Turkey

Lessons living with Mohanji – Days 93 & 94

Posted on January 16, 2022January 14, 2022 by Mohanji Editorial Team

Christopher Greenwood

Day 93 – “Does Mohanji ever get irritated with all the people wanting his time?”

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

As we’re planning for the Turkey retreat with Mohanji, it’s a stark reminder of the reality that we’re facing now in the world. It’s a complex situation, and many considerations have to be taken into account.

I was thinking back to my Acharya training a few years ago, where Mohanji said that we can expect to see many calamities in the coming years, especially between 2020 and 2022, running then until the end of 2020s. I don’t think I could ever have imagined what we’re facing now—such an unpredictable situation.

One thing I’ve noticed, especially in recent months and weeks, is that many of the meetings we’re having are around spaces. That’s very important because these spaces in the future will probably be a place of solace and stability for many people.

The vision for each is going back to the ways of the tradition; living in harmony with nature, beautiful, spacious, with forests, with water, with all the elements, with good vegan food, locally grown and organic products, wholesome practices, chanting, kirtans, yoga, and spaces for meditation and connection to the self.

As the world turbulence increases, it will be much more difficult to find peace and a space to connect. Because if it’s not calm and peaceful outside, and it’s uncertain, how can you connect inside? So, many of the meetings are about moving everything forward step by step with what we have.

Coming back to Mohanji, his philosophy is “Do it today, no postponement, no delay, it’s now”. Because tomorrow we don’t know. But if we take a step today, at least we’ve taken that much.

Yesterday, I received a great question from somebody. I felt that the answer I was sharing was also useful for this voice recording because it could give more of a dimension to Mohanji about how he approaches life, and especially how he approaches people. The question was: “Does Mohanji ever get irritated or show any sign of emotion when dealing with such a high volume of different people, where some people may be genuine, and others have impossible expectations?”

It’s a good question. Coming up to a year now being this close to Mohanji, I’ve shared that many different types of people come to him and connect to him in different ways. In fact, it’s completely unique. I’ve been in situations where somebody has asked a question to Mohanji. They got one answer. And then someone else has asked the same question and got a completely different answer.

The same for me, when I’ve asked Mohanji a question, I got an answer. Then, if I asked him the same question again, he’d give something else. So now, I generally take the first answer. Otherwise, it can be confusing. This may seem simple on the surface, but I believe and perceive that he’s connecting with all possibilities. At a specific time, he responds to what’s presented to him. So, every interaction is unique, based on the situation, as per the time, the space and the person present.

I’ve also noticed that he simply gives what he can regardless of their background, position, wealth, or status. His approach is something that I’m learning from watching him as well, because people who come to him, there’s no judgment from Mohanji’s side; there’s nothing. He really lives and treats people with respect. That is what we should be doing with everybody we meet – recognizing the positive qualities in them and nurturing them. Even if there are negative qualities, there’s good in everybody. That’s what we want to try and bring out.

Regarding the irritation aspect: from my speaking to him and some situations which have happened here, he doesn’t get irritated or angry emotionally in that sense. There’s only ever an intensity. It’s not anger, but I feel an intensity. It could look like that on the face of it, but it’s more of a shakeup when tamas or laziness starts to creep in. Especially when the ego starts to sprout, he gives a big hit, which can really shake you up. But once it’s over, it’s over; he doesn’t hold on to that experience. It completely leaves his mind, and sometimes he won’t even remember.

So, it’s always situational. What I’ve experienced as well is, depending on my mental state at the time, how connected I am internally, whether I’ve got a bit of a scattered mind at that time, or I haven’t got as much focus or clarity, I’ll get the corresponding response back. He is like a mirror; he gives me that reflection so I can understand where I stand that day.

I’ve always thought, but I can’t tell for sure (because Mohanji doesn’t speak about this), is that Mohanji can always see why people are coming to him. And if he can’t see it, his attitude is that he is a dog of the tradition – loyal, faithful, and ever ready to serve. He then feels everybody who comes in front of him has been sent by the tradition, and he really respects that. Everything that comes to him, whether it’s bad, good, or a gift, is straight away offered to the feet of Baba and the tradition.

That’s Shirdi Sai Baba, who has played a big part in his life. Therefore, he’s always treating people with respect, humility, and love. When we were travelling, and actually everywhere else, straightaway everybody’s welcomed, with water, food, whatever they need, he makes them feel comfortable.

A learning for me is to put aside my mind and my opinion and accept that whoever is meant to meet him will meet him—the reasons why I don’t know. I also don’t need to know. I just recognize that there will be a purpose behind it.

Another thing I’ve noticed is that often, beyond what a person’s status is, their position or the power, the purest of hearts that call him, the sincerest ones, he reaches them. And he’ll go to lengths to respond to a pure call from the heart in a variety of different ways.

Expanding on that question, “Does he ever get irritated? How does he deal with all the people when some of them are genuine, and some might have impossible expectations?” I think the best example of this is that previously, he knew that some of the closest people would actually betray him. And if he didn’t know, he accepted it as it happened. In the past, there were some challenging times when those closest to him completely tried to destroy him, tarnish his image, and make sure that there would be no more Mohanji in the world.

There’s no anger; there’s no resentment for him. He believes that life will take care of that. Also, he often says that he is here to give people their fulfilment, in whatever way, shape, or form that is. So, if their idea of fulfilment is to have the experience of tarnishing his name or betrayal, then for him, he is here as the method for that experience to take place. Either way, for him, everything is fulfilment. Nothing is good or bad. It is what it is. And the karmic cycles will do whatever is needed to address those.

From these observations, and from the learning about the mind being the seat of emotions, and the fact that what we project out into the world we receive corresponding experiences back, it makes it easy to see what it’s like when someone’s operating from a state of no-mind or very minimal mind. No emotions are really kept. There’s just a response at the time; whoever’s in front, and whatever has to be delivered is delivered.

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

Day 94 – Mohanji revealing

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

I’ve mentioned before in previous voice recordings that there’s never a dull day living with Mohanji; there is always activity, movement, and momentum. He has a very clear focus on what he wants to achieve. It really amazes me because, over time, more and more are coming to life, various projects are coming forward, which are all complementary to the one purpose of raising the awareness of the Earth, raising the consciousness to a frequency where Satya Yuga or a Golden Age could become a reality. Each day, each hour, each conversation that he’s having is focused on how things can be moved forward in that direction.

For example, he gave great orientation to the team leading the land developments for the Centers of Benevolence – about the next steps given this time and the challenges with COVID, how quickly we can move it forward, doing what we can with what we have.

We’ve been planning the Turkey retreat to be organized well. Today also marks the beginning of the Global Summit. This is the annual event of all the heads of all the platforms across the Mohanji organizations, where we come together and reflect on what we accomplished in the previous year, and then look forward to the year ahead – what are the goals, what would we like to achieve, etc. This kicks off today.

Lately, I’ve been observing that the speed has increased with all the new activities that are coming forward. For example, I shared one of the alignments between Ammucare and another group of people who will come together to form some great projects and initiatives, about which more details will be shared in the future.

As I witnessed these as well, it reminds me of a message Devi Amma shared to Mohanji. This was during a time when he was going through serious adversities; many people were going against him. That was clear character assassination. And whilst he was doing everything he could for the good of the world, all these things were happening to him. At that moment, he wanted to know if there was learning that he needed to take from that.

Mohanji asked Devi Amma, as she is connected to and in communion with Sage Agastya, to ask him about it. His reply was that there’s nothing for Mohanji to learn. In fact, he has come fully accomplished, and all he needs to do now is reveal himself.

As these new activities are coming and taking shape, I see them as different dimensions of Mohanji’s purpose and vision in the world, especially in alignment with the ancient Sanatana Dharma principles of righteousness. One of those events, which clearly indicates that, was yesterday’s big event. It was the inauguration of the Sri Jagannath temple Trust in the UK. This temple Trust asked Mohanji to become an advisor to that activity. Their mission is to bring Lord Jagannath, Krishna, the Lord of the Universe, to the UK. It is a grand vision.

Those things don’t happen, as I believe and understand, without the blessings of the Lord, without a plan. So, asking Mohanji to be involved in that and him agreeing and fully supporting that again aligns with those principles of restoring righteousness.

I’m not a scholar, an academic. I haven’t studied too many spiritual scriptures in depth. But one statement which always stuck in my mind, which was shared at the Acharya training, was from the Bhagavad Gita when Krishna was speaking to Arjuna. And he says: “When there’s a decline of righteousness or a decay of Dharma, I happen.”

When I look at all the activities within Mohanji global platforms, they aim to promote righteous ways of living, Ahimsa or non-violence, responsibility, respect for everything around.

Another initiative that is coming forward was only spoken about on the bus as we were going to visit the land in Chikmagalur, where the centre of exclusive sadhana practice will be. The conversation was about the fact that there’s not really a way for people to become aligned to Sanatana Dharma principles. People who believe in the path of living righteousness, Ahimsa, non-violence, living with respect, high human refinement – how can they connect with it more formally?

I am not quite clear about it, but there’s something within the Hindu system where it’s not easily possible to become recognized as being aligned to that way of living. So, they set out to bring together an idea where people could go through a formal ritual, process and registration so that if they wanted to and felt inclined, they could say – I’m a Sanatana Dharmi or a Hindu.

This will be a formal process where people can take on that responsibility and a commitment to living that way of life with a new name. So, this was only a thought a few days ago, and with the pace at which Mohanji is moving, it’s now ready to implement and rollout, and it will be coming soon. It’s another dimension of what Mohanji is bringing to the world. Rather than a lesson, it’s an observation of what’s happening and the speed at which it is happening.

An interesting thing I wanted to share as well, something which I’m recognizing as being consistent, is the change in the shape of Mohanji.

Yesterday, when it was time for the inauguration event of the Shree Jagannath Temple Trust, we prepared everything to be ready; the camera was there, and the microphone was checked. Mohanji took some time; I think he went to see Amma and Acchan. When he came back into the room, he was different. Not completely different, but his hair colour, facial complexion, and body shape had changed.

As we recorded the session, we set the lighting up as we normally would do. It was no different from any other event we tried to set up for. But for some reason, no matter what I tried to do with the lights, I couldn’t reduce the brightness displayed on the Zoom session. It was incredibly bright and golden, and no matter how much we turned the lights down, it remained. It was interesting, very interesting.

I’ll leave you with that for today. I hope you have a good day ahead and speak soon.

|| JAI BRAHMARISHI MOHANJI ||

Edited & Published by – Testimonials Team, 16^thJanuary 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 59 & 60

Posted on September 19, 2021September 18, 2021 by Mohanji Editorial Team

by Christopher Greenwood

Day 59 Lesson – Facing the fear of society

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

When I look at Mohanji and his life, I see it’s far from ordinary. I’ve never met anyone who has had to face such severe adversities in life – such as the loss of his daughter Ammu, betrayal in a business where all was taken away, instances where people have tried to control him, many who have betrayed him, and even character assassinated him. This was by some of those who were the closest to him at the time.

I think such adversities for any person would have completely destroyed them, but Mohanji has kept going on. Even now, when he faces challenges, it’s no problem. He takes it as it comes. He’s truly fearless. I feel it’s like a ‘bring it on’ kind of attitude, contrary to boasting as it is confidence with a warrior-like approach to life and whatever the situation, its real fearlessness. Hearing the stories of his life and simply observing him, I began to admire his fearlessness and still do.

I used to be very worried about what others might think about me, about what I said, and how it’d be interpreted. I remember the days, just out of University, I had just started my working career, it would take me maybe an hour to write a simple email just to ask somebody to do a job because I was really worried about what they would think – what they would say. It was very over-polite, over-complicated, and very apologetic for asking people to do their job.

Over time, I developed the confidence to face those fears and fit comfortably into ‘ordinary’ society. It became natural, but when it came to staying with Mohanji, there was a different fear when I became an Acharya, mainly as this life is very different from what I have within my usual circle of friends and family. I was worried about what my friends might think and what others would think, especially when I began to speak about meditations and making videos on various topics in early 2020 when Corona had just taken hold.

An element of this was still there when I came to the house as well earlier, as I’d speak to Mohanji then, and I would tell him that what he was saying were fantastic insights, and more people should know about them. Once in a quiet, matter-of-fact manner, Mohanji said, “Yeah, they should. You should make some videos and speak about it.” I had a big resistance to this, and it was definitely pushing up against my comfort zone, and one that I could feel would be good to break. So I was happy to move forward and push through that.

Still, when I was doing those videos, it meant many retakes because I was very overcritical. My inner voice would always say, what would people think, how will they interpret this, but what helped me and what I learned was seeing how Mohanji always approached these situations – head-on and unapologetic.

He had told me before that there can only be two outcomes for people and society; one is that society accepts you and enjoys you, or two, the society rejects you. That’s it. That’s pretty much what the two options are within society.

He says, for those who reject you, it’s no problem. Not everybody needs to like you, and they shouldn’t like you because there are 7.5 billion people out there with their orientation and uniqueness.

I’ve seen he is this way too with people, especially when people connect to him – if they connect to him and they’re receiving transformation, he’s very happy because their life has been improved; they give more to society. Yet if people don’t enjoy him and are not so interested in what he’s doing, he’s also okay; he has no problem. In fact, in his very first podcast, he said that he’s actually happy in some ways if people decide he’s not for them because it means he doesn’t have the responsibility.

One of the biggest learnings here for me has been facing that fear of society, and it wasn’t until I started to overcome this that I realized that by holding on to those fears, which were rooted in an insecurity, I was actually denying my own experience which was smothering my own truth and this was hurting no one really but myself.

I’ve had several experiences of transformation in my life because of Mohanji. Since living with him for a long period, I’ve learned new dimensions of what he is. For me, it’s the reality of what I have experienced and observed. I was feeling reluctant to share this because of fear of what others would think, but then I realized that I denied my experiences, my existence, and denying a big part of my life. Creating these daily recordings has been facing and overcoming that fear. Now I am very happy and thankful to Mohanji for that inspiration and energy to break through this, as now it allows me to be more natural. That’s how I feel.

I also understand that some people will accept me, and others will reject me because this is how society is. And I’m fine with that, but most of all, I’m happy that I can begin to accept myself more and overcome these fears and live my experiences. This was one big learning that I was contemplating this morning.

I have shared a link below to the podcast on fearlessness, facing fears that Mohanji has shared before as well. Have a great day.

https://mohanji.podbean.com/e/ms31-look-into-the-eyes-of-fears/

Day 60 Lesson – The programs continue

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

Yesterday was a day spent travelling with Mohanji as Ananth and I joined Mohanji for his trip to Kerala.

Today I share an overview of our day yesterday, as we’ve travelled to Kerala, which is Mohanji’s home state in India. Mohanji, Ananth, and I set off early in the morning after breakfast. It was roughly an eight-hour drive, and we made just one stop so that we could arrive in good time because Mohanji had a program scheduled that afternoon, and we wanted to make sure there was enough time to put our things in our place, have some food and find the right spot to set up for Mohanji’s program.

As I had shared in previous recordings, Mohanji doesn’t stop. In the car, the work continues for the duration of the journey. He’s responding to messages, attending calls, maybe checking up on some things, and this was for the whole eight hours.

Once we arrived, we were welcomed and greeted courteously by the manager and the staff. The people welcomed us, but all the animals had come to welcome Mohanji too. There were some geese gaggling, some guinea fowls, some chickens, and a very big boisterous turkey came, and they all became very active soon after Mohanji arrived.

We were waiting for the bags to be unpacked and deciding on the rooms; there was just a short time to check as we just made sure we had a bit of an orientation of the place. Then we had to begin finding the location where we’d set up for the Mohanji’s event, where the equipment would go, camera, etc. It’s fairly rural, so there was no internet. We had to find a good place where it was a good spot for the signal, and we settled on this nice place overlooking the farmland around the building.

This is how the schedule and the activities are like for Mohanji – as soon as we arrive at one location, we’re already getting ready for the next program, finding the right location, making sure the signal and the connection was good, the framing, etc. – the pace doesn’t stop, and I am sure the rest of the trip will be like this too. But there was enough time to grab and eat one of the Vada pav here, which I think I’ve mentioned before is this bread bun with the potato inside with spices. It’s really tasty. We had packed for the journey; we also shared this as annadaan with some of the local people working here.

Mohanji finished his program – he conducted it. I stayed there to make sure everything was okay technically. Ananth continued to organize the room, unpack things and settle everything a little bit more.

Once the program was finished, Mohanji decided to say a proper hello to the birds. So we walked back over to where they were. We were outside talking with the manager, and pretty soon, this big feisty turkey came. He had already shown who he was when we arrived; I think this must be his territory because he was chasing away our driver, which was quite amusing. The driver didn’t know what to do.

It was amazing to watch this interaction with Mohanji because he started to walk over straight away and became very vocal – not the usual sounds, but some different type of interaction. It was as if he was speaking with Mohanji for some time, walking backwards and forward and pacing around. Then he became very active, he started jumping at Mohanji, and instantly, a protector came from nowhere. This small black chicken came from nowhere and chased away this big turkey. It’s as if the small chicken had come to protect Mohanji. This was a funny sight because the small black chicken chased away this big turkey, maybe three times its size.

Mohanji commented jokingly, “This is what I mean by attitude. You don’t have to be the biggest or the strongest.” Then the chicken continued to stand guard and kept the turkey from coming back. This was interesting just to watch and observe.

From previous retreats, I’ve also noticed that Mohanji always has this deep connection with animals at the location he comes to. This is a brief overview of our day yesterday, and as we’re travelling, I’ll probably share some more.

I hope you have a great day ahead.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is chris-and-mohanji.jpg

|| JAI BRAHMARISHI MOHANJI ||

Edited & Published by – Testimonials Team, 19^thSeptember 2021

Disclaimer:

Mohanji Testimonials team

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is insight-timer-1.jpg

My ride with Mohanji

Posted on July 22, 2021July 22, 2021 by Mohanji Testimonials

By Chakradhar Yakkala, Switzerland

I met Mohanji for the first time in October 2017 and have been meeting him regularly since then. More than the teachings and the worldly activities of Mohanji, what attracts me to him the most is the stillness he carries and the energy he exudes. Every time I visit him, I just plug into his silence, and I enjoy that silence within myself so well. It is like a drug for me, intoxicating and invigorating but never incapacitating. In addition to that, he always pushes my awareness a notch higher every time I meet him.

Earlier this year, I attended the retreat that happened in Istanbul in February 2021. I learnt and practiced Conscious Gapless Breathing there for the first time. One day after finishing that practice, as I lay down, as usual, to relax (with closed eyes), Deviji played some soft music. During that period, my breath rate dropped below a certain threshold. As one’s breath and mind are interconnected, not a single thought occurred on my mindscape while the awareness was at its peak. In such a state, I saw an expanse of a blue-colored matrix that had no limits. It was all-pervasive, and various forms were appearing and disappearing on it. I could not recognize any of those forms except Mahavatar Babaji. He appeared briefly, and His gaze had immense love, which I could never articulate in words. If he had continued that gaze for a little more time, I would have definitely gone mad with love.

I enjoy travelling, so after the retreat, I planned to travel across Turkey. After a few days of my solo travel, I felt dull and had severe body aches. I ignored them and pushed myself to quench my thirst to explore without listening to my body. After 90% of my expedition, I reached Izmir, a metropolitan city in Turkey.There I was struggling to talk and developed a persistent cough. I tested myself for Covid-19, and as one would expect, I was tested positive. I isolated myself in a hotel room and took the medication given by Turkish Government health care workers. I suffered from a severe cough and intermittent labored breathing.

I informed Mohanji of my situation, and he wrote back reassuring me that he is with me and watching over me always. He blessed me and asked me to connect more to his form. Thus, I spent a significant amount of time each day just looking at his picture. At this time, I recalled an event that happened during the retreat in Turkey. During our 1-1 time with Mohanji, he gave me a powerful mantra and asked me to chant it every day. That mantra is about being free from all kinds of diseases and having perfect health. I felt that he must have foreseen the situation that would take a toll on my health; hence, he gave me that mantra.

A few days later, the cough became persistent, and every time I coughed, it felt as if somebody was piercing me with a knife in the diaphragm. I received a message from Mohanji during this time. He wrote I had a severe attack, but he had reduced the intensity of it.The same evening, my breathing was severely impaired, and I had to call for an ambulance to get admitted to a hospital in Izmir. The following morning, I felt it was time for me to go back to the soil. I could accept the severe bodily pain I was going through but could not accept dying in pain, as I had always dreamt of dying in a blissful state. So I wrote to Mohanji, “If I have to die, please make me free of pain”, as I did not want the pain to be my last experience of life. Mohanji replied that he is doing everything he can about my situation, and there was no need for me to worry.

I stayed for almost a week in the hospital on oxygen support. I constantly watched another Covid positive man that was sharing the room with me. He was in his 70s or 80s, suffering terribly, and looked like he might die any moment. Whenever I felt a bit low, I would close my eyes and visualize Mohanji in the center of my forehead. I would experience a strong presence of him and in no time would feel normal again. After I got discharged from the hospital, I informed Mohanji of my status, and he told me that the worst is over, and I am on the road to recovery. He also mentioned that a lot of cleansing has happened, and a sort of re-birth will occur.

After getting discharged from the hospital, beginning of a new life

From the time I tested positive, my friend Judith from Switzerland wrote to me daily to check how I was doing, updated Mohanji regularly of my status, organized prayers and Mai-Tri sessions for me, where Mai-Tri practitioners from Switzerland and UK took turns and did Mai-Tri for me on a daily basis. She played the role of a Mother when I needed help the most, and I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to her and all the people who prayed and performed Mai-Tri for my recovery.

Once I returned home to Switzerland, I noticed that no matter what was happening in my life, I was just in gratitude all the time for still being alive. The most precious thing in our life is that we are alive, and most people tend to forget this and take life for granted (and expend a lot of time indulging in petty emotions). There is no guarantee that we are going to live next moment, so be grateful that you are alive now. Every morning I would wake up, look at Mohanji’s pic in my bedroom, smile and remind myself that I am still alive. One day when I woke up and smiled looking at Mohanji’s pic, he sent me a telepathic message, “Look, look.” At that very moment, my awareness got absorbed inward. I could see that although my body was awake, my emotional and psychological structures were dormant (literally sleeping) within me. I could see some energy (like electricity) flowed through those latent structures, and only then, they became alive and awake within me. This process happened within a span of few seconds after waking up.

Thus, my experiential understanding shifted from “I am this body and mind” to “I am the energy that is empowering this body and mind.” There is a world of difference between knowing this fact theoretically by reading some books or listening to some Masters and knowing it experientially. Once your identification shifts from the body and mind to the energy that flows through them (even for a brief period of time), you become inclusive in nature because you realize that it is the same energy that is flowing through and empowering every being.

After a considerable amount of recovery post Covid, I started practicing Conscious Gapless Breathing again. One day while I was lying down and relaxing after the practice, I wanted to get up but could not. Instead, something else got out of me, and I was witnessing myself in a different space. That space was just empty, slightly grayish, a little dark, and was extremely powerful. I was looking at myself sitting in that space and was observing the central axis in me. As I sat there, I remembered my friend and tried to transmit that power to him also. Sometime later, I did not know how to return from that space to my body as I have not figured out the mechanics of life yet. So, within myself, I said, “Mohanji, Mohanji, Mohanji”, and I was able to get back to my body from that space. Only then I could actually move my body and get up from the floor.

Recently, I attended the retreat in Montenegro. I went to Mohanji to thank him for being with me when I needed him the most. His words were, “So you went to hell and came back.” The following day, Mohanji said, “I heard that you were crying a lot”, referring to my struggle during Covid. I replied, “I thought it was time for me to go.” He then said, “It is a good practice, right? Now, when the time comes to go, you are already prepared!” I agreed affirmatively.

The following day of the retreat, the participants that were leaving early were told to come and receive Shaktipat (energy transfer) from Mohanji. When I went to receive Shaktipat, he said to me, Chakradhar, you are leaving! Why are you leaving? I hesitantly replied that I wanted to travel and explore Croatia, and that is the reason for my early departure and not participating in full retreat. Then he said to me, “You should go where your soul guides you, not where your mind guides you. See, you previously went where your mind guided you in Turkey, and you fell sick; before that, your soul guided you, and you were healthy, right?”

I said to myself, all these Gurus use heavy vocabulary such as soul guidance, guidance from the higher self, etc., and I have no clue what they talk about. I went up to him a few minutes later and asked, “How do I know if the soul is guiding me or the mind is guiding me?” He said that it is very simple. “If your mind is guiding you, it is seeking for repeated experiences and pleasures; if your soul is guiding you, it is seeking for transformation and silence.” These words were so simple, yet so profound. He then added, you are a scientist right; this is elementary stuff!

I left for Croatia and was happily exploring city after city. The last stop in my itinerary was Plitvice Lakes National Park, which is a 295km² forest reserve, and I thoroughly enjoyed my stay there in the midst of nature. On my last evening there, I walked to a restaurant that was 30min away from my accommodation. On my way back, I felt like walking a bit in the forest before returning to my hotel. I walked on a well-demarcated path on the periphery of the forest for some time. I saw some marked trails that led into the forest, so I took a turn and walked alone as there was no one around. The marked trail ended at a certain point inside the forest, and I was supposed to go back on the same marked path where I had come from.

I have always had a wild streak in me since childhood. Very few people in my life have seen that side of me. As a result, I have experimented quite a bit in my life and with my life. Sometimes, it turned out to be great and, at other times, terrible, but I have always learnt some amazing lessons. Instead of walking back, I entered the forest. I said to myself, “Although it is an unmarked territory from here, let me explore it. If I continue in this particular direction, I will still reach my accommodation, but through the forest. I have already walked this far in this direction, and I do not want to turn around now. Let me walk all the way!” Thus, I continued to walk inside the forest for almost an hour in the direction I thought was right.

Then, it dawned on me that somewhere I made a wrong turn and have walked deeper into the forest. Otherwise, it should not have taken this long for me to reach my accommodation. I had no clue where I was, and it was already 7:15 PM, and the sun was about to set. A bit of frustration, and a bit of fear started to creep in. I visualized Mohanji in my heart center and asked him, “Could you please guide me?” He guided me to walk in a particular direction. I walked in the appointed direction for approximately 40 minutes. I felt like I had arrived nowhere. By then, I already got a few cuts and bruises, and the heel of my right foot was bleeding continuously. I felt a bit dejected, not able to clearly figure out which way to go. I again got a message from Mohanji, “Keep walking son, even if you do not see any clear path, keep walking in the same direction I showed you.” I continued walking for 20 more minutes in that direction and stopped again, not knowing if I was doing the right thing. Once again, Mohanji sent me a message, “Keep walking, son; you are almost there.”

I continued walking for 15 more minutes. I was so dehydrated that the surface of my lips started to peel off (I neither carried any water nor I had come across a pool of water in that part of the forest I walked). On the other hand, that forest is home to bears, wild dogs and wolves. I took out my phone that was running out of battery and thought of calling the owner of my accommodation. I wanted to inform him of my status in case I managed to survive the night with wild animals and dehydration, so he could send a search/rescue team the following morning. Once again, I felt the message from Mohanji, “Continue in the same direction for ten more minutes; if you still do not see anything, make a phone call, but not now.” So trusting the message, I continued for another 10 minutes, and to my amazement, I reached the village where my accommodation was, just 5 minutes before it became completely dark. Only then, I understood why Mohanji said to me in Montenegro, “Do not go where your mind guides you!” Hahahaha!

Although my story appears to be different on the surface, on a deeper level, I feel that it is very similar to the stories of most people. Most of us walk into traps; somebody who has a physical compulsion will walk into one sort of a trap, another with an emotional compulsion will walk into a different sort of a trap, and similarly for the one with psychological compulsions. The bottom line is that unconsciously most of us walk into traps; what kind of a trap you walk into differs based on the predominant constitution you carry. Moreover, in many cases, by the time one realizes that they are stuck in a trap, they might have dissipated a significant amount of their lifetime and life energies. The only way to avoid it is to enhance your awareness and to connect to a higher frequency that will nurture, assist and facilitate the evolution of your awareness.

Finally, I would like to thank Mohanji immensely for always making my perception and awareness evolve, and would like to stress the fact that if someone connects to him, he is available to that person always. One needs to have the necessary subtlety and receptivity to recognize it and cherish it.