By Christopher Greenwood
Day 45 Lesson – Extreme action for liberation
Good morning, everybody. I hope you’re doing really well.
Yesterday I shared a story Mohanji had told me during one of our morning conversations, and this inspired me to look back through the archive of recordings that I have to see if there were any more useful stories that I could pick out to share with you.
I found a couple that I really liked from when I had recently arrived at the house. I was adapting to the fast pace of work. At that time, I found that once I thought I’d got a grip on handling tasks and managing my workload, I would have another task added. And then another one. Just as I was becoming comfortable, there would be more and more to do, as still happens even now.
Usually, the conversation would begin like this: “Greenwood, I was thinking, it could be a good idea if you…”, followed by something else. And I knew that meant, “Here’s your chance to work something off.” Before meeting Mohanji, I was very connected, and still am, to the Swamis of the Skanda Vale community. They told me stories about how the Guru, the Master, operates. The disciples would always be given task after task to break comfort zones. Mohanji said that breaking comfort zones creates the space for liberation because then a pattern or habit is dropped off.
In one of those recordings I found, he was explaining that the strength of a master is his silence. A master might not be what we usually think of as a master, but someone who has mastery over their mind and of their senses. Thus, they have mastery over their thoughts, desires, inclinations, and tendencies, which means they have mastery over karma, or they have a lack of karma. When there’s a lack of karma, we become masters because we’re running the show, rather than karma running the show. Karma is unfulfilled desires, what’s driving us into action within life.
And in that audio, he was sharing that a connection should be more than physical; it should be non-physical, beyond the form, the appearance, and the expressions. I was talking to Mohanji, and Jelena was there too. Mohanji said that the Master you are connected to will always give you work for karmic cleansing. So, we may think it’s a normal thing, something very ordinary or just a task, but they see much more. They are orienting tasks and people based on what is good for them to do so that something is changed, something’s broken, something’s transformed.
He told the story of a man, which highlights the misunderstanding that some people can have about that. That man was a very lazy man. He said to himself, “I can’t stay in this marriage anymore. I can’t be doing this; I need to go. I’ll go to the ashram; I’ll become a Swami.” So, he simply left his wife and children and went to the ashram. He was sitting there for some time. Then the Guru came and asked him, “Why are you here?” And he told him, “I’ve decided to renounce”. The Guru replied, “Okay, good, no problem. But if you are here, you have to do some work, or you have to pay for your time here. These are the only options that you have here.” The man thought about it, and said, “Well, I don’t have money, so I’ll do some work.” The Guru said, “Okay, good enough. We’ll start tomorrow.”
So, the next day, the man was sitting there in the morning, he was meditating. Well, not exactly meditating; he was probably just sitting and thinking. But he sat there, so nobody disturbed him. Then one of the other disciples of the Guru came with a bucket and a mop, broomsticks, cleaning stuff, and said, “Here you go. It’s your turn to clean the toilets.” Obviously, he was a bit shocked at this. He said, “What? To clean the toilets?! No, no, no, I’m practicing meditation here. I’m meditating. I’m becoming a Swami.” The disciple said, “No, no, that’s okay. That’s good. Maybe later then, but everybody works here. So, you have to clean the toilet. This is what the Guru said.” The man protested really strongly. He didn’t like that. He said, “I can’t do this. I didn’t even clean the toilet in my own house. How can I clean the toilets here?” The other disciple insisted, “Well, this is what the Guru said you are to do.” After that, the man decided to leave.
Mohanji said that this is what many seekers are like. They orient themselves in a way that suits an idea, rather than actually wanting to do the work needed for breaking comfort zones, transformation and liberation. He said that the Guru would tell you to do tough work to destroy comfort zones, and when they’re destroyed, then immediately that’s when the liberation takes place. There’s a space that’s created where moments of liberation can happen.
I was thinking about this, from my time of coming here until now, because it’s very much been that experience for the whole time. The work that’s being given, all the tasks which have been made available, I’ve obviously taken because I want to contribute, serve, and do what I can.
So, we were saying that the Guru or the Master gives that opportunity through tasks and activities, so it’s possible through that extreme action to reach a state where the mind is no longer concerned with all the things which it is used to and things naturally start to drop off.
Mohanji shared another story from a book written by Upasni Maharaj, the disciple of Shirdi Sai Baba. Shirdi Sai Baba transferred all his powers to him. So, one man had come to him in a state of distress because he lost his children, his sons, and his marriage as well. He came looking for solace from the Master. And he was thinking, “I’ve just gone through all this trouble, and now I’ve come here, this man has given me work to do.” After some time passed and the man completed the given work, the Master kept giving more tasks. After some time, the Master asked him, “So how are you feeling now? Are you feeling any better?” The man said, “Well, actually, now when you mentioned it, I’ve had no time to think.” The Master said, “Very good. This means you’re stabilizing.”
So, what happens through extreme action is that you reach a state of elevation, like a helicopter that raises you up. This is how he described it. The lower activities, habits, inclinations just start dropping off. Through extreme action, there’s no time to think.
When I think back to the actions I was doing at the start, and now as well, most of the tests have put me in a situation where I can break through my resistance. For example, I was very reluctant and resistant to speaking in public about my experiences, even though I can do it. I’d learned how to do that; I spent many years practising it during my professional career. But it wasn’t something that came. Naturally, there was always resistance, and there still is now, but not so much.
Therefore, all the tasks and activities have always come with some type of test or resistance to push myself to break a comfort zone. But now, having that understanding that everything that’s given is for the better helps the process. Sometimes, I feel that the mind wants to make excuses, “Why do I need to do this? Do I really need to do that? Maybe I don’t need to do this?” But I always catch it. I always manage not to let those thoughts or states become too strong. I just try to keep it simple in a way, knowing that whatever tasks and activities are here are actually opportunities for me to work through something.
I hope you enjoyed this and have a great day ahead.
Day 46 Lesson – Positive action will always face obstacles
Good morning, everybody.
This morning was a quieter morning for the house. Mohanji’s parents left the other day to return to Palakkad for some time to spend the New Year there. So there are fewer people here now in the house, and the routines are slightly shifting.
This morning, I spoke to Mohanji about somebody who’s doing great work, really positive and selfless work, not directly connected to the platforms, but Mohanji is supporting them. And they’ve met with hurdles in the work that they do. For some reason, everything that they had planned has been difficult to complete. Many obstacles have stopped or hindered the progress. Every time momentum had started gaining; there would be another challenge, which meant, what they intended to do by a certain time last year, hasn’t been possible. Some situations have even affected the people working on the project, too.
I was asking about this, how can you suddenly get so many challenges in doing something which is really positive. It was an interesting discussion. Mohanji said it’s no joke. When there’s something positive happening, there will always be obstacles. He said you could take the life of Jesus, Krishna, or even Rama. They faced tremendous challenges.
From what I understood from the conversation, we can all expect the same. It won’t be easy if we’re trying to do something positive in the world. I feel this is why he always places a strong emphasis on conviction and determination. Because first, we need to believe in what we’re doing and then have the determination to see that through to the end. Otherwise, these things can affect us; our activities might weaken and maybe also stop.
I was thinking about this because when we first came back to the house, the planes suddenly started flying right across the house after one of the trips, which means it makes recording here very difficult. Even now still, I have to stop because there’ll be a plane flying across the house. Mohanji has to do this too when he is recording the podcast, his morning messages for the 4 am Club or any video.
It wasn’t like this before. They’ve actually changed the flight paths. So, when we spoke about this, he said that this is also how negativity can work. Not outrightly direct, but creating problems and obstacles.
I wondered if it was the same for other people because sometimes, when they begin to connect to something positive, that can also bring challenges in their life. I know from personal experience that when I connected to Mohanji initially, and even still today, there have been difficulties that came up. Since being here, for example, I’ve had real trouble with my skin for months now. When I first connected to Mohanji, there were some mental and health disturbances too.
I know many people have had similar experiences. I was speaking to an Acharya a few weeks back about the same thing. So, it isn’t a feel-good thing sometimes. I asked Mohanji why that is. He explained that this path (his path or our path) is the path of liberation. It takes people out of long-held patterns, suppressions, and things like this, giving them real freedom. So, when people begin to connect to Mohanji, many blockages can begin to clear for them; all the clutter that has accumulated over time, in this life and maybe even other lifetimes, begins to be dissolved and destroyed. This can present itself in our life in various ways; it can take any form.
I mentioned in a previous recording that this is not completely a ‘feel good’ path of spirituality. It is a real transformation that takes place. The number of people who benefitted from connecting to Mohanji still amazes me to this day, just as learning that these types of things happen when they connect, too.
He also said before that his capacity is probably much, much more. So, the more people connect and the more people who can connect, he’ll be able to share the same with them. Or, speaking more correctly, when people begin to connect to Mohanji’s frequency, then that cleansing can happen, blockages can start being removed.
So, for me, this was a good reminder that when we attempt to perform positive activities, there can be obstacles. And there probably will always be obstacles. We should keep focusing on the main aim and purpose. That way, if anything comes, should we find any obstacles, we can always take a detour or take a slight change of direction.
Thank you for listening, and I hope you have a great day ahead.
|| JAI BRAHMARISHI MOHANJI||
Edited & Published by – Testimonials Team, 1st August 2021
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