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 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

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

Empowered by Silence

Posted on by Mohanji Testimonials

By Ranjana Balagopalan, India

It’s going to be about two months after the completion of Empowered 5. I’ve tried to write this testimonial several times since then, but it has been difficult because I’m yet to fully understand my experience. 

To put it in a nutshell, in that immensely powerful space that Mohanji had created for us, I was able to experience only the present moment for all of those five days and was unable to think of anything in the past or the future. It wasn’t that there were no thoughts or that I had slipped into deep meditation and lost track of time. During those hours I’d spent in the hall, I’d tried my best to do the breathing exercise as many times as I could, but my mind had wandered now and then. 

However, the thoughts were connected solely to Mohanji or the occasional chill in the hall in which the programme was being held, or any aches/pains I was experiencing at that particular moment. There were no reflections about the past or future or anything that was not related to the programme. 

The only thoughts I occasionally had about the outside world were connected to my elderly parents, who were alone back in India for those few days. But then, there was a detachment, and the thought never escalated into worry because of a strong faith that Mohanji was taking care of them in my absence. 

Overall, there was an intense quietness inside me during the programme, and even the casual thoughts that popped up occasionally met a quick demise at the hands of the energy in that space. There were no emotions as well. When Mohanji asked us to release old/childhood traumas and negative patterns, I couldn’t think of/recollect anything related to those things, even though I actually have a rather impressive collection of both. It felt as though I was trying to recollect what I had heard long ago about someone else’s life. 

There were no thoughts or emotions about the future as well, not even of the next day or the next hour. My past and future appeared to have become nearly blank slates, and the only moment I could access was ‘Now’. I’d been unhooked from the outside world, and placed in an invisible bubble, firmly separated from my memories, hopes, doubts, and anxieties. 

In fact, until I began listening to the participants on the evening of the last day of the programme, I hadn’t thought at all about what I had experienced. And even after that, it took me some time to get some sort of a handle on it. And it might take me longer to truly understand and assimilate it.

I now feel, during Empowered 5, an energy cocoon had been created around each participant, be it in person or online. And the energy was attuned to our unique constitutions and needs and helped all of us in ways that cannot be deciphered by the mind. 

I would also like to share some other experiences that I had during those five days. 

On the first day, shortly after we had settled in the hall, I started to feel extremely sleepy and fell into a light doze, during which I kept seeing Mohanji moving through the hall. I woke up with a start after some minutes and began to do the breathing exercise that Mohanji had given. Someone gave a firm pat on the crown of my head, and then I felt them walk past the back of my chair. Energy zipped through me. I instantly felt more alert and sat up straighter. I could focus on the breathing exercise much better after that. 

My first thought was that it was Mohanji. But then doubt crept in. In the evening, when I got up to leave the hall, I saw that there was very little space behind my chair. It would have been hard for someone to stand up comfortably in that space, let alone walk through it. And I checked with a few people later to confirm that the volunteers had not been walking around to thump the heads of unsuspecting folk… 

The second experience was that of a rudraksha mala. I purchased a rudraksha mala on the second day, and the volunteers helped me get it blessed by Mohanji. On the first day, after the powerful group Mai-Tri by Devi Mohan, I developed excruciating pain in my shoulders and neck, with the pain radiating to my arms. The pain subsided by evening, but the next day, there was one more group Mai-Tri that was even more intense and powerful, and the pain flared up again, and this time too, it subsided by evening. 

On the third day, after the cleansing exercises, I started to get the pain again. I felt I couldn’t sit for one more day with that excruciating pain. But I was reluctant to seek Mai-Tri, as I felt I needed to experience the pain as it was. I impulsively reached into my bag and took out the rudraksha mala that had been blessed by Mohanji while telling him in my mind that he needed to help me with the pain. The moment I wore the mala, the pain vanished, leaving only stiffness in my shoulders. It was not a gradual reduction. The pain had disappeared like a switch had been turned off. It was unbelievable.

After my return to India, the inner silence reduced gradually, I regained access to my impressive collection of negative habits/patterns, and the mind reopened its drama club. But there continues to be a small space inside me that is silent, calm and stable. Also, there is much more awareness about my thoughts and feelings, and it has become easier to impersonally witness internal and external drama or at least view situations objectively after a short while. And I’m also able to regard myself with more kindness and understanding than before. 

There have been some other small changes too. I stopped having coffee some months ago but had not been able to give up tea. However, after returning home from Serbia in October, I started to dislike the taste of tea, and after throwing away most of it for about four or five days, I decided to give it up completely. I had a headache for a couple of days, which went away by itself on both days. I also experienced intense nausea on the second day, but that, too, subsided by itself. And I haven’t had tea or coffee since then.

The Empowered series as a whole has been immensely transformative for me in more ways than I can describe. As in the case of many seekers, the Empowered series came into my life when I really needed it, and each Empowered programme so far has caused a marked difference in my inner landscape. Yet, when I signed up to attend Empowered 5 in person in Serbia, I did not have any particular expectations. I only knew that I needed to be there. And what I received was beyond anything I could have hoped for.

When I think about the person I was more than a year ago, I can sense the changes – some notable, some very subtle – that has happened slowly but steadily, all due to the divine grace and compassion of Mohanji. 

Before I went to Serbia, I frequently yearned for the opportunity to do the Kailash parikrama with Mohanji under his grace and guidance. It had actually become a chant of sorts in my mind – ‘Kailash with Mohanji’. 

But after Empowered 5, there has been a change in that contemplation. It is now ‘Kailash is Mohanji’…

|| JAI BRAHMARISHI MOHANJI ||

Edited & Published by – Testimonials Team, 19th 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

The significance of the Puri Yatra

Posted on by Mohanji Editorial Team

This is a testimonial in the form of a conversation between two sisters who visited Puri with Mohanji in 2022.

by Radha Subramanian and Sathya Shivakumar

Click here to join the Divine Trails of Puri with Mohanji in February 2023

Radha: Sathya, can you tell me the significance of the Puri Jagannath Temple?

Sathya: Jagannath, as the name denotes, is the Lord of the Universe. This sacred Dham is one of the four holy abodes revered as the Char Dham. These comprise Jagannath in the East, Dwaraka in the West, Badrinath in the North, and Rameshwaram in the South of India. Legend has it that the universal consciousness radiated its presence in the Nilanchal caves, condensed to an embodied presence as Daru Brahma, and revealed itself with the auspicious symbols of Lord Vishnu (Shanka, Chakra, Gadha, and Padma), in the sacred waters of Mahodadhi, to king Indradyumna.

The idols of Lord Jagannath, Bal Bhadra, and Subhadra were carved out of this wood by the celestial architect Vishwakarma himself. He undertook the mission under the condition that the doors to his workplace remain closed until he completes his work. However, the queen’s curiosity rose as the days passed, and she persuaded King Indradyumna to unlock the doors. On opening the doors, they saw Vishwakarma had vanished. The promise had been broken, and the work was left incomplete. Therefore, we only get to see the semi-manifested forms of the deities. This allows one to perceive the Lord according to one’s devotion and understanding. It lets the devotee unravel His mysteries in myriad dimensions, unique to the one witnessing Him.

This reminds me of Mohanji’s words, “Those who have eyes will see!”

Lord Shree Jagannath has captured the hearts of Mahagyanis, Bhaktas, and Yogis. True to his name, He has a universal appeal and is revered by devotees of both Vishnu and Shiva.

The devotees of Shiva consider Him as Bhairava. He holds a special place for Buddhists too.

Balabadra, Subhadra and Shree Jagannatha

Radha: It would be interesting to share some of the events leading to this trip. It is different for each of us, although we travelled together. For me, the highlight before the trip was choreographing for the Ashtapadi – Chandana charchita Neela Kalebara!

Last year, I happened to choreograph for the Ashtapadi, “Nath Hare, Jagannatha Hare”, exclusively for the opening of the Jagannath Shrine in the UK. This inspired me to work on more Ashtapadis. I took your suggestion of choreographing for “Chandana charchitha” and started exploring its various dimensions. “Chandana charchita” describes the eternal romantic Lord Sri Krishna anointed with the fragrant sandal paste and radiating the bewitching bluish hue.

A friend of Radha describes to her the pastimes of Shri Krishna. As we dive deep into the composition, we realise that Radha, the one who is fully integrated with Krishna, experiences this oneness even though it is the other Gopikas who are actually playing with Krishna. What was very exciting to me was the fact that I was getting an opportunity to perform and record this at Puri, the birthplace of Jayadeva, an ardent devotee of Jagannath! When I expressed the intention, Mohanji blessed me in his style, “Tatasthu! Blessings! Take help from the organising team!”. I meditated on the song incessantly to internalise the Bhaav (feeling) of Radha as we interpreted from the composition – only when we soak into the feeling can we become the dance!

Sathya: Your thoughts resonate with me. I see the divine hand in the making of Chandana charchita in every step. Even your costume in shades of yellow and blue was in perfect sync with the elements describing the shades of Krishna. To me, this trip broke the patterns and barriers that I had confined myself to during the pandemic. I consider the trip a blessing from our Guru, Mohanji.

The abode of Puri Jagannath is Durlabh Kshetra meaning “difficult to attain”. Unless Lord Jagannath himself wills it, one cannot step into the sacred Dham. In the last two years, I was restricted in my commuting, mostly staying within my locality and stepping out only in case of absolute necessity. I was not sure if I would join you even when you informed me about it. When our mother reinforced the invitation, I decided to join. 

The stage was set for the pilgrimage with the flight tickets and cottage booked. It was heartening to know that Mohanji’s parents, uncle, and aunty were also joining this yatra. With more elders and children joining the trip, I was certain that it would have a different yet enriching flavour to the trip. It is a blessed opportunity to travel to an abode of such greatness in the presence of the Guru and elders.

On January 3rd, 2022, we took the morning flight from Bangalore to Odisha. As we waited at the airport, I continued the Tamil translation of the Jagannath Meditation given by Mohanji. With our mother adding finer touches, the meditation was taking me into a zone inside. We greeted Mohanji’s parents as we anticipated his arrival. Mohanji arrived. I knelt to take his blessing but was held in his embrace. All members of the group exchanged some greetings eagerly, describing each one’s entry to the trip. I was already lost in a reverie when Mohanji’s voice boomed loud and clear as a seeming instruction to his mother, “Keep the boarding pass ready!”, bringing me back to the ground. Mohanji always teaches us to focus on the present and never take the practical aspects lightly. His teachings are valuable to the ultimate journey of dissolution and easy navigation in the terrestrial world.

“Presence of mind in every thought, word, and action can eradicate karmas. It can liberate you.”

-Mohanji

As I completed chanting a few rounds of the Hanuman Chalisa, we landed safely in Odisha. Mohanji Acharya Subhasree and her Odia team extended a heartwarming welcome to Mohanji and the group at the airport. We were introduced to Manaswee, and we understood that he would be our point of contact and guide during this trip. The marine drive from Bhubaneshwar to Puri was enjoyable. Manaswee exhibited his innate hospitality by offering to buy us tender coconuts on the way. After a short break, when the car zoomed through the road, you alerted him that a black thing had flown past and that it could be his wallet.

Radha: Yes! We quickly realised that it was indeed his wallet! As we drove back, a cyclist told us that another man was getting the wallet for us. As we got it back, Manswee said that the people living in the section stretching between Bhubaneshwar and Puri are extremely honest and truthful and would not act otherwise.

Sathya: It is hard to believe such places still exist in this world of opportunism. The Puri Dham is described in the Purana as Purushotama Kshetra, where the pious and the noble-minded reside. I was moved to find that a fraction of that is still a reality. “The pride in PuriTY” logo was all over the walls stretching across the marine drive. I felt the logo rings with truth and is not remote from reality!

“Purity of thought, word and action liberates man from everything and strengthens his existence. Purity is power. Purity is truth. Truth is pure. The whole universe resonates with truth and purity. When we live the truth, purity happens. Purity liberates. It fills life with faith and hope. It connects us to the Highest of consciousness. The Power of Purity is unfathomable. It is the nature of the Supreme.”

-Mohanji

Radha: We reached Puri by 3 pm, and in the evening, we were surprised to know that we could go to the Temple of Jagannath the same night. We entered the shrine consciously, submitting our obeisance at each step leading to the shrine.

Outside the Jagannath Temple

Mohanji took my hands and placed them on the fingerprints of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, which got deeply etched while he was in a trance, enraptured by the Lord. These marks are eternally enshrined on the wall behind the Garuda stambh.

Sathya: That was indeed an unplanned visit to the temple. Mohanji made sure that everyone in the group joined the visit. As we left our cottage, we saw Mohanji waiting for everyone to assemble. Standing beside him, I was filled with soothing, cool vibes. I enjoyed it and wondered if it was physical or metaphysical when Mohanji remarked, “It is very cold here!”

Immediately, the experience of cooling dissolved! I did not analyse it further. At the temple, we were told by Mohanji to keep our arms extended up as if ready to receive the embrace of Lord Jagannath. All of us hugged the Garuda Sthambha.

The first darshan of the Lord was filled with so much excitement. Stepping into the sacred shrine where every stone and pebble radiates his essence is a gift of a lifetime/lifetimes. We slowly moved in, drawing in that divine energy with every breath. The fragrance of sandalwood wafted in the air, and we exchanged glances, recognising it as soon as we entered the temple premises.

As we neared the sanctum, our eyes were glued to the deities trying to absorb all that we could in one go as the Panda/Priest described, “The dark one to the Right is Krishna, Devi Subadra in the middle, and the light-complexioned one is Balabadra”.

I tried to connect what I heard and saw as the arathi flame was burning bright in front of me. I realised that I had come really close to it! I moved to the other side, tucking away in a corner, trying to hold on to images for a while longer. Not for long! A panda waved in my direction to take the arathi and make way for the others.

Coming out from the other side, I saw Mohanji standing there, away from the hustle and bustle. I quietly offered my prostrations to Mohanji with deep joy and gratitude for being there!

Radha: That was such a great darshan! As soon as we stepped out of the sanctum, soaked in Lord Jagannath’s energy, we saw Mohanji standing there and I could only see him as Lord Krishna himself. This is a solid reminder to each of us that the Guru and God are the same. Immediately, you prompted me to get the calendars blessed. We released the HSTD (Himalayan School Of Traditional Dance) calendars just outside the sanctum of Lord Jagannath! Mohanji patiently went through each of the pages and blessed everyone. Can there be a more incredible blessing at the start of the year for the HSTD platform?

Following this, we went to the Shrine of Bimala Devi temple.

Sathya: The shrine was closed. I was told that this temple is one of the Shakti peeths. We waited in front of the shrine. Our mother looked at a figure in a small niche and asked me what it was. I did not want to give a wrong answer. The other niche was Ganesha. So this was Skanda. Mohanji came to the shrine. He, too, saw that the shrine was closed. He had the darshan of the deity in the niche and said, “Skanda!”. Mohanji took Appa’s (Dad) hand and placed it in the niche, and said, “Subramanian, you should see Skanda”. At that same instant, a priest came out of the shrine, the gates were opened, and we could see Bimala Devi. It was just for a few minutes. Mohanji casually stated, “The gates opened”. Amma remarked, “Yes, I saw that!”

Radha: Opposite this was the small shrine of Matha Ekadashi. There is an interesting story connected with Puri. I was under the impression that this shrine honoured the Ekadashi devi and devotees who fasted on Ekadashi – the eleventh day of the fortnight. As per the scriptures, observing fast on this day grants many blessings and Moksha, too. Here, Ekadashi devi’s hands are tied. She was overcome by pride, and Jagannath tied her hands, symbolically suggesting that partaking prasad in Puri is considered auspicious even on an Ekadashi day, and devotees should not hesitate to do so.

Sathya: Well, that brings us to one of the highlights of Puri Dham – the sacrosanct Puri MahaPrasad! Chappan bhog, comprising 56 dishes, is offered daily to the Lord.

“Puri Mahaprasad can be taken even if it is the leftovers from a cat’s mouth!” Amma exclaimed. Saints and legends have talked so highly of Mahaprasad. Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and Paramacharya of Kanchi who never partook food without completing the sacred rituals have relished the Mahaprasad.

We were not so conscious of the greatness of the prasad then.

It was pure grace that we could partake of the Mahaprasad. After climbing a few steps, we entered a space that seemed like another shrine. I was surprised to see Mohanji, Mila and the others seated with a banana leaf in front! It then occurred to me that we were going to be dining there. Mohanji’s uncle and aunt sat next to me as I sat down. I told them that I enjoyed watching their interview about Mohanji. One gets to see the house where Mohanji was born in that video.

The priests brought Mahaprasad in earthen pots and served the dishes. Some of the dishes had the flavour of mustard, and the Kheer that was served at the end was really divine!

Another name for Mahaprasad is Kaibalya – that which gives Moksha, salvation or liberation. It is said that if one takes this food of Lord Jagannath, he will have no rebirth.

Radha: I remarked to Subhashree, sitting next to me, “The kheer is nothing but Krishna. It tastes heavenly,” and took a second and third serving, too, without any inhibition!

The darshan was a bonus, and I did not expect the Mahaprasad that evening. Absolute grace! That was the first day at the sacred Dham.

Radha recording the dance

Sathya: The next morning started with a bang and Chandana Charchita was recorded. A big open lawn resplendent with the morning dew as the sun was rising and the birds chirping became the perfect stage for recording the Ashtapadi. After recording, on our way back to the cottage, we met Mohanji, who was on his way to the reception. He told you with a smile, “I knew you were dancing!” We had quite a few unexpected chance meetings with him during the trip.

Radha: The day started with a visit to Bedi Hanuman temple, where Mohanji officially released the Himalayan School of Traditional Dance calendar.

Bedi means chain. The story goes that Jagannath appointed Hanuman to protect Puri from the fury of the sea. Varuna entered the place, and the place bore the brunt of his raging waves.

Jagannath asked how this happened when Hanuman was taking care. Hanuman told him that he was nostalgic about home food and had gone to Ayodhya. From that day onwards, Lord Jagannath ordained that special offerings be prepared and tied Hanuman here, with the love of his Prasad.

Sathya: As we exited the temple, we saw some calves. Mohanji fed one of them heartily. I watched it joyfully as the calf ate the bananas; there were some dogs too, but we had only bananas.

Mohanji feeding a Cow

How could one just feed only the cows and not the dogs? Aditya too had the intention to feed the dogs. I remembered that there were some biscuit packets in the car. We went and brought the packets and fed the dogs. They, too, got their share of food.

We then went to Chakra Tirtha, which is considered the place where the Daru Brahma arrived first. It is known as Adi Jagannath Kshetra.

After spending some time in the shrine, we proceeded towards the sea. Mohanji and a few others had walked ahead and reached the beach. As we got down from the car, the sight of a dog drew our attention. It was in its final moments and was not in the least interested in biscuits. When I called out the name “Mohanji”, it lifted its head up, turned, and looked in that direction. I did it a few more times, and it responded. Manaswee got some water and poured it carefully so that it could take in a few drops.

I was reminded of Mohanji’s teaching. “Every meeting has a purpose.”

We then resumed our walk towards the beach. I saw Appa offering ablutions at the sea. He sprinkled some water on us as a blessing of the sea, and we then walked back to the car, feeling the sand between our toes and the gentle breeze from the sea.

Radha: The next stop was Tota Gopinath temple. As we entered the temple, a priest described the place’s significance in Hindi. He said that it was there that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu felt such intense separation from Krishna that he burned to ashes. Mohanji asked us, “What is the word in English to describe his feeling?” All of us tried to come up with the words – Yearning, Duality, Separation! Mohanji finally said, “Longing”, looked at me and said to the group, “I thought she would be able to tell.”

Tota Gopinath Temple

Sathya: Upon entering the shrine, Appa felt attracted to the painting of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu on the wall and anointed it with Sandal paste. What struck me about this Dham was that nearly every priest said, “Krishna bakthi!” when we sought their blessings. May you attain the love for Krishna. We rendered a few bhajans there; we witnessed a powerful arathi at noon. With the drumbeats accompanying the arathi, it felt as though the dance of Krishna and Radha was coming alive. After the arathi, we went to the backyard from where a body of water was visible at a distance. A priest accompanying us mentioned that it was Radha Kund. Mohanji was also with us. He joked, “Radha is idhar, Kund is udhar”, looking at you.

Radha: Later, we went to the chief priest’s house. Mohanji was presented with a sacred cloth called the “Gita Govinda Kanduva”. The priests then blessed Mohanji’s family with the accompaniment of chants. The place reverberated with sacred sounds. Each of us was presented with the Flag of Jagannath.

Sathya: That has to be treasured. It is a dream and a lifetime aspiration for even the people of Puri to offer a flag or receive it as Prasad. It was such a precious moment to be blessed with the Banner of Jagannath in the presence of Guru Mohanji! I prayed that the flag of Purity, Ahimsa, and Truth fly high and let us witness the triumph of supreme love over all darkness.

Radha: In the evening, we had a satsang. After the satsang, we went to the temple of Jagannath. Mohanji asked all of us to sport the flag around our necks while going to the temple that evening. We took a short van ride to reach the temple.

Sathya: As the van zipped through the streets of Puri, the names of the hotels “Guru Estate and Guru Empire” that flashed in the night captured my attention. It so happened that just as we entered the temple, I was next to Mohanji. We entered the space demarcated by the wooden barricades. As I was lost in that moment, I heard the song “Poornam-adah, Poornam-idam!”. It felt so apt as if to describe Mohanji!

oṁ pūrṇam-adaḥ pūrṇam-idaṁ pūrṇātpūrṇamudacyate ।
pūrṇasya pūrṇamādāya pūrṇamevāvaśiṣyate ॥
oṁ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ ॥

Om, That (Visible outer world) is Full,
This (Invisible inner world) is also Full,
From Fullness comes that Fullness,
Taking Fullness from Fullness, Fullness indeed Remains,
Om, Shanti, Shanti, Shanti

Mohanji always says just like a mother who delivers a child, a Guru can transfer energy to create many masters, but just like the mother, the Guru remains complete and full.

Radha: We neared the sanctum and had to wait outside for an hour. I went in. It was crowded. I was standing right behind a priest who was sitting down. It was surprising that nobody asked me to move from that place. I felt as though Lord Krishna was embracing me; I was immersed in that for almost an hour. This unimaginable experience was enhanced by the sounds of the drums. I was unaware that we keep our hands raised to embrace the Lord. This I came to know later from Mohanji in the sanctum. This lasted for some time and is one of my most memorable experiences.

Sathya: We were all waiting for the darshan and sat on the steps. Mohanji was leaning on the arched niche, just a few steps below the entrance. I was chanting the Hanuman Chalisa. A little while later, a priest opened the door, and it happened to be Hanuman inside.

The scenes from the temple are still vivid in my mind. The devotion of the pilgrims really touched me; some of them were bringing their aged parents and little children along with them. Family members chanted in chorus “Jai Jagannath!” while ascending the steps to the temple. ‘Sanatana Dharma is so beautiful!’ I thought.

“Hindu tradition trained us to respect plants, trees, birds, and animals as celestial representations. Respect helps preservation. Annihilation is a sign of alienation. When we preserve every being of nature with reverence and respect, nature preserves our life and health too. This is Sanatana Dharma.”

-Mohanji

What I perceived was pure devotion. They were oblivious to any concerns about the pandemic. Only the joy and ecstasy of the Lord’s darshan were palpable.

The sound of the bells and drum beats transported me to a different world. After some time, the priest called us inside. There was a seating area to the side where we were asked to wait again. An elderly person who was carrying the drum blessed us by placing it on our heads. The powerful vibrations were from the same instrument. He also gave us sweet prasad, which he had kept safely tied to his dhoti.

Finally, we had Darshan of Jagannath a little while later. The decorations were in progress, and the Lord was being decked up in a new set of garments. Subhasree was standing next to me. I asked her if it was the garment we offered Jagannath, and she said she didn’t think so. We later found out that the special garments that Mohanji had offered would be draped in a later ceremony.

After the darshan, we had the opportunity to soak in the sacred aura of the temple. Mohanji sat near the steps facing a tree. The priest was explaining that it was the Kalpabata-The Wish-fulfilling Tree. I associated what he was saying with Mohanji. Our Guru is indeed a Kalpavriksha, fulfilling the righteous and innocuous desires of all of us.

A white flag offered by Mohanji was flying high on top of the temple tower. The Neel Chakra and the flag were a spectacular sight to behold.

A little while later, we were called again for another Darshan. Lord Jagannath was draped in the special clothes offered by Mohanji. As Amma and I gazed at the deities intensely, trying to identify if it was Mohanji’s offering, Mohanji, who was right behind, confirmed it for us by saying, “These are our offerings!” The bright red garments dazzled and it was a visual treat to behold Lord Jagannath, Devi Subhadra, and Balabadra in splendid Besha.

Radha: After a fulfilling darshan, we prostrated at the “Mukthi Mantap” on our way out. As we exited the temple complex, the Narasimha, enshrined at a towering height, caught our attention. We prayed for his protection and left the temple.

We were informed that we were going to the chief priest’s house again as he was hosting us for dinner. We were not hungry after the sumptuous lunch, but the thought of kheer was inviting!

A sumptuous meal with Mohanji at the Chief Priest’s house

Sathya: We were served snacks that day – Puri, Dal, Kachori, and Kheer. It so happened that we were dining next to Mohanji that night. Preeti came suddenly and offered to clean the leaf for Mohanji.

He said, “I have cleaned. You can do it for your satisfaction. I don’t want you to have a birth for cleaning leaf!”

Mila, sitting on the other side, was aghast when she heard that. “A life for cleaning leaves?” she asked.

“If a thought is so overpowering, it becomes the main agenda for the next life”, explained Mohanji.

As I was eating, I had a desire for a picture. Mohanji’s explanation was also working in my head at the same time. All our phones were in the car, as we were not supposed to carry it to the shrine. I was trying to drop the thought as we had almost finished and were ready to leave when Mohanji said, “Get the camera!” Another desire was fulfilled instantly!

Presenting HSTD calendar to Devi Mohan

Radha: After dinner, I presented the HSTD calendar to the chief priest. Your desire ended up with many pictures being captured that night to record those precious moments.

Sathya: The following day, we went to Totapuri Ashram. Totapuri Maharaj was the Guru of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and guided him to use the sword of wisdom and find Goddess Kali within.

“Every prayer should become another inner communion and a deeper connection to the truth within until you recognise that what is inside you and outside of you is indeed the same. There is no prayer, and there is nothing to pray to except an inner activation of omnipresent truth through external symbols and representations.”

-Mohanji
Mohanji bowing at the feet of Totapuri Maharaj

When we walked into the ashram, it radiated peaceful energy. At the ashram, before entering the samadhi, we all wanted to take a group picture. I was still soaking in the Jagannatha experience, and to me, the dual camera on the cell phone appeared like Jagannath, with two round eyes and a nose!

As the others entered the shrine and prayed, I stepped away to buy miniature Jagannath dolls from two kids at a stall outside the Mandir. A while later, when the crowd inside subsided, I went in and prostrated at the feet of the idol. We were also shown the treasured cot of Maharaj.

Nowadays, I feel like the mongoose whose body became half-gold after eating the leftovers of a pious Brahmin. It rolled over on many leaves but was only half gold. After rolling on the food left on the leaf of Lord Shri Krishna, it finally turned fully into gold.

I have had some amazing energy experiences connecting to Mohanji, and most other things don’t give me the same feeling. It feels like I am always in a quest for that indescribable ecstasy, that energy surge that fills me now and then at times when it is most unexpected.

Any object or place could also start vibrating with the magical touch of a Siddha.

We were now on the other side of the cot. Mohanji smiled and patted me gently as though he was reading my thoughts.

We stepped out and sat before the shrine. A spider on a wall opposite where we were sitting caught my attention. The spider was oscillating between movement and stillness. I wondered, “Is this my state?”

In the Dattatreya tradition, every being is significant and can reveal the mysteries of our magnificent universe if only we align with it. On returning to Bangalore, I was surprised to read a quote from Mohanji that was related to a spider.

“As a spider gets trapped in its own web, man gets trapped in his own thoughts. Spider makes the web with the thread from his own body. Man makes his trap with thoughts from his own mind. His reality is a product of his own thoughts. He creates his own destiny. He can change it too. Only the one who made the trap can untrap himself.”

-Mohanji

Another thing that caught my attention was a picture of Totapuri Maharaj on the outside wall of the Shrine. The picture with his intense eyes gazing up was powerful. There were four conches placed beneath a portrait of Totapuri Maharaj.

I wondered aloud, “What could be the significance of four?”

Amma, beside me, responded, “What do you think?” and I suggested, “Dharma, Artha, Kama, and Moksha, maybe?”

Radha: I was also moving about in the ashram without many expectations. I went in and came out since many were inside. I then circumambulated the Samadhi mandir. By now, the group was sitting in the Samadhi Mandir. I wanted to attend the Darshan of Padukas. At that time, the doors were closed. I thought if I was fortunate, the doors would open. The Priest came from nowhere and opened the door. I went inside and placed my forehead on the padukas. I felt a strong energy and had no thoughts. This had happened so vividly once before at Vashita Guha when I went on the Badrinath trip with Mohanji. It was so magnetic that I could not take my head off the Padukas. All that I could hear vibrating in my inside were the words, “Neeye Naan! Naane Ne! (You Are Me! I am You!).”

I came out and took a couple of pictures opposite the well. We left the place, and then you remarked, “Did you read the words inside the shrine? Aham Brahmasmi!”

Although I did not read the words, the feeling of oneness and no mind did last for a short while in that powerful presence. This was not an imagination or my projection either. Because I came in just like you with zero anticipation, but one person can just do a quick reality check on all of us. That is our mother.

“If this is the oneness you feel, be ready to eat whatever I give without complaints!”

We went to the Sankareshwar temple next. Mohanji and Devi performed Poojas there. I enjoyed the chanting of the priest in a mellifluous voice.

Pooja at the Sankareshwar Temple by Mohanji and Devi Mohan

Sathya: A cow constantly moved about in the outer area and stood between Mohanji and Devi like a child. The story of the temple itself is connected to Kamadhenu, the celestial cow- which spontaneously bathed the Shiva Linga with her milk.

One of the priests described the significance of Jagannath Dham. As he explained, I was drawn to the description of Lord Sudharshana. At Jagannath Dham, the deities are worshipped as a quartet. Jagannath, Balabhadra, Subhadra, and Sudarshan. Now I perceived another relevance of my observation of the four conches earlier. It was also visually so evocative when the priest explained. Before Lord Jagannath appeared as Blue Light or Neel Madhav, Lord Sudarshana came as fiery red rays, purifying everything. I was connecting that with Kriya. Purification at all levels should happen before presence is revealed. I meditated on the glory of Lord Sudarshana.

What we both thoroughly enjoyed was the final song after Sri Rudram.

“Hey Shiva Pati, Parvati Pati Trahimam Bhava Sagaram!”

The priest asked the entire group to join the chorus of these few lines. Some sanctified rice was sprinkled on us, and we were asked to keep it tied to the tip of our sarees.

In the evening, we went to Ganga Mutt. Mohanji addressed us all and said we were all part of a special group to have had this experience.

Painting on the wall of Ganga Mutt

He summed up the trip as Grace in Abundance.

Appa called it Oceanic Merger, for which Mohanji said, “Sagara Sangamam!”

After the talk, when the assembly dispersed, I was engrossed in penning down my takeaways from Mohanji’s speech on a sheet of paper when I saw Mohanji, who had been walking, pause in front of me. I was curiously watching, wondering what he was pausing for, when I noticed that there was an insect in his way. He looked at me.

I realised that he did not want to step on it and tried to take it out of his way quickly, but it had already moved away. That was an exhibition of ultimate compassion! Conscious walking of the highest degree and perfect awareness at every step.

The Priests with Mohanji at the Ganga Mutt

Radha: The next day was an open agenda. None of us really wanted to see Konark and the plan was fluid. Amma mentioned the Sakshi Gopinath temple. This was on our way back to Bhubaneswar and we decided to go.

At Sakshi Gopinath, the cows actually knocked on the window of our car when we arrived. Appa was so moved that he bought a lot of bananas and fed them heartily. An old man guided us to the temple.

At the temple, we were told that Krishna is the witness to the pilgrimage that one makes to the Char Dham. After singing bhajans, we thanked Krishna for the memorable experience.

Sathya: Our last stop was the Lingaraj temple. Lingaraj means the king of Lingas. After having a pleasant darshan, we circumambulated and sat at a place, singing hymns.

“Shiva is Supreme Consciousness, brightness, full awareness. We worship Shiva linga, li or la is connected to Layana – dissolution, dissolving. Ga means vast, unfathomable. So, the shiva linga is an expression of something which is vast and cannot be contained into any form, structure or frame. We are worshipping Shiva, that state of being fully conscious. That is more or less the method of the Datta or Avadhoota tradition. They are fully occupied with Supreme Consciousness. Fully aware of Supreme Consciousness. Every movement of every atom, they feel. They are fully occupied, fully aware. Datta tradition is that aspect of being fully aware, fully conscious but at the same time fully responsible, fully here”.

-Mohanji

Radha: There was a Hanuman shrine just opposite the place we sat. After performing pooja at the Hanuman temple, we were asked to go to the shrine of Baidyanath.

Sathya: When we entered, the priest was struggling with an object. One of the eyes of Baidyanath had fallen off, and the priest was trying to fix it.

You said, “If this is the condition for Baidyanath (Lord Shiva as the Chief of Doctors) himself, then what of the common man?” That was such well-timed humour!

I remembered that Appa had sandal paste. He was hesitant about offering the sandal paste at the shrine as he had very little left, and it may need to be more. I insisted that he should offer it to the priest to anoint the lingam. The priest took the paste, applied it on the lingam, and attached the eye of the Lord to it, and it instantly fell back in place! I left the premises with prayers to heal the world from the effects of the pandemic

One more shrine awaited us in the same temple complex. It was a shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva as Vishwakarma, the celestial architect.

The priest at this shrine told us that Lord Shiva himself took the form of the celestial architect Viswakarma and constructed all the shrines. An Akandadeep (Eternal lamp) is kept burning here.

Radha: I visualised the beautiful Mohanji Ashrams that would be built in the future as the priest described the glory of Lord Shiva as Viswakarma!

The entire trip had been such an amazing experience! I remember on our return flight, a co-passenger who had been to Puri shared with me that it had not been easy for him to get Darshan of Jagannath! It made me cherish our experiences even more, and I mentally thanked our Master for it.

Sathya: Last but not least, our pilgrimage culminated with another meeting with Mohanji and a thrilling visit to the airport before he boarded the flight. I express my heartfelt gratitude to Lord Jagannath, Mohanji, Subhasree, and everyone who made this trip truly memorable. Before we knew it, we were back in Bangalore. The following days saw a bit of churning, with all of us experiencing some signs of cold and fever.

But even while experiencing that, some soothing waves constantly massaged my spine. Puri waves, indeed! Jagannath’s vibes were so overpowering that they kept us hooked to Him.

Radha: Truly memorable. I am awaiting the next one now. Will it be Dwaraka?

Jai Mohanji! Jai Jagannath!

|| JAI BRAHMARISHI MOHANJI ||

Edited & Published by – Testimonials Team, 12th January 2023

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Mohanji Testimonials team

Witnessing an oceanic embrace at Puri Jagannath!

Posted on by Mohanji Editorial Team

By V Subramanian, Bengaluru, India

Click here to join the Divine Trails of Puri with Mohanji in February 2023

Early initiations  

My tryst with Puri Jagannath began in my younger days. Listening to the episodes of Shri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s Charithra, I learnt about his powerful connection with Puri Jagannath. Those episodes fired my imagination whenever I thought of ‘The Lord of the Universe.’  

I was fortunate to be introduced to Shri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa’s teachings very early on in life. As I read and internalized them, I understood that the following three things are incredibly precious. 

In the words of Paramahamsa, the water from the Ganges, the Brindavana Rajas (sand enshrined with the footprints of Lord Krishna), and the mahaprasad (consecrated food) offered at Puri Jagannath is verily the Brahma Swarupam (God’s form). 

I had the blessed opportunity to visit Puri in 1984 with my American friend Dr Tandavan. Being a foreigner, he was denied entry into the temple, but he had the heart to tell me, “You go and have your fill!” The lasting memory of this first pilgrimage to Puri is when I set my sights on the temple tower and the flag from the rear portion of the temple. I stood transfixed for hours together, and that visual feast alone consummated my maiden darshan (seeing a holy person or image of a deity).

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu – Pc: Wikipedia

The blessed beads and the ineffable blue 

Several years later, I had the blessed opportunity to go to Puri for the second time in 2015, when my younger daughter Radha took part in a dance festival at Cuttack and was awarded the title Nrithya Bhushan. 

Before the festival, we decided to go to Puri Jagannath and seek the Lord’s blessings. It was also during the Nabakalebara (the change of the physical form) time – an event that takes place once every twelve years. 

As we entered the temple, a priest came on his own accord and guided us to all the shrines in the large complex. One could feel the Lord’s hand in this as it was completely unanticipated and unexpected to get a venerable priest to provide such loving guidance. Strangely, there was little of a crowd. We could all sit in front of the Lord at the Bhoga mandap (food hall) for a considerable time.

I am happy to share two events of special significance during this trip. I was wearing a Rudraksha mala (garland made of Rudraksha seeds), a precious possession given to me at the Chidambaram Natarajar Temple and also blessed by the touch of Sathya Sai Baba as he walked by me during darshan time at Puttaparthi. While sitting at the mandap (hall), I saw a priest whose Thulasi mala (garland made of Thulasi leaves) caught my attention. An urge sprang from inside that made me ask the priest whether he could get me a similar kind of mala, place it at the feet of the Lord and give it to me as a prasad (blessed offering). He asked me to return the following day. Much to my delight, he had entrusted the job to another priest who took the mala inside, kept it at all the sacred spots charged with Bhagwan’s Chaitanya (Consciousness) and handed it to me. I felt profusely blessed. To this day, this Thulasi mala is a constant reminder of my sacred connection with Puri Jagannath.

The second event was when the priest who guided us that day took me to another sacred spot called Rohini Kund. The priest at Rohini Kund asked me to do ‘Pitru Preeti’ (satisfying the ancestors). I was unsure what he expected as his dakshina (offering), so before proceeding, I asked him about the same. His immediate response was, “This is priceless. I am not going to ask you for a dakshina. You can choose to give whatever you want to give me!”

It is pertinent to record here that I had yet to do any prior study on Puri Jagannath then. I was unaware that it is a great Mokshapuri (seat of liberation) and a place for performing ancestral rituals. Only on my return did I come to know through my elder daughter Sathya that Jagannath’s Consciousness originally manifested in this Rohini Kund before it was enshrined at the temple. 

Without knowing anything about the aura and significance of the place, I offered my ablutions and performed the rituals. I made a small offering on completing them, and the priest blessed me profusely. As is traditional, I started to circumambulate the Rohini Kund, and the enormity of the occasion dawned on me in the flash of a second. I could see and sense how immensely pleased my ancestors were in my completing the simple rituals on my radar. The joy of my ancestors and the radiance of the ineffable blue stayed inside me for a long time.

The subtle connections 

In this connection, let me recount a related incident. The Master who originally initiated me into Mantra Diksha (a sacred word, phrase or sound that a Guru gives to a disciple as part of an initiation) when I was in my teens also foretold that a great Siddha Purusha (perfected being) would walk into my life as my Paramaguru (Supreme Master) if I was steadfast in trotting on the path he had laid for me, without any detours. 

This Master came in my daughter’s dream and expressed that I had forgotten to include him in my ablutions and rituals at Rohini Kund. This was within a week of my return from Puri Jagannath. When she related this dream to me, little did I realize that I would get one more blessed opportunity to fulfil this wish that would leave me with a sense of perfect completion! Of course, while Masters do not need anything for themselves, it is incredibly rewarding for the disciples to hold them in their dearest thoughts when any event of this dimension takes place.

Now, let me dwell on the inspiration for this write-up – my indescribably fascinating pilgrimage for the third time, between 3rd January and 6th January 2022, in the company of our peerless Master Mohanji! 

Before the pilgrimage, I had the opportunity to visit and spend an unforgettable evening with Mohanji. I have found that every time I hold onto my Master with some intensity, I get an inner call from deities for darshan, and in the same vein, when I hold onto my Aradhya (worshipped) deities, I am blessed with my Master’s proximity. 

In that light, Subhasree’s invitation for the Puri trip immediately after this visit felt like it was a gift from Mohanji. During the trip, Mohanji confirmed this intuition when he said that the divine will have chosen every one of us. The subsequent turn of events further corroborated this. The temple had opened for public darshan on 3rd January but closed on 10th January 2022 due to a spike in the cases of Omicron soon after our return. It was another strong reminder that one could not be blessed with this kind of pilgrimage without the will of God and the grace of the Master!

The summit of sublimity

Before narrating the experiences during the pilgrimage, it is appropriate to record a few of my reflections on Mohanji.

There are testimonials galore about Mohanji’s leelas and benedictions bordering on phenomena. However, another facet of Mohanji is equally phenomenal but not so luminous. The sublime emptiness he exemplifies at all times and his absolute surrender to the will of the Almighty are unbelievable states of being. I can state with certainty that if anyone attains even an iota of this sublime state of self-nullification, they can be assured of being in the embrace of the infinite. It is also my humble understanding that many oceanic merges have taken place in the remarkable journey of Mohanji. The Nath Tradition, the Datta Tradition, and the Akandha Sai Principle have all conglomerated and merged in Mohanji at different stages of his life.

It is well recorded that the Sakthi Tattvam (the Goddess Principle), the Universal Motherhood, was transferred to him as per the directions of Guru Mandala without being asked. Another merger of immeasurable dimensions took place when Mohanji visited Kathirkamam, venerated as Dakshina Kailash (Kailash of the South) and one of the most sacred abodes of Lord Skanda. Mohanji was presented a Vel (Skanda’s Lance) here by the presiding priest. This was a symbolic merger of the Skanda Tattvam (The Guru Principle).

The wish-fulfilling Kamadhenu

Getting back to the pilgrimage, we arrived in Puri on 3rd January 2022. There was no plan for the evening in the original schedule of the trip. On arriving, we were pleasantly surprised when we were told that an evening darshan had been arranged! Before this most auspicious evening darshan on the first day of our trip, Mohanji instructed us to keep our arms extended and raised in front of the Lord. It was later revealed that this posture was an expression of embrace with the Lord of the Universe. 

Right then, I intuited that an oceanic embrace was taking place in the subtler realms of Consciousness. This was a merger of Atma Chaitanya (the soul Consciousness) and Krishna Chaitanya (Krishna Consciousness). This indicated the great changes taking place at an incredible speed that will resonate for generations to come. 

It is redundant to state that whenever we go on a pilgrimage with Mohanji, our deepest, righteous desires are usually fulfilled. One such desire of mine was to partake of the most revered Puri mahaprasad (56 food items offered to Lord Jagannath). I had yet to get this opportunity in my prior two visits to Puri Jagannath. As grace would have it, we were all served the mahaprasad sumptuously within the temple’s precincts during the unplanned visit. Mohanji himself described that darshan as a bonus.

Soon after, as we exited the temple premises, I held onto the flag at the temple tower. As mentioned initially, this has been my most treasured object of veneration at Jagannath. So much of the pulsating energy and the power of Consciousness is concentrated in the flag. As I was transfixed on the flag, in a flash, a thought occurred out of nowhere as to how wonderful it would be if one could get even a little shred of the blessed banner. Of course, I brushed this thought aside and decided to go with the flow simply. 

Mahaprasad

Completion of a Master’s wish 

The following day, we were taken to a place called Chakra tirtha. Instinctively, I sensed the aura of the place and decided to go to the sea to offer my ablutions to my late Master, who had expressed this in my daughter’s dream, as mentioned above. The innermost desire I had been carrying for six long years was fulfilled when I offered my ablutions in the blessed waters. I later learnt that this was the Adi Kshetra (ancient area or place) where the all-pervading Consciousness manifested as Daru Brahma (the Supreme Lord manifested in the wood idol).

Usually, when I go on a special pilgrimage such as this, I make it a point to carry some personally ground, fragrant sandal paste as an offering to the deities. I was given the privilege of anointing the deities with the priest’s consent in the sacred Chakra Tirtha. 

The eternal banner of victory

The same afternoon, we had a grand welcome extended by the most revered chief priest of Puri, Pattajoshi Shri Janardana Mahapatra. He presented Lord Jagannath’s attire to Mohanji, a special gift reserved for the privileged few. Although Mohanji and the chief priest were meeting each other for the first time, the connection was spontaneous and instantaneous. The priest, without any prior knowledge about Mohanji, perceiving him and proclaiming him as Vishwa Guru (Universal Master) really struck me as a wonder of wonders! It is one thing to be connected to a Supreme Master such as Shirdi Sai Baba or Sathya Sai Baba and then be guided to Mohanji, which we have seen in many instances, and another, for a priest whose every breath revolves around the God of Gods, perceiving Mohanji as a Vishwa Guru in his very first encounter. This is such a precious rarity!

Much to our great surprise and thrill, every one of us was gifted with the most vibrant flag of Jagannatha by the chief priest. How does one describe this? An unspoken thought from the previous evening had been fulfilled almost immediately! It really left me dazed. Another instance reminds one that when God’s will and Guru’s grace flow together, nothing under the sky cannot be fulfilled! I consider this flag as an eternal symbol of victory of dharma over adharma, Truth against illusion, and a triumph of our highest self over all the gravitational pulls and viles of the earth.

That same night, Mohanji and the group had the great fortune to offer a very special garment exclusively handcrafted for Lord Jagannath. In fact, it was again the will of the Almighty that we could all have the darshan to our heart’s content. The ‘Vastra Dharanam’ ritual usually has no time specification as it is performed after completing all other rituals and is one of the last rituals performed before the temple closes for the night. Our darshan on that day coincided with this offering. As Mohanji remarked, this was nothing but grace in abundance.

The Puri pilgrimage was replete with so many extraordinary events, but it would be appropriate to restrict myself to just a few more highlights here.

Remarkable revelations

On 5th January 2022, we were taken to another powerful shrine, the samadhi of Totapuri Maharaj, a great Siddhapurusha (enlightened Master). He was also the Guru of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. I had two memorable revelations at this shrine, which may interest like-minded readers.

I have been an ardent devotee of Sri Sadashiva Brahmendra, an avadhoota (a person who has reached a stage in their spiritual development in which they are beyond worldly concerns). His jeeva samadhi (tomb of a Hindu Spiritual Guru whose life force still exists in the tomb) has been at Nerur in Tamil Nadu for many years. When I walked into the ashram of the Totapuri Maharaj campus, I had the same feeling at Nerur. As we walked into his abode, I bowed to the idol of Totapuri Maharaj, placing my hands on his feet, inwardly seeking a message. Instantly, I heard a baritone voice reverberating in my inner ear “He (Mohanji) and I (Totapuri) are one.” I opened my eyes with a start and immediately turned left. Mohanji was seated there, deep in dhyana (meditation). Without giving a second thought that I may disturb his meditation, I held on to his feet and bowed down, still internalizing the revelation.  

Soon after, Mohanji took me to an inner chamber which is said to be the actual samadhi (tomb of a saint) spot of the great saint. He touched a tiger skin placed behind a cot and said, “This is where his head is.” In a second, he lifted the skin, and I quickly put my hand and could feel it at the tip of my fingers. This was a rare opportunity that was not available to everyone! 

Remarkable revelations and communions happen in such quick succession when we are with a peerless Master. All that is needed of us is to remain receptive and vigilant. The Guru’s grace then takes over.

I got to meet Mohanji again, for a precious moment, before boarding the flight on my return journey. Feeling incredibly grateful for what had been an unforgettable experience, I held his hand of grace. Mohanji looked at me and said, “I bless you..I bless you!”. It may sound casual on the face of it, but it rang with so much power and vibrancy.

Totapuri Maharaj

The blue magnet

On returning to Bangalore, I was ill for about a week. I was down with a fever, throbbing headache, parched throat, body aches and all the telltale signs of the pandemic. I isolated myself for the period of recovery. Going through physical turbulence makes one more sensitive to feeling the hands of grace and divine healing. An indescribable huge blue magnet was holding me in a divine thrall, and I was in a state where there was a pain but no suffering, an oft-repeated observation of Mohanji. The mind was in a zone with an exquisite blend of stillness and rapture. I wondered whether it was a replica in the microcosm of the oceanic merger of the Atmic Principle and Krishna Chaitanya playing in front of my eyes as I had intuited in Puri!

I conclude with a quote from a precious abhang (devotional poetry) sung by the great Yogi Sankevarma when he had the maiden darshan of his Parama Guru, Sant Gyaneshwar.

“Guru dhyayi Guru dhyayi Guru Parathe Sadhana Nahi 

Guru sevaa cha Sankalpa Guru tochi, Para Brahma 

Meaning: 

Meditate on the Guru!

There is no greater sadhana than holding onto the Guru  

When the Guru is pleased, the Almighty is mighty pleased

Guru is verily the Para Brahma!

Jai Mohanji! 

Jai Jagannath! 

|| JAI BRAHMARISHI MOHANJI ||

Edited & Published by – Testimonials Team, 5th 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

Empowered 5.0 – Triggers and Transformation

Posted on by Mohanji Editorial Team

Freedom from betrayal

A Mohanji follower

Empowered 5.0 with Mohanji in Zlatibor, Serbia, was a program that can only be described partially, as no one knows what exactly happened or is continuing to happen even after months have passed.

After attending all four online sessions in the presence of Mohanji, I thought it would be something similar. Each module of Empowered released and brought out impressions deeply hidden from the conscious mind. They were often painful yet liberating because one never expects to have dark qualities within themselves. We read about it and hear it, but to feel and be aware of it is an entirely different experience! Faith in the process allows one to embrace the darkest moments in our lives with courage. It is a hardcore transformation, as Mohanji often says of Datta Tradition. 

Now to Empowered 5.0. I had not planned on being part of the physical program, but the situation led me to join it. The universe had already decided for each participant, and we just had to make the physical journey. 

I was looking forward to seeing Mohanji family members whom I had not seen or spent time with. Once the program began, I felt things just went downhill. I was faced with unpleasant thoughts and felt betrayed by someone I felt very close to. My focus kept going toward this betrayal which I felt deep in my heart. This problem that came up unexpectedly during Empowered 5 was something I had dealt with in frequent processes, Mai-Tris, and pilgrimages I had done with Mohanji. It never was something that I thought would bother me, but the presence of Mohanji and the whole environment brought up this dark energy that surprised me. 

It made me realise that this betrayal had been part of my life since my teenage years. It pertained mostly to women I had trusted and allowed to enter my heart. Once the love and connections were formed, the betrayal would come in the form of them tossing me aside as I was unimportant to them. This pattern became so evident to me during Empowered 5.0. 

I prayed and surrendered to Mohanji to release me from these past betrayals, as I wanted to be free. I was patient with myself as I knew it was part of the process, but it felt terrible not to have any silence or peace, which I had thought would have happened during this beautiful program. Long story short, I was happy to have completed the E5, as it was very painful in every way!

After returning home, I wasn’t in a positive mood. I had a negative feeling in my heart as I felt no peace or happiness. Even my family complained about my negative attitude, which further made me feel bad inside. I spoke to a few people who had attended Empowered 5 online and in person. Their positive experiences and witnessing their positivity brought this awareness that, somehow, I was stuck and needed more time to heal. 

I truly felt something terrible was there, as it was not natural to be this consumed by a betrayal. I spent many days in pain, and finally, I thought this had to be dealt with. It was a confusing time for me, but I have learned by being with Mohanji that confusion and vulnerability are good states because it is the time when you are open to change. Once the confusion ends, the transformation and clarity are immediately felt. 

I called for an MTM (Mohanji Transformation Method) and spoke to a practitioner I had previously worked with. I explained my situation, and she said the betrayal might have been deeply intertwined into my whole constitution, which could be why it wasn’t removed during E5. Mohanji guided her to stay connected with me and go over the MTM, done in 2021. Some areas were not integrated, so it was required to go ahead with the issue that was at present. 

By talking to her, I also learned that many people were going through a similar process of cleansing after E5 with different types of betrayals. This knowledge brought me some peace because, for the first time, I didn’t feel alone. I was glad to have spoken with her, as everything happens at the right time. 

During the next few weeks, I started having revelations. I see this as the grace of Mohanji. These were painful times because I had to face and feel so much pain, which made my heart sad. It is hard to describe the feeling, but I am glad I stayed strong and didn’t give up on myself. I knew this was just a phase, and I will come out of it. 

Following what I know helps me when I am in a dark place. I always go to my local temple and a Baba temple when in confusion and agitation. I did the same during these testing times. As I stood in front of these deities, I could instantly feel the darkness leaving my body. This is a gift of our tradition; they don’t leave your hand. Being with Mohanji has allowed me to be subtle enough to feel this cleansing during visits to powerful places.

After a month of self-contemplation, facing my darkest moments and pain, I felt I was moving in the right direction as I felt lighter and more aware. The following day the MTM practitioner also conducted the MTM session as I had enough time to integrate and process the first MTM revelations. 

It was the right time, as it felt perfect at that moment. Her connection revealed a curse that had its origin with snakes. It had been part of the women in my family. She said it was very dark and strong, but she couldn’t tell me more as I would process the whole scenario in my mind and slow down the cleansing process. MTM brings more awareness, and through that, empowerment follows; but over-analysing slows down this process. She advised all I had to do was keep my heart open and love without fear. 

The same day this event happened, my daughter also got sick. I immediately felt it was somehow connected to the removal of the lineage curse. She was ill for a week, and it was a difficult time, as no medication and doctor’s visit brought relief. Mai-Tri temporarily relieved the fever, but it spiked back up after a few hours. I had left all this to Mohanji, as I knew it was part of the process. 

One day after the doctor’s visit, I was heartbroken to see her sick. I decided to give her Mai-Tri once again. As a parent and a Mai-Tri practitioner, one must be completely detached from the outcome for Mai-Tri to be effective. As I stood in front of Mohanji’s picture to connect to his consciousness, I felt immense energy in his eyes coming to me. I couldn’t move and had to force myself to leave his presence. 

As I began the healing, I felt very strange pulling from inside the head, as if my hands and the energy from the head were one. It was a wonderful feeling and session. Being a Mai-Tri practitioner for a while now, I have never experienced this type of session before. It felt like I was sitting for a very long time, but it was only 25 minutes, but deep inside, I knew whatever was ailing her was completely gone. My feelings were correct as the following morning, the fever had finally subsided.

I am sharing this testimonial to show how powerful the Empowered sessions are. The awareness which comes is a gift that can never be replaced by anything material on this Earth. I also witnessed many people sharing their positive experiences, and I wanted to show the other side of Empowered sessions. It can trigger painful past events, but in the end, it is for our evolution and transformation. Once we know it is a phase, anything can be endured with faith, and even pain becomes a ladder to reach our highest potential. 

Mohanji allowed me to live through this painful period, which brought me so much clarity about my patterns and my family. I wouldn’t have learned so much if he had removed this painful impression during Empowered 5.0. In pain, we become stronger, and I am very grateful to the Empowered series, which is synonymous with transformation.

Battles of the mind

Asja Dupanovic

During the Empowered 5.0 program with Mohanji in Zlatibor (October 2022), I experienced a newly discovered stability, peace and a distinct lightness in my physical body. 

The most significant thing I have lost during this program is the tight grip of my mind. Mohanji showed me how capable I am of stopping the ranting of my mind and very quickly shifting my thoughts, preventing them from causing emotional havoc and a physiological reaction that my body knew so well. I made this shift several times during the program and now know who the master in charge of this mind is. If it (this mind) is merely a part of this vehicle, the rent-a-car presented by my physical body, then what I truly am is in charge (of the mind), of course.

In this program, many battles with the mind were won. I know it is not the whole war, but these battles won are significant and empowering for me. 

One of the very first things I have become aware of (as these battles with the mind went on) is a very distinct lightness in my physical body. It was mesmerising. During the morning sun salutations, I could not even recognise my body. It flowed through the practice without any effort or strain. I was being charged with endless energy and being able to exercise for hours. I could also run again, which has been a challenge for the past 18 years. (Ever since, I have been suffering from something I could only describe as my physical body being constantly cramped, weak and incapable of basic things like running across the street). 

With Mohanji’s help, whilst in silence, I could also see myself in different situations from birth onwards. By his directions, I observed the scenes as if I was merely a neutral witness, fully aware that I was not the emotion that I was feeling in the scene. The emotion would dissolve when I would face this emotion and see the situation from a neutral perspective of a witness.

As the days went by, I felt more light. In many situations, I saw my new self as strong and confident, knowing exactly what I wished to say to someone or do about a particular situation. As I returned home, I realised each of those new decisions, one by one, confidently, feeling no distress. This was new and big for me!

Otherwise, I have the highest remarks on how the program was organised. I felt very pampered the whole time, with all the freedom and perfect conditions to dedicate myself fully to myself and my immersion into silence. Mohanji was wonderful the entire time, so gentile, kind and loving. Everything was provided and taken care of. The organising team took extra care to ensure all details and that every individual was taken care of in the best possible way. I felt very good and secure in their hands and in Mohanji’s embrace.

I look forward to this program repeating, plan to join it again and wholeheartedly recommend it to everyone.

|| JAI BRAHMARISHI MOHANJI ||

Edited & Published by – Testimonials Team, 3rd 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

Only pain, no suffering

Posted on by Mohanji Editorial Team

by Subhasree Thottungal, London, December 2022

‘Let the pain be there in the body, do not suffer from it.‘ – These are the words that many of us have heard from Mohanji. It’s difficult to do this – to separate pain from suffering. We always think that pain and suffering are things that unavoidably come together, but many times, Mohanji has demonstrated that it is possible to experience pain without suffering.  

The Head-on collision:

A recent incident that shook the entire Mohanji Global family once again provided a solid example of Mohanji’s choice not to suffer amid great pain. During the Global Volunteer Meet Zoom call on 9th October, Christopher, Mohanji’s Executive Assistant, announced the head-on collision that their car had had on the 7th October evening whilst Mohanji was returning to Slovenia. Mohanji was sitting in the front passenger seat and had taken the impact on his heart. Chris further shared that Mohanji was initially admitted into the Critical Cardiac Care Unit in the hospital but had discharged himself at his own risk and was resting at home. While everyone in the Zoom meeting was shocked to hear this, Mohanji also joined the Zoom meeting, as it was scheduled earlier for him to address the attendees. Mohanji appeared and he spoke himself about the incident. He was calm, though his voice sounded slightly tired: ‘One thing this incident has proven is that I have a heart; I am not heartless.‘ – Mohanji ended his talk on a jovial note.

The month of October was a critical period. Three in-person programs with Mohanji – The Global Mai-Tri Meet, Empowered 5.0 and Empowered Trainers training – all spanning over 11 days, were about to start soon in Serbia – from 16th to 27th October. Mohanji was to be present in all three of these programs. ‘But will that be possible in the current situation? Is Mohanji well enough to attend the 11 days long programs in Serbia?’ – these were the questions that popped up in my head naturally. I was part of the organising team for all three of the programs, and I was travelling to Serbia the very next day on 10th October. The plan was to spend some time around Mohanji, serving him and cooking for him before going for the programs. 

But now I was not sure whether Mohanji would be able to travel to Serbia and when. Anyway, I accepted the situation – whenever he comes, I will be available at his service. I surrendered my thoughts at the feet of my Guru. Later that evening, Milica, Mohanji’s PA, messaged me confirming that Mohanji would arrive in Belgrade late the next evening, on 10th October, the same day that I arrived in Serbia! 

Arrival in Serbia:

Some of us gathered at the Belgrade airport to receive Mohanji that evening. We were all eagerly waiting to see him as well as we were wondering about his health. Mohanji came out of the airport looking frail physically, but the shine on his face and the smile on his lips melted all of us when he spread his arms to hug us. He is here with us, and it’s a big deal! I asked him, ‘Are you having pain, Mohanji? Are you feeling ok?’ Mohanji said in his usual style, ‘Pain in the chest is there. But I am not suffering.‘ ‘I had to run away from the ICU, you know. It was more suffocating there’, he added jokingly. Whilst I was happy to see him physically in front of my eyes, and also, although I was assured that I would be around him to serve him, I had some concerns about him flying with the present condition of his heart. With that worry in my mind, I scolded him lightly, ‘Was it worth taking this risk of flying, Mohanji? You needed to take complete rest.’ 

He said, ‘If I didn’t leave Slovenia immediately, then I wouldn’t have been able to travel and then what about these programs? I don’t want to cancel these programs, you know.’ 

Even in this condition, he is thinking about us! About the programs! 

Naively, I told him, ‘Then for these next few days, Mohanji, please just relax and take complete rest, no meeting people, no meetings and no work. Just rest.’ 

He smiled! ‘I never stop working.’ He muttered. 

Of course! Metaphysically this is true, but physically he must surely take rest, I told myself silently.

The so-called resting period:

The very next day, just like on any other day, he allowed some devotees to come and see him. He had pain in his chest, his heart condition was not good, his diet was restricted, and he was only eating two times per day, yet he would still sit the whole day and meet the devotees who came. He didn’t stop doing his work, regardless of his health condition. We could all feel his fatigue, his pain, but he never complained about anything, nor did he deny anything to people! In the next few days, Mohanji sorted out many critical and important things for various countries and MCB lands about the upcoming programs, spoke about books, wrote forewords and discussed the minutest details for the upcoming retreat.  

One morning, immediately after I served him his herbal tea, he asked me to bring a notepad and sit down. I got my laptop, ready to type, without knowing what was to come next! Mohanji was in a very different state that early morning – serious and focused. He started explaining to me the roadmap of Empowered 5.0. He narrated, explained and repeated, ensuring I understood it well so I could put it all in a presentation pack. He was flowing, flawless, unstoppable. I was listening and noting down non-stop. After he finished talking, he ensured that I had cleared all of my doubts and told me to prepare the slides and show them to him later. It was almost his breakfast time, and I had to prepare for that, but he wasn’t worried. He waited patiently until I brought him his breakfast. I admired him at that time – his focus, sincerity, attention to detail and overall flow. His priority for the Empowered 5.0 program was beyond his own physical pain. Later, he even checked the slides after I had prepared them. Such a thorough approach to preparation! All of this is only for us! How blessed we are, I couldn’t stop thinking. Mohanji completed so many things during the 4-5 days in Novi Sad before we left for Zlatibor for the in-person programs; he met many people while dealing with his physical pain, and he did it all without displaying any suffering. If I weren’t there personally near him, it would be impossible to see him and understand the extent of physical pain he had.

Humility and down-to-earthiness!

While I was closely noticing Mohanji spending the entire day working, talking, and sorting out people’s problems at the physical level, I was worried about his food, rest, and recovery. While he didn’t stop working, he followed Dr Umesh’s advice with the homoeopathy medicines. Like a good obedient son, he ate well whatever I served and allowed me to give him light oil massages. Apart from this, there was no special treatment! He thanked me for giving him the right food and for the massage, etc., in this hour of need. 

He said, ‘This is helping me to recover! The right food and the oil massage. You came here at the right time. Thank you!’ 

The truth was that actually, I was grateful! I was grateful for the blessings that I am here around Mohanji and have got this opportunity to serve him. It was only due to his grace that this was allowed. Yet he is thanking me! Sometimes Mohanji leaves me speechless with teary eyes; his leelas, only he knows!

The incident during the Canada trip in March 2022:

His physical condition never binds Mohanji, and I have witnessed this many times before. I was recollecting a very serious situation that had happened a few months back, in March 2022, during his visit to Vancouver, Canada. Not many people knew about it. Whenever I mentioned the story to others, I would get shivers. It wasn’t ordinary. Let me narrate it here. Mohanji and a few of us had travelled from Toronto to Victoria, DC, for a two-day program, and then we were scheduled to go to Vancouver for a day and then fly back to Toronto. When we reached Victoria, Mohanji was perfectly fine, but he suddenly developed a cough later that evening. The cough intensified, and then chest congestion came too. It was so bad that he couldn’t sleep and kept coughing the whole night. The next day, there was an event in a Sai Baba temple, and Mohanji had to speak. His cough was getting worse, but he didn’t cancel the program. He went ahead with the Satsang and the program afterwards, meeting many people. That night also was very disturbing for him as he was coughing continuously and couldn’t sleep. 

We had to travel to Vancouver the next morning, so we wanted to know whether he should travel in this condition or rather stay back and rest; however, this would mean that the program in Vancouver would have to be cancelled. Chris and I discussed this with Mohanji because we were quite worried about his flight travel in this situation. He insisted that the program should not be cancelled: ‘Baba is waiting for me. Hundreds of people are waiting for me. I cannot cancel the program. I will travel to Vancouver; I will manage.’ He assured us. 

Though the flight to Vancouver was only for 25 minutes, there was some delay, and we had a long wait in the airport. That meant there would hardly be any time left for the event as soon as we arrived! I was feeling anxious thinking about Mohanji’s constant coughing and chest congestion. Mohanji understands everything! While waiting at the airport, he kept us engaged telling some funny incidents and leaving us laughing and rolling on the floor! While I was worried about his health, he didn’t seem bothered at all. Finally, we boarded the plane and that 25 minutes of travel was the worst. It was a small flight, tight sitting and packed with people and very turbulent too. When we came out of the flight, Mohanji was feeling really restless! His cough had worsened! Looking at his condition, the team decided to cancel the program. Once again, Mohanji repeated that he could not disappoint people waiting for him. It was an event at the Sai Baba temple. Mohanji took a little rest and then went ahead to the event. New place, new audience, and despite a terrible cough, Mohanji managed the Satsang very well and kept meeting everyone with patience and with as much time as everyone needed. After the event, he spent quality time with the local team when he returned to his residence. 

It had been a long and turbulent day for him, and despite his chest condition and really bad cough, he patiently performed all of his duties lovingly and compassionately. I was in constant touch with Dr Umesh and gave his medicines to Mohanji regularly. 

As the evening progressed, Mohanji’s cough was getting worse. Dr Umesh was regularly on the phone monitoring his condition and guiding me about the medicines to give him constantly in small gaps. Mohanji was unable to lie down or take any rest with the persistent cough, so he was sitting upright on the chair the entire time. We were supposed to travel back to Toronto the following day. Mohanji’s condition was getting worse. At one time, while he was speaking to Dr Umesh, his cough became very severe, like a fit, and he fell on his back on the bed with his eyes rolled up; he was completely unable to breathe. For a moment, my heartbeat stopped! But I don’t know how I got the strength; with the phone in my right hand with Dr Umesh on the line, I held onto Mohanji’s wrist with my left hand and pulled him to sit upright! I don’t know how I got that strength and power. I was speechless for a few seconds, and then as Mohanji sat up, he could breathe again. My heart was racing fast, but I gathered myself and calmly, I explained this to Dr Umesh. Dr Umesh kept assuring and guiding me. During those few hours watching Mohanji in such trouble, I had no thoughts other than how to get him some relief and make sure he returned to Toronto safely. 

Thanks to Dr Umesh’s excellent care and medication, Mohanji was feeling better the next morning and could travel back to Toronto. I had been witnessing the condition of Mohanji for the last two days, but despite that, he did not cancel any of his events and continued on as planned. After reaching Toronto, though his condition was slightly better than Vancouver, he was still in bad condition. It was -18 Degrees C in Toronto and snowing. Chris decided to advance his travel to the USA to leave a couple of days earlier for a warmer climate. 

Before leaving Toronto, Mohanji wanted to complete some of his pre-committed events, including a visit to a devotee’s home! It was snowing, the devotee’s home was at least 1 hour of driving each way, and Mohanji still wasn’t well. Despite all this, he didn’t want to cancel this house visit and said he would complete his commitment. I had tears in my eyes, and on one side, I was feeling slightly angry as to the urgent need to keep this commitment above his health condition, having to travel a long distance in such bad weather. 

The night’s situation in Vancouver flashed before my eyes, and I couldn’t imagine seeing Mohanji again in such a terrible condition. I know Mohanji doesn’t let his pain come in the way of his duties and commitments. His love for his devotees was beyond his pain! It wasn’t comfortable to watch him do this, but my heart was filled with gratitude to witness this act of unconditional love from Mohanji. While I was worried about his health within this physical reality, I was also aware of the higher purpose behind why Mohanji had taken this physical pain onto his body. He had shown me this while I was healing his body. Mohanji takes on very severe and life-threatening situations from some of his people and dissolves them through such pains in his body. Witnessing the truth in a different dimension and witnessing what was happening in physical reality was a completely different experience for me. The duality of pain and suffering, the truth beyond all pain and suffering, and the pure unconditional love that Mohanji operates from in every moment – this wasn’t easy to understand: the astounding reality of the magnanimous Mohanji!

Awareness regarding the Slovenia Accident – vision through healing

I will now share another angle about how Mohanji can endure physical pain without suffering. This is my realisation of Mohanji from a different dimension that he allowed me to witness through healing. 

After the car accident in Slovenia, some of us did a healing on Mohanji’s body in that condition. I am sharing the description of the vision and understanding I had of this incident from this healing session. When I was attempting to heal Mohanji’s heart, I saw the land of Slovenia’s Mohanji Peace Centre – his heart took the shape of that land. I then saw huge flames all around that land, some houses in the land were charred in the fire, and all of the residents were perishing. Mohanji showed me that this was a disaster that he had to remove only by taking it on himself physically because it was not just about the fire on the property – it was about the lives of many of his devotees and volunteers serving the centre. While the healing progressed, I saw the fire going down, but still, there were patches of fire here and there around his heart. I knew that it was no small karmic event that Mohanji eradicated by taking the big hit on his own heart. Some effect will remain upon his heart and overall health until those small fire patches on his heart eventually dissipate and fade away. 

This vision brought me clarity about the new lives that Mohanji gave to many. Mohanji didn’t show me the faces, it wasn’t necessary, but the reality is that he is standing strong in front and facing all possible storms that come, protecting his people like a loving father. The reality is that he is giving new lives – rebirths to many of his devotees like a mother taking the pains of her child and almost dying in the birthing process! The purpose behind Mohanji taking such extremely painful physical conditions onto his own body is not just an act of sympathy or even empathy. Still, these are the true empowerments that Mohanji is giving all these people through new births and a complete transformation. Many may not realise this right here and now; some will realise in time. Mohanji does his work quietly, without announcement and without taking any credit. He is totally bound to his purpose! It is also true that he will not leave things halfway until his job is done here in this incarnation! He has never done that in any of his previous incarnations. However, such incidents are hard-hitting wake-up calls for all of us. If we remain asleep in this life, we will surely miss the boat again. 

While in Novi Sad, some of us who did the healing that day were narrating our visions to Mohanji, and everyone was bringing their own unique aspect of the understanding. I was getting clarity about the huge purpose behind every single act of Mohanji. Nothing is a coincidence, and nothing is an accident – this is the master plan of the great Master and the Tradition behind him to wake us up, transform us, and empower us.

The pain continues, still no suffering – the conclusion:

Coming back to Mohanji’s resting days in Novi Sad! Soon the date for the program in Zlatibor was approaching. Mohanji guided us in detail for all three programs. Soon, we all travelled to Zlatibor – almost 4 hours from Novi Sad. Mohanji was stationary at one place in his Novi Sad residence for the last four days, but he still had not recovered from his heart condition. So, the 4 hours of car travel wasn’t very comfortable. When we reached the hotel, our residence for the next 11 days, I could feel Mohanji’s fatigue and physical pain. But he had work to do, talking to the organisers, the guests arriving from different countries, etc. The program started. Mohanji was attending every day for his scheduled times and delivering powerful satsangs. But beyond that, while he was staying in his room, he was administrating every little detail, orchestrating every single movement, not just through his physical guidance, but also energetically. 

Every morning, he would meet all the organisers and give the detailed directions; every lunch time, when we would come during the break and check about how the program was progressing and what people’s reactions were; and every evening when the program ended, he was taking detailed feedback too. At each step, he was advising us in every little detail – no matter what, nothing was too small or too big for him. 

He was working tirelessly, sitting continuously on his chair in his room. Energetically he was aware of everything. His remote presence from the room, his physical presence for specific times every day with the people – had a huge impact on everyone. More than 200 people had gathered. Every single person was going through a unique journey, and Mohanji was there with each one, guiding energetically, physically, and telepathically – in every possible way.

There are numerous situations and experiences to share. Still, I will end this write-up with two significant examples showing you all, my dear readers, how Mohanji was working miraculously beyond his physical pain, far from any suffering. The first is an example of his action in physical reality, and the other is an example of his energy-based action on a different dimension.

Here goes the first one – as I mentioned previously, Mohanji had given us specific instructions regarding food during Empowered 5.0. The specifics were conveyed to the hotel and we had a team following it up closely. There were certain food items that Mohanji had specifically mentioned to avoid for very valid reasons. Every day, the food was progressing satisfactorily (while there were small issues and it wasn’t 100% as per the instructions). One day, due to some unavoidable reasons, they made exactly the food that Mohanji had asked to avoid. Usually, I cook different food for Mohanji so that his diet is taken care of, so he doesn’t get to see what food has been prepared in the hotel for the participants. 

However, on that particular day, I was rushing to get Mohanji’s lunch, and I had yet to see or eat the lunch prepared for us by the hotel. While Mohanji was eating his lunch, he asked me if the food for the participants was ok. I told him I had yet to go to the dining hall. Then Devi walked into the room, and Mohanji asked her what was prepared for lunch and how it was, and when he heard Devi’s response, he wasn’t happy. I was shocked, too, as the lunch that was prepared that day was exactly what Mohanji had said not to prepare! It wasn’t on our menu, but it was prepared and served to all! Mohanji wasn’t happy about this negligence as that food could have a harmful energetic effect on some of the participants. ‘Wasn’t happy’ is an understatement – he was furious, and for the right reasons. Immediately after the food lead came, the restaurant team came and Mohanji spoke to them directly, clearly and firmly, ensuring that the mistake would not be repeated! 

During all this time since then, I have been thinking about how it was that of all the days that Mohanji could have asked about the food, it was only on the day of the mistake that he actually decided to ask. This is not a coincidence! We may think that Mohanji is sitting in the room and only taking feedback from us, but what we forget is that Mohanji doesn’t need any physical update, reporting or feedback from us – his consciousness is alert 24/7, within every moment he is present in every place, witnessing everything that’s happening! After that incident, the hotel guys were careful and then, for the rest of the days, everything progressed as per our given plan.

Now, the second example: As the Empowered 5.0 program started, with the unusual routine people were following; no one had any idea about the intensity of the energy Mohanji had created. All sorts of releases were happening, for everyone, in their unique way, in quite unexpected ways too. On the very first day, within the first hour, one lady came out of the hall complaining of severe stomach issues with diarrhoea and vomiting. We couldn’t send her to her room alone; we couldn’t send her to any hospital at that point without consulting with Mohanji. So, in that condition, I took her to my room and asked her to rest there. Mohanji was resting at that time, so I didn’t want to disturb him. I felt that she would feel better if she rested in my room. I checked on her regularly and found that she was still having frequent visits to the toilet. At that time, I felt I could give her Mai-Tri and that if she slept for some time, at least this frequent running to the toilet would stop. 

I took her permission to do Mai-Tri, and during the session, I prayed that the Mai-Tri would let her sleep for some time – or at least until Mohanji woke up! I didn’t want to disturb Mohanji at that time considering his health condition, but at the same time, I wanted this lady to relax and not deteriorate any further. A simple prayer, but miraculously, she slept for 2 hours or so. 

In the meantime, Mohanji was up and had given us immediate advice to call the doctor and arrange the necessary treatment needed in the room itself. By the time she woke up, the doctor was in the room and already treating her. Her sleep was certainly miraculous! Later that day, I was narrating this to Mohanji and told him childishly, ‘Mohanji, you know, Mai-Tri works! I asked during Mai-Tri to make her sleep, and it happened! Mai-Tri really works you know.’ It was indeed funny the way I was expressing my thanks to him – but once again, nothing was too small for Mohanji. This was also the beginning of many miraculous events that happened after that. 

The next morning, during his Satsang with the participants, Mohanji said to contact us for Mai-Tri if anyone had any issues. From there on began the flow of constant requests for Mai-Tri, which came from participants in the hall and online. Only 6-8 volunteers were available to give Mai-Tri at that time, and we had more than 250 sessions done! The Mai-Tri sessions during the program were unique, per specific instructions from Mohanji. 

What I witnessed during the first Mai-Tri session while sitting in the event hall was mind-blowing. It took me to a different world! No – actually, it showed me the different Universe that Mohanji had created in that hall – a vision difficult to narrate. It feels impossible to justify with my words the presence of the supreme consciousness and the feeling of a tangible universe system – galaxies, stars, many different worlds of existence and energy flows of higher frequencies! In that space, doing Mai-Tri was not about relieving people from their physical pain but rather about accentuating the release of their blockages to take them towards ultimate empowerment.

All of us volunteers doing Mai-Tri had unique and powerful experiences while doing the sessions and the people who received them had astounding experiences too.

All these were happening through the energy of Mohanji – the one beyond this physical personality we often mistake- sitting calmly on his chair in the hotel room! Staying indifferent, detached, and working silently, Mohanji was still dealing with physical pain and discomfort, but he displayed no sign of suffering. 

What I witnessed in the 16 days that I spent with Mohanji, from the time he travelled from Slovenia after his accident until the end of the program, is just unbelievable. It was a tangible, unmistakable example of Pain but No Suffering!

Thank you, Mohanji, for being a constant living example of every single teaching you give us. I offer my sincere gratitude for every opportunity you gave me in every dimension to witness, understand and experience who you really are. 

Koti pranams at your feet.

I love you, Mohanji.

|| JAI BRAHMARISHI MOHANJI ||

Edited & Published by – Testimonials Team, 29th December 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

Betrayal, awareness and transformation

Posted on by Mohanji Editorial Team

By Milica Bulatovic, South Africa

What is the Guru?

The Guru is existence itself and is found in all aspects of this creation. The Guru is not separate from the soul; the Guru is our very own self; the Guru is in nature and is nature. That is why Lord Dattatreya, the living embodiment of the Guru principle, took as his own Guru 24 beings and elements found in nature.  

Betraying the Guru is, therefore, a betrayal of nature, of existence and especially of ourselves. It is a betrayal of your very existence as a soul, which stretches far beyond this life across time and countless lifetimes.

Forms and consequences of betrayal

Through lies and negative gossip about the Guru, we make ourselves vulnerable to the influence of negative forces which perpetuate themselves through us, without our awareness, and we become stuck in a never-ending cycle of negativity. Once the cycle of lies and gossip begins, it is a downward spiral. Lies breed more lies, disconnecting us more and more from the truth; from the awareness and connection to the highest consciousness, represented by the Guru, which we may have cultivated through strenuous effort through lifetimes and may be lost in a single moment of doubt. 

One doubt is enough to open the floodgates. When we spread negativity, our frequency drops to a very low level, where we can become receptive to dark energies and extremely low-frequency beings. It can happen to anyone: I have personally seen this happen to people who were almost touching the realm of silence and to people who were on the border between light and shadow most of their lives. 

If we are experiencing doubt, contemplation and speaking to someone who is stable, someone who guides us appropriately and will not feed negativity, who is not easily influenceable, would help. We need tremendous awareness to keep our frequency high and not fall into the daily, seemingly unimportant traps that lead us to the betrayal of life or existence.

Many have betrayed the Guru or the existence at some point by going into gossip, jealousy, comparison, competition, fear, greed, revenge, criticism, ownership, and so betraying themselves. Eating meat that another being had to be killed for betrays our existence. By choosing to drink milk taken from a calf, which is also often killed, we betray our existence because we love the taste! Even thoughts of a negative nature add to negative consumption.

And further, this will influence our actions too. The more we are unconscious, the more we take in negativities that make us heavy, and the more we don’t live our truth. This is how on a daily basis, we betray ourselves. All these accumulate, and we start carrying the vibrations of betrayal and heavy guilt, and we start attracting these into our life more and more, creating situations that we cry and complain about. We disconnect from ourselves by compromising our conscience for the sake of pressures and expectations from the family and society. 

The biggest of the associated emotions that come with betrayal is guilt. Many of us will say that we don’t know where our guilt comes from; it comes from the pattern of repeated betrayal, something as small as an unconscious habit or something much larger. Emotions are sticky and binding by nature, and so bind further heavy emotions into our system. We become very easily disturbed by our circumstances. 

As you can see, there are many levels of betrayal. Betraying the Guru creates very heavy burdens, as they came only to bring higher awareness, to lift people from a fallen state of consciousness to higher levels of awareness and, ultimately, back to ourselves (self-realization). They live a dharmic life, uphold dharma, and have no personal karma. So, to betray such a pure state of being is to create an especially huge karmic debt.

Betrayal of the Guru can be in many forms:

  • Being afraid to speak about them
  • remaining silent at a moment where speaking our truth or speaking about our Guru is what is appropriate and honest
  • hiding from the world that we are following a Guru
  • leaving them when they don’t fulfil our expectations, 
  • talking badly about them and assassinating their character through lies. 

This is directly negating your existence. We are actually influencing our own karma and that of our whole lineage, those behind us, as well as the generations to come.

To reach the level of awareness, wherein we are aware of all of these patterns and emotions that bind us, lower our frequency and take us deeper into unconscious living, we need a Guru who has walked the same path, overcome the mind and stands as a pure example of our potential, and whose presence transforms us and brings this awareness. He is pure consciousness, and the level of transformation and elevation in awareness we experience will be in accordance with the depth of our connection to him. By betraying a Guru, we are sabotaging the only thing that can give us what we have been searching for, for lifetimes. It is self-sabotage, as our patterns are the ones that will disconnect us from consciousness. 

If we leave the Guru because he is breaking our habits, boundaries, and concepts because it becomes uncomfortable, we can stagnate more in our comfort zones, at least keep silent about it. It is always free will if we want to walk the path of self-realization, and nobody forces us to stay. Don’t betray and talk bad out of pure non-understanding of the highest truths they represent and live.

In daily life, if we live selfishly only for our own family, being in constant desire mode and wanting more things, we don’t add any value to our society and take from Mother Earth. This leads us nowhere. 

But we are taught this way even in schools. Be better than others, your value is higher if you earn a lot, and if you have a fancy car or a big house, you are successful. The truth is different. We cannot take anything from this Earth on the day we depart and leave the body, but we certainly leave lighter if we have been kind and loving, if we served our community and the helpless, and shared and cared about all. True wealth is what you give to this world, not what you take from it.

How the insight came

This is crystal clear now after spending five days in silence during the Empowered 5.0 program with Mohanji. A complete software change happened to me with his grace!

Also, by his grace, I have been experiencing stability, fewer thoughts and more silence for many years and learnt not to have any expectations, and so this is how the insight came:

I experienced an explosion of pain in all the nerves of my body. No position was without excruciating pain, but I accepted it, stayed peaceful, and just witnessed it, as I knew that the Guru was working on me, and this is pure Guru’s Grace.

Why do I say that? For me to go through such pain now was to prevent me from experiencing it later on in life, and it is due to my karma. I have done something, and my ancestors have done something for me to experience it.

At some point, Mohanji gave me another important vision, how complex karma is. I saw the karmic structure as a ball of wool. Each strand and layer had some connection with each other and were creating more strands or making them hold firmly together. What holds one ball of karma is similar patterns. It is very difficult merely to understand it and forget about releasing it. 

Soon after, he showed me how he was shaking the whole structure and creating cracks so the light of awareness could come through. This is also part of the reason why it was so painful. 

As days went by, much clarity came my way; all this was coming from the internal Guru Tatwa Principle. The Guru within and the external Guru were guiding me. Suddenly, I felt that I doubted myself so much, and the deep insecurity I had experienced was due to a betrayal of existence or betrayal of Guru at some point in the past.

I became aware of this recurring pattern of betrayal in my life due to experiencing it personally. It created new awareness, and so I contemplated deeper on it. 

Another vision came of war scenes and me being left alone in the rubble of buildings that collapsed and all my family killed. I was shown that on a physical level, my legs and stomach were weak due to past life war impressions, and as I became aware of this, the diarrhoea that started that day vanished, and a surge of new energy came rushing into my legs and stomach. 

The new energy remains after many weeks, and for the first time in my life, I can work on strengthening my legs at the physical level.

When the last day came, I wanted to make as much use of that day’s precious silence as possible. The night before, my mind was racing about where to sit the next day as I needed a backrest with the option of lying down. It was so funny how my mind started acting out just before the end of the program and got affected by a minor issue. I couldn’t sleep for a few hours as I couldn’t decide where to choose to sit the next day. Finally, I surrendered it to Mohanji.

When I arrived at 5 am, all spots were taken; the only one left was my old spot where I was all five days. How typical of the mind to overthink and go in circles about insignificant issues when all is predetermined for us. It was a good lesson to observe. 

That last day I sat without a backrest for hours with an entirely straight spine, which I could not do for the past 15 years. At one point, I asked myself, “How is this possible? What is holding me straight with no discomfort?” The answer came: existence itself is holding me. At the end of the program, all pain had vanished.

A complete software change. A totally new me! Confident, with no fear, and able to fully express myself even in public. I felt a new lease on life. I felt terrified of speaking in public before, but that is all gone now; there is extreme clarity.

Mohanji has washed away so much in me, so many blockages. I always stayed steady in my faith in accepting all that was happening in my life. I never said no to anything that was asked of me, even public programs, but I was terrified inside. I felt like I would be crucified in public each time, although this is connected to other karmic events after betrayal.

Interestingly, the event that marked the times we live in is the crucifixion of Jesus. Jesus lived and spoke about unconditional love and oneness and healed many. His popularity didn’t suit the clergy and the people in power at the time. As they had power, they could easily influence people. Isn’t this still happening even in our time?!

Lies are presented as truth. From an early age, we are taught to learn and cram so much unnecessary data that we forget to use our minds and logical thinking. We disconnect from the inner truth and naturalness of our being as very young children. What is served on TV becomes the truth we live by. It is told by someone else. We disconnect from nature too. If something is told in certain institutions, we automatically accept it as truth—something to think about. 

Another incident that marked our time is when Peter betrayed Jesus 3 times before he was crucified by not saying he walked with him when asked, afraid that he would be killed. He carried tremendous guilt for a long time. Did we all inherit this pattern somehow as a society? Is it in our subconscious now on a global scale? Something to ponder about.

Each time we are scared to stand up for the truth, we follow this pattern. I don’t know the details of when I betrayed my Guru or existence itself. Still, it sure felt like that was the main theme for many of us who attended Empowered 5.0, and surely it feels that the burden was lifted simply due to the grace of Mohanji, who showed that he truly is unconditional love incarnate. I can say the Empowered program transformed my life!

Purification

Mohanji always recommends selfless service. We don’t know at what level we have betrayed our existence, which is the same as the existence of any being, so by serving all, a lot of karmic due is released as we become much more compassionate and kind human beings. Such positive actions reprogram us.

Connection to a powerful Master changes everything. First, so much awareness comes our way, and we start making better choices for ourselves. Second, over time your purpose shifts in life altogether. And the purpose is everything.

I am sure many people these days think about the purpose of life or have simply lost the meaning of life. Each day is almost the same; work, driving, picking up the children, cooking and then the day is done. And we believe we can’t do better. Masters awaken us to purpose.

When we awaken to the truth within, we realize how much potential is not used and how much potential we have. Another level of awakening is when one realizes that all is done through us. The biggest illusion is that we think we are the doers, which is probably the biggest misconception of our times and difficult for people to understand.

We are not people doing things; we are beings. Human beings have the capacity to be fully aware of consciousness working through us. That energy works through all of us. 

Its nature is abundance. It cannot be depleted. What stops the flow in us is limiting beliefs, programs, perceptions, energy blockages connected to karma, lifestyle choices that make us heavy and adding violence and negativity in thought, word or action.

When we connect to our beingness and our nature and live the highest values of being a human, abundance can flow through us, and even many blockages can fall off in the process. 

The more we observe and witness that all is done through us, the more awareness grows. We are more detached. The truth becomes more visible the more present we are. Again more awareness comes, and more is done through us as our capacity grows. As Mohanji would say, the more you are empty of concepts, the more you are eligible for consciousness to fill in. And absolutely none of this understanding and awareness would have been possible without Mohanji. 

Many people who knew me before are wondering what I am doing following this man from another part of the world, who is not part of our culture. Even a comment that my parents didn’t teach me well has been made. What I would like to say about this is that my parents taught me to be free, think with my head, and make my own decisions. The freedom my parents gave me is my biggest asset, and they taught me about our traditions. 

Still, truly Mohanji has taught me more in-depth what true values are, how to love, accept and respect all and how important it is to honour our roots, family and culture. Mohanji, through his life and teachings, has transformed my life completely.

Deep fulfilment and contentment are within me instead of fears, anxieties, and anger. Nothing that life brings forth destabilizes me, and a great deal of good comes out of the platforms that I am blessed to be part of. All I ask you is to think about it, don’t just accept what I wrote, as the whole purpose of this text is to take us into contemplation and connect to our own hearts and the truth within. 

Mohanji has come to awaken us and bring us back to our natural selves. Humanity has fallen in consciousness too much, and we need guidance from a Master in the physical form to lead us on the path he has walked on and transcended. We are used to many habits, have adopted limiting beliefs and patterns, and see life through filters. Truth is always simple. 

When we support nature and choose what expands our hearts, nature will support us, and life will support us; if we go against nature and what is natural, nature will reflect it. 

With love and respect to all, I surrender this text at the lotus feet of my Guru Mohanji, who is igniting the light of awareness in me, taking me back to myself and showing me the way to the highest. This text and awareness came through me from his consciousness. 

Love and respect to all existence!

|| JAI BRAHMARISHI MOHANJI ||

Edited & Published by – Testimonials Team, 22nd December 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