Practical in Pune

By Martin Simonovski

After we arrived in Dubai, I used the gap of several hours between flights to find the perfume that Baba uses. After I found it, I was very happy “showering” myself with it. Anytime, I felt the smell of the perfume, our connection grew stronger and stronger. I don’t know why but on our very first meeting (25.05.2016) the first thing I said to Baba was that he uses very good perfume. 😀 Baba is a modern master who apart from very nice perfumes also wears very fancy clothes and I admire his appearance. I am not surprised at all that his documentary video was recorded in the style of Zorba-Buddha. The director knew what he was doing. After the flight to Mumbai, I finally got the chance to taste idli and chapati for the first time in my life. As the airplane was preparing to land at the Mumbai’s airport, I used the time to observe the holy land through my window. I knew that after the landing nothing would be the same anymore.

While we were getting out of the airport, I was exhausted and all I could think of in that moment was a bed and a pillow. No more, no less. While exiting the airport, a man who had some sort of identity card around his neck met us and asked if we needed a ride. We followed him to the underground parking lot where four other guys who looked quite suspicious joined us. I asked them if it was really necessary to have so many people giving us company while we waited for a taxi. They answered that it was a very usual thing in India. Later, I realized that in many of the other small shops, there were usually three times more employees working there than was really necessary. After we negotiated the price I asked them again if everything was fine because the guys seemed very suspicious. They told me not to worry about anything and the vehicle that will take us to Pune will arrive shortly. After we loaded the bags, the vehicle came out of the parking lot and one of the guys asked us to give him money for the airport’s parking fee. Even though we had previously agreed upon the price, they tried to charge us for additional expenses. I asked him to stop and turn back the vehicle saying that we were going to find another ride to Pune. He replied that everything was alright and we did not need to pay any additional fees apart from the agreed amount.

The vehicle was moving on the highway and I was surprised by the traffic in Mumbai. Obviously, the main traffic rule was that every participant in the traffic created their own rules while driving but I was most surprised by the fact that the drivers in India use the horn very often without showing any signs of anger or fury. Although they appeared to drive very fast and wild, I didn’t see a single traffic accident. At that moment, I mentioned to the driver that if one can drive in India, one can drive anywhere. I want to stress the fact that the dense traffic in India requires the drivers to be very alert because one small mistake can be fatal. After the long ride lasting several hours, we finally arrived at Pune. After we entered the yard of the building where the Mohanji Baba’s ashram was situated, we were welcomed by Kirti and Palak who live there and maintain it. As soon as I entered the apartment, the first thing I saw was the large picture of Mohanji Baba together with pictures of Jesus Christ, Shirdi Sai Baba, Sathya Sai Baba, Lord Dattatreya and other great masters.

The energy in the ashram was incredibly strong. Previously, I had only felt this kind of energy in the physical presence of Mohabji Baba. Even though I was exhausted from the trip, I did not feel sleepy at all. Although I hadn’t slept properly for almost four days, I felt as if I had just woken up. After we settled in, we decided to do aarati – a fire ritual. For all of you who are not familiar with this term, you can watch the following video where Mohanji Baba speaks about the meaning of the fire element). I have to admit that when I first saw this ritual more than a year ago, I thought it looked very silly and I was looking at it with a sense of irony and resentment. However, when I became aware of it’s symbolism and meaning I don’t see it the same way anymore. In fact, I do the ritual every day to energize the place where I stay. Those who have done aarati can confirm the “nuclear plant” they are left in after doing the ritual. 😀

After we completed another aarati in the night, I got ready to prepare dinner. Before we started dinner, Mohanji Baba called us on the phone and after I heard his voice, the energy rose even more. The mind was gone. Martin was also gone. The ego was nowhere to be found. There was only peace, love and happiness. We finished dinner and I was convinced that after four days of no sleep, I’d finally get to sleep “like a human being”. After I woke up, I felt very energetic as if I had slept for two whole days because I had energy to get out and run a marathon. I took the mobile phone to see the time and I was surprised to see that it was only 2:00am and I went to bed around 23:00. I asked myself if it was really possible that I had slept for only 3 hours. Yes, it was possible considering I was not the only one who didn’t have “a human sleep” that night. As soon as I had a shower, I went to the altar to meditate. Zlate and Tatjana also couldn’t sleep that night and it took us a while to realize that the energy of the ashram was very strong and we should not expect to sleep more than three hours. I sat to meditate in front of the altar and the meditation was quite unusual. I started laughing very hard and my laughter “infected” the others, so we were all laughing.

The horror started the same minute as soon as I tried to fall asleep again. The fears that I had taken with me from Macedonia, the fears that have laid in my subconsciousness for many years could not handle the energy of the ashram and started floating on the surface. I got into paranoia. I had no idea where I was and what was I doing there. In a panic attack, I started doing dumb things and I wrote messages to my best friend, who fortunately was greatly aware of what I was going through. For several days, I was very frightened. I can’t even remember all kinds of thoughts that rushed through my mind and all the fears that left my system in just a couple of days. Hours after I got happy for entering paradise – the ashram of Mohanji Baba, I realized that I was actually in the hell. My whole body was burning. My bones and skin were burning and my mind was completely disoriented and in panic. Actually, it was the mind which was in hell because the time had come to release all those fears that have been “helping” my own mind manipulate me for many years. A subject to my own instrument. How bad does that sound?

The fears continued to exit intensively for the next several days. Again, I couldn’t sleep for days. The fears couldn’t cope with the frequency that Mohanji Baba operated with in the Ashram and in those moments the only thing left for me to do was to observe without judging. While observing myself for several days, I was shocked to see how many fears I had stored in my system and how much their release helped me. I also released other emotions that I was not even aware existed in my system. Had I visited this ashram earlier, I am sure I would have run away immediately or gone mad until all fears left my system. For several nights, I slept by the altar. One night, I was completely paralyzed. The weird thing is that this time I was not scared while experiencing this paralysis. Several times before I had felt this kind of paralysis during sleep which had lasted for several seconds. This night was quite different. Apart from the paralysis, I also felt the perfume of Baba which means he was present there at the moment. I felt him working on me and moving the energy throughout my system. What an art!

This experience didn’t surprise me at all considering Mohanji Baba is an Avatar which means he is not limited by time and space. He can operate at any “time” on “several” places. All those who know me before I met Mohanji Baba are witnesses of the transformation He had on me. I also want to state that in my life, there have been a great number of people who had put efforts to “transform” me using mental games and manipulations of the “conscious” mind. However, it didn’t yield any results considering the fact that they operated on a very low level, using only their intellectual and very limited mind. At that time, I was also “privileged“ to meet with several sect leaders who also used mental and energetic manipulations. All of this appeared to be “functioning” perfectly. Only, I had not seen any significant transformation on any level among their followers. All I could notice about these kind of people was that they were totally mad and they were constantly doing activities of an esoteric nature.

Passivity in every possible way. Today I am not at all surprised that in my life I had attracted people who resist themselves and don’t want to accept the things as they are. Considering I was “without a compass” – completely disoriented and didn’t accept myself nor anything around me. All these people were just a mirrors who reflected me and their goal was to point me to myself and help me become aware of the same issues and accept them within myself. I have to admit that these experiences were very valuable to me because they helped me meet Mohanji Baba at the right time at the right place. His way of work is operating in silence where the only thing that can be noticed are the end results. He neither uses any exhibitions nor creates hope or expectation by promising people anything. His sole presence has transformed thousands of people on the planet Earth. Very often I hear people saying “I only want to be in His presence, nothing more”.

Even today, I still don’t know how Mohanji Baba operates but the results are very visible. It is no coincidence that he repeatedly says that “To be spiritual is to be practical”. It is so sad that many people use spirituality as means to escape their challenges. Not to mention the amount of people who consider themselves as spiritual and yet they are completely unpractical. That being said, I am not at all surprised when I see people who have no contact with spirituality, having a sense of resistance and dislike towards it, comparing it with religion, sects, non-government organizations, etc. I will finish this passage with the words of Mohanji Baba “You can’t become spiritual if you first do not become practical”.

After the “horror” was gone, Kirti and Palak taught me how to cook traditional Indian food. Kirti taught me how to cook chapati and Palak taught me how do cook dosa. The next day, we went for a walk in a nearby park and visited some vegan restaurant. Before we went to the restaurant, I had the chance to taste a very spicy food bought from the street served on a newspaper. Who would have thought that the Martin who used to be disgusted easily would be so happy to eat this food? When we went inside the vegan restaurant, I had already lost my appetite and my mind was still with the street food. The same day, I rode Kirti’s scooter that allowed me to experience the traffic in India from another angle. Although the traffic appears to be very chaotic, it functions properly.

The following day. we went to visit the garden of Osho. Although the previous summer, I had a great wish to visit his center in Pune, when I finally went there I was disappointed. To me, the place felt like a more advanced form of “Moulin Rouge”. I finally understood what some people meant when they said they have been there and “had walked more than three million kilometers”. 😀 The same day, I practiced Kriya in the garden of Osho which was situated nearby the center. The energy was wonderful. Osho is a great master and very much respected by Mohanji Baba, especially because of his practicality. It was no coincidence that whenever we talked about Osho, Mohanji Baba would say “Osho knew exactly what he was doing”. Too bad his disciples took their duty of organizing his centers a little bit “too serious”. It was time to start preparing for Shirdi – the city of the great Avatar Shirdi Sai Baba. With eagerness, I waited for the Consciousness Kriya gathering in Shirdi. I spent the last night at Pune looking for traditional Indian clothing and tasted the street food again.

Let’s go to Shirdi…