My spiritual journey started with my first Guru, Sufi Saint Baba Jahangir. But it was just a ritual at that time. Even though Baba’s teachings are very powerful, I found it very complicated to understand the deepest meanings of his core messages with my limited capacity and knowledge about spiritualism. My lack of insight was such that I was not able to understand Baba’s teachings about liberation, detachment, unconditional love, no expectations, silence, etc.
Unlike other women, I guess the dream of becoming a mother wasn’t an easy ride for me. Quite a topsy-turvy ride it was. Like other young couples, right after marriage, my husband and I moved to Muscat, Oman, as my husband got a career opportunity there.
Busy in the hustle-bustle of settling into a new life and a new place, it took a toll over our personal life and thinking and planning about a baby took a back seat. Finally, after settling down well and feeling financially secure, we started planning for a baby in 2013.
Also, I had met Mohanji in this year in Muscat.
One day, I received a call from my mother who was concerned about my dad as he was feeling unwell and increasingly uncomfortable with some heartburn. She was very worried and asked me to come as she was calling an ambulance.
As soon as I got to their place, I could see that my father was struggling. He was uncomfortable and had been feeling this way for a few days. Within a few minutes, the paramedics came and identified an issue on his ECG. He was told to go to the hospital with them and my mother was becoming anxious.
We have all had so many experiences in the past; however, Mohanji Datta Tapovan (MDT) Ashram, Toronto, is a place where you can strongly feel Mohanji’s presence even though he is physically not present at the ashram site. Mohanji’s last visit in June 2019 was very powerful and a strong presence of Guru Mandala was experienced because we had Mohanji Acharya training conducted by Mohanji at the MDT Ashram. After finishing the program, Mohanji left for his next destination on June 27th, 2019, and while leaving when I went to see him, I was feeling very nervous and sad, and Mohanji said to me, “I am going, however, I am not going, you will feel me.”
The various pieces of the puzzle fitted perfectly together when Mohanji appeared in my life. Life took a beautiful turn and the journey started with Mohanji. There was a vast ocean in front of me, an ocean of opportunities to serve society. Dreams do come true. So many experiences and so much learning (or unlearning?)
The year 2020 would be remembered as historical due to the coronavirus pandemic. Here in West Bengal, we faced another calamity The Super Cyclone – Amphan.
As per the Indian Meteorological Department, Amphan was to touch Kolkata at 5 pm and gradually head towards Bangladesh.
Our meditation group found Danica, a 12-year-old girl who is affected by cerebral palsy and meningitis, living in the coastal area of Cogon. She is the third in a family of eight children. Her mother died of a heart ailment in 2017. The father is a fisherman. When the group found her, she was skin and bones, dying of malnutrition. Darry, the father was lost in despair because of the death of his wife. Immediately, the group supported her family with food supplies for three of the younger children.
It is the second week of May. The UK is finally seeing a decline in the spreading of the Covid-19 virus. Lockdown measures are slightly relaxed, although restrictions for travel, school, shopping, socialising and for the elderly, as in many other areas still continue. After the loss of thousands of lives and devastation to so many families, we are hoping that life will return to relative normalcy soon.
What is bhakti? The answer to this question touches a chord deep within. When we lose ourselves for the sake of love, that is bhakti bhaav. The spontaneous flow of bhakti is like the waves of a haunting whale-song reaching out through the unfathomable dimensions of time to touch the chords of one’s soul. Mohanji’s love for us is like that. Unconditional. He sees neither race nor colour nor ethnicity. Just the glorious brilliance of our magnificent souls. Unblemished. Pure.
20th April 2020. Amidst the fight with the negativity of Corona situation all across the globe, while spreading positivity through various online programmes, shocking news came from the parental home that shook me to the core! News that I had not expected to hear! My 2nd brother Bibhu, succumbed to a sudden cardiac arrest and had left us all forever! He was healthy, happy, joyful and very active. He was just 50 years old.
