me. I felt happy and fulfilled.

It was the next day I had a glimpse of what he actually did. That was the day when Jelena and I were supposed to record our vocals for the ACT Foundation song. We had a great day together, did some vocal exercises and went to the studio. She recorded first, and while this was happening, I wasn’t in the studio. When I came back, I started to sing, and somehow everything felt so nice and flowed easily. You have to know that the voice is not always ready and, in different periods, needs more or less preparation. It can sound different throughout the day. 

The recording process was so easy for me. Usually, when I go to record in a studio, I don’t like my voice. But this time, there was something different happening within me. After the first try, the producer turned and said to me, “You made it in only one try. And your voice sounds so nice!” I felt good after this, but at the same time, I was humble as always and said let’s try again. We recorded a few times, and I felt like I wanted to sing more because my voice was more open than before. I was thinking about why it was so easy to connect with my voice and find the right way to sing. I visualized myself having some different connection with it. I felt like I am amazing!

The same day, new pictures from the retreat came up on the official Mohanji Facebook page. I scrolled them down fast, and I found myself in one of the last pictures. It was the moment when he touched my throat. This was the sign. The moment was even photographed. It was so clear.

A few days after that, I got a chance to see Mohanji, and I told him about this feeling. Then he confirmed – “Yes, I gave you a new voice”. That is what he actually said! I was mind blown. He is inspiring and blessing me to walk towards the thing I love to do the most. I have sung so many times for the past few years but rarely felt this love and expression. And he even gets me closer to actually feeling it more. The thing I was not so good at was suppressing everything, and when the right feeling came, I couldn’t recognize it. 

So much gratitude and love I have for my Master. He is walking with me always, every step of the way. I am so lucky to be found. How lucky I feel to walk with Mohanji?

I know that there are a lot of things that are about to happen, and I am open to experiencing them.

Thank you for connecting me with Jelena. She is an amazing person and definitely is getting me out of every comfort zone ever! We are totally different, but we both feel there is a connection that has a higher purpose. Thank you so much for everything you are doing. The things I am aware of and the things I am unaware of.

I love you, your Musician!

|| JAI BRAHMARISHI MOHANJI ||

Edited & Published by – Testimonials Team, 15th November 2022

Disclaimer:

The views, opinions, and positions expressed by the authors and those providing comments on these blogs are theirs alone and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions or positions of Mohanji, Mohanji Foundation, it’s members, employees or any other individual or entity associated with Mohanji or Mohanji Foundation. We make no representations as to accuracy, completeness, timeliness, suitability or validity of any information presented by individual authors and/or commenters on our blogs and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries or damages arising from its display or use.

We reserve the right to delete, edit, or alter in any manner we see fit blog entries or comments that we, in our sole discretion, deem to be obscene, offensive, defamatory, threatening, in violation of trademark, copyright or other laws, of an express commercial nature, or otherwise unacceptable.

Mohanji Testimonials team

Pain and suffering – Part 2

Posted on by Mohanji Editorial Team

Dear friends, this is the continuation of the previous part, “Pain and suffering“, by the closest witnesses of Mohanji’s recent car accident and the learnings behind that.

Milica Miskovic, personal assistant to Mohanji

1. Moral of the story

I will share my experience of that terrible day. I was there in the car when the accident with Mohanji and the group happened. I was sitting in the back seat. The next day, I was with Mohanji in the hospital. It was an unbelievably shaky moment for all of us, a frightening experience.

The accident happened; it was a head-on collision. The cars collided, but our vehicle was slightly turned to one side. That’s why the most impact was on Mohanji.

He was seated at the front adjacent to the driver, his seat leaning slightly backwards in a comfortable position; his body was not erect. He was partially sleeping, in a half-lying position. That meant the head was not in the front. One airbag came in front of him, the other one on the side. His head was saved, and other parts were saved. The hit was completely on the chest. He had tremendous pain in his chest. The doctor later said that usually, if that kind of impact happens on the chest, the heart stops immediately. Instant death happens.

He survived. It was his rebirth.

After the hit, he was holding his hand on his chest and was struggling to breathe. Yet, Mohanji did not display any shock or turbulence. He chokingly asked us, “Are you all okay?” We recognized his voice was choking. He could hardly speak, and was holding his chest. We told him we were okay. He turned to Christopher and told him to take care of the people in the other car. He opened the door and got out of the vehicle. 

Christopher went and offered water to the passengers of the other car. It was an old couple. Mohanji also walked towards the other car and made sure that the old couple was okay. Then he slowly walked towards the walkway on the other side of the road and stood there.

Meanwhile, Paula and I got out of the car and checked if Mohanji was okay. He nodded he was alright, even though he was holding his chest and he was breathing with difficulty. We gave him some water. He still had pain and difficulty breathing for some time. He didn’t talk about it. There was steam coming from the front side of our car. He just told us to take out all the bags from the car and bring them to the walkway. Because of our dizzy brains, we kept the bags just outside of the car on the road, and then Mohanji said, “Bring them to the walkway.” We were also totally dazed by the shock of the accident. We didn’t catch his instructions the first time. We placed the bags on the side of the road where Mohanji was standing.

Meanwhile, Christopher was attending to the people in the other car. The next thing Mohanji told us to do was to take pictures. Christopher and I took pictures of the car from various angles. Meanwhile, Paula and Christopher called the police to come and inspect. Christopher asked Mohanji if he would like to go home. The accident happened only 1km away from the house. Christopher said we could ask Jelena Fassbender to pick up Mohanji and the bags. Mohanji agreed, and Christopher called Jelena, who came in 5 minutes. Mohanji and I left with Jelena to the house. Christopher and Paula waited for the police to come to do the formalities.

The moral here was — it doesn’t matter when or what happens, but you should always maintain your presence of mind. You should be practical and do what it takes without getting emotional, angry or upset about it. And never blame someone in such times and eclipse your practical mind. Mohanji was doing things normally, as if nothing had happened. No time was left for emotions. His instruction was to get moving.

2. Full picture and learning points

For a full picture and a complete understanding of the situation, I will take you through what happened before the accident—a rewind. Mohanji, Devi, Mila and myself – Milica arrived from Dubai to Ljubljana by aeroplane on October 7th. Madhu described that in part 1. Devi and Mila took a car from the airport to Italy. Christopher and Paula received Mohanji and me at the airport. From the airport, the four of us went to meet some visiting friends in Ljubljana. It was around 5:00 – 5:30 pm. We had some food together. It was the only food Mohanji ate until the next evening, after the accident. 

After the accident, when we got home. Mohanji lay down and began resting. He decided not to go to the hospital at night. He wanted to come in the morning so that he didn’t have to sleep in the hospital and wait for the morning check-ups.

Early in the morning, Mohanji, Paula and I went to the emergency. Jelena and Christopher were at home. Christopher was also hit, so he was resting. He had planned to go to the hospital later. The doctors asked what had happened, and Mohanji explained. They asked if he remembered the whole thing clearly to know if his head was hit and if he had lost his memory. If that were the case, it would have meant a head injury. Mohanji fully recounted the whole sequence, so they confirmed the head was okay.

Mohanji was completely calm, talking to the doctors and us as if nothing had happened. That bit of pain that he described was not a bit at all. The doctor explained to us what happened to him and how scary the situation was, that his heart could have stopped. When I asked him if he was in pain, he said, “Of course, there is pain. It is a physical pain. But I choose not to suffer.”

They took his blood and did ECG. Doctors said they found something in the heart and decided they needed to proceed with the investigation. That’s when they took him for an X-ray. At the X-ray, they said there was some problem with the chest even though there were no fractures. 

Doctors came to talk to us, and they first said they had bad news to tell us. They had said his heart condition was critical because his heart was squeezed when the accident happened, and an enzyme secretion was happening continuously. And that anything could happen from now on and that they needed to keep Mohanji under observation.

They took him for a CT scan. When the results came, they said their assessment was correct; he needed to stay in observation. They admitted him to the critical cardiac care unit (CCCU) and kept him under observation until evening.

We came back with clothes and food for him at around 4 pm. Mohanji hadn’t eaten anything for about 20-22 hours. He asked us to talk to the doctors and check if he could leave for home. He preferred not to be in the cardiac care unit. We discussed it with doctors, and they told us that he shouldn’t leave and required Mohanji to be under observation and treatment for almost two weeks. Only if he signs that he is leaving at his own risk can they let him go. Mohanji decided to leave, signing the papers for which he was responsible.

Mohanji appreciated the staff very much. He said the hospital was very good, doctors and nurses were very good. They really took care. His decision to go was because the cardiac care unit was full of pains and cries, so he preferred to rest at home instead. That’s one reason.

Secondly, after Slovenia, there was a trip to Zlatibor, Serbia, already planned. If he had accepted their advice to stay there for two or three weeks, he would have missed the programs already announced, including Empowered 5. This means he put his responsibility before his life. He always does that. He cares for his commitment more than his life.

A few points I took from this experience are:

1 Seriousness of the situation. One doctor stated that Mohanji’s accident was very severe. He said an impact as strong as Mohanji experienced leaves a person dead on the spot. For Mohanji, this is a kind of rebirth.

2 Physical pain but no suffering. When doctors checked the examination results, they told Mohanji that he must be having tremendous pain because nothing was visible on his face. Mohanji was behaving as if nothing had happened at all. When doctors asked him about the severe pain, he confirmed he did. They were confused why it wasn’t visible on his face and asked about it. He said, “Pain is in my body. I choose not to be affected.” He separated himself from the body. Usually, a person in that kind of pain would cry and ask for help, as we were seeing in the critical care ward. He refused to take painkillers too, and his face was still cool. They were surprised. He was talking to them as he generally speaks.

3 Humility. He was completely calm sitting in the emergency room with all the other patients. When he gave his arm to the nurse to take blood, the nurse couldn’t find his vein. They tried the other arm, and they still couldn’t find it. They kept piercing the arms to find the vein to extract blood. I started to feel panic thinking how many times, at many places, they pierced his arms. I looked at his face, and it was completely cool. He was allowing everything to happen—total acceptance. No matter how uncomfortable, every situation can be handled with humility and acceptance. This was his message.

4 No fear. He didn’t say anything when they told him they had bad news. He obviously didn’t feel anything, even though I was deeply concerned. It was almost like, “If I have to go, I’ll go, without any fear or regret,” even though he didn’t utter it verbally. His lack of panic or fear and the constant smile surprised the doctors. They thought he would be upset or worried. I was there witnessing this.

5 Signs of leaving. When doctors told him about the bad news and put him in the critical category, they decided Mohanji shouldn’t walk anymore. Until then, he was walking. During the examination, he was allowed to walk. When they found out the real impact of the accident, they said he was in critical condition and should not walk anymore. In between all this, he was replying to people’s messages. He was discussing many things with many people over WhatsApp. While waiting for the X-ray, he was texting Madhu, which we already described in the previous part of this blog. 

He was finishing everything and texting in a very concluding tone as if he was preparing to leave. It was as if he was in between life and death. He wished a happy birthday to one of our core team members, Barbara, and replied to even the silliest messages, as well as some small domestic emotional complaints from some people or a blessing for surgery or prayer for protection in general. He completed the incomplete so that everything was done as if preparing to exit. Even though he replied to people, he didn’t tell anybody about the accident or his condition, except Madhu. The instructions he gave Madhu were about continuing his mission on Earth.

6 Acceptance. In one moment, he had a small feeling of botheration. He wanted to go to the toilet, but doctors wouldn’t let him go without a wheelchair. I felt he saw this small space between the bed and the toilet as insignificant. He wanted to walk to avoid making a big deal out of it, but they insisted that his condition was critical. That is when I felt he was a little annoyed, but in reality, he had no annoyance. Nothing ever annoys him. 

Whenever he was out of the CCCU, and in between the check-ups, he replied to people’s messages. He had his phone with him all the time, but he wasn’t allowed to use it in CCCU and during examinations. In between, he was replying, respecting and using every bit of time on Earth. After being annoyed for a second about doctors (even though he never articulated it verbally, it just reflected on his face for a brief moment) insisting on using the wheelchair, he accepted the situation. He immediately understood these doctors were just doing their job, and he went by their suggestion.

7 Focus on purpose. We had just come from the hospital to home in the evening. He was sitting on his chair, and the first thing he did was discuss matters of the Center of Benevolence which is very close to his heart. He was discussing it with the UK team members who were visiting Slovenia. He also discussed the next songs with Jelena Fassbender; he was giving instructions. We were all kind of amazed. He was obviously in a lot of pain, having refused painkillers. He had just survived; he was still technically in critical condition. He was supposed to be in the hospital under observation in CCCU. He had signed himself out at his own risk. Even though he was in a lot of pain, nothing got affected at all. Nothing stopped.

8 Responsibility before life. He accepted the trip to Zlatibor even though his pain hadn’t reduced for many days after the accident. His one promise is worth a thousand promises. It was literally dangerous to fly with him to Serbia in his condition. But he smiled, laughed and made it look like nothing.

9 Compassion. Instead of thinking about himself, he took extra care of us too. He made sure people in the other car were safe. Secondly, he empowered us to try to be as stable as possible. I was in shock, sadness, and fear, but next to him, I was empowered to go through all that. He didn’t allow emotions to tear us up because there was still so much to do. He allowed no sympathy or entertained any self-pity.

After the accident, many characteristics of Mohanji changed. I noticed his habits were different, and his eating inclinations changed. He is much quieter, and his answers to people’s questions in satsangs appear shorter than usual. The whole feel of being around Mohanji is different. Quieter and somehow far more intense and powerful. When he eats, it feels like he is eating only to maintain his body. It was the case even before, but it is much more evident now. He was conscious of his expenses and requirements earlier; now, that has also become quite minimal. He has become quite aloof and detached.

Being an eyewitness to all this, I felt like sharing these points. Nobody expected this to happen, but it gave us a deeper understanding of many things in life and how Mohanji handles it. We have plenty of things to read and understand from this. Above all, it was a warning bell, a reminder of gratitude because we don’t know when Mohanji will leave this world.

I believe that we have taken his presence for granted. We have taken him lightly. I travelled with him to many parts of the world and saw how much he works. In hindsight, I feel that his time, efforts, intentions and commitment are all not understood or taken for granted. This is a time to introspect. Mohanji has always talked about our spaces at every location, where he can invest his energy to stabilize the spaces and the people. If he had left on October 7th, which according to the doctors was very likely, as they said it’s a miracle that he had survived, all the times we took him for granted would have become deep regrets in our hearts forever which cannot be compensated with any further action. He may work equally or more non-physically, but it’s still not the same as his feet touching a land dedicated to the mission. It’s not the same.

|| JAI BRAHMARISHI MOHANJI ||

Edited & Published by – Testimonials Team, 4th November 2022

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