by Christopher Greenwood
Day 87 Lesson – Serious practitioners
Good morning everybody. I hope you’re doing very well.
This morning we woke up in a hilltop location, close to the land we’re visiting today. We arrived late last night (I think it was close to 12 am) on this winding, bumpy, narrow track, right to the top where we are now located. This morning we sat on a veranda looking at nature, the surrounding areas of the hills and the trees. It’s a peaceful, quiet, and tranquil setting with clean air and silence—ideal for practice.
Mohanji just shared with me a quote from a scripture, and I’ll read it as he spoke it. He said, “That which falls into the ocean will be destroyed. For those who do not listen carefully, speaking to them is futile. It’s wasting time. The knowledge you give to a fool is wasted. So there’s no point in teaching science or scriptures because it won’t be practiced. And whatever you offer to a fire pit that’s not lit is wasted. It is of no use.” That’s all that Mohanji said about this. What I took from it is not to waste time because Mohanji has shared so many teachings and insights into life, but until we’re practicing it and living it, what’s the use at all.
The place where we reached today is a location close to Chikmagalur. We’ve come to visit a land, which will be a very exclusive centre for serious seekers and practitioners. That’s the vision that Mohanji and the team have in mind. It’s a very remote location. When we arrived last night, the air was really beautiful and sweet-smelling. There was no light pollution, so there was a completely clear night sky full of stars, completely lit. In the distance, you can hear the sounds of nature, the birds squawking in the morning.
This location has been the place of sadhana or practice for over 1000s of years by really serious masters, and very close by, there’s a Datta Peetam. Also, there are lots of caves underneath the area, where people in the past have seen sages emerge from. The idea is that this location will be where people can come and really be with the silence, observe silence, and practice their sadhana intensely. It is a really exciting concept!
We arrived late yesterday, after a trip to Idagunji, where there’s a standing version of Ganapati (Lord Ganesha). It’s been there for hundreds, if not 1000s of years, and again, as we reached, Mohanji was warmly welcomed as if somebody was coming home. They recognized him and sat him down, and he had this elaborate pooja they conducted for maybe 45 minutes, which we weren’t expecting. A grand reception indeed!
Soon after that, we were back on the road, a long journey, probably six or seven hours of these winding tracks, to reach where we are now. Sitting in the morning, hearing that quote from the scripture, and recognizing the vision for this place, gave me a bit of new awareness or a bit of a shake. When we are moving from day to day to all the different locations, it can become quite intense. But it’s given me a reminder this morning not to lose track of all the teachings that have been provided by Mohanji and all the insights. They are very simple to put into practical life but aren’t going to be of much use unless they’re put into practice.
If I were to condense that down, what I took from that short recital of the scripture this morning, is not to waste time. Definitely on this trip, when Mohanji has been speaking with the team here, he is extremely focused on moving all these spaces forward as quickly as he can so that more people benefit. We were also talking about the land in Ganeshpuri and the other land too.
We are ready to go now, have breakfast, and then head towards the land to view it.
For me, the summary or the remembrance was that – everything that I’m learning is useless unless it’s being put into practice. Unless I’m applying it and making the most use of time, and that’s exactly what this trip has been about. Although we visited all these fantastic sites and had a warm welcome, there’s been a focus with the people here on how we can move forward all these spaces as quickly as possible, so that people benefit it, as quickly as possible as well.
I feel that is the same for all the platforms too. It’s a reminder that there’s no time to waste because the sooner things are done, the more people in the world are benefiting.
I hope you enjoyed that. I’ll share a photo of the location that we have. Have a great day ahead.
Day 88 Lesson – Lessons in history
Good morning everybody. I hope you’re doing very well.
Yesterday we arrived late back to Bangalore after spending the morning visiting the land where this exclusive centre for serious seekers and sadhana will be. It’s a really lovely location placed high up on a hilltop; big banks, some steep and some flat areas within a forest. And it’s very quiet; the air is clean, it’s fresh. In the nighttime, it’s a completely clear sky so that you can see all the stars.
As Mohanji and everybody spoke, you could imagine it coming to life. The cabins sitting amongst the trees, rural-style accommodation, rope bridges, caves for meditations, even meditation platforms out in the open area, vegan food being served. Maybe 100 people can stay there at any time. The whole place would be in silence. There is flowing water there in this land too. There are many possibilities to bring a unique space and a message to the world.
From start to finish, the trip itself was an observation in seeing a different dimension to Mohanji as a friend joining other friends who had invited him to join the trip. I think he enjoyed it because he hasn’t had this opportunity in the past years to travel that freely. Usually, right from the start of the year until the end, it’s booked up with programs, visits, events, and there’s no space to spontaneously say, “Yes, I can join you. We will do this.” The idea came from Mohanji’s friend suggesting that they visit the land. And if they were taking that time to make the distance in the journey, they could take a couple more days and turn it into a pilgrimage, visiting these really powerful temples en route.
For me, it was a good way to observe Mohanji in that setting. Also, I learned a lot because his friend and the group we were with shared the same passion for bringing back these ancient traditional values that existed in India for time immemorial. The principles of Sanatana Dharma, righteousness, restoring goodness, truthfulness, honesty, moving away from anger, hatred, jealousy, greed, all these types of things.
As they spoke, I overheard the conversations and took part in them; it was also an education system (not just the power) of the heritage and the richness which existed within India). It was also a history lesson about what my fellow British men or countrymen had done previously, during that time and occupation of India.
Being technically British was a big education for me because I didn’t know the level at which my fellow countrymen had occupied India. For its riches, destroying temples, really eroding the traditional systems around the temple culture which existed there – where everybody was looked after and provided for. Everything was respected.
But over time, that was systematically broken down and replaced with the more western-style systems for even health, medicine, education (just creating more bricks in the walls). Even in businesses, success was measured over the number of corpses that you’ve trampled on from your competition, rather than encouraging everybody in the value chain to be prosperous, which these traditional systems did. It was really interesting to hear this.
The enthusiasm with which people are connecting to Mohanji’s mission to restore these principles of Sanatana Dharma, through the teachings he’s sharing, through the practices, through the books that are being created, through initiatives such as the Moksha trust – which is rejuvenating dilapidated temples. For me, all this deepened my appreciation for all these platforms that are being put together because they’re coming from that place of Sanatana Dharma, righteousness, and ultimate truth. With these coming into the world, it will bring that shift in awareness and consciousness, which is Mohanji’s ultimate vision. Thus we can move from anger, hatred, greed, jealousy up to the higher human’s refinement of love, compassion, kindness.
Looking at a bigger picture of how the British originally came to India and completely missed the real wealth which was resident there; whilst they got all the riches – all the money, the gold, the jewels which financed much of the Industrial Revolution and all that activity. They completely missed the inherent true wealth, which now is emerging through these teachings and the appreciation of the culture.
For me, this trip brought a new deepening into the platforms and potential they have, the heritage they come from, and what they are looking to bring towards the world, restoring this righteousness.
I hope you have a great day ahead and will speak to you soon.
|| JAI BRAHMARISHI MOHANJI ||
Edited & Published by – Testimonials Team, 26th December 2021
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