by Christopher Greenwood
Day 83 Lesson – Mohanji’s Story: “The trap.”
Good morning everybody. I hope you’re doing very well today.
Yesterday I shared a short story about Mohanji’s trip to South Africa. Today I wanted to share another story, which is more personal, about Mohanji. He shared it during one of our morning conversations some time back. I was reminded of it again, not long ago, because we visited Kerala, where the story originated.
I was really shocked by this story, actually, because I hadn’t heard of the levels of manipulation that someone would go to; it was unbelievable. I feel that this story echoes some of Mohanji’s qualities, how he approaches life, and also two great qualities, which have been the source of many problems in his life.
1. He trusts people completely, 100% (Whoever comes to him, he trusts completely).
2. He can’t say no.
Now he has a good team of people around him to support and help with that. But this is from a time when that wasn’t the case. It was when he was based in the Middle East.
Mohanji especially likes serving, and through a friend, he was introduced to a Swami and also to an ashram in Kerala. Every time he returned to India, he would spend his time there and serve. Over time, going back there regularly, he became more connected to the Swami and started to share, speak about many topics with him.
At that time, Mohanji was going through a divorce with his ex-wife, and Swami said he could help. He began to intervene and suggested using his lawyer. Mohanji naturally trusted him and agreed to this, but the aim (which Mohanji found out much later) was manipulation; the Swami had a different intent.
At the time, Mohanji had released the Power of Purity meditation; when Swami heard about this, he also wanted his own meditation, so he asked Mohanji if he could help. Of course, Mohanji was happy to take another opportunity to serve, and he wrote a meditation for him. As with everything, Mohanji goes the full way. He arranged for all the music to be organized, the recording, the production, the whole process, a complete package. Apparently, now the Swami still has just this one meditation, and he makes an absolute fortune from it.
The main story is that Swami’s lawyer managed the divorce process. Mohanji didn’t know that the Swami was manipulating the lawyer to submit papers and draw out the divorce in a way that would trap Mohanji.
By chance, or by grace, Mohanji met a friend in the Middle East, whom he knew from his youth, and they were talking about life and catching up. Mohanji told him about the divorce, and his friend asked him how long it had been going on. Mohanji told him it had been going on for about five years now and that his lawyer was fighting as hard as he could. This friend was shocked and said that the process of divorce usually takes about 6 to 12 months maximum as it’s a straightforward thing and that there was no need to fight really; it’s a process.
Mohanji’s lawyer friend was not happy with what he had just heard, so he asked if Mohanji could pass on the papers to him to take a look and help him out. Mohanji agreed, but he didn’t have the papers as they were with the other lawyer in Kerala. Mohanji’s lawyer friend went to collect the papers, and he called him immediately; he was really angry because what had been filed was completely contradictory to what the lawyer had told Mohanji.
Mohanji and the other half (wife) had said that they just wanted to have a divorce – (both parties were amicable to the divorce). But what was on the papers that had been filed was that the wife had run away, and Mohanji wanted her back. This meant that it was going to and fro between the courts and the lawyers for a long time. It was complete injustice because it had been set up; I think it would have been contempt of court; it would have been very difficult because the case would have been thrown out, and they wouldn’t have gotten a divorce. Mohanji wouldn’t have even been able to leave the country again because he would have to be there with the responsibility to take care of his wife. So Mohanji’s head was inside the lion’s mouth.
The lawyer friend took it on himself because of this injustice, and he wanted to help Mohanji. Although he couldn’t guarantee a successful outcome, he said that “With the blessing of Sai Baba, we would give it our best shot and see what we can be done.” Mohanji agreed to this.
Obviously, Swami’s lawyer and the Swami weren’t happy about that. But when they took it back to the court, the judge couldn’t believe that there was now a new position after five years of working through this case. So the judge said, “Cancel the old case and start a new one.”
That was a real blessing because the process could be started afresh. It was a simple thing because when the judge asked Mohanji what he wanted, Mohanji said, “I just want a divorce,” and the same reply was on the other side too. There was no blame; there was no fault. It was a very open and honest situation. Mohanji was happy to provide whatever was needed from the other side. Everything that she had brought into the relationship; all the gifts that Mohanji had provided to her; all the jewellery and everything, he was happy for her to take it. Only one thing he wanted was the earrings that Ammu was wearing when she lost her life. That’s the only thing he asked for, and that was the agreement.
On the other hand, the Swami was not only manipulating Mohanji’s wife, saying that Mohanji had lots of money; he was telling her not to give him a divorce and to make sure to get all that money from him. Also, the Swami was looking to entrap Mohanji on both sides. I shall explain why in a little bit. It ended up that Mohanji had to go to his people whom he trusted to pull together the money. Everything got pulled together; it was deposited in the court’s jurisdiction so they could see everything. Then he settled everything, so it was all done and finalized. Later on, he paid everyone back as well.
All this happened because there was a prediction that Mohanji would be very famous in the future, and the Swami knew this. The whole calculated plan was to bring Mohanji back to this ashram, to have him there so that people would come to visit him, and the Swami would be making lots of money from it.
I really couldn’t believe this story when I heard it. I’m sharing it with you now just as an example of some of the situations that Mohanji had to face in his life because I haven’t heard this before.
In the end, the judge was very surprised because there was no contempt or animosity between Mohanji and his ex-wife; they were laughing and speaking well to each other. Even at the end of the proceedings, Mohanji also shared that if any time there’s a problem, he’s there, just a phone call away.
I hope you enjoyed that story. For me, it was a real shock to hear about this Swami and the levels of manipulation he orchestrated and the potential problem it would have caused to Mohanji in his life.
Have a great day, and speak to you soon.
Day 84 Lesson – Reminders
Good morning everybody. I hope you’re doing really well.
In the past few recordings, I’ve shared some of the stories from Mohanji’s life, which has given some lessons for me, and I hope they have for you too.
Today, I am reverting to my own experience, as yesterday, Mohanji met with a few people who had come to see him.
After the hectic trip, it was a great reminder because listening to their questions; reminded me of some of the questions I had a few years back when I first met Mohanji.
These times always give me an opportunity to reflect on where my thinking is now and how I feel now. There were simple questions, which I think most people have when they’re following a path, like: What can I do more? Or what do I need to do next? Or what’s the next step that I need to take? Is there anything that I should be doing, a new practice? These types of questions, which are very, very valid.
I always appreciate the simplicity that Mohanji brings in when he speaks, where he reminds us that this path we’re following, the Avadhoota path, is to become ourselves fully. The fact is that we are all unique creations, unique beings. It’s all about understanding ourselves. He says it very simply that all we have to do is just spend time with ourselves, understand ourselves, accept ourselves with all our strengths and weaknesses, and love ourselves.
When people ask what they can do to help in the world, Mohanji answers with simplicity, which I really enjoy hearing time and again. He says to always, “Do what you can within your capacity; if you can give food, give food. If you have time, give time. If you have skills, then give skills, and if you have love, then give love. Living that is selflessness.”
These messages were a good reminder after the incredibly hectic and fast-paced trip, which I think I explained in all of the daily messages – the constant changes in plan, the different people, languages, locations, different foods, and tirelessness Mohanji, and keeping up with him. With lack of sleep and sleep patterns completely disrupted, it was a complete breaking of all comfort zones and was uncomfortable. It was like a real shaking and an opportunity for practical experience to come face-to-face with myself; how I was in those situations, where my stability was when all that was happening. Whenever I observe Mohanji, no matter what happens, he’s always cool, calm, and composed, and it’s a flow.
I spoke with him about this, just to say how I felt and that sometimes it was a little bit wobbly. He said that that’s bound to happen when comfort zones have been broken. So it was a practical experience that we always need to be in a place and in a position where we can ride whatever is coming in life.
For me, it was also a practical experience of contemplation about what’s inside me, understanding more about myself and my patterns. This is what Mohanji says to people when they ask what they need to do: “Just understand yourself, spend time with yourself.”
In December, we had finished the boot camp program, where Mohanji explained clearly, in a very simple format, that everything which we’re experiencing in the outside world is really a projection of what’s inside us, and depending on what the outcome is of the experience that we’re having, and our expectations associated with that, we either put it into the category of happiness or sadness, of satisfaction or disappointments. Knowing this is important, especially when all the feelings are coming up and when we are confronted with a lot of things from inside, which sometimes we are not aware of when living a normal life.
This was definitely happening for me because whilst I’d been staying in Bangalore house though it has been busy yet, there was a routine in which I would settle, which was completely shaken. Here is another example of the types of changes of plan that happen. Mohanji is going on another trip now to see a few places not far away, and he had said to me (I thought a day ago), “That’s okay, and you stay back this time.” I said, “Okay, I’ll stay back”, and yesterday, it changed, so now I’m going again, packing and getting ready for another trip, preparing for another travel.
I look forward to sharing with you all what comes from this new trip.
To finish this daily message, I wanted to just say the lesson that I’m really learning today is acceptance. When all these comfort zones were broken, it was uncomfortable during the trip, and those thoughts easily led to negative thinking and overly self-critical.
So this understanding of who I am, and accepting it, has been a practical lesson. I’m just surprised at how this journey keeps on going and going, and I’m really curious if and when will it stop? I know other people recently have been going through similar things.
I hope you have a good day today. After a fast pace and hectic trip where many comfort zones were challenged and broken, this was a good reminder of the ongoing lessons to understand, accept, and love. I was also reminded of the blog in which Mohanji has written ‘Living with a Saint‘, which gives a good picture.
Speak soon.
|| JAI BRAHMARISHI MOHANJI ||
Edited & Published by – Testimonials Team, 12th December 2021
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