What does Mohanji Want?

Written by Yashik Singh

Well, this is probably a question we all have asked ourselves at some point or another. What does Mohanji want? What can I give to him that will make him happy? I too find myself asking that from time to time. It’s good to never be complacent, always assess your standing and to make an effort to be grateful and thankful to one’s Guru. But at the same time, we should not get caught in what is unimportant and forget the true value of what makes great Masters, like Mohanji, happy.

I have found myself in a position were all my finances were spent, and there was still so much more work to be done at Mohanji’s Merudanda Ashram in Durban, South Africa. The latest project is the installation of the Shree Vasuki Dev, the Naga Raaja, or King of the Naagas. As the guardian of Merudanda Ashram, I thought it would be fitting to have him seated right in front of the Ashram, in a place of prominence. Of course a seat needed to be built so that he could be seated a bit higher up. The problem now became finances. I was not in a position to procure any more tiles, bricks, cement, and to employ someone to build the structure and to tile it. I certainly did not have any cash to also employ someone to till the ground around Shree Vasuki Ji. So I decided to do it myself. There were a few loose building materials left over from the temple construction and I decided to use that. I spoke to my friend, Ajay Singh, about what I wanted to do and he kindly offered me help.

So the work began. Tilling the soil, mixing cement, laying bricks, sticking the tiles, trying to cut the tiles….this was really hard work for us, especially since both of us are not builders. There were times when both of us where on our hands and knees on the floor from exhaustion, just trying to catch our breath. Eventually the pedestal was 80% done, and I looked at the job and became a bit sad. I spoke to Ajay and told him that I did a very untidy job. The tiles are not straight, it’s not cut properly, Ajay worked so hard to help and I could not do this properly etc etc, and how can I offer something like this to Mohanji!

I told Ajay that people offer Mohanji such big things. I have seen people offer Mohanji’s mission large amounts of money which all is used for serving the needy, people make so much of food to feed the hungry etc and I could not even make a simple pedestal. At that very point in time, Ajay felt something on this neck………a flower fell on him. I took a step towards him to see it and a noticed a flower on my right foot. This was odd, how can two flowers fall on and around us at the same time. So we looked at these flowers and they were exactly the same…..a small yellow-orange flower. We both took a walk in the entire Ashram yard and looked at every plant and tree……….and this flower does not grow in the ashram premises!!! We also looked on the floor to see if we could find any more flowers that may have just been carried there by the wind……….and in the entire Ashram premises there was not a single flower like the ones that fell on Ajay’s neck and my foot anywhere on the floor. Where did these two flowers come from??

Suddenly it dawned on me…..MOHANJI!! He wanted us to know that he is with us, near us, and he sees everything that we are doing. He had promised that we will feel his presence in Merudanda and he always keeps his promise! He wanted us to know that the most important thing to him, is not how straight the tiles are, but only the love and devotion that the act of building the pedestal was done in. After I messaged my gratitude to Guru Dev Mohanji, he promptly replied and confirmed this. He said: “I want to tell you that your bhav or attitude of surrender makes me very happy. I wanted to prove to you that every thought of yours is known to me”. So at the end of the day, it is surrender and love that Mohanji wants…..not the expensive outward gifts or the big shows of emotion. He wants simple love and surrender, which becomes a state of being rather and an expression of action.

So why does Guruji want surrender and love from us. Does he want to amass mindless devotees that are at his beck and call. No! Mohanji wants us to have surrender and love, because it is for your own good. If we have an attitude of surrender and love, we will be egoless, empty and he will be able to help us progress spiritually faster, through our own lifestyle, Shaktipat and by working his energy in us. So again, even this surrender and love is not for him….it is for our own benefit. When a devotee sheds his ego, he becomes lighter and raises himself in spirituality. Guru is ego-less. A true Guru nullifies the ego of his disciples and raises him up from terrestrial bindings to ultimate liberation. Ego is the wall between man and god. It is not at all in how much chanting or how much activities we do; it is in our attitude or bhaav towards our guru or in other words the depth of our ego nullification that we gain spiritually the most. A man who approaches a Guru with his ego gets nothing from him.

And this was shown to me two other times during this time. While sitting in the ashram on a Wednesday night, I mentally asked Mohanji for some ashes and something nice from Shree Satya Sai and Shirdi Sai Baba. The very next Friday, a very sweet uncle, who came for his first POP mediation, brought a packet full of ashes from Swami in Prashanthi Nilayam and a wonderful sweet offered onto Swami’s Samadhistan!!! Mohanji listens to our every thought!

I also mentally asked Mohanji and Shree Vasukidev for a sign that Shree Vasuki Ji will live in the Ashram and protect everyone that comes to Merudanda. I asked to see a real snake the day that the Naga Baba is brought to the ashram. And true to his word, Mohanji listened!! Vickasen very kindly used his awesome van and helped bring and place Shree Vasukidev on his seat at Merudanda. He then showed me that there was a real snake, the same colour that Shree Vasuki Ji was painted, at the entrance of the Ashram. All our genuine, unselfish wishes that we convey to Mohanji even in mind will never go unattended. He fulfills our every desire. I did not verbally convey the desire to see the real Vasuki dev to Mohanji. Yet, he listened and fulfilled my desire. In face we never discussed the arrival of Vasuki dev or any other things to Mohanji verbally. Our physical communication is very limited.

Mohanji is more than just what people call “Guru” nowadays. He is not just an achariya or someone that has been trained in religion or religious books. He is more than someone that just does prayers or gives speeches and discourses. Mohanji is a true Guru, he changes lives if you are open and surrendered!! He never forces anything on anybody. He fulfills desires in every way possible. You may not even know or notice the inner changes that takes place with his grace, because he makes his presence so subtle and unassuming, but the changes are massive and over a short period of time. And what does he want in return………. well at the end of the day…..he wants nothing for himself!! He gives and gives and gives as a pure source!