Lessons living with Mohanji – Days 81 & 82

Posted on by Mohanji Editorial Team

By Christopher Greenwood

Day 81 Lesson – “Don’t follow me, follow you.” 

Good morning, everybody. Today is the last day of the trip to Kerala, and we will soon be returning to Bangalore. 

This morning I was thinking about the themes for 2021, which are stability, flexibility, and friendship. Throughout this trip, I’ve had experiences and examples that relate to each of those three, and I’ve been able to observe Mohanji in relation to them too. 

If I take Mohanji, to begin with, despite the hectic morning until evening schedule, the variety of people that come, the different requests asked of him, the travel time, the journeys, the different accommodation, the foods, etc., he remains stable throughout the trip, he is completely consistent. 

In a previous daily lesson, I’ve shared that he is stable and steady, like a rock; you can really depend on him. No matter what has happened, he has been consistent throughout.

I’ve also mentioned before that when travelling with Mohanji; there’s a need to be flexible. Being flexible is something that I don’t think applies to Mohanji as such, but by his nature, flexibility happens. I’ve witnessed that he moves as per the need of the day, even the need of the hour. So, things change moment to moment, depending on what has to happen. 

Yesterday, for example, we attended a school reunion function, where the evening before that, his friend had asked him to join and give a short talk. I’ll share a little bit more about that soon. But that’s an example where a request came at the last minute, and we adjusted the schedule to meet it. 

Then, friendship. This trip has been a strong theme, cultivating and reconnecting with old friendships and developing new friendships. What I’ve seen is that everybody who Mohanji has met has become a real close, heartfelt connection pretty much instantaneously. 

And, from his old friends, from his school days, his college days, also his time during the Middle East working, there’s a real strong connection that is still there, as if there has been no time separation at all. There’s an instant trust and a feeling of familiarity for the new friends that he’s met as well. It’s been interesting to witness how he is cultivating these great friendships. 

For myself, one of the reflections this morning and lessons that I’ve learned is around my own stability. Considering stability and how to be stable, I found the easiest way to work out what was making me unstable, i.e., what destabilized me, to focus on that and understand it a bit more. 

What helped me yesterday was something Mohanji said from his talk to the people at the school reunion. He was asked to give a talk on the topic of a meaningful life. Very short and simple. Since Mohanji was speaking in Malayalam, it wasn’t completely easy for me to follow. But luckily, when Malayalam is spoken, an English phrase or a few English words are included now and then. So, if you’re alert and aware, you can pick out what the theme is and what’s being said. 

As I was listening, what caught my attention were the words: “Don’t follow me, follow you.” I understood Mohanji was speaking about his teachings. He told people that his teachings are about connecting to yourself, accepting yourself, living a contented and happy life. 

What helped me understand the “Don’t follow me, follow you” a little more is that it focuses on our journey and us being individualistic. We are all unique; each of us has our eye retina, or our thumbprint, as Mohanji would say.

If we really understand that, then there’s no competition; there’s no comparison. And what I was beginning to understand yesterday, from this trip and before as well, is that something which can destabilize me quite quickly is when I compare myself to somebody else, or when I somehow come into some competitive situation with somebody. Those situations destabilize me quickly. That was a key lesson for me from yesterday. 

It was also a nice experience to witness how flexibility plays out in action when travelling with Mohanji. Because of the various changes in the schedule yesterday, what I thought would be a delay in meeting people and getting to places on time, turned out to be divine and beautiful orchestration to bring people to the right places. 

For example, someone was due to meet Mohanji in the late evening, and we were going to come back to the house to meet him so that he could speak to Mohanji. We happened to be late on our journey back, as we were attending the Sai Baba temple. We went there for Aarti and to see the people who run the temple. So, we invited the person who was due to meet Mohanji to the temple instead. 

And it was really nice because whatever he came for, he completely got it. Mohanji gave him Shaktipat while the Aarti to Sai Baba was happening. When everything had finished, the man was able to watch the rest of the Aarti for Sai Baba. And I thought for a moment, “What a lovely experience for that man!” He thought he would be coming to meet Mohanji at home, but this great event happened. It was all part of a lovely coming together. 

Now we’ll be finishing packing and travelling back to Bangalore. I hope you have a great day ahead and will speak to you soon.

Day 82 Lesson – Mohanji Story: “Keeping your word.” 

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

Yesterday late evening, we arrived back in Bangalore, finishing the trip to Kerala, which was a great success. Although it was very hectic and busy, everything that needed to be completed was. Soon I’ll be sharing a brief itinerary of what we did over those days, whom we met and how it all was. 

This morning, I thought that today is the 82nd day of these lessons, which marks the completion of another 41-day cycle. Following Mohanji’s messages and teachings to keep life and activities fresh, I decided to introduce some of the stories from Mohanji’s life that have also provided great lessons for me. 

As we’ve been travelling, Mohanji has been meeting many people, and spontaneously a satsang will start, and he’ll share some of the stories. I’ve heard these stories before, in satsangs many months and even years ago, so to hear them again is a nice reminder. Rarely do we have that type of interaction when we’re at the house and focused on work. 

So, as the stories have come up, I’ve been writing them down, and I’ll share one of my favourite ones today. This one is from the time when Mohanji visited South Africa. He told it to a family that we were staying with. It was framed with the importance of keeping your word and keeping promises. 

One lady in South Africa has a ranch, and she takes care of abandoned horses. These are horses that nobody wants, and she takes them in. She said to Mohanji when he visited South Africa that she would be very happy if he could visit the ranch. Mohanji agreed. 

When he went there at first, the horses were very suspicious of us because people had beaten them, tortured them, and even burned them. So naturally, they were hesitant about coming towards any human. But Mohanji stood there, and one by one, they came. As they came, he said he gave each of them Shaktipat, the energy transfer. And they were all very happy. He was there for about two to three hours, and they were all around him. 

When it was time for him to go, they wouldn’t even let him go; they were blocking his way, blocking his path. They were also yawning, which is a sign of anxieties being released. So, they must have been very happy. But Mohanji had to go, so he told them: “I have to go, but I’ll come back.” He said this in English out loud. 

As Mohanji and his personal assistant were walking to the car, she reminded him that it was not going to be possible to come tomorrow because there was a whole day program. The location of the ranch was about one and a half hours drive from the venue. So even if they wanted to use the lunch break, there wouldn’t be enough time. 

For Mohanji, though, the promise was a promise. He arranged the schedule of the program in a way that it could be adjusted so that the time was found. Someone else must have conducted part of the program. He said that when he returned to the ranch, there was a big gate and a big fence around the huge location. Each of the horses was standing there waiting for him. When he arrived, the guard who looked after the place said that all of them had been waiting for him to arrive from the early morning, and they hadn’t even eaten. 

Mohanji said to his assistant: “Imagine if I hadn’t come back, what a betrayal it would have been for them.” So, when he did come back, they were very, very happy. He again greeted them, engaged with them, and then told them that he wouldn’t be coming back this time. 

He said that all those beings have their personality. They all have their uniqueness. Sometimes we don’t see that, but that’s a reality. 

This is a story that I’ve always liked. It’s an example of how Mohanji lives his life. Even this short story has many lessons, which you can pull out if you take a bit of time to contemplate it. So, I won’t share my takeaways, but I’ll leave it open for you to have a think and make your own. 

I hope you enjoyed that, and I’ll be sharing some more of these over the days. 

I hope you have a great day.

|| JAI BRAHMARISHI MOHANJI ||

Edited & Published by – Testimonials Team, 5th December 2021

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

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Lessons living with Mohanji – Days 57 and 58

Posted on by Mohanji Testimonials

by Christopher Greenwood

Day 57 lesson – The power of silence 

The past days here have been very much routine, something that I’ve spoken of before. And for me, that’s waking up, doing practices for myself, make sure everything’s organized or planned for the day. And then I’ll speak to Mohanji about his activities, the day’s activities, and anything else we need to speak about. And depending on how busy he already is, or how much we need to cover, that will be the time that I spend there. 

Then we have morning aarati at 6 am. It’s important here that we all attend, and it takes place in the puja room downstairs. Mohanji will be there sitting in his chair with the windows open, and all the beings that come to see him take his darshan, the birds, and the squirrels. 

For the past few days, I’ve been keeping conversation to a minimum because I’ve had some discomfort in my mouth, causing a bit of pain, which is fine, but I’m speaking only when necessary. 

This reminded me of one of the really good practical lessons that I observed from Mohanji. I have known about it sometime before being here, but it was also reconfirmed during the Bootcamp session we had. And this is the power of silence. The fact that in any situation that we face, silence is always an option for us, and it can be really powerful. 

Before having the role I do now, I used to work in business, large projects mainly, complex technology projects. And there were always many issues because things were never planned, there were never enough people, so we were always tight for time. There were always problems. People would have their interpersonal challenges as well; some people would not get along with others. 

In meetings, there would be a competitive environment where many people want to speak over each other to get their point across. Tensions were high because of the pressures, and people would be really easy to snap. 

So what I learned from watching some of Mohanji’s videos is that silence is always an option for us in situations. Especially when I felt provoked into speaking or triggered, it was to actually respond with silence rather than reacting to that because I found those situations were often coming from an emotional place. If someone had said something, or I didn’t agree with something, the immediate instinct was to react. And that was one of the habits I had. 

This sometimes had a good effect, and other times not so good results, because it either helped move things forward, or it could turn disastrously wrong. Especially if I was critical of someone else because people remember that – the injury of words can last much longer than a physical injury. 

So I remember that silence is an option, and sometimes I choose not to speak. And actually, that would be more impactful than trying to speak because lots of people are eager to get their point across. 

This holds true now as well. I was thinking about this again, contemplating that previously I’d be very eager to speak, to share my view, but I realized that it’s not always necessary. And also, if someone is angry or frustrated, or they are in an emotional space, then just by being silent, it can be an instant diffuser to that situation that completely calms or neutralizes it. 

I found as well that sometimes people are looking for a fight or some provocation. And silence as a response has its power in those situations. 

The added benefit, something which I’ve been thinking about more as we’re walking this path, especially silence being a key aspect of it is that when there were situations where I would respond or react with an equal conversation, emotions or frustrations, they would stay much longer in the mind; the events would even replay themselves. This would cause more disturbances because it would spoil my day and also the other interactions. 

With silence as a response, the event passes much more quickly. And I see Mohanji responds in this way often in situations, too, especially when questions are asked that don’t necessarily need an answer, where they’re being asked from a place of just for the sake of asking. Using in the appropriate time, silence as a minimum response is always an option.

I hope you enjoyed this, and I’ll be interested to know if any of you have found the same benefits of silence in your interactions. 

 

Day 58 Lesson – The state of stability

Today I wanted to share a learning about one of the themes for this year 2021, which is stability. 

One of the things that stands out for me about Mohanji, which comes from sitting with him day to day and observing how he interacts with the various people who are contacting him, is his stability and steadiness. 

I’ve been here for many months now, sharing each morning. The variety in scale and also intensity of the situations which Mohanji handles is very vast. Some people may think that it’s just the Mohanji Global platforms which he is looking at, but there’s much more that he’s handling, actually. He acts in a friendly advisor capacity to many people worldwide. So he’s involved with many of their activities and situations, too. 

I found that regardless of what’s happening, what the situation is, he remains stable, steady. And he doesn’t waver or sway in how he treats people. And he said this before; he always stands by people, no matter what. If they stand by him, he stands by them. 

For many people, if something is happening in their lives, it can spill over into other areas of their lives. But with Mohanji, nothing of what he’s handling ever spills over into any other conversations, any other activities. They are all very discrete and separate. He takes situations as they come and handles them as they come. There are no emotions added. Everything is dealt with and then finished and completed. 

Whether this is somebody that’s dying, someone is being born, a new baby coming into the world, or somebody who’s getting married, it’s all on a similar level to him. Because he handles everything as it is. This doesn’t mean that he’s not engaged. He’s fully engaged, but it’s a state in which I can observe where he’s operating from and how he’s living with complete calm and complete stability. 

I think this is why he has such an appeal with people because it’s hard to find people like that in the world that are so stable and steady. Because people have minds, they are swayed by emotions, opinions, concepts. And we create imaginations, expectations, and then the corresponding sorrows. This is something that I’m learning through observing Mohanji, that there is a state that’s beyond all these turbulences of the mind. It exists, and Mohanji represents that. 

It’s a good reminder because I find that I can sometimes be taken very easily for a ride by the mind. There have been situations that trigger a reaction in me, and then the mind will gladly take hold of it, compare it with other situations, dissect it, distorted it, maybe give a new narrative to it. Before I know it, it’s something completely different from the actual reality of the situation at hand. 

In the recent Invest in Awareness program, we spent a lot of time talking about the mind. The mind being a projector – what is inside us is projected outside onto the canvas of the world. So whether it’s love, whether it’s hate, or views, or opinions, it’s projected out. Then if we experience what comes back, and we like it, or more accurately, it matches our expectations, we’re happy and satisfied. But if something comes back, which we don’t like, or doesn’t match our expectations, then we’re unhappy. We even carry that event longer, creating more suffering.

This can happen at any time. It happened recently to me unknowingly. And for a time, it really tilted me and my focus, and it was created by some unconscious expectation. When it wasn’t met, then obviously, the unhappiness came. But the suffering was not so much because it was possible to recognize that it’s a situation of my mind, and remembering that steadiness of Mohanji, that he’s the same from yesterday to today, and he will be the same tomorrow. 

A good reminder and a learning for me is that whilst we have a mind, it can always be prone to its fancy, unconsciously or consciously. As I observe Mohanji handling many different scenarios, it’s a good reminder that that stability is always a real possibility. I think it clearly demonstrates where he’s operating from, which is certainly not the fluctuations of a changing mind. 

|| JAI BRAHMARISHI MOHANJI ||

Edited & Published by – Testimonials Team, 12th September 2021

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 55 and 56

Posted on by Mohanji Editorial Team

by Christopher Greenwood

Day 55 Lesson – There are no problems, only situations

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

We’re already well into January and the days seem to be going quickly. Each year, there’s a theme used for quotes with a general focus for all the people connected to Mohanji. For this year, 2021, Mohanji provided some guidance for the theme of the year, which is flexibility, stability, and friendship, which I think is apt. 

Flexibility, as we are in very unpredictable times, we don’t know what will happen in the future; having that quality of flexibility will give us a good footing to handle anything that comes and even learn new skills. 

Stability is important, as it’s just like when the air stewardess tells us to put on an oxygen mask first before putting it on somebody else. Our own stability is important for being able to be there for others, be stable for others and help them.

Friendship, at this time, is developing connections, deepening friendships, practising kindness. 

I was thinking about these this morning and was reminded of how Mohanji approaches situations of life, how he handles all the various troubles, queries, problems, and events that come to him. There are so many of them each day, as often things don’t go on as planned, which means there has to be action, or corrective measures, or things like this because we have a huge organization, which he’s guiding and steering. 

I’ve always found that Mohanji is really very cool in these situations. Whatever comes, he’ll take it on its merits, and he’ll handle it however best it needs to be handled – with minimal fuss or fanfare. 

I asked him about this one day; how does he manage to do this? He summed it up succinctly, which I think I want to build on today: there are no problems in life. There are only situations, and problems only exist in the mind.  This simple yet profound thought is worth contemplating for many of us; I definitely, as earlier I used to think I have a lot of problems in life.  

The statement, “There are no problems in life, there are only situations; problems only exist in mind”, gives so much freedom. When I heard that, I intuitively knew that I’m looking at things maybe in a different way than what I could do. This was a very powerful orientation for me because often, I would get caught up in the middle of my mind’s mess with all the perceived problems that I thought existed. 

For example, if I plan to complete some work, or if I had entrusted it to somebody else and it didn’t come back in time, or there was a delay, or it wasn’t quite right, or something else happened which would stop what I wanted to happen, or planned to happen; my mind would jump to a narrative of – “This is a problem. How could this happen? Why is this the case?” All these types of questions would gush forth.

This type of thinking was doing nothing to really help and what I understood from Mohanji’s words is that life will always present us with situations, and sometimes why they happen; we don’t even know. There’ll be a cause, but we might not be aware of it at that time. 

But the fact is, something comes to us as a situation, and my ability to respond to the situation will decide if it’s a problem or not. For example, if I thought I completed what I needed to do for the day and was about to relax, and something urgent arrived. If I’m constantly thinking about my expectation of what I’d be doing next, relaxing over doing what needed to be done, then I’m creating a problem for myself. 

So now I’m learning to approach life like this, that there are only situations. What comes to me, and what comes to us, we handle it as it is. I now look at the whole situation (width, breadth, height – in totality) to see what can be done with what’s available and have found the intensity of the events reduces, bringing stability. I know now that if there’s a situation, then there will also be a solution. I don’t need to create more disturbances in my mind and problems because of that. The result is there’s more calmness, or reduced intensity, and clarity. I can better see the situation for what it is; hence I’m not pushed into automatic ways of responding (as I’d usually do).

You can objectively look at the situation, assess it, think about it, and often, the solution will automatically present itself. At times the solution can also be something novel or unique, something I would never have normally thought of, which also brings in that element of flexibility. 

This is something I’m continuing to learn, that when I avoid turning life situations into problems, I’m learning that I’m calmer, stable, and have better decision-making ability.

 I hope you have a great day and that you can sail through any of the situations which might come your way. We will speak soon.

Day 56 Lesson – Sincere calls reach Mohanji

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

Mohanji says, “I’m walking with you”. He also says that whenever people need him, he’s there. For some people, this can be difficult to understand, especially if they take Mohanji as the physical form -the nice beard and long hair. 

In these times, it’s challenging to speak or meet Mohanji because of the Covid situation and difficulty travelling. Once the Centers of Benevolence are in place, this will be much easier as then Mohanji will be there, and people can visit, but until this is complete, it’s difficult. The priority of his time is given to projects and platforms that are moving activities forward and those that contribute to the vision of raising the world’s collective consciousness. 

But what I have experienced myself and what I’ve witnessed is that people do not need to physically meet or speak with Mohanji for him to hear them and for him to respond. If someone has a genuine intention, it reaches him, and Mohanji does his work.

Today, I wanted to talk about how people reach out to Mohanji and how Mohanji also reaches out to them. I did share a few examples of this in today’s voice message. I recognize that these are only small examples, but they give an idea of a much larger dimension to Mohanji, and if we sincerely need him, he hears the call. 

Many people have troubles and situations in life and are seeking help. For these issues, Mohanji has empowered Acharyas, who can handle many of the topics across all areas of life. He has also given methods such as the Mai-Tri and Mohanji Transformation Method (MTM), which benefit people’s lives, and people are getting great results too, but I understand that for some people, this still can’t replace physically meeting or speaking with him. 

Having lived close to Mohanji now, I have developed some limited awareness of how he operates. I think we miss a huge dimension of Mohanji if we think we need to see him or speak to him physically, and I’ll give some examples for that. 

One of them happened a few months ago. I was working to build the vision for one of the platforms. I was working on activities and ideas, and it was going well. But I was getting stuck in my thoughts for some reason. I couldn’t quite grasp a way to align what I was putting down with my thinking and how practically to make it happen. 

It was at that time I heard Mohanji call “Greenwood”, which is always a bit of a startle, so I went to his room where he called me. He said, “I want to talk to you about the vision for this platform”, and so I replied to him, “Oh! This is funny; I was just actually working on that.” He quite plainly said, “I know, that’s why I called you here because it was all over the place.” We spoke more about the vision, and he gave me clarity and some good direction. 

I was in a completely separate room, and I hadn’t told him what I’d be working on that day, and this incident showed me that in times of confusion, he can be there. 

Even though he has always said before that he doesn’t read people’s thoughts (and of course, he doesn’t want to read them because it’s all full of trash), I have a feeling that he senses things when they’re out of alignment, and he then corrects. 

Similarly, in another situation, I had received an email from a lady wanting to speak to Mohanji. She had some real trouble in her life and wanted some assistance. Usually, what I do is I set aside some time in the day – once a day to check emails (usually towards the end of the day) so that I just have that specific time to focus and reply. It so happened that I received this email, and it said that they were in some distress or confusion, or something like this; subsequently, there was another email from them a few hours later. In the first email, they had written, “I’m confused. I need some help. I’d like to speak to Mohanji”, and then the next email said, “Thank you so much. Mohanji has really helped me. I’m incredibly grateful.” 

I hadn’t even seen the first email; I hadn’t even looked at it, or responded to it, or taken it to Mohanji. But clearly, Mohanji must have done something and did what he needed to. So this was another small confirmation. 

Some of these small things have become so normal that my first reaction in that situation was, “Oh great, that’s one less email I need to respond to”, rather than being excited about the small miracle that I just witnessed. I spoke to Mohanji about this too, and he just shared how he worked, which I’ll say at the end of this message. 

Another time, a few months ago, in one of the morning sessions when I went in to see Mohanji, he asked me if it was one of our Acharyas birthdays. Mohanji has a close connection with all our Acharyas. 

I was surprised because normally, he doesn’t ask about specific people’s birthdays. I’ve never heard him ask that, so I was a bit taken aback and also I didn’t know, because the way we’ve set up now in the team is that all the cards and all the dates are all known by the team members, and then the cards get produced, and they get sent out. I don’t see this unless there’s a need to. 

Anyway, I just straight away responded to this and asked, “If it is, then should we record a voice message?” and he said, “Yeah, let’s do it.” We took out the microphone, recorded Mohanji’s message, and sent it to the Acharya. 

This Acharya was completely shocked. Completely, because the person had been praying intensely, from the bottom of the heart, and said all he/she really longed for, on that birthday, was a message from Mohanji. And it came. The person was incredibly surprised. 

So this again was a confirmation for me that people are reaching Mohanji, and he’s responding to them, even if they are not physically seeing him and speaking with him. 

Now, please, please don’t start praying from the bottom of your heart for more birthday messages because the mornings here are already busy enough for me. So please be nice. I’m joking. :))

The main lesson for me that I’ve learned since being here, and what I’ve witnessed with others as well, is that if we think we need to meet Mohanji, or speak with him physically, I think we’re missing something that’s much, much bigger, a completely different dimension. I know from the testimonials team as well that there are many countless testimonials to this effect. 

I’ve asked him as well; he has said that these things reach him. So when there’s the real pure intention, when it’s coming from a genuine heartfelt connection or a real need of assistance, and people are calling him from the heart, then he hears it. It reaches him, and he does what he can. As he says, he’s always there. 

I hope you enjoyed this and have a great day ahead.

|| JAI BRAHMARISHI MOHANJI ||

Edited & Published by – Testimonials Team, 5th September 2021

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

Birthday blessings

Posted on by Mohanji Editorial Team

By Rekha Murali, India

This year of the pandemic has been volatile yet transformative for most of us. We have all learnt to let go, accept life as is, adapt to the new ‘norm’. Amidst all this, we are still going through turmoil, upsets, emotional upheaval, and loss of possessions, positions and relationships.  

It was no different for me. The year did not begin well as I’d lost my dear brother-in-law to Covid, and it was not easy. I was helpless watching my sister go through the pain. I was also going through a state of helplessness, and fear crept in on the impermanence of life. Apart from these, there have been many more compelling tests that I am not comfortable articulating. I was being pulled into a vortex of emotions, although my dear Mohanji stood tall looking after me and guiding me. I was deeply involved in Acharya activities and was in a hyperactive mode flitting from one activity to another along with my regular work. This empowerment by Mohanji as an Acharya kept me going and I remained connected with my only source – Mohanji! I was steadfast and consistent with my Acharya work, was involved in all the global/country programs, and for Shivratri, conducted Conscious Gapless Breathing (CGB) for five days in a row. I mention this because it brought to the surface many pent up issues that needed clearing.

Soon, we fixed a date for my son’s marriage for the end of March. So I was in a flurry of activities, planning and organising the happy yet simple event amidst my other work. But I still found that I was emotionally being pulled down and would be in a frenzy in my alone time. I felt I was progressing very well as an Acharya, but at the same time, every few steps forward, I was also regressing a few steps backwards.

February dawned, and we (the testimonial team) had just finished editing the fourth volume of Guru Leela. I wrote a long message about my state to Mohanji, and I did not get any reply for the first time. Naturally, this upset me further, and I was in knots. The only thing that kept me going and balanced was the activities I was involved in. Keeping myself busy always gives me satisfaction, and that was the saving grace for me. I somehow did not share this state of affairs with anyone, knowing that Mohanji had my back and would walk with me. He is my all; every aspect of mine comes from him and merges into him.

It was also my birthday month, and 19th February 2021 was a memorable day etched in my heart forever. The previous day, I was in turmoil and extremely upset due to some personal issues and more than that, it was the culmination of the state of mind from previous months. CGB also aided in this process. Ultimately, I had a complete breakdown of sorts; I burst out crying amidst prayers to Mohanji to help overcome this mind and its affairs.

After the tremendous release through this bout of crying, I recognised that it would not help me and that I would have to pull myself up and approach everything with a positive outlook. Setting the alarm for 4:30 am, I tried to sleep and promised myself a good birthday year ahead. I promised myself a fresh start, pressing the reset button. Adding to this, I heard the delightful news that Mohanji wanted to speak with me. He was in Mumbai preparing for his trip to Turkey.

With barely any sleep, I woke up cheerfully to do my kriya and my other practices. The kriya practice was powerful and a huge cleansing experience. I felt the blessings of Mohanji, and I received a download of some verses in Tamil (a regional language of India), which took me by surprise. I quickly noted it down after completing my kriya. I want to share that I am not proficient in this language, and I can only read and speak. The words were new to me, but I wrote them down in English to not forget.

Mohanji listening to the song

This was indeed my first birthday gift for the day as these verses were soon transformed into a beautiful song by our dear Manaswini and converted into a lovely video by Neelu Vepu with the blessings of Mohanji. Here is the link to the song with the meaning of the verses given as subtitles.

I was in a positive, happy frame of mind with a blissful feeling of Mohanji’s presence within me and a heart filled with gratitude. Soon, I got a text message from Subhasree that Guru Leela 4 was officially released by Mohanji and that I would get a signed copy of it. The book reached me precisely a month later (19th March). It was such a huge blessing. My second birthday gift!

Unfortunately, by mid-morning, I developed a severe migraine out of the blue. It was a raging tsunami, and I could just about pray to Mohanji for help, request for a Mai-Tri from dear Shyama and crash between bouts of vomiting and crying. At that point, it did not matter if Mohanji would call or not because my physical pain caused by the mind had taken complete control. Tossing and turning, every sane moment was a plea for help to Mohanji!

The biggest blessing of all was yet to come. Early in the evening, I was praying to Mohanji to take me away when I was at my worst physically, and the thought sprang up, “I am born alone and will die alone.” I brushed it aside, thinking it was a play of the mind, a mind wallowing in self-pity and loneliness.

Just then, my phone rang, and I heard the familiar, deep and loving voice at the other end apologising for not calling in the morning. It was a call I had been waiting for, and Mohanji’s voice was a balm for the tired soul. 

Tears flowed, and I don’t remember if he even wished me for my birthday or if he knew. All that I remember was saying thank you and the message he conveyed. He told me I could ask him one question, and as usual, I had none at that time, but he kept speaking.

“You are born alone and will die alone. You don’t have anyone in this life. You have earned me in this life. Stay connected with me, and I will take care of you.”

Mohanji

He also removed my anxieties regarding my son, “Your son is a fine young man, and you let him be. Be grateful to him for choosing you as his mother.”

He apologised for not messaging me earlier as he wanted to speak with me and said that he had telepathically sent messages in the morning. As usual, the dunce that I am, I could not recognise it, and when I told him, he said, “Doesn’t matter, it will reveal itself.” I wished him the best for his trip to Turkey.

I went straight to bed soon after in a daze and, after the wonderful Mai-Tri by Shyama, had a fitful sleep.

The next day was a rebirth for me – A new I! I wondered why Mohanji called me on that day and soon realised a connection was made to remove something from deep within me. I weighed myself that morning and found I’d lost two kgs overnight! Indeed a visible sign of his blessings!

The few minutes had probably removed lifetimes of karma. Subsequently, vivid dreams in the past few months have revealed how Mohanji has broken some unknown patterns of lifetimes which I would have never been aware of otherwise! Through this, he has assured me that I am on the path of liberation.

This entire experience was a lesson on stability, having shaken me from the roots. Staying stable, steadfast with conviction and staying connected with the source was the key. (Incidentally, this blog is also being published on 19th.)

Every wish that I have is continually being fulfilled, however subtle or commonplace it may be. He has given me everything, yet my heart yearns for his physical presence, although I am strongly connected with his consciousness. 

Kya Karein! Yeh Dil Maange More! (What to do! This heart asks for more!)

My heartfelt gratitude to you, dear Mohanji, for never leaving my hand!

Edited & Published by – Testimonials Team, 19th August 2021

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 49 & 50

Posted on by Mohanji Editorial Team

by Christopher Greenwood

Day 49 Lesson – Building friendships 

Good morning, everybody. 

Yesterday I shared a lesson from Mohanji about kindness. Today, I wanted to expand on this based on a conversation I had with Mohanji about friendship. This came to my mind as we recorded a New Year’s message podcast this morning. 

As a side note, this is what it can be like to work closely with Mohanji. Sometimes, I’ll have a plan for the morning, but we move as needed, which means being flexible. So, we hadn’t planned to record anything, but the inspiration came this morning, and Mohanji said, ‘Okay, let’s record the podcast.’ So, I had to record it and then promptly edit it. As this had to go today, I edited myself. 

Days can flex and change like this, and what was planned often needs to be adjusted. One of the major messages in the podcast is a call for friendship in 2021; that we can reach out to more people and be there for them, all our Mohanji family and the people connected to us. 

Since being here and observing Mohanji quite closely, I’ve always admired his approach to friendship. Devi Amma gave him the title ‘Friend of the universe’. Although I can’t comprehend the entire universe, I see how he is daily with all the people who connect to him. I really like that he still maintains a very close relationship with all his old school friends; they’re in regular contact. And he’s stable for people as well. Often those who are connected to him don’t actually ask for much of his time. They just like to know that he is there, which he is. 

One young girl wrote that she was going for an exam today. She quite nicely said, ‘I know you’re with me. That’s all I need to know.’ Just like that, he’s stable and strong for a lot of people. 

So, I took the opportunity to ask him a bit more about friendship. He explained more dimensions to it, as he always does. He said the first is that we can always consider friendship much larger than just between two people. It can also be about having a friendship with ourselves. Now, I don’t know if you have ever considered how much of a good friend you are to yourself. I hadn’t considered that until today. Now when I think back, I would probably consider myself a crappy friend at some times. I used to tell myself many bad things about myself and gave myself a lot of criticism. If one of my friends would speak like that to me, I’d probably run away. 

Mohanji also explained that friendship could become our attitude. We can all make an effort to reach out to people because many people will be shy and waiting for someone to speak to them, especially in a world of digital friendships, of likes and thumbs up, of hearts and comments on social media.

Therefore, we can take the first step, ask people how they are doing, be kind to them. If everybody does this, we can create a different vibration within society. So, making good friendships is making sure people have enough support. 

He said that there’d be some nagging people, saying things like “My husband is not good/my wife isn’t that good”, or people in a bad mood. Or, we’ll come across some people who have some more serious problems. So, this is not about being a counsellor, and definitely not about being a specialist or a psychiatrist, because some people will probably need expert support. It’s about extending the hand of friendship so that we can knit together the world with a genuine connection of kindness. I really enjoyed visualizing how this could look, just being there, being stable because that can really help people. 

He gave a lovely example of when he used to conduct programs in Dubai. One guy, one of his friends, would never attend any of the programs that Mohanji conducted. But Mohanji would always make an effort to call him when he was there in Dubai to speak to him. Although all the programs have been in the evenings, he would say to Mohanji, ‘I’d love to attend, but I have a really busy job during the day. In the evenings, I just like to relax. I just like to go for a drink. I can’t come for meditation.’ 

Then some people would ask why he still bothered to contact him. He never came to any of his programs, and he supposedly didn’t make an effort. 

Mohanji said, “The reason I used to do this, and would still do it, is because he’s dependable. He’s a great guy. He has a really solid heart. If you had any problem, at any time, he would take his car, and he would come for anybody.” That man had the attitude that he was always willing to help people, the attitude of kindness and friendliness, a good heart; he was dependable, trustworthy, so Mohanji would honour him. He used that to say we can create more people like this in the world. If there are more trustworthy, dependable people, good friends, then the world will change considerably. 

However, we cannot equally maintain every friendship. This was a good lesson for me as well because I was thinking, “Okay, well, how do I give time to everybody?” It’s not completely necessary if we are just maintaining that connection.

So, Mohanji is a pillar of strength for many people, like for that girl going for an exam. Everybody could potentially be that for more people. 

We also spoke about how sometimes we get busy. We don’t have to give any excuses for why we can’t speak with people or avoid them; we can be clear and honest. If we don’t have time, we can say it, but we can give the time and be in touch when we do. 

I’ll be looking into the New Year and thinking about all my friendships, where I can reconnect with and develop them because I’ve left quite a few of them since I’ve spent a lot of time here in India. I’ll begin with that once I finish this voice recording, I’ll send this message to a few people. 

I hope you have a great day and that you can also become that pillar for more people in your life and circle of friends. Speak soon.

Day 50 Lesson – Happy & Healthy New Year for 2021 

New Year is just for human minds in the waking state. Consciousness is continuous. Nature and beings of other species have no new year. 

This is a human New Year.

Happy Human New Year.

Good morning, everybody. I wish you a very happy and healthy New Year in 2021. 

2020 was a wild year, for sure. I’ve spent most of it here in India. It’s been quite a long time now, almost a year, and a good portion of that with Mohanji. There’s been a crash course in many topics; I’ve shared the learnings over the past few days, and I’m sure many more are to come. 

Some people asked me yesterday what I will be doing for New Year. And the answer, without much fanfare, was continuing the work as any other day. In fact, I almost forgot it was New Year’s Eve until my team meeting earlier in the morning. We spoke about it, and I didn’t actually realize it was the 31st. I was just carrying on with the activities and thinking ahead to the plans and the things I want to put in place, especially for the ‘Invest in Awareness’ program. 

Until New Year itself, I was either making greeting cards or a video for the New Year, which we decided to do only around ten at night. So, this was how the evening was spent. 

I was also curious about what Mohanji would do for the New Year, whether there was anything particular he would do, a ritual or a pooja maybe. But he was also busy working, speaking with people and replying to messages.

He must have been working through the night on something fairly serious because, in the morning, I woke, and Ananth came to the room, which he doesn’t normally do, asking me to come to Mohanji’s room. I’ve mentioned in one of my previous messages that I’ve seen Mohanji’s body physically change from day to day, even though at that time, he hadn’t even left the room for months because of a foot problem he had, which has now healed. 

This morning was similar; his physique had completely changed. Again, broader shoulders, large chest, his belly gone, large arms, biceps like a warrior, someone who just came back from a workout, or, more likely, a fight. I’m sure this may seem strange to hear, but seeing is believing because it’s so distinct, you can’t miss it. I think Ananth also took some photos and is planning to write a blog about it. 

From some conversations with MTM practitioners, I understand that he is working on multiple planes and dimensions, but he rarely talks about this. 

I know from other people that Devi Amma had said some months back that Mohanji isn’t in his physical body anymore. I can’t see that he is working somewhere else, but from what I observe, this really matches up because as the day moves on, there’s a different level of presence at different periods and times of the day. 

For example, there’s a period of time in the early morning when he’s settling down. Mohanji’s expressions are very minimal, his conversations very limited. It’s almost like he’s on autopilot. During that time, usually, I’ll come in, I do some practice quietly. Once he’s had tea and some food, we talk through our agenda for the day. And his presence is there; we have the conversation and dialogue. 

It’s the same in the evening, once our day is finished. We have that schedule running, probably for this reason. Yet, he still attends to everything he needs to during the day. 

So, I suspect that he had come back from somewhere, wherever he was during the evening when we were asleep, earlier than expected, which is why sometimes it can show on his body or form. Thus, today, although it’s a holiday, there is no rest for Mohanji. 

When I reflect on what has been achieved across all the teams in 2020 and where we’ve reached, it’s through the drive and determination of all the people who brought it to that point. And especially, it is Mohanji’s hard work, determination, sheer restlessness because the platforms and the foundation have been running for eight years now. Understanding more about the history, I know it hasn’t been easy. There were many obstacles, problems, and challenges, but everybody found a way. 

One of the key takeaways for me from 2020 is that simple one of keeping moving. When we meet with a challenge, an obstacle, or if something isn’t working immediately, we keep going; we find an alternative until what needs to be done – is done. 

Mohanji clearly said that sometimes this means that things won’t be perfect. He’s never looking for perfection; he is looking for the movement instead. That attitude is important: “Okay, this is where we need to get to, and we will get there. However, we need to reach the destination.” 

This was proved by many of the smaller tasks that I’ve worked on, which maybe I would have earlier given up or switched to something else.

As we go into 2021 with the theme of ‘flexibility, stability, and friendship’, it’s the attitude of flexibility that I’ll continue to hold so that I can find new, innovative ways to get things done. Also, taking the most recent learnings of 2020 around kindness and friendship, I’ll be bringing more of them into all the activities I’m involved in. 

Wishing you a great 2021, and I hope you have a great day today.

|| JAI BRAHMARISHI MOHANJI||

Edited & Published by – Testimonials Team, 17th August 2021

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