A question that opened my mind!

by Paramita Sengupta, India

I believe it was Sai Baba who brought me to Mohanji. I have been connected to Sai Baba for many years and have always gotten my answers from him. So, in those days, I didn’t see any need for a living Guru in this lifetime. But three years back, when we were going through a low phase as a family, my dear friend Piyali told me about Mohanji. Initially, I couldn’t wrap my head around this concept of a living Master. 

However, I was in a vulnerable state of mind, and thus, my tryst with Mohanji’s consciousness began, and I started reading up about him. The literature was extremely interesting, and I liked that Mohanji was also connected to Sai Baba. Life went on, and 3 years passed by, and I continued to read about Mohanji on and off and heard about Piyali’s life experiences with Mohanji. I often wondered and wished that I could connect to him the way Piyali connected. 

But when life is good, you tend to ignore such deep-rooted questions. We are flying high in the material realm, where we even forget to practice gratitude. I believe Baba always has a way to bring us back to him. Life threw some unwanted surprises at me six months back, and I didn’t know how to deal with it. I fought, pleaded, and cried to Baba to get me out of this mess. I was literally striking deals with him, where I would do poojas and, in return, would expect him to get me out of this mess and give me exactly what I wanted. The interaction was so transactional and hollow. 

Amidst all this, I read about Mohanji’s retreat at Shirdi in December 2023. I have always loved visiting Shirdi, and this would also be an opportunity to spend an entire day with Mohanji. I told myself let’s see how it is to see Mohanji in person. It was also about connecting to the living Master. 

10th December will remain etched in my life forever. That’s the day I met Mohanji in person at the retreat. The entire day was so blissful with guided meditations by Mohanji Acharyas. I couldn’t believe that a fidgety person like me could sit through many hours of meditation without any hitch. I even smelled some beautiful flowers in one of the meditations and wondered where the flowers appeared in the meditation hall. My eyes were closed, so I didn’t see anything, but later on, asking my friend, and she said that these things are normal when one is meditating. What a beautiful experience that was. It was ethereal. 

Then, it was time for all the participants to meet Mohanji one-on-one. It was a long queue, and I saw devotees hugging Baba (Mohanji). Some were crying profusely, and others were simply basking in the pious environment. I was slightly guarded as I wasn’t sure if I wanted to hug Mohanji. I was extremely conscious. When my turn came, I walked up slowly, and my heart wanted to hug him. To tell you the truth, his hug felt like a homecoming. I can still feel the warmth as I write this article. 

At that moment, I knew this relationship was not temporary. The Acharyas informed us that there would be a celebration in February 2024 for Mohanji’s birthday at Ganeshpuri. That’s when I made up my mind that I would join in the celebration. I also had a desire to visit Ganeshpuri after reading about Nityanand Babaji in many spiritual books. 

Piyali and I planned to reach Mumbai on the 22nd and then hire a cab to Ganeshpuri to be well on time for the 23rd Feb celebrations at MCB. However, Mohanji probably wanted to see us on the 22nd itself. Thus, Piyali and I got lucky because we could join the satsang on 22nd February in Mumbai. The end of a 10-day retreat culminated with a satsang on the 22nd. There were many participants.

Piyali and I reached just in time to attend the satsang. We waited at the banquet hall for the other participants and Mohanji to enter. And then we saw Mohanji walking in. When he saw the two of us, he asked, “You guys have just come in?” I was so taken aback that among so many devotees, he realized that we both had just come in. I was amazed and really felt so blessed to be able to join the satsang. The evening was so beautiful. 

23rd Feb was again a beautiful day, something I have never experienced before. We went to Nityanand Babaji’s ashram in the morning. Sitting in the mandir was truly an unexplainable experience for me. I have visited Shirdi many times, but the bliss I felt here was something I had never felt before. Tears rolled down my eyes while sitting there. As luck would have it, or now I can call it grace, Mohanji, Devi, Madhavi Amma, Amma, Achan, and many others walked in a few moments later. Mohanji did Nityanand Babaji’s aarati, and we got the blessings of the aarati, too, straight from Mohanji, which was pure ecstasy. I bought a few items from the small shops outside the temple, including a rudraksha mala, which I wanted to get blessed with from Mohanji. 

In the afternoon, we went to MCB. The Dattatreya idol there was so beautiful that one wouldn’t want to leave His side. Mohanji did a pooja there, and I felt so blessed to be a part of it. Since I wanted to get my rudraksha mala blessed from Mohanji, I asked some volunteers if that would be possible. I was asked to hand over the rudraksha to Milica. I searched for her and handed it over to her so that she could get it blessed by Mohanji when he was free. 

The entire evening was full of celebrations and an introduction to different activities being done under the Mohanji Foundation. Once the program was over, I went in search of Milica to get my rudraksha back. After some searching, I found her, but I was told that she couldn’t get the mala blessed as Mohanji didn’t have any free time. 

So, she suggested that I get it done then and there. However, she was unable to locate the mala. She was so busy during the entire event that she couldn’t recall where she had kept it. I was sad but told myself that if Mohanji had to bless it, he would, or else there would always be a next time. Milica told me to keep praying to Mohanji so that we can locate the mala. 

She took me to an SUV where all the volunteers’ bags were kept. When she opened the boot, it seemed we would have to search for a needle in a haystack. But by Mohanji’s grace, in the next 5 minutes, Milica was able to locate the mala. I am ever grateful to her for that. She handed over the mala and asked me to run to Mohanji to get it blessed. I did exactly that. He was surrounded by so many devotees, dignitaries, etc. I managed to reach him, touched his feet, and put the mala in my palms before him. And then came the question that took me off guard. Baba asked, “Is this mala for you or for me?” I was taken aback for a while. Then I mumbled that I wanted him to bless the mala, which he did, and I promptly wore it. 

The rest of the evening went well. The thought I carried from MCB was that we keep asking God for many things throughout our lives. What is it that we give back to God? Mohanji’s question really got me thinking. There is so much already that God has bestowed upon us, but we never stop asking. Isn’t it time that we stop, think, and rework our minds so that life is not only about asking for things but also about giving!!! 

|| JAI BRAHMARISHI MOHANJI ||

Edited & Published by – Testimonials Team, 11^th April 2024

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