By Sheetal Salgaonkar, India
Celebrating the Rath Yatra in Puri, July 16th, 2026
I had met Mohanji for the first time very briefly in December 2022, and soon Mohanji’s birthday celebration was announced in the sacred land of Puri. I was overjoyed, as if grace itself had called me there to attend Mohanji’s birthday.
Just to give context, many years ago, as a young girl, I saw a photo pasted on a bus in Mumbai. The picture depicted a young, ethereal monk dancing in ecstasy before some deities. I had no idea who he was, yet the image stayed alive in my heart. Only during COVID, before I met Mohanji, did I learn that the deities were Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, and Mother Subhadra, and that the monk was Lord Gauranga, also known as Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. From that moment, I had a deep desire to visit Puri. When this retreat was announced, I was overjoyed as both my wishes were going to be fulfilled.
Before going to Puri, I travelled to Kolkata to visit the headquarters of a spiritual organisation whose teachings I had attended and appreciated prior to meeting Mohanji. It was a beautiful experience visiting sacred places on the banks of the river Ganges. I had the good fortune of meeting a spiritually evolved person, highly revered in the organisation, who had a Lord Jagannath temple in his house. As I bowed down at the temple, he told me to take immediate diksha, or initiation, from the organisation’s spiritual Gurus, which is not granted easily. I was confused, as this was completely unexpected. Although I was told I was being offered a rare opportunity, a part of me knew I could not take the initiation. Those were my early days with Mohanji. Though I had conviction, there was still some room for doubt. Yet something held me back, and my eagerness to meet Mohanji only grew stronger, as if I was being gently guided to him.
I reached Puri a day before the retreat. From the moment I arrived, everything seemed to go wrong. The airport cab was late, people appeared rude and indifferent, and the room was not to my liking. I felt very isolated. This is when doubts began to creep in. Did I make the right decision in coming? I had spent both money and my leave quota, which is precious for a salaried person, and I found myself slipping into a spiral of regret. I finally managed to speak with Aishwarya, who was extremely busy. She tried to arrange a better room for me, but it did not work out. It was quite late, around 11:30 pm. At that moment, as if a divine force entered her, her eyes turned upward, and she said, “When the Master calls, go with the flow.” That one sentence felt like a direct message from Mohanji. It immediately calmed me. I accepted the situation and returned to my room. I said to Mohanji, “You have called me here, and I leave everything to you.” With that surrender, I slept and woke up calm and refreshed. I later realised that when we connect with a Master, there will be tests, and that is the time we must hold on to him steadfastly.
The entire week unfolded as a divine miracle. To share one such blessed experience, on one of the days, we had the grace to visit the sacred temple of Lord Jagannath. It was there that I first heard about the Mai-Tri Method. Subhasree was leading our group as we approached the sanctum sanctorum. Everything felt surreal as if I was walking in a different dimension. In that moment, I asked Subhasree if she could give me Mai-Tri. I sensed some hesitation, but to my surprise, she asked me to sit down and gave me a short Mai-Tri. I felt deeply elated and grateful for this blessing, as though Mohanji had silently showered grace upon me in the presence of Lord Jagannath.
As we were waiting for our vehicle, one lady from our group suddenly collapsed. When I checked her pulse, I could not feel any, and she was cold and clammy. I thought she had suffered a cardiac arrest. I immediately started a cardiac massage, but I feared she had passed away. Suddenly, my knee brushed against her palm, and she responded with a painful movement and a gasping breath, as if the life force had returned to her body. Within minutes, she revived and was almost back to normal. From a medical perspective, the sudden recovery of her pulse and responsiveness, in the absence of any advanced resuscitation equipment, was difficult to explain. In my heart, I knew Mohanji’s grace had worked in that critical moment.
The next morning, Subhasree told me that when she was giving Mai-Tri as I was working on the lady, Mohanji showed her that the lady had wished to give up her life in Puri, but Mohanji instructed her soul to return, as it was not yet her time. Mohanji had also instructed Subhasree to give me Mai-Tri in the temple so that he could work through me to bring her back. This became a profound turning point for me. I began to understand, in a much deeper way, the stature of Mohanji, and all remaining doubts simply dissolved in light of this experience.
Another incident happened around the same time. I had been preparing intensely for an exam for seven years, hoping to receive an award for outstanding performance, which is given after completing multiple papers. A few days before leaving for Puri, I received a small memento, which was not meant for the highest scorer, as that usually comes with a larger recognition. I felt disappointed but soon forgot about it in my excitement for the trip. On the morning of Mohanji’s birthday, February 23, 2023, I received an email from the institute stating that I had actually scored the highest and was being given the award. I felt deeply humbled that my Guru had fulfilled my long-held desire, thus giving me completion.
My journey with Mohanji has been so transformative that words cannot express my gratitude and love.
Dearest Mohanji, my beloved Guru, my koti koti pranams. May I always have refuge at your lotus feet, now and forever.
|| JAI BRAHMARISHI MOHANJI ||
Edited & Published by – Testimonials Team, 14th July 2026
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