Palakkad

Lessons living with Mohanji – Days 77 & 78

Posted on November 21, 2021November 20, 2021 by Mohanji Editorial Team

By Christopher Greenwood

Day 77 Lesson – “What are you doing for Earth?”

Good morning, everybody. I hope you’re doing well.

Yesterday was the final and third day of the seventh annual celebrations for the consecration of the Sai Baba temple in Palakkad. It was a really special event. Sulakhe Maharaj, the chief priest from Shirdi Sai temple, came to preside over the day’s rituals. It was great seeing him and Mohanji together because they have such a great connection. Obviously, both also have a very deep connection to Sai Baba.

In the morning, it started with a Maha Abhishekam: the ritual bathing of the Sai Baba idol. Around the idol, there was tangible energy, and I don’t usually feel energies. The most profound earlier experience of that was during our Acharya training in Serbia, when masters were present, even physically so. That was a very intense and powerful feeling for me. Yesterday was similar, which shows to me that Baba was probably there. That’s how I could feel it; there was intensity.

The ceremony was really beautiful; after Mohanji and the priest were finished, everyone had their turn to bathe Baba, take the blessings, and make their offerings. It was great to see Mohanji because once he finished his work, he went right at the back as a devotee, smiling from a distance, looking at everyone come past him and give their offering to Baba.

It was similar throughout the day because there were a few other rituals that took place. Then, there’s a room there where Mohanji sits, and people come to visit him. There’s a constant stream of people. Yesterday was busier than the previous days.

Although I can’t understand Malayalam, I can get a feel of what people are saying. Some people may have problems; some come for just a short blessing; others just do a pranam and leave. It’s a mixture.

Then there was a planned Satsang with Mohanji where he gave a discourse to everybody. After this, we travelled back to Mohanji’s parents’ home, where we rested a bit. Other people and devotees came there too, so it was like an informal Satsang, where people either ask their private questions, or Mohanji speaks to everybody.

And whilst I’m here, I’m also busy doing the other work which is pending. So, in between serving people and being on hand for Mohanji, wherever I can get 5-10 minutes, I do a bit of work while listening as well. It’s multitasking, really, which is not the most focused way to get work done, but it’s the only possible way when travelling because it’s back-to-back activities and meetings.

One of the conversations that caught my attention yesterday was something that I’ve heard Mohanji speak about before, but yesterday, there seemed to be a different intensity. There was also a shift in his general state yesterday; it was much more intense after all the rituals. It was a simple question that caught my attention and stopped me from doing my work: “What are you doing for Earth?” The way he said it was profound. He continued it in the Satsang, and I thought it was an interesting perspective that I wanted to share.

I was contemplating it again this morning, and it’s quite deep for me, from how I was living my life before and what I’m doing now. Mohanji said, “What right do people really have to complain if they’re not doing anything for the Earth; if they’re just consuming, eating, drinking, leaving their waste, and also disturbing the habitat for many other people?”

He used the example of a nature area close to here. People wanted to build a home, and when they started digging, they realised it was actually a sanctuary for snakes; there were hundreds of snakes living there. He said that mothers with children and fathers also killed them all, completely destroyed them, and built houses. After this, they encountered many types of problems in life, with health, with cancer, all this type of thing.

So, the question that he asked is: “What are you doing for Earth? Why should Earth support you?” In that way, he was speaking that many people come to a Guru like to a plumber; when there’s a problem, when there are some leaky pipes, when there’s a flood or something else that’s gone wrong, they’re expecting a quick fix.

As people might have their own situations and problems, he was just asking the question openly: “In the past ten years, what have you done to give food to hungry people? In the past ten years, what have you done to be kind? What has been your contribution? What are you doing for the Earth?”

For me, the intensity really stuck. Mohanji emphasised how many people are looking for grace and blessings, but how will the light come in if their windows and doors aren’t open? I think that this is why he sets things quite simple for us, especially with the Act4Hunger platform, where people can serve all four types of beings on Earth. The four categories of beings correspond to four elements of the body as well: beings of the air – birds; beings of the land – all the animals of the Earth; beings of the water – fishes, tortoises; and human beings as well: the sick, the elderly, women, children.

All these platforms are there for people to be able to give something to the world. So, the question, “What are you doing for Earth?” really stuck with me. And that’s what I wanted to share today in this message.

Also, just to give you an overview of how it concluded yesterday. There was a ceremony proceeding, and Mohanji came and gave the final offerings of the day. Then in the evening, we went back to the temple. I didn’t expect this and thought it would be a quick visit. But then the small Sai Baba idol was taken out, and it was put in procession around the temple grounds. It was a festive atmosphere with big drums, music, and chanting. Once all that had concluded, Sulakhe Maharaj came back with Mohanji to Amma and Achan’s house. Every year they do this; he does a Pooja and Aarti here in the small pooja room to conclude the day.

I hope you have a great day ahead and will speak to you very soon.

Day 78 Lesson – Awareness is precious

Good morning, everybody. I hope you’re doing very well.

Yesterday we left Palakkad after a stay there for the Sai Baba temple consecration celebrations. After Mohanji had breakfast with Sulakhe Maharaj, the chief priest of Shirdi, we travelled to a location not far away, where we’d stayed before. It’s a really beautiful place out in nature, and we came for an interview with the Altruistic Association of India. They wanted to speak to Mohanji about his life, his journey, what brought him to the path of service to the world, etc. They also spoke about education and its relevance in the world today and about relationships.

Mohanji has spoken about these topics before on this trip as well. And although most of the time Malayalam is spoken here, one or two words, thankfully, will be in English. So, it’s like you get a little clue of what the conversation is about, and you can generally pick up the thread because of most of the topics I’ve heard Mohanji speak about before.

I’m beginning to appreciate much more how precious the awareness that Mohanji is giving to the world is and that I’m picking it up from being with him. Because, although I hear about these topics repeatedly, I understand them, and I can agree with them, it takes some time for me to digest and truly understand them fully.

The learning for me is that what’s been provided if properly understood, is really precious. It’s much more precious than anything I could ask for materially or generally within my life. Yesterday, the areas of education and relationships were used as examples. Rising with a new awareness has given me clarity in my own life; how I can position myself in relation to these topics and reflect on how I was caught up in the societal frames of education and relationships. That caused a lot of trouble for me personally, meaning the usual dramas were playing out time and time again.

So it’s now bringing the freedom of choice, to be able to recognise and have that awareness that those societal frames exist. And we don’t have to fit into them if we don’t want to.

Mohanji speaks about this often. He loves original people, legends, and trendsetters because they dare to be unique. That’s one of the key things he wants to bring for everybody. Each of us has our retina or thumbprint. We’re all unique creations, but how many people live it?

When we talk about the education system, it’s generally just putting people into a structure, the society deciding how people should be—creating another brick in the wall.

Mohanji spoke about relationships a few times, too. He says marriage can be a beautiful thing. If the relationship is for a higher purpose, or if there’s something common that two people have if they’re independent and with their own freedom remaining, and if they’re working towards something with a higher purpose. That brings longevity to a relationship.

However, what you can generally see in this society, is that people come into relationships out of insecurity or an infatuation. And then what gets loaded into that dynamic is a whole load of ownership, of me and mine, and that can cause further complications.

What generally happens then is that people come into something, and then maybe a child is brought into the family, and then the relationship or marriage is all about staying together for the sake of upholding a job, a house, for the sake of a family. So, although people may be physically together, they are already mentally and emotionally separated.

I was reflecting on this as well, and, in some of my previous relationships, that’s why they started. So, using education and relationships as examples, I immensely appreciate the awareness that Mohanji is bringing for us through his teachings and the general work he does in the world.

That awareness itself enables settling with extra clarity and stability. It’s the recognition that there’s the freedom to truly live life, an existence as Christopher Greenwood, and explore it without the worry of the societal standards and frames.

That was my lesson, which I was thinking about this morning. Maybe it’s a good contemplation prompt for everybody here as well: what has shifted in your awareness since meeting Mohanji, and how awesome and precious it is for you?

I hope you have a great day ahead and will speak to you soon.

|| JAI BRAHMARISHI MOHANJI ||

Edited & Published by – Testimonials Team, 21^stNovember 2021

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Lessons living with Mohanji – Days 61 & 62

Posted on September 26, 2021September 25, 2021 by Mohanji Editorial Team

by Christopher Greenwood

Day 61 Lesson – Travelling with Mohanji and a birthday miracle

Good morning, everybody. I hope you’re doing very well.

Yesterday was our first day here in Palakkad. Although I’ve already talked about how Mohanji works at a pace, I hadn’t yet experienced what it’s like to travel with him. Things have definitely sped up. And you have to be very, very alert, aware, and active to keep up with the shifting schedule and the need of the time. Nothing is completely planned out for the days and events, and day by day, even hour by hour sometimes, things are changing.

What we have to work with is what we have. So, the lesson I’ve shared before of being flexible, working with what you have, has come in very useful here. For example, yesterday morning, we had to record a video on spirituality and veganism for a conference later in the year. The reason we had to get it done then is that we didn’t know what the rest of the schedule would be like, whether we’d have a chance to do it later. So, we had to find the right spot quickly, bring the right props from around the area to make it look good. We also had to keep to the time; we couldn’t stretch over if there were any mistakes. Everything had to be done well.

That’s another thing Mohanji is stressing on; things must be completed by when they need to be completed. And that’s intensified now while we’re travelling.

So, we finished recording it, it was great. We went to Mohanji’s family home, where we were greeted by everybody there and had a lovely welcome. You could see the joy on everyone’s faces as Mohanji arrived, came out of the car and walked up the stairs. Everyone was overjoyed to see him again after such a long time. We were served Chai, and people had their time with Mohanji.

One of the main reasons we went to Palakkad was to visit a Sai Baba temple, where Vittal Babaji, one of the great masters connected to Mohanji, performed the prana prathishta of the Sai Baba idol (where they infuse energy into the idol). And Mohanji said that Baba really is sitting there.

Mohanji comes every year to perform a flag hoisting ceremony, which will take place in a few days. We visited there just to arrange everything and finalize the schedule. Therefore, once we said hello at home, we travelled again to the Sai Baba temple. And here was another lesson or example for me: whatever we have planned must happen. If there’s an obstacle, you find a different way, but you reach where you need to.

So, as we were driving, we felt a rumbling in the car. When we stopped, there was a flat tire. But, within no time, the car behind us stopped, which was some of the group who were following. Mohanji just simply went to join this car, called me over as well, and we both jumped in. So, Ananth stayed with the driver to fix the tire, and I joined Mohanji in the new car. Within two minutes, we were back on the road, following the plan; there was no fuss, no frustration, no problem; the show just continued.

When we arrived at the temple, Ananth stayed behind because he was usually in charge of the camera, taking the photographs. This time, he gave me the camera. This was another lesson in flexibility because that’s not something I’ve done before either. And I quickly found out that when you’re trying to take photographs of Mohanji, he’s not going to stand around and wait for you. He’s got his work to do. You have to be in the right place, thinking of where he’s going to be for the right angle. And you have to be quick because he’s not going to be stopping in one place for too long.

Thankfully, the tempo was surprisingly very quiet. It was just our group there, maybe five people. There’s a local dog that stays there, too, who was very happy to see Mohanji. Mohanji said it was Baba’s favourite dog.

We said our prayers, and Mohanji had gifted an Ammucare 2021 planner at Baba’s feet, along with some vegan chocolates, which are part of that Ammucare package. The temple was very peaceful and powerful. Mohanji said that Baba is actually alive there, and he fulfils the earnest and most noble of wishes.

After discussing the plans for the upcoming event with the team there and arranging the timings, we went back to Baba’s Aarti, which was just starting. After Aarti, I was able to witness Baba fulfilling one of the most earnest of wishes. There was a lady there who had brought cake, and she was giving it to Mohanji, and I was taking photographs. I couldn’t understand the language, but I collected from the closeness that she was part of the temple, that she worked there, and she was giving Mohanji and the rest of us some prasad.

Later I found out that she had been coming there to see Sai Baba for some time, and she’d been praying. All she wanted in her prayers, if Baba would allow, is to meet Mohanji and share some words with him. Just a conversation. She had been praying for this. And yesterday was her birthday. Although she wouldn’t usually visit the temple on that day, she felt an intuition or calling that she should go to the temple for Aarti. She also brought some cake along.

It happened that Mohanji was there. No other people were there, no devotees other than us. It was just her, which is why I thought that she must have worked there. So, it was a real miracle for her, her wish came true, and she had her time with him. There was no one else around.

By the time we’d finished, the car had just arrived with the repaired tires, and Ananth was able to catch the last of the Aarti and give his prostrations to Baba. It was amazing to witness how everything came back together like that, especially for the lady, and that the car was repaired just in time to take us to where we needed to go next.

Finally, we returned to Mohanji’s parents for lunch before retiring. It’s been a real lesson to witness the fluidity at which the schedule emerges because there was no major planning at the beginning; it’s all happening day by day, hour by hour. It emerges, and we have to be quick to adapt.

So that was a little bit about what travelling with Mohanji is like.

I hope you have a great day and speak to you soon.

Day 62 Lesson – Reminders of lessons and witnessing the elements tamed ️

Good morning, everybody. I hope you’re doing well.

Travel continues with Mohanji today, and so does the pace. We’d been staying at a very rural location the past few days, which had at least given us some time to be able to complete unfinished work. However, that requires some juggling so as to fit it around the events that are happening during the day, as a lot of it is spontaneous.

Yesterday morning while we were preparing the next day’s schedule and plans, we were joined by Madhu (CEO), as he had come to help prepare for the book launch on the 17th and discuss some other plans as well.

In the morning, Mohanji informed us that we’d be joining a group of very serious business people, entrepreneurs, who come together regularly as a mastermind group to work on projects and share ideas and challenges. That was okay because we’re ready to travel at short notice and stay over.

But what I didn’t expect was that Mohanji had also arranged that we present the “Invest in Awareness” program there. Mohanji said that we should have some slides ready so that we can present them well. That would have a good impact because these were some serious people. So, it was a great opportunity.

I knew that our morning would be busy because we had guests coming for breakfast. We also needed to prepare, plan and pack for the t travel, too. So, I didn’t have too much time to create the slides. I thought, wrongly, as I’m aware now, that we would have some time once we reach the location, which is about two hours away, to settle into the room and have half an hour of spare time.

So, I’d ask the team if they could start working on slides that I’d be able to update a little bit later. This is where I was reminded of another lesson that I seemed to have forgotten at that time: to always ascertain and never assume, as Mohanji regularly says.

It became quite apparent once we started travelling that there wasn’t going to be any time once we arrived to do any more work on the presentation. We were going straight to the meeting. The lesson was to make the best use of time when you have it. When opportunities like this come, take them and readjust priorities to do the most important things first. Especially when travelling with Mohanji, because there’s no guarantee that there’d be good access to the internet, power, or even a stable surface to have a laptop on and work. Most of the time, we were in the car. So, this was something that I was learning.

On the way to the car, Mohanji asked if the slides were ready. They were being made but hadn’t been finalized yet because we were going straight to the meeting. I had to finalize them in the car. And, if you’ve ever been on Indian rural roads, that’s quite a task because it’s very bumpy. It would have been much easier if we finished them earlier. I wished that as well.

But lesson learned. The meeting was really great, actually. It was in a lovely location in nature at the top of a mountain. When we arrived, I was really admiring Mohanji because he had gone straight from early in the morning meeting people and guests and speaking all day, then in the car travelling, to then arriving at this meeting. Straightaway, he went into three and a half hours of Q&A sessions with the group. It was amazing to see how he was able to completely provide the same energy and enthusiasm as you would normally expect. Everybody was engaged, the questions were flowing. Mohanji was giving answers with complete clarity.

The majority of this group has connected to Mohanji via the 4 am Club, which is quite a large group of people from the Malayalam speaking community worldwide. For almost a year, Mohanji’s been giving daily messages of inspiration, advice, or talking about a relevant topic for the group. They were so happy to meet him in person, after a long time of hearing his voice.

The meeting was focused on the challenges that businesses were facing during COVID at that time. Although it was mainly in Malayalam, there were a few English words, so I was able to follow.

Another thing that was also good to observe, as it wasn’t so easy to follow the conversation, was incredibly windy there. We arrived late afternoon, and we were outside in the circle of chairs, and the wind was blowing, leaves were coming across, things were getting blown around. Mohanji’s hair was blowing in the wind; it was difficult to speak and hear each other.

But, a few minutes later, the wind completely dropped. It was completely still, and nothing was happening where we were, but in the distance, you could hear the wind still going and the trees blowing. It was a strange feeling; I felt that Mohanji must have done something because I’ve observed something similar in Bosnia at the Kriya training before.

Then the Q&A continued. It was about three and a half hours long, as I mentioned. Once Mohanji had finished, and we were saying our goodbyes, it was as though the wind just came completely back. We continued talking, I gave the presentation, and Madhu also spoke. But the wind was just ferocious again.

This morning I was curious, and I asked him: “I noticed yesterday that the wind had dropped.” He just said: “It was becoming really difficult to speak with my hair blowing around, and I wasn’t able to hear much.” He said that not many people would have noticed because obviously, they were in mid flow of the conversation.

So, another piece of amazement for me to witness yesterday. Personally, I’m really enjoying the fluidity at which Mohanji moves. I was also incredibly thankful for the opportunity to speak to such distinguished business people in the area about “Invest in Awareness” because we’ve made some good contacts now, and I’m looking forward to following up on them, too.

That’s the message for today. I hope you have a great day ahead and speak to you all again very soon.