Lessons living with Mohanji – Days 187 & 188

Posted on by Mohanji Editorial Team

by Christopher Greenwood

Day 187 – Willpower (Iccha Shakti) is Your Strength

Yesterday was an inspiring day for the team here in Slovenia. We received confirmation that the Mohanji Institute has been officially registered, which means we have a registered entity here in Slovenia. The papers arrived only hours before Mohanji was to depart from Serbia. It was an opportune time to reflect on what was achieved here in the past one and a half months – an outstanding achievement.

The experience has been a real practical lesson of what can be achieved through willpower and determination. It’s been a group effort of many people with tremendous determination to complete work in good time and to achieve something together. Mohanji, of course, was the energy and the driving force behind many tasks, such as setting a clear vision, giving a clear picture, subsequent steps, and advice when we encountered obstacles; the team pulled together and achieved a lot.

It has been a different experience for me as most of my work is with people or on the computer. It was possible to see tangible results daily as the boundary markers on the land were laid, fences put up, trees planted, hedges planted, and birds began to feed on the bird feeders. We were witnessing the Peace Centre come to life before our eyes. It has been an important lesson in teamwork when there’s clear focus and determination because there were many obstacles and issues to manoeuvre.

It was also a humbling lesson of the grace that comes when working with Mohanji because he arranges nearly everything if we only take the first steps. For many of these tasks, such as fencing and planting the bushes where we needed more experience, the right people came with proper support. And whether this was with expertise, contacts, skills, machinery, or even coming to feed us lunchtimes, it all fit into place and flowed with ease. Even the weather was held at bay on days of meaningful work, and when we would return to share the day’s progress and our surprise at how it didn’t rain, Mohanji would smile, thus achieving a lot in a short time.

I’ve shared the details in various Mohanji groups. We’re all looking forward to continuing the following steps to bring to life the Mohanji Peace Centre here in Slovenia. I was reflecting on Mohanji’s main points, where he stresses this path and life in general, the need for willpower and determination, especially if we want to achieve something in life.

The other day, we were speaking about karma and destiny, and I wanted to know if it’s possible to change this. Because for example, we may have some patterns which keep pulling us back into the usual terrestrial world of senses and experiences. I wanted to know: Is this destined to happen? We’ve got these solid patterns and inclinations to do specific tasks and activities. We’re indulging in certain things or being a certain way. Is that destined, or can we do something about it? He replied that it all depends on our priorities, what we want in life and then, of course, our willpower.

If our goal is to achieve the highest in this lifetime, and we have the corresponding willpower or icchā śákti, then it’s possible. Mohanji said that’s enough to take you to the highest – willpower, focus, and determination.

Day 188 – “A Month with Mohanji”

Yesterday, I shared a message on what can be achieved with willpower, and the focus of that was the progress we’ve made here in Slovenia towards the Mohanji Peace Centre, and it has been a lot. It’s been a productive time, despite all the challenges of COVID. We’ve completed much more in that short space of time, and I wanted to share more of this because I think it gives an authentic flavour and colour of the pace, the speed, and what we’re capable of once we have that willpower, determination, and focus.

For me, it has continuously been a living lesson of what is achievable personally, and everybody involved has also found new capacities they didn’t believe or know that they had before, which is incredibly satisfying and rewarding.

Today I’ll give a chronology of what we’ve done since Mohanji arrived in Slovenia as an inspiration of what we can do with his energy behind us. It also gives more of a flavour of Mohanji, his laser focus, clarity, and proactive steps to do more in the world, leading from the front.

If we go back to when we first arrived here

  1. Slovenia Peace Centre work

We arrived on the 22nd of March and then had to spend ten days in quarantine. During this time, it wasn’t possible to leave the apartment. After our quarantine period ended, there was a 10-day lockdown in Slovenia for the Easter period because of COVID. So we were left with just a month, four weeks, in which we’ve completed everything on the land, including sourcing the suppliers, sourcing people, agreeing on the work, finding suitable materials, arranging events, arranging the meetings, and completing the work. I’ll share the progress we made for the Peace Centre again.

  1. Humane Airports

Alongside this, what’s impressive when we look back is that we launched the “Humane airports” initiative, which was sparked by an incident in Frankfurt. We launched humaneairports.com, which was formed after the incident of severe harassment at Frankfurt Airport. The purpose is to change how air passengers are treated in airports globally. This was all the good work of contacting authorities, the embassies, and everything we did to move that campaign forward.

  1. Launch of coffee table book “Mind.”

Another significant achievement is completing the first ever coffee table book, titled “Mind”, a beautiful book. It’s a collection of quotes on the mind by Mohanji, which is also set to a charming design with great photos of him, which can be a perfect gift.

Mohanji asked for this, and when he initially asked how long it would take, the response was probably three months. So, we set a target, “Okay, let’s aim for three weeks,” and then, in the end, we did it within three days. People were surprised at themselves; that they could do it at that time. It gave a deep sense of accomplishment as it involved setting a focus, meeting a challenge, and a timely goal to achieve it. This was alongside all the usual calls, meetings, several satsangs and interviews.

We even visited Lake Bled’s beautiful, incredible natural surroundings, which also doubled as an inspection for future projects and activities here in the Slovenian region.

I wanted to share this again because many can take inspiration from this. All of us became aware of our new capacities and could reflect on the limitations we placed on ourselves, of what is possible and what is not. I include myself in this.

Mohanji allows us to go beyond what we believe we can, and it’s gratifying when you see the results.

The key learning is that we can do much more than we think; the main ingredients are willpower and determination. “A Month with Mohanji” is the perfect case study.

|| JAI BRAHMARISHI MOHANJI ||

Edited & Published by – Testimonials Team, 8th January 2023

Disclaimer:

The views, opinions, and positions expressed by the authors and those providing comments on these blogs are theirs alone and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions or positions of Mohanji, Mohanji Foundation, it’s members, employees or any other individual or entity associated with Mohanji or Mohanji Foundation. We make no representations as to accuracy, completeness, timeliness, suitability or validity of any information presented by individual authors and/or commenters on our blogs and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries or damages arising from its display or use.

We reserve the right to delete, edit, or alter in any manner we see fit blog entries or comments that we, in our sole discretion, deem to be obscene, offensive, defamatory, threatening, in violation of trademark, copyright or other laws, of an express commercial nature, or otherwise unacceptable.

Mohanji Testimonials team

Lessons living with Mohanji – Days 165 & 166

Posted on by Mohanji Editorial Team

By Christopher Greenwood

Day 165 – Borrowed fear and anxieties

In Slovenia, we’re taking steps to bring our space here to life. We held the first-ever satsang on our land, which was a really momentous occasion. This has given even more momentum to what we’ve started here. We’re more committed to finding a way of investigating all possible options to get something established within this year so that regular programs can take place. It’s exciting. 

I was reading back through the notes of the satsang. It was a very special satsang, as we sat out in nature. Mohanji was even sitting on a nearby log. There was no need for a grand setting; the stage of nature was beautiful enough. During the satsang, Mohanji shared a really good perspective about these times, which relates to a lesson I shared some time back, which was about keeping our inner space clean. Throughout the day, we interact with many different types of people and many different media, on the internet, on social media, and the news. We also have people with their opinions and perspectives. It’s very easy for us to take these in, then they sit inside of us, and as we know, we can only experience what we are in the world. We then project these out into the world, which can be anger, fear, jealousies, as it’s all coming from within. He shared that now we’re receiving many borrowed frustrations, from the internet, television, and the news.

These are borrowed fears and anxiety. Most of the time, it has nothing to do with this, but the addiction to social media, looking for information, makes it much worse. For example, every day, there are facts and figures about the number of people who have died from COVID in the world, the increasing number of deaths, and the new strains, and they’re always focused on those numbers. Mohanji shared that he received a message, which had the number of people who had died on one side of the message, but then also the number of people who had actually gone home or recovered on the other side. The number of recoveries is always much higher, but that’s never shown to us. It’s never shown in the media. We could be focusing on that, on how many people have recovered today, and celebrating that, but that’s not what the focus is. What happens in those instances? Mohanji asked the question that if we’re being told that this is what’s happening all the time, the natural thing to think is, “When will we also die?” It creates that fear.

The message he gave from that talk is that we can always look for the positives in life, what we have to be thankful for, and do the best we can to keep that inner space free from acquired fears and anxieties, those which aren’t our own. Awareness helps you, along with the company of good and positive people.

Day 166 – Purity of connection

Yesterday was another day of moving forward some of the tasks here for the Slovenia land, and for the Slovenian registration of the Mohanji Foundation, although it will be called something different, to align with the types of organizations here in Slovenia. In the evening, I spent some time with Mohanji, talking about the activities of the day and the next steps. On the land where we are, there is a really beautiful old house with a heritage. The architect came yesterday and she was explaining that not many of those houses exist anymore. It’s actually a very rich piece of Slovenian heritage, and how it was built and how it looks in the style.

We were saying that this could potentially become a temple for Sai Baba. We began to talk about the location because at the top of the hill is a very powerful energy center. I was also sharing with others about the time when Mohanji went to Skanda Vale in Wales, which has a really lovely temple where he inaugurated the Dattatreya temple. He did the prana pratishta personally, wherein he took a part of himself and installed it into the idol. Now many people are feeling the effects of worshipping Dattatreya. When people visit the temple, many things are being removed from them.

Somebody asked Mohanji if he had lost anything in doing that. He said, “No”, and that for him, it’s like lighting another lamp from one lamp. The original lamp still remains, it’s just taking the light and giving it somewhere else. The next question was interesting for me, because it was a good question. It was essentially: Would people feel the same energy there as if they come and are close to him physically? What Mohanji shared was interesting, and again, really gives an idea that physical proximity isn’t always a sign of connection. He said that physically, people probably won’t feel anything. He said, “You have to transcend the physical and the personality aspect, which isn’t easy.”

Even for people who do a lot of meditation, it may not be possible to recognise him. He shared that great saints, who had done a lot of penance and practices, couldn’t recognise Sai Baba, while somebody who was illiterate… they recognised him. He mentioned Megha, who had an intense connection to Sai Baba. He was an illiterate man. He couldn’t read or write but he recognised Sai Baba, and when Megha died, it was the only time that Sai Baba had tears in his eyes because he loved him so much, because of the purity of his connection. People asked, “Baba, why are you crying? You never cry.” To which he replied, “It’s because he’s a part of me”. He had said before, “All of you are sitting here in front of me and Megha doesn’t come to me, but he’s with me.”

Mohanji shared that, in order to have that connection, you have to have extraordinary determination and conviction. When that connection happens, you become that. So, Megha didn’t die a normal death, he became Baba.  I really liked this story, because it’s a reminder for me, that connection is more than proximity, more than the form, more than the personality. The true connection, the lasting kind, is beyond what the mind can perceive, the senses or the form. It’s the consciousness or the state. I can only imagine the purity of connection, which could bring tears to the eyes of a great master such as Sai Baba.

|| JAI BRAHMARISHI MOHANJI ||

Edited & Published by – Testimonials Team, 2nd October 2022

Disclaimer:

The views, opinions, and positions expressed by the authors and those providing comments on these blogs are theirs alone and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions or positions of Mohanji, Mohanji Foundation, it’s members, employees or any other individual or entity associated with Mohanji or Mohanji Foundation. We make no representations as to accuracy, completeness, timeliness, suitability or validity of any information presented by individual authors and/or commenters on our blogs and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries or damages arising from its display or use.

We reserve the right to delete, edit, or alter in any manner we see fit blog entries or comments that we, in our sole discretion, deem to be obscene, offensive, defamatory, threatening, in violation of trademark, copyright or other laws, of an express commercial nature, or otherwise unacceptable.

Mohanji Testimonials team

Lessons living with Mohanji – Days 161 & 162

Posted on by Mohanji Editorial Team

by Christopher Greenwood

Day 161 – Refocus and Refresh our Destination

The past few days here in Slovenia have been very busy and also exciting. Yesterday, I was traveling to look at materials for the land. We’re setting up the boundaries around the space that we have. We were searching for good wood, which we can use to create fencing. Right now, we’re repairing the space. It has also been really lovely to meet local people who are connected to the activities here via Devi and the meditations that are taking place. They’re all really enthusiastic about the project, very friendly and helpful. It’s a real blessing to have their support.

Something that we were talking about at this time, because of COVID, was the need to adapt and refocus according to the changing situations. Some of these guys with whom we are now working also have their projects, but because of COVID, it’s extremely unpredictable, but they’ve also enjoyed Mohanji’s message, which is: What we can do today, we should do today, because we don’t know what tomorrow will bring, so take steps. This is generally aligned with the main theme of this year about flexibility, which is what he said everybody can benefit from in these times.

The other day when I was speaking with Mohanji, about some of the activities, he mentioned that at times in life, in big situations and small situations, there comes a need to refocus and refresh our own destination. We may have had a clear destination set out to begin with, but as we move towards it, sometimes we will encounter detours, distractions, diversions, or situations and environments will change. That need to refocus and refresh the destination is very important.

The good thing about being with Mohanji is that he always provides clarity and he always has a clear focus, which minimizes the detours, wherever possible. Now I’m really following and embracing this, but from time to time, I also look at my individual activities within the office as well and arrange myself so that I can bring focus back to them, as many of them are happening in parallel. I’m finding that it’s always good to be able to reassess and refresh the destination based on the situation now. This includes my own personal goals. If I look back at my life, there were probably some key moments where I had extreme clarity and focus, but then for some reason, whatever it was, over time, I took many detours and diversions.

One of the most clear times for me was upon leaving university. I had a very clear picture of what I wanted to be doing work-wise, what I thought I could do, but at that time, I also really wanted to be doing something that contributed positively towards the world, but through lifestyle, time, situations, and events, I took many detours and distractions from that aspect – doing something for the world. That part of my dream lost focus somewhat. Now with the work in the platforms, I’ve been able to refresh that destination and Mohanji has definitely helped bring more focus and clarity to the contributions that I can make.

Day 162 – Slovenia land visit (Mohanji Peace Centre)

Yesterday, I visited the land in Slovenia with Mohanji. This is a location for the Mohanji Peace Center, which will become one of the centers of benevolence, which will come up all across the world. I’ve shared before that the vision for these is very distinct. They will be real messages to the world for all that we stand for – living in harmony with nature. There’ll be a place where all the practices will be available, there’ll be halls, places to stay, there’ll be the forest with all the rishis and munis, there will be places for meditation, and we’ll have the lake for all the beings of the water. Here, on this land, we should even be able to build a cave into the ground where there’ll be an idol of Babaji, and people can sit in there and practice Kriya. It’ll generally just be a beautiful space for peace and coming together.

A few days back, we had the surveyor come to the land, to establish the exact boundaries of the site. This is so that we know exactly where we are before we begin fencing the land. We had come to check this after they’d done the work, and I also believe that Mohanji wanted to come here to energize the land. I’ve been with him in India before when we went to Ganeshpuri, and he did that then too, he walked on the land. At that time, it resulted in his foot swelling up as if he cleared something from the land that had come to his foot. As we set off from the apartment, there were heavy, grey skies and soon enough, as we began to get closer to the land, there was a downpour of rain; it was actually so bad that it was difficult to see the road with the windscreen wipers going, it was that heavy. The rain eased somewhat as we reached the site, and surprisingly, or not surprisingly, when he stepped out of the car onto the land, the clouds began to clear and the sun broke through and quickly cleared into very warm, bright sunshine.

First, we stood on the edge of the land at the hilltop and I pointed out where we’d marked out the new border, took in the ambiance, looking out to the site from the top, and just had a moment just to see how this year’s new green or new growth was coming through onto the trees. Mohanji has been meticulous with the activities of the land. I think many would be surprised by the level of detail that he keeps track of. He supervises closely, and those exact boundaries were an important topic for a few weeks, so as to avoid any complications in the future.

We walked around the top of the site, past the old buildings and also where we installed one of the bird feeders. We also checked one of the buildings there that has potential for renovation. As we walked, he asked me, “Did you notice a change in the weather?” I had, and I smiled to myself because there’d been a complete change from dark rain clouds to clear skies and bright sun. I’ve experienced it sometimes before when the weather surprisingly changed in his presence, although Mohanji obviously didn’t outwardly say anything.

For me, it’s exciting to be there, because as there’s movement happening, all these activities are coming together. It means that we’re not far away from having a physical space where programs can be hosted and events can be had. It’s a space that can be open all year for people to come, with beautiful peaceful surroundings, and obviously, Mohanji will be there too.

On the way back there was another example of how he takes a close, detailed account of things that you wouldn’t even think of. He asked me if I knew the distance from the center of the land, the land itself, to the house. I didn’t, so I said, “I’m not sure.” He said, “Okay, well let’s go back, we’ll drive back and we’ll check. I’d like to know.” I drove back and we reset the distance clock on the car. I was surprised that he was checking each bit of detail. How far we were to the edge of the land, the nearest house, how close we were to the main road, then to the village and the home. It’s really quite amazing, the level of detail that he takes into account.

So, soon, we’re hoping this year to have something ready where we can begin hosting the first programs.

|| JAI BRAHMARISHI MOHANJI ||

Edited & Published by – Testimonials Team, 18th September 2022

Disclaimer:

The views, opinions, and positions expressed by the authors and those providing comments on these blogs are theirs alone and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions or positions of Mohanji, Mohanji Foundation, it’s members, employees or any other individual or entity associated with Mohanji or Mohanji Foundation. We make no representations as to accuracy, completeness, timeliness, suitability or validity of any information presented by individual authors and/or commenters on our blogs and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries or damages arising from its display or use.

We reserve the right to delete, edit, or alter in any manner we see fit blog entries or comments that we, in our sole discretion, deem to be obscene, offensive, defamatory, threatening, in violation of trademark, copyright or other laws, of an express commercial nature, or otherwise unacceptable.

Mohanji Testimonials team

Lessons living with Mohanji – Days 145 & 146

Posted on by Mohanji Editorial Team

by Christopher Greenwood

Day 145 – Slovenia Centre Fruit Tree Planting

Yesterday was the first time I visited our land in Slovenia, where one of our main centres will be: a Centre of Benevolence.

We had arranged to go there with a group of volunteers to plant fruit trees as part of the fruit tree plantation drive. This is the drive I had mentioned a few messages back, under which, rather than just planting any tree, we plant fruit trees so that it gives fruits to animals, people and birds. Whilst it is a tree, and that’s obviously good, it would also keep giving fruits over time, so it’s like a continuous annadaan.

A small group of us gathered together, and we met at Devi’s apartment before heading to the land.

People had brought all the required tools, plants, snacks and drinks; it was a really nice atmosphere.

If you haven’t been to the land or seen it, it’s very picturesque. It’s located in a very small town in Slovenia, which is such a green country, with many trees and fields. The road to get there is very narrow. It is a single-track road, and it winds between farmlands, farmhouses, and fields, and goes up and down various hills through trees.

It was a beautiful sunny day, the polar opposite of today, when it’s actually snowing.

As we were driving, we were imagining what it would be like in the future with all these various buses, transporting people to and from airports, and these small towns having all these people driving through them.

As you arrive, you turn off the road onto a green patch of grass, and there are old wooden houses and farmhouses that look like they were self-built. We gathered all the tools, plants, fertilizers and compost from the car. Mohanji picked up his tools, and he led us down to the site, and it really is beautiful. You walk from where you park the cars up a small hill and then back down, and then you just have this beautiful view across all of the land at the bottom. It’s situated right on the top of a hill, quite a steep hill.

The bottom of the land is like a flat place, and the air is very clean. There are forests and trees to the left and to the right, and the point where we stood and looked down from the hill is where the Sai Baba idol will be installed. Sai Baba will sit facing down the land towards the bottom, where there are some marshlands and a small pond. This will be dug out to make a bigger pond for all the various animals, turtles, and fishes, and Dattatreya will sit there in nature, facing Sai Baba.

Then to the right, as you look down the slope, there are various woodlands and trees, and this is where Sage Agastya and Lopamudra will sit alongside all the other Rishis and Munis. This will be a place of meditation.

Knowing Mohanji and his vision for the centres, I could picture the grounds well and could imagine many people walking back from their meditation spots in the forest, or feeding the fishes and turtles in the pond.

As we walked down, it was very steep. I walked closely with Mohanji. He was telling me that this land is very good. It has good energy. It is said to be placed on a strong meridian line running through the site.

Normally, lots of people would have had to do some activity there, such as maybe conducting  yagyams or poojas, to raise the energy of the land to that level. But this land was like this naturally, so it was very good.

Once we reached the bottom, the team organized efficiently. I find this is usually the case with Mohanji and his presence. Two guys were digging the main holes. We would follow them and plant the tree, place the soil, compost and fertilizer. Then another person would come and water it and press it down, and like that, we quickly planted many trees.

We planted apples, hazelnuts, and blackberry bushes there. At the top of the hill, the land is different . It is drier and more sheltered, and so, we planted plums, peaches and cherries there, as they require better conditions.

There are already very nice walnut trees there, which must have been planted a long time ago.

Mohanji left to walk next to the boundaries of the land, and I stayed with the rest of the team to plant the last of the plants and trees. I really loved it as I haven’t done manual work like this in a long time. It was great having the feeling of soil on my hands and touching the earth rather than typing on the laptop. It was good, wholesome, hard labour.

It was exciting to see the land and perform these activities because it made it tangible for me. Soon, we would actually have our centre there, our own place where people would be able to come, visit, stay and enjoy the land. It will be of benefit to many.

Later, when I returned home, I saw that Mohanji’s foot was swollen. I have noticed that, depending on what activity we’re doing, his body changes. The same thing had happened when we had visited the Ganeshpuri land. As always, he never says anything, he does his work in silence. I believe he took a lot from the land that day and cleansed it. 

As he said earlier in the day, he wants to speed up. So, whilst I’m here in Slovenia, we’ll probably be looking at more activities that we can do on the land.

Hope you have a great day.

Day 146 – The problem with pleasing others

I received a message from someone who had listened to one of the lessons, which was “Don’t try to tackle the situation, tackle yourself”. They enjoyed this one because they now found a quietness to life, which also gave them confidence because they no longer needed to please people.

This prompted me to share this lesson today. If I was to boil down all of Mohanji’s teachings, everything which he has spoken about before into two words, it is simply: “Be you. Be totally, authentically and unapologetically you”. Because, as he rightly points out, there is no one else like us in the world. We’re all unique creations, made of a variety of flavours and colours, and our uniqueness is our expression into the world and our signature.

Before meeting Mohanji, and even actually before living with him, I had a destabilizing trait of wanting to please  others. So, I would often bend backwards, forward, sideways, and turn myself upside down to accommodate others. With friends, for example, I would compromise my own time or on the activities that I wanted to do so that they were kept happy in some way. At work as well, often, I would take on a role that would fit in with the culture rather than really selecting a role in which I could express myself fully. So, I was always making adjustments and compromises. What I learned from staying with Mohanji for more time is that I had mistakenly thought of this as being flexible. But what I’ve learned, or what I realized, is that this attitude or approach was using up a lot of energy unnecessarily, because I wasn’t fully being myself in some situations. Being with Mohanji more, seeing how he works, it has encouraged me to fully be myself.

And before that, to actually explore myself more without an apology. It’s not that I would like going out and showing off or being egotistical about something, but having an appreciation for what people think while no longer having the fear, judgement or worry. Knowing full well that people can either accept or reject you, and that’s fine. The feeling I have now is one of relief, because there’s more energy for productive activities rather than spending time bending to the views and opinions of others. This helps you focus on what needs to be done. I’ve also come to realize that a secondary benefit of that activity of being you is that it starts to make it very clear which people in your life are actually with you and are supporting you for being completely yourself.

Mohanji has a great podcast on this that I’m resharing here as it’s a great reminder of “Be authentic. Be yourself”.

Be authentic. Be Yourself

|| JAI BRAHMARISHI MOHANJI ||

Edited & Published by – Testimonials Team, 24th July 2022

Disclaimer:

The views, opinions, and positions expressed by the authors and those providing comments on these blogs are theirs alone and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions or positions of Mohanji, Mohanji Foundation, it’s members, employees or any other individual or entity associated with Mohanji or Mohanji Foundation. We make no representations as to accuracy, completeness, timeliness, suitability or validity of any information presented by individual authors and/or commenters on our blogs and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries or damages arising from its display or use.

We reserve the right to delete, edit, or alter in any manner we see fit blog entries or comments that we, in our sole discretion, deem to be obscene, offensive, defamatory, threatening, in violation of trademark, copyright or other laws, of an express commercial nature, or otherwise unacceptable.

Mohanji Testimonials team