Much More Than a Book

TESTIMONIALS (as per the messages, calls, emails sent to Devi) about HOME for a Refugee, an autobiography by Devi Mohan

Dear friends, I would like to share with you some of the testimonials that I have been receiving from many of you over the last couple of months. I have decided to share them via this blog (which will be updated with new testimonials that I receive) so that they don’t disappear in the ocean of my emails and messages.

To read the main book reviews shared on Amazon (a heartfelt THANK YOU to all of you who took the time and effort to do that), please visit:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/9394642188#customerReviews

TESTIMONIALS

This book is Devi Mohan’s love letter to humanity…

-Pat Ruth, USA

Dear Devi, we just finished reading the book and– wow! We had to call you to share our impressions!

Every evening I read one chapter of the book to my wife Ideke until we finished it just now. We both agreed that we felt we were literally WITHIN YOUR HEART in each chapter of this energy-imbued book. It is incredible the kind of resonance it creates within the reader’s heart.

We feel that everyone should read this, especially men – they should understand the heart, true power, and higher potential of a woman.

Many years from now, this will become a standard book for everyone to read.

-Dolf and Ideke Zantinge, Netherlands

In this beautiful, open-hearted autobiography Devi Mohan shares her remarkable life journey: from a displaced refugee of war to the wife of contemporary spiritual master Mohanji and the mother of their child. She shares the experiences of her life in all their intensity, the adventures, high points and low points, human greatness and weaknesses, elevation and deceit, Masters and betrayers, and tales that challenge common assumptions.

This book is rich in content, fast in pace, and gives us a close-up of what it is like and how it feels to be trained and accepted for a special role in a spiritual journey that is still unfolding.

I was particularly impressed by the unrestricted honesty and wise acceptance in which everything is shared. Thank you, Devi Mohan, for sharing your life story, your heart and your wisdom.

-Eric Elbers, Canada

Dear Devi, I feel so much power and purity emanating from the pages of this truly authentic and deeply moving book of yours. I feel that it is a living entity in its own right, with the power to heal and empower the reader. I don’t say this to please you. It is my experience. It brought my deepest issues to the surface and opened me as a reader to get ready to receive healing of unconscious trauma at profoundly deep levels.

Being so open is the most precious gift you have shared with the world. Your revelations will also result in many more people who will be able to open to the possibility of astral travel or other 360-degree experiences. I am sure that your High Energy Frequency will prove contagious.

The way you write makes the reader walk with you and see through your eyes and feel through your heart, tuning in to a power beyond themselves.

Thank you so much for sharing this with the world. It will definitely add to the feeling of unity among the people of this tiny round place in the Universe.

I didn’t have a clue about your superhuman strength. You will empower many women in a strong yet truly feminine way.

-Linda Abrol, the Netherlands

Your book and your journey inspired me so very much, in so many ways. It also started some inner processes which were very needed. For me personally, it made me realise that I have essentially forgotten that the world and life itself are really, truly magical. Although I have had many “magical” experiences of my own (samadhi states, blissful states, out of body states), I realised that somehow my mind had imposed a limit on them and some dose of skepticism was there. Your book made me free from such limitations of the mind. I started feeling the magic and the endless possibilities of life again, much more than before.

Another thing the book revealed was the attitude of victimhood. Although I have worked on that aspect a lot, it just hit me in the face when you explained so many things and situations regarding this topic. I feel that this book brought me the strength to see them and go beyond them.

What stood out to me was your feminine nature and the boost and upliftment that I felt from all your processes regarding the sacred feminine dimension.

I honestly feel that it required a LOT of vulnerability, openess, and going beyond the ego to write this book – and I am very grateful that you wrote it!

Every single page had its own wisdom. Thank you so much and don’t hesitate to write the second part of it.

-Elena Ristovska, Macedonia 

Dear Devi, I finished reading your book at 4:00 a.m. I’d been reading it on my Kindle while on a flight from the US to Israel, where I am for the first time in eight years. I was reading it pretty much non-stop. As when I listened to your podcast series, I could not stop. 

I am a generation ahead of you in age, and immensely blessed to have experienced a childhood free of war, but not free of the shadow of it, being a post-holocaust Jew. A long journey of spirituality and mysticism landed me at Sathya Sai Baba’s feet in 1999.

Devi, I have so very many experiences that parallel yours. I have felt connected to you from the moment I saw you and said to myself: this is Parvati, and later, seeing your “Mother Mary” photo, recognizing that energy as well.

I am fairly sure we knew each other and spent time together in that house on the Mount of Olives. It is always a great gift to be in the light of another who, as a friend once said to me, “hears the music.”

The story of your name change moved me in witnessing your process of accepting your worth… especially against the background of your Balkan culture. Devi suits you perfectly! Yes, all women are Devi! But some especially embody the Goddess and you indeed are one!

-Nettie Spiwack, USA/Israel

***

BOOK LAUNCH EXPERIENCE

There were many divine leelas associated with this book from the onset. As is always the case on the spiritual path, the downs we go through are followed by upliftment and grace.

I have to admit that I really struggled at the very end of the book writing. Continuously sitting and writing proved to be really challenging. I even stopped eating and went on my favourite Neera Detox Diet so that I would save time spent on cooking and eating. Every waking minute was invested into the book.

The deadline to submit the finished manuscript arrived and it was nowhere near ready. I pushed the deadline back day after day and finally reached the date I was booked to travel to India with Mila. I spent the entire flight to Dubai typing the last chapter. My eyes were fatigued, but the typing continued at the Dubai airport, during our 5-hour stopover before continuing to Mumbai. I was even typing in the taxi upon reaching India. I lost one full night of sleep and the night before I barely slept three hours. Needless to say, I was exhausted and badly needed rest. However, that rest was not in the cards.

As we reached Mumbai I was enjoying the idea of sleeping endlessly on the beautiful bed in the 5-star Trident hotel where my sister lives. My fantasy was dashed when I received an urgent message from Mohanji stating that Acchan, his father, was admitted to the hospital and that Mila and I should immediately come to Palakkad, Kerala. Acchan’s condition was serious.

I couldn’t believe my ears! Of course, I could not say no, so off we went on another flight to hot Kerala. The house was crowded with people and I knew my dream of endless sleep would remain wishful thinking. Luckily, our Acchan recovered over the next couple of days and we were all really happy and relieved, but Mohanji got a bit sick and asked me to represent him at the Abhishek ceremony of Shirdi Sai Baba at the Baba temple in Palakkad.

Again, how could I say no? Aside from being chronically tired, I was also jet-lagged and could not sleep at the normal time. Bedtime finally arrived around 2:00 a.m., but the Abhishek was to start at 4:30 a.m.! All in all, no sleep.

The second day of the program was the main day and Mohanji was well enough to join me as that morning. It is always special and so beautiful to experience such profoundly sacred rituals at Baba’s feet. We reached the third and final day of Baba’s abhishek and my exhaustion was beyond description. I felt that I was slowly getting sick as well. “Maybe I could skip this last day. Yesterday seemed to be the main one,” my mind suggested. However, I immediately remembered the first 3-day experience with Baba in Dubai, which I described in my autobiography. We tried to skip the last day and Baba scolded us, kicking us out from the cinema. Deep inside I knew I had to attend that last day as well.

When I came to the temple around 5:00 a.m., dear Pratibha was there and told me that this is the most important part of the entire ceremony. I smiled from within, glad I made the choice to come. She then said, “Oh, I can’t believe it. I somehow forgot my golden ring. We were supposed to use it during this ceremony. Each one of us on the dias are to place that ring, one seed and one flower onto Baba’s third eye. Do you mind if we use your ring instead?“ She pointed at my ring, a golden band with ruby. I have been wearing this ring since 2015, when one old and wise astrologer from Jammu told me I should wear it to strengthen the Sun (symbolizing success and recognition) in my natal chart. He said I should never take it off and I followed that, but this occasion was something special.

The ceremony started and at the moment when my ring was being placed on the forehead of Shirdi Baba murti, I suddenly realized what Baba’s leela was about – he was energizing my success and recognition! I knew this was connected with my book. Just as in the movie Foreignchi Patlin, in which I acted in 2008, it was only Baba’s grace that could ensure the unseen fame and success of that movie. I never thought, in my wildest dreams, that people would love the movie so much.  I knew that, through this ring energizing, Baba was empowering the book as well. I smiled and surrendered it all to Him…

Then came February 23rd 2023, the day of Mohanji’s birthday and my book launch.

Book was launched on stage, during an extensive and highly energized program in Puri, by the sacred hands of Shri Sushilji Maharaj, who heads the Interfaith Dialogue Conferences in India, and our dear spiritual brother Syed Salman Chishty, who hails from a rich Sufi tradition of Ajman Sharif. UNITY in consciousness is one of the main themes of this book and the launch couldn’t have been more symbolic and amazing.

The moment was absolutely beautiful, crowned by my two-minute speech and dedication of the book to my beloved Mohanji.

The only issue was that a limited number of my books reached Puri and most were gifted to the VIP guests during the launch. Many people were disappointed, as they were eager to buy the book and get it signed by me that day. They kept approaching me with the same question and I felt helpless about launching a book that was not there. Yet, as always, there must have been a higher reason for that to happen.

Then started the divine leelas – our sweet Bhavani from New York was the first to get a copy and approach me to sign it for her. I wrote a short dedication to her from the heart. She decided to read it right away. While reading it, her heart exploded and suddenly some deep emotions connected to Sacred Feminine got triggered – she simply couldn’t stop crying. In the end, Bhavani was the first person who read the book (right after this event, as soon as she reached New York).

Then I met Rashmi Mishra, wife of Ramakant, one of the main priests who supported us during the Puri Retreat. Rashmi prayed earnestly to meet me and get the book from me. We happened to run into one another right in front of the Gurulight merchandise table. 

At the exact moment when Rashmi voiced out how much she wanted this book, our Chai (who volunteered to sell the merchandise) said: “Devi, I happened to find one book in the hall. It was still in the gift wrapping, so one of the VIP guests must have accidentally left it behind.”

I immediately recognized a Divine nudge to gift this copy to Rashmi. She was deeply touched by this divine synchronicity and started reading it the same evening. The next day, she continued reading it and at some point felt like taking a nap. What followed was a vivid astral encounter with Mohanji, who showed her multidimensional aspects of consciousness and spoke to her telepathically. 

She came to our hotel that evening and asked to see me. She tried to share the experience, but tears prevented her from speaking for quite some time. After she shared her story, tears kept welling in my eyes and had to pinch myself that this was really happening. I secretly prayed that this book would be much more than just a book about my life and my transformative experiences. I prayed for it to be ALIVE with the Grace of Guru Tattva and the mighty consciousness that expresses through beloved Mohanji, to whom I dedicated this book. I prayed that it create resonance in people, that it touch, enrich and transform people’s lives in amazing ways – just like the most amazing living book “Autobiography of a Yogi” transformed mine… 

I always believed in the transformative power of deep experiences shared from the purest space of one’s heart – this book is alive in my heart and please know that, when you are reading it, we do get to share that most sacred space of Love through consciousness. 

PROFOUND INNER EXPERIENCE OF DR. RASHMI

Here is a detailed account of Dr. Rashmi Mishra’s experience, as she shared with me via email:

Sri Jagannath,  the Supreme Personality and the all pervading Consciousness, appears in different forms to different individuals. 

I am sharing here one of the most vivid experiences of my life. In February 2023, we were happily waiting to celebrate the auspicious birthday of Sri Mohanji in Puri, the home of Lord Jagannath. I had the good fortune of meeting Him one year before in Puri itself for the first time when in that short meeting I could very much feel the emanating spiritual vibrations of His presence and the depth of His merciful glance which directly connected to the soul beyond the frameworks of time, space and matter. I also fortunately met Devi Mohanji, the closest friend, wife, and life partner of Mohanji. I immediately felt natural warmth and love in her charismatic aura. 

In February 2023, after their arrival in Puri, I had a brief talk with Deviji on the phone before meeting her wherein she told me about her autobiography, Home for a Refugee, which is going to be released as a gift to Mohanji on His birthday, adding that she would love to gift one copy to me. I was thrilled to hear about this and overjoyed to receive this blessing. After the celebrations, when we both could get some time to converse, I came to know that all the copies had been distributed.

However, in middle of our conversation, a beautiful lady called Chai, who is one of the volunteers in Mohanji’s foundation, told us that only one copy appeared (it was wrapped and probably forgotten by one of the VIP guests). Deviji immediately took that copy and handed it over to me after writing a personal heartfelt note. I knew that everything happens for a reason. 

Sri Jagannath Puri is also known as Durlabh Kshetra, meaning a rare place not easy to enter. It is by the mercy of Devi Subhadra,  the divine potency, Yogamaya, that one can enter this zone. Similarly, I felt Deviji,  the feminine essence of pure divinity, guiding me into the zone of Mohanji’s selfless love for one and all. Just after receiving the last copy of this book, I walked into the zone of becoming a recipient of Mohanji’s grace and mercy. 

While reading the book the next afternoon, I came across a few incidents of Deviji explaining her realizations of interacting with Mohanji. I naturally went into a calm, resting, trance-like state. My eyes closed and sealed off the outer world as I went deep into the inner world. This is when I experienced a very lively spiritually awakening incident. 

I saw Mohanji in His usual calm, composed stature, as a Yogi who has a focused mind, fully settled in his own realized state. I saw him cooking a sweet dish which is called “Suji ka Halwa” in Hindi language. It appeared that He was preparing it with love to be distributed to some other very special souls. While I moved into another room, I again saw Him in the same posture and like that in the third room also. He was simultaneously present in three different rooms. 

While I was absorbing all this, something even more astonishing happened. He transformed from this present form to a twenty years younger stage and gazed at me as if conveying to me to realize the truth beyond the mind.  Before I could comprehend this, He again transformed into another twenty years younger youth form, looking at me intently, as if cleansing some blockages from my subconscious.

Just when I assumed this was it, He again transformed into a child, but this time into the form of my son. He looked into my eyes smilingly coveying the final truth of the Supreme bliss, the ocean of peace, fearlessness, love, and eternal joy. 

I was very much conscious of everything and that I was internally directly interacting with Him. After my eyes opened, the whole day I was in that trance-like state. I maintained silence. In the evening, I got the chance to meet Deviji and, after tears of gratitude subsided I narrated to her briefly what I had experienced. She was amazed to hear about this and requested that I write my experience. The next day, I also happened to meet Mohanji in person. When I mentioned this incident, He replied: “I came to You. Your vision will become clearer and You will be able to realize the truth more clearly.” 

What else can I say after this? Words cannot describe the journey I went through in His merciful presence. I am forever grateful to Deviji and Mohanji for their immense love and the compassion that they selflessly poured on this fallen soul. 

Humbly bowing down to You both like a child, 

Rashmi Mishra

***

AFTER THE LAUNCH – THE BOOK TAKES OFF

A couple of weeks after Mohanji’s birthday, we attended a beautiful conference called “Global Business Summit 2023 – The Spiritual Way,” organized by the Amicability Diplomatic Club. Mohanji was the Keynote Speaker at this conference that took place in the beautiful Tent City in Varanasi, right on the sand in the midst of the Ganges River. During this conference, I had another most amazing confirmation that this book has a life of its own.

Mr. Deepak Vohra, Special Advisor to the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, was one of the main speakers at this conference. Even though he is a very high official, there was a strange feeling of familiarity. After receiving a gentle nudge of encouragement from Mohanji, I felt rather free to approach him and humbly offer the book as a gift. 

Before going to sleep, he appeared in my thoughts several times and I had a clear intuition, “He must be reading my book.” This was late at night, after midnight. My mind dismissed that thought simply because of his status – important officials like him usually don’t read books and mementos given to them, especially not the same day, and that late at night.

The next morning we happened to meet Mr. Vohra after breakfast. He was very cheerful and casually offered a passing comment, “Oh, I was reading your book last night. It is quite fascinating.” My jaw dropped and without thinking I replied: “I felt it, I actually felt it!” While talking to Mohanji, Mr. Vohra said some words of very high praise about me – sentiments I am shy to share at this moment, so I will leave them for the Divine to reveal in time.

After this experience in Varanasi, there were encounters with various other VIPs, one after another, and each one received my book into their hands. This was surreal. Mohanji was silent and at times offered his childlike smile, the smile that I knew very well. Deep inside it was more than clear to me that he was orchestrating all this, together with Baba. Kerala was next on our travel list.

We visited one movie star, a big time celebrity from Malayalam movie industry. His name is Suresh Gopi. This tall, handsome man knew Mohanji from the days when little Ammu was still alive and even held her in his arms. I was touched to learn that, just like Mohanji, he also lost his daughter (Lekshmi) in a road accident and started a charity in her honor. Mohanji has not met him for quite some time, until this day when we stormed into his office.

Again, aware that I am standing before a celebrity, I was not sure whether he would be at all interested in receiving my book. “Who am I to him?” I thought. After the introductory conversation, the moment of handing over the book came. Our lovely Tea was taking photos as always, so I stood up to pose for the photo with him, holding the book in our hands. I casually placed my palm on his back while posing for the photo.

A couple of seconds later, I moved away, but he remained silent and still. After a short pause, in complete awe, he said that he experienced indescribably intense and beautiful energy that passed from my palm directly into his spine.

I was looking at him and couldn’t believe my ears. “There we go,” I thought. This is exactly the kind of awe and surreal response I was receiving after Foreignchi Patlin movie was launched – Baba’s leelas are indeed unimaginable and always so uniquely entertaining!

Aside from Suresh Gopi, that same day in Trivandrum, Kerala, we had the honor of visiting two more amazing souls:

1. His Excellency Arif Mohammad Khan, the Governor of Kerala and a man of great wisdom and depth (While handing my book to him, I found it so beautiful to share the photo space with the new President of India, Droupadi Murmu, and the amazing Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, whose pictures were on the wall behind us.)

2. Her Royal Highness Aswathi Thirunal Gowri Lakshmi Bayi, the Princess of Kerala (It was a great honor for me to place my book in such special hands.

I enjoyed the Princess’s stories of Krishna as the first renowned psychologist – a truly unique perspective. I also enjoyed experiencing her humility. Only with Mohanji does one get used to such surprises…)

Special thanks for that special day goes to our most loving guide and host through Trivandrum, Mohanji’s old friend Unni Bhaskar. I still remember his radiant smile from our Dubai days in 2008. True friendship is indeed one of the most precious blessings one can have.

MEEETING MATA AMRITANANDAMAYI DEVI

One of the highlights of our trip to India was the unexpected private meeting with one of the greatest living saints of India – Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, known as the Hugging Mother (or simply Amma).

She is known for her hugs that transform lives and for her immense humanitarian work (e.g. she singlehandedly helped more victims of tsunami to get new homes than what the entire country of India with its governmental institutions).

Amma was caressing Mila continuously and also gave her a beautiful bracelet – one day when she grows up she will understand how huge these moments were…

The photos that we received from Amma’s lovely personal assistant Shubhamrita are a reminder of just how surreal the experience of meeting Her truly was. With immense love towards Mohanji, whom she had already met in the past, Amma gave us nothing less than one hour out of her unimaginably busy schedule! “This never happens,” we were told.  Hundreds of people awaited her outside and by the time we walked out, she was already on the stage conducting a Satsang!

My autobiography now requires an additional chapter about all the blessed hands it reached in record time, right after being published. What divine timing! Indeed, it was such a blessing to have Amma weave her powerful energy into the book’s tapestry – I now know that truly anything is possible through the Grace factor behind this book.

I was also deeply impressed by the radiance of Amma’s closest team members, beautiful souls who have served her for years and whose spiritual transformation is evident. Amma’s personal assistant (Brother Subhamritananda) welcomed us, translated for us, and escorted us with indescribable love and one Australian lady (Swamini Krishnamrita), who kept polishing the apples Amma was about to give us as prasad, told me with the sweetest voice: “During your meeting with Amma, I felt a strong pull to read your book. I felt that it called me.” My heart expanded even more and I literally floated out of the ashram…

Amma mainly spoke about all the charitable work she did and how it all came to life – this was so incredibly inspiring. She spoke in Malayalam and was looking at me most of the time, straight into my eyes. I was hearing the translation as well, but more than anything it was the transmission from her eyes that “hit” me. It dawned on me just how much one woman can do in this world…

I felt deep gratitude towards Mohanji who made yet another dream of mine come true…

Finally, I couldn’t leave India without “closing the circle” with our beloved Devi Amma, who wrote the Foreword for the book. I had to take one signed copy to her and the entire group of our Mohanji family members from Europe joined me. It was an unforgettable day at Devi Amma’s feet.

She asked me to read the Foreword to everyone out loud. Reading “Devi is an angel” made me very shy. She hugged me most lovingly and spoke so beautifully that day. I do not recall her ever spending that much time with visitors. I am so happy I recorded the audio of all that she shared with us.

She referred to Satya Yuga again, the Golden Age millennia ago, the time from which Mohanji and I (and many other souls) know her.

Just before leaving India, Mila and I participated in the Living Water for All Conference in Amritsar, organized by dear Brigitte and Living Peace Projects. One remaining copy of my book was gifted to the amazing Bhai Sahib Mohinder Singh.

***

Thank you for reading this blog and sharing these precious and exciting moments with me. The creative process and launch of this book have been filled with so many blessings and miracles and I am beyond thrilled and delighted to see what comes next.

The source of all blessings…

I surrender the lotus flower of this book to float out on the ocean of consciousness – may it add some love, joy, and beauty into our shared tapestry of life. 

-Devi Mohan 

Baba Nataraja & Mohanji- Such an Outpour of Love

How much love can one take? This question arose in my mind for the first time after experiencing an unprecedented outpour of purest love from a great saint hiding in a humble dwelling in a small backyard within ’the city of angels’ – Los Angeles, California. His name is Baba Nataraja. He saw/recognized Mohanji for what he is. His words were like arrows of love that swept us off our feet.

The glow that says it all – Masters vibrate in a different frequency. Their third eye is like a sun.

All of us speak, but we don’t realize how powerful our words are when then come from the depth of the pure heart. They resound. Experiencing something so precious and rare, like seeing the rarest of the jewels, calls for a sharing.

During the recent celebration of the 10th anniversary of Mohanji Foundation (on 19 June 2022), during my speech I mentioned that one of the greatest blessings on this spiritual journey were the rare opportunities to witness the interactions of Mohanji with other Masters. There are moments when one feels that the world stopped, that we don’t need to breathe – the intensity of Grace is so strong. Grace is the only word that can contain that energy. When Masters meet, there are no formalities, no introductions, just pure, spontaneous expressions and intense presence of Grace.

On 26 April 2022, while on the way to an evening Satsang organized in a villa in LA by our dear friend Ana Divac, Mohanji’s Executive Assistant Chris, PA Milica and I accompanied Mohanji for a visit to Baba Nataraja. We never thought that this quick visit to a saint, on our rushed journey to the Satsang, would make this day historic..

Mohanji enters the yard of Baba Nataraja’s humble dwelling

My intuition is usually always strong, but I must say that in the midst of our hectic schedule, there was no special feeling or expectation about this encounter. It was supposed to be just one super quick meeting in order to get to the Satsang on time. We go meet a saint, gift him some fruits, pay our respects and off we go. Yet, it was so, so much more. By entering Baba Nataraja’s home, we entered a different dimension, a special energy in which Mohanji we knew, or thought we knew, was no longer the same.

This is my humble offering with the purpose of honoring a saint who lives completely ignored and unrecognized by his compatriots and neighbors. He is in fact lucky if he is just ignored/left alone by people preoccupied by the 3D reality. On the contrary, Baba Nataraja even experienced being slapped, ridiculed, wrongly medicated and operated at a hospital (which resulted in him losing his eyesight almost fully). And yet, instead of complaints, he just mentioned all of it to us while smiling gently, his almost fully blind eyes glowing, and brushed it aside as irrelevant. He spoke with love that can’t be found in this world. His innocence and sweetness swept us off our feet.

Golden light from the third eye – Baba Nataraja in full sync with the energy and cover of the book Mast

The most precious part of the entire experience for me was to witness how Baba Nataraja addressed the true Mohanji from the moment he opened his mouth. It was like addressing and at the same time invoking the true Mohanji beyond this terrestrial mask that we get to see on daily basis, while only getting the glimpses of his true state. Yes, it was so clear – Baba Nataraja truly saw Mohanji. He needed no intro, he just outpoured the love towards the consciousness, the state, the frequency, the presence behind the personality of Mohanji, the presence that he recognizes and remembers so deeply beyond the realm of horizontal space and time.

And those expressions of purest love, those words, they were like arrows – knocking on the door of the heart until one can’t hold it any more and has to release the energy through tears.

Guru Parampara from Baba Nataraja’s altar

Heart is so powerful. Heart knows everything and at some point words are such miniscule representations of what one feels and aims to express.

Milica, Chris and I were surrounding Mohanji and Baba Nataraja, listening to the outpour, witnessing that energy, the whirlwind of Grace – and at one point just cried, and cried…

(Chris was recording the videos and they will be shared as well, but since Baba Nataraja spoke with a very feeble voice, I am taking the liberty of transcribing that river of love that flowed through him.)

Milica with the embodiment of innocence – Baba Nataraja

Baba Nataraja: “My salutations to the holy Mother Bharat, to the greatest, highest spiritual genius civilization and culture that ever existed, since the beginning of the world. They say it gave rise to over 60 million saints from earliest times till now.

I love India, I love Hindus and especially I love the saints. That’s what God is all about – love and compassion. I’m gonna shut up now. [all of us laughing]

It’s so nice to see this beautiful saint [looking at Mohanji] in front of me. I love him so much, respect him so much and I feel it is such a great blessing for him to come here.“

Mohanji then gifted him the book Mast and explained it’s about the life of a saint, an Avadhoota. Baba Nataraja was so happy.

Holding the book in his arms he then spoke: “I’m all alone here. I lost my whole family. You are my family now.“

Mohanji: “Yes. We are your family. That’s why we came to see you.“

Baba Nataraja: “Yeah, because I’m all alone. I am hurting big time. You are my father [looking at Mohanji] and mother [looking at Devi] now. I love you both very much.“

Mohanji: “I love you too.“ [Devi already crying]

Baba Nataraja continued, with his glowing eyes fixated on Mohanji, without even blinking:

“The ground you walk on is all holly. May I be blessed to kiss the holly ground on which thy sacred feet have walked. Om Sri Mohanji Namah Om.“

After Chris gently nudged Baba Nataraja to share a bit more about Mohanji, he continued with the outpour of love:

Chris with Baba Nataraja

“Mohanji is an authentic, genuine Jivan Mukta [a liberated being, inwardly free while living in this world],

a realized Hindu saint,

Universal Mind,

a great being,

a giver of life and goodness, not hurt, hate or harm, path of sorrow.

He is a blessing to the world and to society.

And it’s people like him that make life precious and worthwhile.

And that’s from the heart.

Thank you Mohanji.“

We were speechless. Melted  – the way one melts upon seeing a newborn baby. Love from the Source..

A joyous child smiling from within

Baba Nataraja then wanted to offer Guru Dakshina to Mohanji. He brought a small orange pouch in which he kept his savings, a pile of money in 100 dollar bills.

Baba Nataraja: “It’s my life saving.“

Mohanji: “I take the whole money.“ He then placed the money on his forehead chakra, paused for a short prayer holding the money between his palms, and returned it to Baba Nataraja: “I got everything and I give it back to you. Now you keep it.“

Baba Nataraja just said: “Oh, OK.“ There was no attachment to the money, that was clear.

He then asked Mohanji to bless his eyes: “Please bless my eyes so I don’t go blind. Death is better. I couldn’t walk in darkness.“ Mohanji gave him Shaktipat. At that moment, the image of Mahavatar Babaji on the wall was right between them – I knew this was not a coincidence..

Mohanji gives Shaktipat to Baba Nataraja upon his request to bless his eyes

Baba Nataraja briefly shared how he was in mauna (practicing the vow of silence) when some people with police caught him on the street, simply because they thought he looked weird in his outfit. They took him to a hospital where they kept him and gave him completely wrong medication. In the end, those doctors and nurses were fired and the place closed down, but damage was done. After that, Baba Nataraja lost most of his eyesight. He ended that brief story with “God bless them all.“

Mohanji said: “You had to go there to finish it off. Babaji is with you. Nothing to worry.“

Baba Nataraja: “Yeah, thank you.“ Recognizing the truth of what Mohanji was saying, Baba Nataraja exclaimed “Yeah!“ once again, getting excited.

With teary eyes, looking into the distance, he then continued: “Cause I waved goodbye to Babaji as a mortal being, and said ’I’m going to descend now.’ I remember everything in detail. And the next thing I know, I was in the womb of this Jewish woman married to an Italian man on the East Cost. So that’s how I came here. I came from the Shiva Loka of eternal peace and bliss, I’m not bragging or anything.“

Mohanji’s card added to the altar by Baba Nataraja

Indeed, Baba Nataraja is a saint born with full awareness of where he came from and what he was supposed to do here.

He wandered the length and breadth of America by foot, slept in parks and even in graveyards. He said “We need not fear the dead. It is the living ones that create problems.“

He exuded pure energy, both positive and rejuvenating, wherever he went.

Some people recognised him, some denied him. Some accepted, some rejected.

This is the story of any true saint.

The loving and peaceful radiance of Baba Nataraja is even felt by the animals around who come close to receive food from his hands. He happily peels the peanuts and shares them with the squirrels. Since he lost most of his eye sight, remnants of pealed peanuts are all over the floor of his room.

The squirrel regularly visiting Baba Nataraja

I would like to refer back to the experience of meeting Baba Nataraja for the first time, during my trip to US with Mohanji back in 2014. It was a lovely man called Nandhi Tapas Yogi from California who told us about Baba Nataraja. I remember how interesting it was for me to meet this Indian sadhu with American accent. He looked like he did not belong in the US :-).

We wanted to bring him some offering but not a single store was to be found where we could buy some fruits. We stopped at some Mexican restaurant and bought a plain burrito with nothing but broccoli inside. When we came to his home, he was super excited and said: “Mohanji knew broccoli is my favourite food.“ This was really sweet. He had just ended a 41-day fast and now he got to eat broccoli. We were thrilled.

Back in 2014, memories from our US trip – visit to Lake Shrine of Paramahamsa Yogananda with Lata & Ganesh Venkatachalan

He then spoke how clearly he remembers himself in a circle of the Masters, standing before Mahavatar Babaji, when he suddenly understood he is to be incarnated. He felt a pull, like from a vacuum cleaner was sucked into a dark womb of his mother. He was aware of everything. He could feel and hear the thoughts and feelings of his mother. He then said something that was of great relevance. He said that he was blissfully levitating in his mother’s womb, feeling the golden ball moving up and down his spine.

Mohanji and Baba Nataraja – first encounter in Sept 2014, California, USA

I remember exchanging glances with Mohanji and smiling from within – I knew this was a powerful confirmation by the great, beloved Babaji because golden ball plays a big role in the Consciousness Kriya that Mohanji received from Mahavatar Babaji. (Those of you who are initiated into Consciousness Kriya understand the full story)

We then mentioned this detail in the context of the Kriya to Baba Nataraja and he said: “Yes, Kriya is sacred and secret. What is sacred is secret and secret is sacred.“ Again, Mohanji was already using these exact words while speaking about Kriya. These amazing synchronicities are nothing but confirmations from above, in case anyone’s mind holds doubts.

I was initiated into three other Kriyas before Mohanji’s during my intense seeking period. One of them had golden ball in it. I never spoke about it to anyone, because the secrecy of Kriya has to be maintained. However, the version of the Kriya that Mohanji received was stunning – such crystal clear clarity. The entire game behind the cycle, the journey of life from the purest of consciousness to material world filled with illusion, and then the journey back with the tool of Kriya that cuts across karma, got summed up into one sacred practice called Kriya. This is beyond blessing, this is pure Grace. And Baba Nataraja, by simply sharing his story, was confirming the depth and sacredness of the Kriya that Mohanji received. This was so special. Precious.

Another special moment from out trip to US in 2014 – Homa at the Hanumanji temple, California

Baba Nataraja spent his time uplifting all those who interacted with him. He was delighted that Mohanji had come to meet him and kept repeating how much he loved Mohanji and how blessed the world was to have Mohanji here with us.

As Mohanji was leaving, Mohanji and Baba Nataraja chanted together “Om Namah Shivaya” three times.

As always, there was a deeper significance to this gesture. There was a feeling of closing the circle. Completion.

In the glowing presence of Baba Nataraja

As we walked out of the garden, while walking through the gate, we could hear Baba Nataraja chant to himself: “Om Shri Mohanji Namah Om.“

His last words were: “Love is what it’s all about. Thank you Mohanji, love you.”

It was such a blessing to witness this encounter. I hope the words used here carry the energetic imprint of the Grace that we had experienced on that day…

Mohanji, Baba Nataraja and Devi – LA, California, April 2022

With love,

Devi Mohan

Samadhi State – Precious Glimpses (Part 1)

“You are unlit camphor – the same material which is lit in a Guru is already sitting inside of you. All it takes is one spark.“ Mohanji

(“Brighter than the thousand suns” is what first comes to mind when I look at this photo. Mohanji’s thejus (radiance) engulfs me… – Kalemegdan, Belgrade, July 2021)

On the day of Mahasamadhi of beloved Shirdi Sai Baba, the day when a great soul expanded in the consciousness to be forever accessible to so many souls like us on spiritual path – giving tangible experiences, teaching us valuable lessons, giving unconditional support, love and blessings…, on this special day I chose to share with you a profound experience that I had three months ago.

For the first time in my life (this life), Shirdi Baba appeared right before me, deep within my inner space, looking straight into my eyes with indescribable intensity – his presence was incredibly powerful. His eyes were fixed on me like two powerful rays – I couldn’t blink, move or even breathe. Shirdi Baba’s powerful eyes spoke to me and into me, but the voice was coming out through Mohanji. “God is presence. Soul is presence. Guru is PRESENCE!“, he said with the intensity that I love with all my heart and remember beyond the limitations of a lifetime.

(image sourced from the net)

While all of this was happening, I was in a superbly deep, blissful, intensely soundless state of breathlessness and bliss, a state in which super consciousness takes over and none of the rules of the waking state of mind of 3D world apply. This state of intense inner absorption and pure beingness that simply happened to me, as if I got sucked into the depth of my being all of a sudden, is known to me under the name of Samadhi.

I was blessed to experience this state several times in this lifetime. It was not a result of me doing any specific spiritual practice, but sheer Grace.

However, I could never stay in it more than an hour or two. I felt shy to write about it exactly for this reason. “What is the point of bragging about something that came and left? This is just ego seeking attention and praise. If you attain a permanent state of bliss, then write about it“, my mind complained. So three months have passed since my Samadhi experience in Belgrade and I never wrote about it – until today.

(Baba murti, with His living presence. Photo source: Sanjay Acharya)

The moment I saw one beautiful quote from Mohanji posted on Facebook, I knew it was time to write and write until all of this is expressed. This is the quote that inspired me:

“You are yourself. Your experience is unique to yourself. OWN THAT. Be proud of that. Start your journey from that point. You will evolve higher and higher. Information is in the air. When your antenna develops the capacity to decode information that you are eligible for, you will automatically receive it. This means, when you have profound spiritual experiences, during meditation or in the company of masters, do own them, nourish them, cherish them. They are your own. That is the point from where you will grow. The guru principle will make sure of that. So, no need to worry. Own your own experience and be proud to talk about it. Do not worry about others who might ridicule you.It does not matter even if the entire world may laugh at you and consider you as a dreamer. They are doing so, because your consciousness is unique to yourself and others cannot see what you see. Believe in yourself – Your SELF.“

(Our blessed Gurupurnima with Mohanji in Belgrade, 23 July 2021 – photo by Bhavani Nair)

So let us travel back in time to a day before the first ever Festival of Consciousness in Belgrade, Serbia on 24 July 2021, when a merry group of 20+ from our global Mohanji family (many of whom just flew in to Serbia for the Festival), gathered in a rented apartment in Belgrade to celebrate Guru Purnima with Mohanji. It was supposed to be a smaller group and someone mentioned that Mohanji may agree that we perform Paada Puja, the ancient way of expressing deep gratitude to one’s Guru. The rush in which all of it happened was unprecedented – none knew who was supposed to inform whom and who got invited in the end. I wish all the beautiful souls connected with Mohanji could have been there and hope this text will serve that purpose in a subtle way…

When I entered into the apartment with Mohanji and his core team, I was surprized to see how packed it was. Familiar smiles from around the globe – US, UK, India, Netherlands, Balkan region, they all surrounded me. There were also several other people who came to know Mohanji more recently. Paada Puja got included into this gathering because one of Mohanji’s close devotees, Mohanji Acharya Bhavani from USA, requested Mohanji through Subhashree if he could fulfill the dream that she had for years but never got the chance to experience it – that of performing Paada Puja for him. She heard from some of the devotees from India that Mohanji mainly doesn’t allow it, but she was hopeful.

Even though Mohanji actually agreed to it prior to reaching the venue, when he sat on his designated chair and Paada Puja preparations were being finalized, with flower petals, turmeric, rice, and other ingredients  being placed near his feet, he suddenly changed the story and started ’shaking the tree.’

“I am not sure this Paada Puja should be done. I bet that most of you don’t even know what it signifies and why it is done! You just came here to do it because others are doing it. I’m not going to agree to it!“ His tone was shockingly strict all of a sudden and none dared to answer any of the direct questions that he was shooting out like arrows.

(Strict Mohanji on Gurupurnima 2021 – photo by Bhavani Nair)

Since 2007, when I met Mohanji, till now, I had quite many opportunities to witness such intense energy and knew it was for a higher reason – he was creating more space in the inner ’vessel’ of our receptivity. I was remembering my Yoga Teacher Trainings back in 2007 and 2008 when I first heard about the very notion of ’Adhikara’ (eligibility) and Patrata (the inner vessel/container with which we receive Divine grace and higher knowledge).

All the Vedic teachings, including Yoga, rest upon what is called Adhikara – ascertaining the aptitude of the student, the very inclination to learn, regardless of what we think we already know. In other words, eligibility through humility.

There are other dimensions to it as well. For example, in order to run, we must first learn to walk. That is why in Yoga there are many preliminary practices: adopting the Sattvic (balanced) lifestyle, purifying the mind, learning how to withdraw from the senses and the outside world in order to dive into the inner world – all of this is part of Adhikara before one can actually come closer to experiencing the state of Yoga.

In this context, the second aspect that I mentioned earlier is of great importance – Patrata. If our inner container (patra) is full of unresolved emotions, concepts and prejudices, expectations, attachments, aversions, etc., there is less space for grace to enter. Patrata actually means the capacity to hold the grace, to hold that experience. Whenever a person of higher consciousness speaks and we are not able to grasp what he/she is saying, or when a Master from much higher vibratory planes is present and we are not able to see him/her, this is because our patra is full.

It is important to note that we are the ones who choose whether our patra is filled with unresolved emotions or empty. Blaming someone else is nonsensical. To keep our patra empty, the key aspect, the fundamental prerequisite is surrender. Surrender to the Divine, surrender to one’s Guru. Without surrender, there is no Patrata.

If we do have Patrata, when Divine grace arrives, when the sacred presence of the Master is experienced, we just need to mentally bow (symbolizing the notion of ego bowing down to the consciousness) and let the Grace envelope us. There is nothing else to be done – nothing to think, nothing to ask, nothing to expect. Simply to be in gratitude – and surrender.

(With beloved Mohanji way back in 2010 – in Muscat, Oman)

At this very moment, when Mohanji was shooting out fierce questions, I felt a strong, overwhelming, heart-expanding and mind chatter-freezing energy. It was pulling me inward, through a mighty suction-like force, deep into a blissful inner absorption. A part of me was aware that some people, Bhavani especially, started crying when Mohanji said that we have no clue why we want to do this Paada Puja and that he won’t agree to it. But I already started blanking out, diving into complete silence, and then briefly resurfacing. Next thing I remember is that he said that he will consider having one person do it, but not all of us. This statement was followed by an awkward silence. This is where the amazing humility of our dear Subhashree from UK came out in all its beauty – she was supposed to be the only one to perform the Paada Puja, but she requested Mohanji if Bhavani could do it instead (I missed this part and came to know about it from Bhavani).

After that, the next memory I carry is that Mohanji finally agreed to it after Bhavani totally broke into tears, trying to verbalize while sobbing how much this Paada Puja meant to her, how long she dreamt about it, how much she prayed for it, with all her heart…. Bimal and Ulla next to her were crying as well. All of us felt the insane intensity of this moment. Many egos were cracked, many patras emptied through those tears… When the familiar blissful tune of Guru Paduka Stotram was played and Paada Puja finally started by Bhavani who was relieved from her torment, I let go of all the efforts to remain on the surface and surrendered to the inner suction. The last scene I remember before my eyelids dropped was the sweet face of dear Mario from Zagreb who was crying and still making the effort to take photos. And then I was gone. Something grand was happening and my mind was nowhere to be found to analyze any of it. The ‘I’ was absorbed within.

There was no feeling of horizontal/linear time and at some point, not sure when, a part of me made the effort to resurface and peek open my eyes to see whether all of the people present finished with Paada Puja, so that I could do it as well. The memory of my first ever Paada Puja back in 2011, after Mila was born (when we had a different kind of drama at the onset, but towards the end of it I unexpectedly went into a deep Samadhi state right after performing Paada Puja and placing my forehead on Mohanji’s big toe) suddenly appeared as the only thought in the ocean of silence.

(My first Paada Puja experience that ended with Samadhi state… – Muscat, Oman, 2011)

The moment this memory came, it was followed by a desperate urge to make an even stronger effort to remain vigilant, to keep making the effort of resurfacing and opening my eyes regardless of the intensity of the inner pull – I simply could not miss this golden opportunity! 

In that unprecedented inner struggle of mine, the sound of Mohanji’s voice came with the words “OK, over.“ To my dismay, I now fully opened the eyes to learn that Paada Puja was finished. Subhashree started removing the platter with flowers, turmeric and other puja items. I felt desperate, on the edge of breaking into tears. I pleaded to Mohanji: “Please, can I do it as well? I thought there were more people who wanted to do it. How come it is already over?“ He tested my faith a bit, mumbled something about me dragging my feet, and then finally agreed.

My heart was beating fast and my head was heavy from immense energy. I washed his delicate feet with utmost care amd placed the yellow and red powders and flower petals on them with utmost care. Then I just surrendered, placing my forehead on his big toe…

At that moment, I felt that a huge portal got opened above my head – portal to higher consciousness, portal to purest Grace. I just surrendered at its doorstep. There was no trace of a doubt – Guru’s feet truly are the doorstep to the highest realms of consciousness. They are tangible, they are real and they are precious, making the impossible actually possible, making the unreachable actually reachable to us – provided that our Patrata is formidable.

(Paada Puja experience 2021 – photo by Mario Brainovic)

With heart filled with love, I sat back on my pillow on the ground and could finally let go and surrender to the suction force, letting the mighty inner river carry me wherever it wants. This is when Mohanji conducted one of the most beautiful Satsangs ever. I am so grateful to Bhavani that she recorded it, cause I don’t remember almost any of it, just the part about the presence.  

The words are so beautiful, that I decided to transcribe some parts of the Satsang, but definitely recommend you to watch it in its entirety and feel the energy, feel the Grace. This was mind blowing – exactly like 11 years ago, on the same blessed day of Guru Purnima, Shirdi Baba spoke through Mohanji with intensity, love, clarity and depth that is beyond words:

“What is a Guru? What are you celebrating? Without knowing clearly, it is not a celebration, it’s a mechanical action. What do mechanical actions give you? No result. You just had an activity, but no transformation. Many people connect to a Guru without having a clue why they are connecting.

Some of you just did Aarti. You burned camphor. All of you have camphor inside you. Guru is a lit camphor. What happens when unlit camphor comes closer to a lit camphor? It catches fire. Like that, everyone is a Guru material – nobody is lesser and nobody is more.

Guru is a lit camphor. And then, when you come close, you should also get lit.

But what is preventing that lighting? Either you are not close enough to light the fire, or there is something in between which prevents that fire to catch. Many times, the second is the cause. What comes in between? Patterns. Our habitual patterns. Doubts. Usual anxieties, fears, insecurities connected to patterns. Then you fail to see the lit camphor. You just see the person, the man, the human being, which completely eclipses the state he is in.

Now a different question – what is a Guru? Material which is your aspiration. Which aspiration? To be a lit camphor. To be enlightened. To be complete. To be fulfilled. To be expansion, not limitation. That’s the Guru.

But if you don’t achieve that by connecting to a Guru, what are you doing? You are doing nothing. Do you think practices will get you there? No way. Practices are a discipline. Practices are for allignment. A disciplined action for the sake of allignment. That’s  of course good, because without a discipline you cannot progress. That’s for sure. But, a mechanical activity never takes you there.

Another thing – somebody else is following, so I am also following. Do you think that will work? Then that somebody leaves and you also leave. If you are not clear, any time you can leave. And what are you leaving? The opportunity to get lit. […]

(At the same time, we should not take life too seriously and forget to laugh, enjoy, have fun – Kosovo, 2021)

It takes time to become ’dry wood’ that catches fire. It requires a lot of sunshine. It is painful. All the emotions and all the things which brought you to Earth, repeatedly, lifetime after lifetime, should become completely dry.

It’s not a boring thing. You experience extraordinary freedom, where you need nothing from Earth. Otherwise, all positions are binding, all posessions are binding, all relations are binding. Everything is binding. So how do you come out of this? That’s where you look at a person who has already come out of it. As an aspiration.

But please understand. You are unlit camphor – the same material which is lit in a Guru is already sitting inside you. All it takes is one spark. It doesn’t take much effort – when you bring camphor to the fire, it just catches fire. But this camphor should reach the fire in order to catch the fire.

Usually we don’t allow it. By the time it comes closer – oh, old habits, old patterns, they pull you back. What pulls you back? Habits. Patterns. Fears. Confusions. Phobias. Doubts. They take you back. They keep bringing you back. And then, what do you get? Another lifetime of same patterns, same thing repeated, over and over again.

So Guru Purnima is the day when aspirations can have actualization. What is the aspiration? To be free. Simple. Free from what? This binding cycle of birth and death connected to patterns that bring you back.

Patterns bring desires. Patterns bring inclinations. Tendencies, insecurities – everything is brought by those patterns. And patterns are repeated actions or experiences which have percolated into your system – you carry this through your death, into the next body. Same software goes into your next body. And that software functions as a human being. That’s what we call a human being.

Ownership is a big trap. You can’t even own your body. There is nothing you can own. Everything is a trap. Once you see that, all your habits, positions, possessions, notions, concepts, everything you get to see from above, from the state of detachment. Then you see your path.

Every Guru’s aspiration is to make others the same. I can only share what I am to you. I cannot share something else. So, when you go to many doors and knock, but don’t enter, nothing happens. Knocking is happening, activity is happening, but nowhere you are entering! Until you have entered, you don’t get food. Only if you go inside and sit down at the table will you get food.

Today is Gurupurnima, I am not mincing words.

(Shaktipat – heart of our Tradition. Photo from Satsang in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Sept 2021)

So a Guru, a Master is a lit camphor. And aspiration of every unlit camphor is to become lit. That is why I always say to take time to select your Master. Don’t go to anyone thinking it’s a lit camphor. Maybe there is nothing. Maybe it’s just a flash of a box, unlit camphor box. But because there’s a flash, we get attracted.

By nature we get attracted to light. Children get attracted to light. We are the same. But there are false lights also. Flashes. See, Moon has no light without Sun. But Moon is not Sun. I hope you understood this. […]

If you have clarity, you can get lit. Lit camphors sometimes do not seem like anything. You have to come closer to see they are lit. And to understand, to recognize that, you have to spend time.

That’s why in Prashno Upanishad, when disciples approached the Master with a question ’Can you show me God?’, the Master said: “You stay with me for a year. And if you like me and I like you, we will work to find the God together.“

Consistency. Consistency is very, very, very, very important! If there is no consistency, there is no transformation. And sometimes transformation comes much later, like a bamboo shoot. Bamboo, when it’s planted, it takes about 5 years to grow a couple of inches. And then it grows rapidly, all of a sudden! It’s not like it grows a bit more every year. Sometimes you don’t see growth. But something is happening inside. So what you need is consistency.

Now, what comes on the other side? Doubts. Doubts come. What can you use to overcome doubts? Conviction in yourself. Remember. In yourself, not in the Master, not in anything outside of you.

The outside world is available to you only once you are awake. So, whatever is outside of you is definitely not your priority. You truly are what you are inside, not outside. But we pitch all our life on things outside. And the whole life we are deluded. And we pitch an expectation based on comparisons. That’s the greatest stupidity! You cannot be like anybody else. You can only be you. Absolutely you. With all your positives and your negatives. Everything is you.

So on Gurupurnima you need to aspire to be a Guru. And the material is already inside. Nobody can take it away. Nobody can take the camphor away from your heart centre. It is there. It is inbuilt. All it takes is a spark. For that spark to happen, you need to have conviction, consistency, connection: C C C! […]

It is important that doubt should not enter. Evil means anything that is heavy. Anything which detaches you from the truth is evil. Not that evil as evil exists. Don’t look at it as a ghost or something. 😊 Anything that detaches you from the truth is not good for you. Anything that connects you to the truth is good for you. That’s the God aspect.

So both exist – the dark side exists and the light exists. Light has more power because light just needs to be present for darkness to disappear.“

(Opening the gates of higher consciousness – photo by Tea Klincov, Kosovo, Sept 2021)

At this point of the Satsang, already sucked in for a while, enjoying the bliss of my inner space and Grace that overflowed as purest love in my heart, all of a sudden the radiant face of Shirdi Sai Baba appeared – so clear, so intense. Or rather, his face was revealed to me because the presence was there all along.  

He was looking straight into my eyes! Two eyes, like two transcendental rays of intense presence. His eyes were piercing. There was no “I“ to hold back – my awareness was expanded in all directions, so blissful, so empty, so light…

Baba’s eyes became more expressive as he started speaking to me telepathically, but at the same time those words were given sound somewhere above (or around) – through Mohanji’s voice. This was such a special experience! Baba was looking at me, speaking to me, but far above, on the surface, Mohanji was uttering those same words through his mouth:

“God is presence!

Sun is presence. Soul is presence.

Understand – Guru is PRESENCE!

Guru does nothing. Don’t think that Guru does something for you. He does nothing, he is so lazy 😊. Guru’s presence lights you up. This is what happens.

Sun is not doing anything for you, is it? But Sun’s presence makes the Earth function. Electricity does nothing for you. But when the electricity comes, lights come. You understand? God is same. God is not doing anything in the particular for the Universe. God’s presence makes the Universe alive. You see? Soul’s presence makes this body alive. Guru’s presence makes your purpose alive.

Aarti to Mohanji, Sedona, USA, 2017

So don’t think that Guru is doing something for you. Never have that misconception. Then you can actually delete a lot of expectation. He doesn’t do your laundry – your karmic laundry. He has his own laundry to clean. Your karmic laundry is your problem.

Guru brings sufficient light so that you know that you have karmic laundry. The light tells you: “Hey, there is a lot of clothes to wash.“ Otherwise you may not know.

So don’t think that God is really interested in you, that Guru is interested in you; that your soul is interested in you; that Sun is interested in you. Don’t think like that. Who is interested in you? – YOU. Other people may be interested in you because you are paying their bills. Otherwise they may not be interested in you. 😊 Cut off all the misconceptions. That is why I’m telling you this. Cut everything off, all these fogs. Then only do you see the truth.

My job is to shake you up. Your job is to stabilize. So my job is not to stabilize you – my job is to shake you up. And in this shake up, you should stabilize. Then nobody can shake you. Eventually, you become unshakeable.

Maybe somebody can stir you, but not shake you. 😊

The moment you realize God is presence, you will feel God. The moment you realize soul is the presence, you will start experiencing and enjoying life. Because when the soul goes, life doesn’t exist.

You will have no fears, no worries, no anxieties. You will experience life as it comes. You’ll be happy with it. “Hey, look here, I am alive today. What comes my way is fun.“

Whether it is positive or negative, there is no value here. Just experience. And each experience, it becomes a heavy memory only if we resist. If it just becomes a memory, that is good. Because that’s what we are here for.

The whole experience we call life are just memories. They don’t stay, right? Why the bad memories are staying? Because you are revisiting them. No memories will be there for a long time. Only those memories which you revisit, or manipulate, using your brilliant ideas. 😊 […]

Behind most relationships is insecurity. Be very clear. We are not with them because we love them.

Nobody sacrifices anything in this world. There is always an expectation.

Sacrifice is a very noble word – where you are happy that something goes out of you, or goes away from you. You are happy. How many times this happens? – think.

A true Master makes others Masters. Not followers. Not disciples. I want to see that you are all lit candles. Lit camphor. The world will be brighter. That is why we have a “Festival of Consciousness.“

I am not interested in head counts. When I die, what will I do with the head counts – have a satisfaction that I had many head counts? But if many of you have found your truth, this makes  me happy. Because I could share what I have.

I don’t know what I have. Let me be very honest. I am not claiming that I am enlightened or that I am a lit camphor. I am sharing something that I understood. That’s all I can share. I can only share what I have. If I did not understand, I would not tell you this. This is important.

Did I shake you up a little bit? :-)“

(end of transcription)

Whoa!

I really wanted to take the time to transcribe this, because these words – they are so powerful, so filled with depth, love, light, truth. They deserve to be read and re-read many times…

It took me a while to come out of this state. I didn’t want to. Nobody would. I felt that somebody tried to give me something (possibly prasad, not sure) and I was not able to open my eyes. Then our dear Preeti Duggal came. Sensing that I am still in the bliss of being in the inner presence of Baba, she just placed the cloth that she brought from Shirdi, the sacred cloth that was kept on Baba’s murti in Shirdi.

(Preeti placing Baba’s cloth from Shirdi on my heart)

She placed it on my heart and kissed me. I was so sensitive and there was just so much of beauty and love in that experience. Emotions built up and I broke into tears, trying not to be too loud, but there was nowhere to hide. I saw Baba, heard him speak through Mohanji and now I could physically FEEL him on my heart through this cloth. I could feel his scent, feel the warmth of his love through all my senses, inner and outer. It was such an overwhelming experience. Tears were just a minor expression of how deeply touched and overwhelmed I was…. There is no words to describe what Baba gave me in my past life and now – how great is his love…

(Kiss from my dear Preeti – photo by Mario Brainovic)

After all of this, the answer to my mind’s silly commentary is:

This blog is not about me being special. It is nothing but a testimony to the greatness of a blessing of having a living Master in one’s life. The blessing of having the presence of the one who is so empty that all other Masters (in this case Shirdi Baba) work through him, so surrendered that the power of the entire Universe pours in through him when/if needed. It is also a reminder to me, at times when I lose my humility and take Mohanji for granted, a reminder whom I was blessed to have in my life…

Mahavatar Babaji (whose recent blessing through Mohanji will be described in Part 2 of this blog) and Shirdi Baba are two great Masters, two amazing Avatars who have revealed themselves to me more than once through a direct experience.

But ever since I have my own Guru, a living Master in-charge of mirroring my highest aspiration back to me, in-charge of chiselling my ego until it is not only cracked, but fully broken, so that Divine can express through me in the greatest of glory – I now understand one great truth. I understand that all Masters respect the sacred Guru-Disciple relationship and will not appear in a separate manner. Everything is funnelled through the Guru, the living representative of Guru Tattva.

The pillar… (photo by Mario Brainovic, Istanbul, Feb 2021)

Indeed, it’s been a while since I have noticed that my greatest experiences of Grace always manifest through Mohanji, in one way or the other. They appear through him. Everything is funnelled through him. This focus is the laser beam of Grace. My living Guru is all the Gurus.

Finally, I have learned this crucial lesson from Mohanji: all we need to do is stay attuned to the consciousness of the Master at all times. Whether in the body or not, he will keep us from the harm’s way and take care of all that is needed for our own merging with the Ocean, in its divinely given time.

Another important lesson is: many people come to a Master expecting or seeking enlightenment. That is still a personal agenda. Only those whose devotion is so pure and great, who fall in love in giving and serving so much that they lose all personal agendas, only they can reach the ultimate goal.Being fully empty of all agendas is the key.

While writing this text I stumbled upon my old blog about the Gurupurnima celebration that took place exactly 11 years ago. I totally forgot about it and was deeply touched when I realized that Shirdi Baba gave us a powerful experience through Mohanji on that day as well!

In the commentary to that blog, I verbalized what Mohanji explained to me that day – how Masters work through him. This is so relevant in the context of this Gurupurnima 2021 experience. I would like to share it with you:

“When all identities get nullified (this can happen when individual karmic push is limited or non-existent), when the individual is operating on a dharmic mode, higher Masters perform through that body, mind or intellect, which is not contaminated by karma. When we say “Shirdi Sai worked through Mohanji”, it means the consciousness which has the characteristic of Shirdi Sai, expressed through the physical frame called Mohanji. This can happen through anyone. This is not particularly reserved for Mohanji alone. But, extreme nullification, silence of mind, and surrender should happen.

We do not permit such things to happen because we are ruled by ego and we keep doubting. We lack faith. Total faith and purity are the main pillars on which spirituality gets built.

Spiritual practices of the previous birth do help. Spirituality never loses momentum, as it happens through lifetimes. The continuity is never hindered. So, the purity level of this life has its roots in the past lives. Therefore, in a way, ‘Mohanji’ is made over life times. You are made over lifetimes too. You can also reach the consciousness that he operates in and grow beyond that also. Practice purity and selflessness in thought, word and action. Operate with total faith and purity. That’s the best of sadhanas.“

I realized how this unexpected blessing in Belgrade closed a magical 11-year-old circle of Grace, because on that day, on Gurupurnima 2010, Baba gave me a beautiful, heart-melting experience through Mohanji.

It happened in our living room in Muscat, which was our meditation and Satsang hall as well. It was interesting to note that from all the people who have gathered there, 11 years later, none but me remained on this path. And from a small group of people meeting in Muscat every weekend, we have now grown into a global family – simply mind-blowing..

(Gurupurnima 2010 – the lights of our Panch Aarti lamp respond to the magnetic pull)

The physical, most loving experience with Baba through Mohanji started with the Shaktipat that I received from him after Shirdi Sai Aarti that we performed with lots of love:

“And what a Shaktipat I received from him at that moment! It was so different, with the most beautiful Fatherly love…  The heat of his palm filled me up completely. His palm was connecting between my Agnya and Sahasrara, reaching both the chakras!!! – it was so big, i.e. much larger than the normal size of his palm, which I am familiar with. And my head fitted into that warm palm so comfortably, so perfectly – there was a sensation of being completely embraced and protected by the Father. The intensity of Love I felt was indescribable. I knew instantly that it was Shirdi Sai!!!… After the Shaktipat, I hugged him/Mohanji and rested my head on his lap in full surrender, as he patted my Anahata from the back – it was the most beautiful, warm, melting, Divine sensation…“ 

I would like to end this blog with a summary of a beautiful conversation I had with dear Bhavani. She felt deep inside that the powerful presence she felt that day was that of Shirdi Sai. She was aware of my experience, but deep inside craved for a confirmation.

Upon reaching USA, right after Guru Purnima and Festival of Consciousness in Belgrade, Bhavani went to a Shirdi Sai temple in New York where she usually goes. She said that they always play Baba’s song there and no other song.

However, when Bhavani went to this temple, right after this experience in Serbia, she was amazed to hear the same Guru Paduka Stotram that was being played in Belgrade…

Bhavani said: “As soon as I heard it, I recognized that he was telling me that it was HIM who was present in Mohanji’s body. He was making me aware of that. He was there from the beginning, that’s why everybody, including myself, lost the mind. That’s why you were in a deep state and everyone was crying. It was his presence. I did not share this with anybody till now.“

Om Shri Sainathaya Namah.

Jai Mohanji, Hari Om.

Guru is the PRESENCE – I now carry this truth in my heart…

With a hope that, through these words, the Presence of Guru Tattva reached you and touched you in the ways that are transformative for you,

With deepest love and gratitude,

Devi Mohan

How the Online Version of Awakening Yoga Nidra Came to Life

Introduction

It’s been three years now that I have been conducting AYN for selected groups of people, mainly during Mohanji Retreats, and it always took people incredibly deep, with many transformative experiences that were shared later on. Each session was unique in itself – the right words would flow through me at the given time, perfect for that group of people. This sacred method had a life of its own and I never thought it should be captured into a recording.

However, during Coronavirus lockdown, when the fears from the subconscious started emerging with greater intensity in many people, I suddenly felt that the blessing of AYN should be shared with people far and wide via Internet. That became the requirement of the present time. I spoke to Mohanji about it and he immediately said: “Do it.”

It is with great joy that I am now sharing it with the wider public. Awakening Yoga Nidra is very close to my heart, so sacred and special, and has been recorded with purest intention and complete surrender. For me, it is much more than a Yoga Nidra per se. Alpha state of mind is used as a launching pad into the state of utmost surrender and intimacy with Divine, when the ultimate calling from the soul level is being addressed – that of our spiritual awakening. AYN is suitable for people from any religious/spiritual background, as is explained on the www.devimohan.com/awakening-yoga-nidra/ page and in the intro talk of the AYN video itself.

May 2^nd morning – Babaji experience in the morning

In late April, inspired by Mohanji, all of us present at Mohanji’s Bangalore ashram started waking up at 4am without fail and the Early Birds Club soon came to life. At this special time before 6am, the energy is so different, silence much more profound and the ability to tune into the consciousness of the Masters is much higher.

My early morning sadhana (spiritual practice) would include reading of spiritual books as well, soaking in the profound messages. On May 3^rd I was led to a book about Mahavataar Babaji. While reading about the encounter of one spiritual Master with Babaji, I was reminded of my own experience of meeting Babaji through a conscious astral travel in the year 2000. At 6am I came downstairs for the Aarati, as always. Mohanji was downstairs and when I saw him right after Aarati, he told me: “Go look at the rising Sun and then go to the Pooja room and look into Babaji’s eyes.” I was speechless and thought “Oh, so he knows that I was reading and thinking about Babaji…” By the tone of his voice I understood he had a communion with Babaji and that this instruction was given with a deeper reason, from Babaji. My heart expanded and I felt great excitement. When I went to the Pooja room and started gazing at Babaji’s eyes on the picture of His that we have on our altar, within a couple of seconds his eyes became alive!

I could even see them moving a bit left and and then a bit right, scanning me from inside, as if going through my energy records. Then they settled again and I could suddenly feel a lot of energy on the back of my head (the Bindu point) and the crown as well. It was amazing! At some point, like a child reporting the final score to the teacher, I went to Mohanji to share what had just happened. He said with a serious voice: “Yes, Babaji was working on removing your Tamas (lethargy, tamo guna…). It is too much. That’s one of the greatest hindrances to your spiritual progress. There should be a change from now on.” And yes, after that experience I have been waking up at 4am with much greater ease than before…

I can’t express in words how grateful I felt at that moment. I bowed down to Mohanji, with an even deeper understanding of the importance of a living Guru in one’s life. Even though I was getting tuned in to Babaji that morning, my receiving antenna was obviously not strong enough to receive or understand the message about gazing into Babaji’s eyes, nor was I able to understand what he worked on that morning by gazing through me. That’s why Paramahamsa Yogananda said that by connecting deeply to one Guru, and continuously strengthening that connection with utmost dedication, we get access to all the Gurus and to Divine itself. There is nothing more precious than the presence of a living Master in one’s life…

From that moment on, Babaji was in my heart and mind all the time and this momentum brought my Podcast (www.devimohan.podbean.com) to life as well. It started with Babaji series and is dedicated to my direct experiences with the Masters, direct  experiences of Divine Grace.

Recording of the Awakening Yoga Nidra

AYN was recorded in Bangalore, on May 5^th early morning around 4am, in front of our bedroom altar – the full session arrived in one go, with hardly any editing. The flow was amazing, a sheer blessing of Mohanji and Guru Mandala, with a huge expansion of the heart and many tears of gratitude. Then the real challenge of endless video and audio editing work started. That took much more time and patience. Online version of AYN was announced on the day of Buddha Purnima (12 May 2020) but some additional editing work had to be done on both, English and Serbian version of AYN afterwards. On 16 May 2020, AYN became available to all.

Our dear George Obengduro, who is self-taught in editing work, sat with me patiently for days, until we got it right.

Our dear, humble and quiet George, always ready to serve

Music was another challenge. I did not want to use any copyrighted music, but was certain that some parts of AYN definitely required the right kind of heart-expanding music to support the deeper inner processes. Our dear Natesh, Jelena and Judith came to rescue and what came out in the end was more beautiful than I could have ever imagined. But one song was still missing – the heart-expanding song/chant dedicated to Mahavatar Babaji.

How Babaji mantras and subsequent music came to life

Since I did not have the right non-copyrighted music about Mahavataar Babaji, I woke up on May 3^rd morning with a thought that I will remove the part with Babaji from AYN and solve the problem. But I was not happy about it.. While combing Mohanji’s hair that afternoon, I shared that disappointment with him. In that very moment, he had the inner communion with Babaji and received two mantras in an instant, which he dictated to me then and there. I was confused and excited at the same time, as mind took time to register this is really happening.The energy in the room was amazing. Mohanji’s face had that youthful look and beautiful glow, and I felt great excitement.

The mighty third eye of Mohanji, through which we keep receiving so many blessings…

The two mantras are:

Om Skanda Avataaraaya Vidmahe

Shiva Tattwaaya Dheemahi

Tanno Babaji Prachodayaat

&

Om Jnaana Avataaraaya Vidmahe

Shiva Putraaya Dheemahi

Tanno Mahatapa Prachodayaat

I asked Mohanji to also record the mantras in his voice to make sure we get the pronunciation right.

Because of the word Skanda (Babaji being an incarnation of Lord Muruga, who is Skanda and that being connected to the Skanda Vale ashram in UK, to which our friend Judith is closely connected for years) I immediately felt that our dear Judith from Switzerland is the right person to be given this task.

AYN was already being edited and I was eager to finish, so I messaged her and asked if she could complete this in the next two days, knowing that’s a tall order. She replied: “Gosh Devi, you know this sort of thing normally needs weeks, a recording studio and instruments… I’ll see how my ether downloading skills are and how much time I have, and will then get back to you.”

I proceeded with the editing work of AYN and left the Babaji part for the end. Three days later, Judith sent me the audio message. It was the chant, starting with a beautiful voice of some Indian gentleman, who sounded ancient to me. Then only Judith’s voice followed. I was amazed. George, Jelena and I listened to the audio and felt goosebumps throughout. “Who is that man?”,we wondered.

And then Judith’s audio message arrived, which touched me so deeply. This is the transcription of that message:

“Dearest Devi, the opportunity to create this composition was an amazing blessing. It’s been a very intense few days doing it. It’s really an offering back to the Guru Parampara. I’m just filled with such gratitude.. And if you enjoy it, then it’s an even bigger bonus really. The other man singing is my Raga teacher. His name is Amit. I’ve known him for some years. I take lessons with him. I knew he wouldn’t have time to help me with the project cause it had to be done in such a short time. But you told me about the project on Sunday morning and I started working on it all day Sunday. In the evening I saw Amit briefly (he came for a short visit with his children) and he saw the microphone out in the middle of the living room and asked what was happening. I told him briefly about it. Since his children were with him, he didn’t have the time to help me with the project but he said “Look, give me the mantras and I will sing some improvisation in the Raga that you’ve chosen now and then, if you can use it, fine. So I gave him the mantras and the recording of Mohanji chanting them. He sat down and did this improvisation, everything in one go. When he finished, he sat for a couple of minutes longer and was absolutely speechless. He couldn’t speak, literally. Afterwards he said that something really big happened to him while he was doing the chant. It was all really beautiful. Later on he told me that he had a dream of Mahavataar Babaji that night, for the first time ever in his life.

Judith (in the middle), in prayer and surrender during Kumbha Mela with Mohanji in 2019.

I thought you’d like to know that – it makes it all really special. So, I was really determined to use his improvisations in the final recording, not to mention that the way in which he sings is really out of this world. He comes from a very ancient tradition of the oldest type of the Indian classical music called Dhrupad, which is only from the north of India. His grandfather was a court musician for King’s family for generations, before the English came there. So he really has it in his blood and he loved this opportunity to go back to his roots in a way, cause he’s been living in Switzerland for the last ten years and he’s going through a very painful marital situation at the moment. So this experience came at a very meaningful time for him and in a very profound way.

In the dream, Amit went back to where he grew up. It’s by a big river, some 20km west from Varanasi. So in the dream he was near the river, where he used to play all his childhood, and Mahavataar Babaji appeared and said to him: “I’m gonna take you home.” I could cry right now… And then he took him by the hand and started walking with him towards his old house. And then, when Amit tried to look into Mahavataar Babaji’s face, he felt that the energy was way too strong for him and then he woke up…

I thought you’d enjoy that story dear Devi. I waited until you would have listened to the composition until I share that with you. It gives everything an extra meaning. And the mantras, to chant them again and again, was really special for me. Since the recording, I felt they’ve become a part of my whole being, because of recording and listening to them again and again.

Please give our eternal gratitude to Mohanji for all this and all the best with the recording of Awakening Yoga Nidra. Lots of love.”

I shared this with Mohanji right away. He smiled and said: “It was not a dream that the Raga teacher had. It was an astral experience. Life will not be the same any more. I asked Babaji for a confirmation when I received the mantras. That was it.”

All of this was so special, so sacred, I had no words to express my gratitude…

The following day (May 7^th) was Buddha Purnima and I conducted a 360 Degrees Meditation live on Facebook. At the end of the meditation I played this special Babaji mantra for the first time in public. I received many messages of thanks. Some people said the energy was so powerful and incredibly sacred, especially during the chant, and  that the energy simply overtook them. Such are the blessings of our beloved Masters…

May Awakening Yoga Nidra touch and transform many lives from hereon. I surrender all the effects to Mohanji and our beautiful Guru Mandala, the Tradition of great Masters whose Grace transcends our lives and our logical mind…

( Image: the super happy Devi after 360 Degrees meditation and the new Babaji mantra shared with the public for the first time)

With love and gratitude,

Devi Mohan

Revelation of the Shiva-Shakti Secrets of Kailash and Machu Picchu

Introduction

Last month, during our recent pilgrimage to Machu Picchu with Mohanji (April 2019), a profound truth revealed itself to me from within, I was left in breathless awe by its greatness, depth and beauty. I dedicate this blog to that revelation, celebrating our shared humanity, our shared divinity in humanity, and our sacred connection with Mother Nature.

The Yoga of expanded heart – Image taken by our guide Mallku soon after this realization – at the Sun Gate, on 15 April 2019

Thanks to this wonderful spiritual platform created through Mohanji, over the course of this year I am blessed to visit four amazing places of power on Earth: Machu Picchu, sacred red rocks and vortexes of Sedona, the Bosnian pyramids and the Crown of Mother Earth – the mighty Kailash in Tibet. I am halfway through that journey as I write this blog. My intention is to share the most important insights and blessings from these locations, inviting you to benefit from them as you join me on these journeys in spirit, or possibly in person.

For those of you who don’t know me – after years of sincere spiritual seeking, I was blessed to meet Mohanji in 2007. Seeking instantly matured into a deep and richly experiential spirituality – in line with the principles of the ancient Sanatana Dharma and the spiritual heritage of the ancient Datta and Nath sages who gave us the true knowledge of Yoga. Mohanji named our spiritual path with words beyond barriers: “The Path of Pathlessness.” On this path there is no distance between the path and destination. Moreover, there are no strict outer rules or predetermined dogmatic views that apply to this path, aside from non-violence. However, even non-violence is not imposed. It happens naturally from within as one walks the path from gross to subtle, from ignorance to bliss. On this path, Divine is not reserved to Heaven which is somewhere up there, distant from us. All the answers are to be found within, as Divine resides within, shrouded with the prison of mind’s concepts, fears, prejudices, expectations, desires and disappointments. Once one truly recognizes that all that we are seeking for is within and that our outer world is a reflection of our inner world, we start assuming responsibility for both, the outer and inner world, creating a new reality through conscious living rooted in unconditional love, purity, faith and surrender.

On the pathless path, one has a deep respect  towards the divine feminine. All beings of Mother Earth and Nature as a living, vibrating manifestation of Divine Love, are embraced with the expanded heart. I therefore resonate strongly with the teachings of all the indigenous people who have been shamelessly put down by the Western civilization, which imposed itself as superior. Centuries of this irony are now coming to an end. Time has come for us to honor and revive OUR sacred traditions, to recognize the Love and Oneness in their essence, and to simply connect the dots between all sacred traditions and teachings that lead us to the same top of the mountain within. Time has come for the sacred feminine to shine in its full glory, for the Shakti of humanity to assume her rightful place in the embrace of Shiva. This is my passion, which arose like a phoenix bird from the ashes of the horrid wars in Former Yugoslavia, boldly exclaiming my raison d’etre – to serve and celebrate the true Unity.

Similarity between Kailash and Machu Picchu

The focus of this blog will be on the sacred connection and a unique similarity between two out of four of the above-mentioned locations: Kailash (the abode of Shiva) and Machu Picchu (the abode of Shakti – on planetary level). It is my great privilege to share this deep insight with you.

I would like to start with one important similarity between Kailash and Machu Picchu that I realized – the unique combination of Mother Nature’s majestic beauty displayed through amazing mountains and valleys and certain modifications/additions that only spiritually highly evolved beings could have made to tweak their shape in a manner that would endow these locations with truly profound, multi-dimensional meaning and purpose. They thus became the true places of power, with an amazing energy effect which is downright transformative, supporting the inner alchemy and alignment that sparks one’s Kundalini activation, and consequential spiritual awakening.

Because Machu Picchu is a Shakti power place, this process is very gentle – it is enough to be there with deep reverence, meditate, contemplate and enjoy the beauty, and the Mother’s embrace and blessing is guaranteed. At Kailash however, the process is much more arduous, drastic and intense. Like popcorn in the oven, the painful inner impressions (samskaras) start popping out as one progresses through the yatra in the high vibration of Kailash, supported by the agony of high altitude sickness (which is guaranteed 🙂 ) and the challenging, long trekking. Those who approach the process as an ego-based fitness challenge will never make it. Only through surrender, humility and gratitude can one complete the yatra. And the person at the beginning and the end of that journey won’t be the same… (more about my experience of Kailash yatra in 2014 can be read here )

The moment of Revelation 

This special moment happened on our way to the Sun Gate (or Inti Punku, at 2745m), the location where I had my most memorable experience of golden spiral on top of crown chakra during our first pilgrimage to Machu Picchu in April 2018 (as described here). I couldn’t wait to get there again and this time, to my great joy, the majority of our group joined me. Mohanji occasionally stopped at certain locations where he felt special energies.

During the one hour climb to the Sun Gate on 15 April 2019, it was wonderful listening to many stories that our lovely guide Mallku shared. His love for the genuine history of his Inkan ancestors is very deep and sincere, shared through several books that he wrote and his many tours. At one point we stopped at the location where the view of the entire Machu Picchu complex was fantastic. While looking at the shape of the magnificent Machu Picchu and Wayna Picchu apus (mountain, or more specifically, the spirit of the mountain), Mallku shared with me the amazing images displayed on the front and back cover of his book “The Crystal City of Machu Pijchu”, helping me to identify those shapes on the spectacular mountains in front of us.

It was magical to behold that unimaginable beauty of creation right before our very eyes! From our last year’s exploration of this majestic power place, I was aware of some of the stunning symbolism of Machu Picchu – like the shape of a crouching puma on Wayna Picchu and Kondor with its big wings next to it.

However, this time, Mallku helped me recognize that the entire Machu Picchu can be seen as a huge Andean profile – a wise Inka man lying down on his back, gazing at the Heaven.

And this was only the beginning. He then flipped the book to its front cover and pointed out to another profile, facing the opposite direction. It was clearly a female Andean profile, with earrings and long hair. The male profile now disappears into her body with a round belly (possibly signifying pregnancy) and arms in a beautiful self-embrace of the heart (most likely the message of importance of loving oneself) clearly visible. I was in awe!

While Mallku presented these two profiles as two separate images that one sees from different angles, I immediately saw them as one glorious representation of Shiva-Shakti union, right there before our very eyes! In fact, the male and female profile representations share the same chin, while what one could say is the key spiritual point of Machu Picchu – the Sun Temple (in the shape of a ziggurat pyramid), is the ‘right eye’ of the feminine aspect.

At that moment I literally lost my breath due to a grand synchronicity that dawned upon me: I have seen this before, during our pilgrimage to Kailash. This realization also happened during our 2^nd pilgrimage to this most sacred power center (during Kailash with Mohanji yatra in 2016). Moreover, it was also largely supported by the imagery from a powerful book – “In Search of the City of Gods: in the Areas of Shamballa” by Dr. Ernst Muldashev from Russia (I read the version in Serbian language, I am not sure whether it’s available in English…)

I was able to learn about the most powerful aspect of Kailash – the “Small Kailash”, which is the Shakti/feminine aspect of Kailash. Nobody ever spoke about it before (at least not to my knowledge). Again, the Shakti part of Kailash is smaller than the actual/male Kailash, but containing within itself the greatest power.

South face of Kailash (Small Kailash visible on the left, covered with the snow-clad white dome). (Image sourced from the net – The Land of Snows 2014)

In his book Dr. Muldashev describes all about the most powerful secret of “Small Kailash”, the mighty Shantamani stone, which can affect/control the minds of human beings and has a direct impact on our Kundalini as we come nearer to it. That is why the ‘Small Kailash’ is completely inaccessible from all sides, divinely protected.

Dr. Muldashev’s depiction of the South face of Kailash, from the distance

It is important to note that in ancient India, the Shakti has always been depicted as his beloved Parvati, slightly smaller than him, humble and devoted, with immense power stemming out of her purity, beauty and devotion.

Shiva and Parvati, image sourced from the net (Story of Shiva Parvathi Kalyanam)

Without Shakti, one cannot realize Shiva. Even the very promise of Divine within us, the primordial cosmic energy Kundalini, is depicted as a feminine force. Starting its ascent from the triangular base (Kula Kunda – the triangular hollow of the sacrum bone) at the root of the spine, Kundalini Shakti has to pass through all the blockages on the way, igniting all the seven major energy vortexes/chakras along the central meridian, in order to join Shiva at the Crown.. That is why Shiva is symbolically depicted as the handsome, muscled man seated in utter stillness at the top of the snow-clad Kailash..

Rising of Kundalini, image sourced from the net (www.karenneverland.com/kundalini-rising-central-channel-alignment/)

Furthermore, in his book Dr. Muldashev described how the highly evolved beings who created ‘the City of Gods” in Kailash (as per his scientific estimations, that happened way back at the time of Lemuria, 850,000 years ago…) added an additional layer of protection – the powerful laser mountains

Laser mountains and the Giant Mirror of Time in the middle – I was so excited when I recognized these mountains from depictions in Dr. Muldashev’s book. Photo taken during Kailash with Mohanji yatra in 2016

from which, if need be, the laser beams would be directed towards the Small Kailash to ensure that dark forces in any shape or form could never reach this most sacred location and manipulate human minds.

Dr. Muldashev’s depiction of the gigantic stone lasers pointing towards small Kailash and the door to Shamballa – the way in which the ancients protected the most sacred /feminine part of Kailash..

The closer one gets to ‘Small Kailash’, the more his/her Kundalini starts to respond. Pure hearted pilgrims who offer sincere prayers of gratitude and emit vibrations of genuine devotion get the most from Kailash. Those who have not purified themselves sufficiently to be able to withstand the effect of cleansing and arrogantly try to come closer to Kailash, are most likely to die due to sudden activation of Kundalini, as their nerve endings get burnt.

During our Inner Kora of Kailash in 2016, we were not able to visit the powerful Saptarishi Cave (the closest one gets to Small Kailash during Inner Kora) because a group of approx. thirty Chinese soldiers went there and all of them died (for the obvious reasons…). That is why Chinese government issued a ban forbidding all the Inner Kora pilgrims to go there. Nevertheless, our group successfully completed first two days of the yatra, while the groups one day before and one day after us could not due to bad weather. That was probably all that our body could handle and it was already so profound and so tough to go through, that we couldn’t imagine another day of such arduous, indescribably tough climb. At Kailash, one can see and experience only that what is given/karmically deserved, nothing more and nothing less. Going to Kailash with one’s Guru is the greatest blessing, as the otherwise impossible becomes possible and many obstacles get removed. We have witnessed that during all our Kailash with Mohanji yatras and other pilgrimage trips thus far (many profound experiences and insights, including my humble contribution, can be found in the Inner Kora journey, which I highly recommend. It can be ordered online here)

Going back to the actual experience at Machu Picchu – by the time the depth of this discovery on the way to Sun Gate sank in, I reached the majestic womb-shaped opening of most amazing view (Machu Picchu, Wayna Picchu and the stunning Putukusi mountain, the gateway to the Sacred City’s inner world) all displayed in their full majesty before my very eyes at the Sun Gate.

The majestic moment when Mother’s womb opens up in full blessing at the Sun Gate, 15 April 2019

For a while, I just sat there and cried, offering my tears of gratitude to the grand womb of Shakti before me, for this most beautiful Shakti location on Planet Earth blessed me to perceive yet another dimension of its profound message – the importance of alignment of Shiva-Shakti (what the Chinese termed the balance of Yin and Yang), the ancient alchemy of perfect merging of divine masculine and divine feminine aspect within,

Ardha Nareeswara – half Shiva and half Parvati (image sourced from Pinterest)

– in order to reach the completion of human potential, the pinnacle of spiritual experience, the actual “top of the mountain” where consciousness expands in 360 degrees and the blessed ones undergo the experience of enlightenment and beyond – dissolution…

While beholding this majesty, I observed how both, at Machu Picchu and Kailash, Shakti/feminine aspect is smaller, located on the left side, bestowed with the highest of power (Shantamani stone; Sun Temple) and so beautifully and elegantly merging with the male aspect.

At some point the awe overtook the mind and I felt a very strong pull to close my eyes and flow with the energy of this blessed location. Before I even started to search for a spot where I could sit and meditate without being disturbed, as if reading my mind, Mallku pointed out to one location where there was some shade protecting me from the scorching sun. “We kept it for you”, he said with a smile. Already ‘drunk’ with blissful energy, I happily sat there, removed my hat and disappeared for an hour or so.

The golden spiral that I felt on top of my head at the Sun Gate last year was felt even more strongly this time (as if someone physically applied pressure on top of my head).

Surrendering to the golden spiral at the Sun Gate, 15 April 2019

How could I ever express my gratitude on all these blessings. Perhaps I can begin in this way, by sacrificing a night of sleep in order to write a blog… 🙂

May all of us be blessed with the inner alchemy of the ultimate Shiva-Shakti union.

Om Shiva Shaktiye Namaha!

 

With love and gratitude,

Devi Mohan

Machu Picchu Pilgrimage with Mohanji 2018 – Inner Fullness in the lap of the Mother

Unfulfilled desires are one of the most prominent aspects/dimensions of karma. While choosing to live consciously and directing our inner compass towards complete Liberation, we have to be aware of the desires that bind us to the earthly existence, even if they are of a spiritual nature. The ultimate aim on our path is to feel/realize the inner fullness, the genuine feeling of “Having everything and needing nothing.” Inspired by Mohanji’s teachings, I always enjoy sharing my deep inner experiences with a purpose of helping other souls on the path of spiritual awakening to:

a) identify/become aware of an unfulfilled desire as an unavoidable item on the soul’s shopping list in this lifetime, and then do whatever is possible to fulfill it graciously in the spirit of ahimsa and purity (the wisest option: place a clear intention to fulfill the specific noble desire and surrender it to your Guru, make it his job to make it happen 🙂 ), or to

b) transcend it (by reading sincere experience sharing of other people, we indeed can achieve that by feeling the oneness with the writer, feeling the invisible connection at the soul level)

And thus with my intention explained above, I would like to share with you a couple of my recent desires and how the Grace of Guru Tatwa (the Guru Principle within) placed all the pieces of the puzzle together in such a way that these desires can get fulfilled in the least expected ways. With a living Master in one’s life, the doors and windows to such Grace are ever accessible and open…

With a living Master in one’s life, the doors and windows to such Grace are ever accessible and open…

This blog is dedicated to the celestial Machu Picchu, the jewel of the Incan Empire, a place like no other. At this powerful Shakti (Divine Mother) place, one gets to experience the bliss of a child in the womb of our Mother Divine….

Last April 2018 a merry group of people including myself traveled to Machu Picchu for an unforgettable pilgrimage with Mohanji. While the experience was really beyond wonderful, I felt that deep inside something remained unfulfilled. Five days were simply not enough. Considering how much was there to explore, absorb and feel, we were way too rushed through the entire experience. I honestly felt that we barely scratched the surface of what this most powerful Shakti centre on planet, filled with unimaginable depth of history, has to offer.

Devi with a dear friend Ana Divac – constant laughter, lightness and inner joy marked this pilgrimage

One of my desires was to explore the secrets of Machu Picchu more deeply. The very next day the most powerful experience that I had during Machu Picchu Pilgrimage with Mohanji 2018 took place. A couple of us from the group climbed for an hour or so to the Sun Gate of the ancient Incas. In comparison with our Kailash yatra, this was nowhere as challenging – the altitude sickness was not so severe here and weather was really perfect.

However, a considerable amount of sweating and puffing was required to reach the Sun Gate. Absorbed in mantra chanting, I remember the moment when I finally reached this indescribably beautiful location. One look at it takes one’s breath away as the mouth open into a prolonged utterance of “woooow”!

One literally feels as if in Heaven – it’s not just the beauty of the landscape but the energy of the place. I felt embraced by the clouds, expanding in the womb-like shape of the vast heavenly space below. Answering the natural call to meditate, an hour or so elapsed while I was inhaling and exhaling the most loving Motherly energy. At some point, a blissful sensation of the golden spiral rising from the top of the head started to absorb my entire being, making me feel that a part of me is moving upward while another part of me is expanding in the womb-like space below.. (that’s the closest I can come to describing that experience using words). All I could offer was the most sincere Pranaams to the great Incas who blessed humanity with such a heritage.

What stayed with me during this trip as well were the love, ease, warmth and simplicity of the Quechuan people, descendants of the great Incas. Their wonderful Shaman taught us a lot about their ancient connection with Pachamama (Mother Nature and Time perceived as divine) and how She responds when we treat her with sincere love. The wind, the sound of water, the smell of grass, everything was heightened during the ceremony. Animals (dogs, birds) kept coming and we indeed could feel a true intimacy with Mother Nature.  Mohanji was silently participating in the whole process, holding off the rain clouds through his higher chakras. The very moment our sacred ceremony was over, the rain started. 🙂 Pachamama accepted out offerings of love.. It was so beautiful to witness this divine play (leela)…

Our lovely guide Martin from the wonderful tour agency Tucano Peru was a true embodiment of cuteness. He made us laugh endlessly and allowed us to truly feel the spirit of his people. We were in complete awe of all that we kept experiencing and the laughter, for one reason or the other (but mainly no reason known to mind) was continuous. 🙂

We also got to see first-hand how the beautiful colors and superb cotton and wool creations are made by the sweet Quechuans.

They entertained us indescribably by their jolly spirit, colorful creations and super cute accent of the chirpy Quechuan girl explaining the organic coloring process. One moment I will never forget was the demonstration of how they create all those intense colors from nature; how they crush and mix some plants into a sticky liquid, immerse the wool into it and color it instantly. Our lovely George Obengduro, with his cute spiky hairstyle, was seated very near to the lady who was demonstrating this process. When Mohanji joked that George could get up and have them dip the top of his spikes into that concoction, that was it – we just couldn’t stop laughing! The moment a thought of his spikes with white ‘snow peaks’ on top would come, I would laugh.

As if on some kind of a drug, very little was needed to start laughing there – indescribable lightness and joy was felt within all the time.

Another memory comes to mind instantly – the amazing Willka T’ika resort! I must say that, in my whole life of travel, I have never experienced a hotel like this. In my opinion, this should be rated as a 7-star hotel at least! It is built in complete harmony with nature, with a superb sense for beauty, history and balance. Run by a loving local family, who served us superbly delicious home-made vegan food and guided us through their chakra garden (each part of the garden had the topic of a chakra – e.g. Swadishtana chakra garden had yellow flowers and a small fountain, etc.) we had the best time ever!

Mohanji and I happened to get the room in the Crown chakra part. Inside this incredibly beautiful room there was a huge stone coming out of the floor. While building the hotel, they built it around the stone, which definitely has some energy in it. I have never, ever seen anything like this before.

I was really sad to hear that their hotel was not rated highly on Trip Advisor etc. This is my humble contribution in adding to the highest rating to this beautiful family and their loving hotel (please do a small service – go to tripadvisor.com and give them a good rating, please 🙂 ).

Our merry group at the Willka T’ika hotel, enjoying the chakra gardens and symbolically holding the Peace Pledge

While walking through the city of Cusco, Mohanji pointed out to us that, when the mind is sufficiently calm one can clearly feel the beautiful underground waters all over the place. The effect of that, plus the overall energy of the place, is so soothing that even though there were quite many stray dogs around, none of them were barking. A true Ahimsa! After he pointed that out, all of us realized how true this is –the flowing water effect was indeed palpable, with the soothing energy causing calmness and inner joy.

There is so much more I could say about our Machu Picchu experience 2018, but I would now like to focus on today’s experience, the one that prompted me to write this blog in the first place.

Here is the intro into the experience: Two months ago, while in St. Ana, Slovenia (our new home) I was surfing online and came across the Facebook page of a locally known bio-energy expert healer, lecturer and writer, Marjan Ogorevc. I never heard of him and found it interesting to explore what Slovenia’s spiritual scene has to offer. After a couple of random clicks on his page, I came across this photo:

Image sourced from the FB page of Marjan Ogorevc

After several seconds of looking at this photo, my Kundalini suddenly started to move. I was in bliss! I went into meditation, flowing through the experience, and for a split second in my inner vision I saw an image of a worm hole – as if a part of me remembered that I had traveled through it before. It was amazing! I instantly knew this sacred place is a mighty portal.

Image sourced from: https://www.express.co.uk/news/science/819741/Wormholes-in-Milky-Way-galaxy-interstellar

Mohanji explained to me before that, if our Kundalini spontaneously reacts to something, that’s a clear sign that this is something important for us, something we should look into.

When I researched more about this sacred site, I came to know it is called the “Gate of Gods” at Hayu Marca. In the process of online search, I found this amazing link with a text really worth reading (explaining all about this portal, experiences people had there and even the origin of the word “America”):

www.ancient-code.com/the-mysterious-gate-of-the-gods-at-hayu-marca-peru/

In view of all this, it is clear that the term “Gate of Gods” is not an overstatement here. In that instant a strong desire to visit this place arose within me (blink! Another desire! 🙂 ). I immediately contacted our Peru trip organizing team and was happy to hear that this sacred place is near Lake Titicaca. Since we will be going there this year, it indeed is on the list for our 2019 pilgrimage. Yippie!

Suddenly, another image appeared in front of my inner eye – a flash back of a similar mystical stone gate before,  with an entrance closed from inside the rock. That happened during our Kailash yatra in 2016. Mount Kailash, which means “precious jewel of eternal snow”, is considered to be the crown chakra of Mother Earth, the abode of Shiva, the axis of the world and the stairway to heaven. Some ancient sources say this enigmatic Tibetan mountain is where the mysterious City of the Gods is located.

In his book “In the search for the City of Gods in the area of Shamballa”, a famous Russian spiritual scientist Dr. Ernst Muldashev describes this unique rock on the path of Kailash yatra as one of the portals to Shamballa. He said that it is big enough for the spaceships to pass through it and that it can be opened only by those who have received the special mantra/code from the immortal Masters of Shamballa. After the trek during the first day of Kailash yatra 2016, I was blessed to spot it in the midst of the altitude sickness and tiredness. I clicked this photo, zooming in on the ‘door’:

When I compared my photo and the image from Dr. Muldashev’s book, I realized that I totally failed to notice another important part of this mighty portal to Shamballa – a huge concave ‘mirror’ on top.

In his book Dr. Muldashev explains how this ‘mirror’ is connected with the entire non-nature-made “City of Gods” at Kailash, which was clearly built by a highly advanced civilization during time of Lemuria. This goes to show just how much of our true history still remains unknown to us.

Now back to Slovenia and my Kundalini experience after seeing the “Gate of Gods” image from Hayu Marca near lake Titicaca –

A couple of days later, through a set of amazing synchronicities, I happened to meet this lovely man Marjan Ogorevc in the nearby city of Maribor. I briefly mentioned to him about our pilgrimages to Kailash and Machu Picchu. A beautiful chat ensued and I shared with him my Kundalini experience after seeing the above-mentioned photo of his at Hayu Marca. He then shared with me some of his experiences and directed me to see the video about David Icke, for whom Peru was the location where he had THE most transformative spiritual experience of his life. Here is a lovely video that I found online:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hp0XMYn_R7g&t=1366s

Now the best part – in that video, David mentioned a brilliant local tour guide Mallku, who is very spiritual and offers a deeper dimension to the entire experience, much more than the usual guides. I wished he could be our guide (there we go, another desire 🙂 ) and immediately started searching for him online. I  found his website http://www.mallku.me and contacted our team to see if we could have him as our guide for the Machu Picchu Pilgrimage with Mohanji 2019.  We emailed him via his website, explaining that we are coming with a spiritual Master from India and are not the common tourists, but no reply. We contacted him via Facebook as well, but nothing got finalized as his team said that most likely he won’t be available.

Today I spoke with our Peru Trip organizing team and they said that the most amazing thing had happened – our tour organizers from Peru happened to arrange for a tour guide on their own, and it’s none else but Mallku himself!  Jai Mohanji! 🙂

What can I say – nothing like the Guru’s grace…  I so look forward to our Pilgrimage to Machu Picchu this year, especially because we now have 9 days (April 11 – 20) which includes the magical Lake Titicaca and the Gate of Gods as well – with such a guide, and in the presence of Mohanji, I don’t even want to entertain the mind’s expectations of what can happen.

The last window of opportunity to join us for this pilgrimage is 31 Jan 2019 – if you are in a position to travel at that time, I strongly encourage you not to miss this unique chance.

I would like to conclude this blog by stating that I strongly believe that both, Kailash and Machu Picchu, were locations selected by people of really high level of consciousness (most likely not from planet Earth) and that this is where the natural beauty/predisposition of the location was enhanced by their high technology in order to create a true power center that supports our spiritual awakening.

Here are some images and drawings from the book “Cusco and the sacred valley of the Incas”, recommended to me by our previous guide Martin, which is truly precious in getting “the big picture.”

I was deeply touched and inspired by this book and many of our deep experiences during this unforgettable pilgrimage. Here are some images from this book – prepare yourself to be amazed as something deep within you gets stirred… :

During the time of Inca expansion, as they continued to penetrate into the jungle along the unlikely trails, the path that is today called “Inca Trail” allowed them to discover “a magical place set in the midst of a grove of high mountains and surrounded by an enormous serpent (symbolized by the Vilcanota River). This site of natural representation of their socio-religious schema emerging from the Mother Earth impressed them greatly. Concretely we can say that the peaks now called Machupicchu and Waynapicchu represent a divine pair, a YANATIN, and facing them is PUTUCUSI, a solitary peak, separate from the complex, standing alone like an axis, and completing the schema of odd and even.” This is how this natural formation of two circles with ceremonial platforms built on the tops of the peaks within this complex is shown.

The mountain that is today called Waynapicchu, presents a form that seems like a gigantic puma with its back curved and in an attitude of attack and defense. On top of the mountain some narrow terraces were constructed by the Incas to represent raised hackles and these were used as productive agricultural areas and an altar for offerings and for the observation of the celestial vault.
Next to this mountain there is another natural formation which consists of three rocky prominences; the two at either side represent half-opened wings and the one in the center the head of the bird. Incas made small terraces to represent the ruffle on the condor’s neck. […]
“Incas believed that the forces that are beyond the Earth (sun, moon, stars) have limited powers. Where these external forces may be absorbed (or represented on Earth) is when they acquire power. Only then when the stars are connected with a particular peak of a mountain do they become incarnate and from there they control the destiny of man.” (a possible parallel to ‘praana pratishta’ from ancient India). 

A powerful symbol of the Incas – the mighty condor, directed towards eternity and the infinite.. “The Quechua words ‘Machu Picchu’ signify Old Bird, or the sovereign guardian spirit of peace among the mankind.”

The mighty Condor:

And here is an artist’s composition of the powerful lizard Amaru Tupac at Machu Picchu – believed to represent the oldest being on Earth..
“The basic fundament of Inca belief was a cosmic concept, a belief that the Nature and Time (Pachamama) was a completely alive generator of the vitality of all beings, animate and inanimate.”

With all our contemporary technology, I am positive that we are nowhere near the ability to create something even remotely close to this…

And finally, I end this blog with a short story of Machu Picchu:

More than five hundred years ago, a very brave man whose name was Pachakuthik rose as the governor of a rising confederation established in the heart of the southern Andes. With time, his skill and intelligence turned a small nation into an extensive and powerful empire that spread across five countries in South America.

During his long reign, this Inca transformed the Andean world and in its honor he built the greatest monuments of his time, among which we can find the one considered our greatest cultural patrimony nowadays: Machu Picchu.

Most archaeologists now believe that the famous Inca site of Machu Picchu was built as an estate for Pachakuthik. In Quechua language, Pachakuthik means “he who overturns space and time”.

Hidden behind the fog in the middle of a thick mountain forest, Machu Picchu is undoubtedly the peak of Peruvian civilization, one that, without any contact with the western world, managed to achieve high levels of technology and social order.

A lovely Cafe on the way to Machu Picchu celebrates the mystery and beauty of the Crop Circles that we can find all over our beautiful planet, another proof that we simply can’t remain ignorant about the existence of civilizations far more advanced than ours…

If you can’t join us physically for the Machu Picchu with Mohanji Pilgrimage 2019, you are welcome to join us in spirit and open up to embrace a whole new vision of reality…

This blog is my humble offering in celebration of superb mysteries that surround us, higher Love and Peace within, and the higher purpose on our soul’s journey.

With love,

Devi Mohan

My truth – Interview for Magazine “She”

Interview with Devi Mohan by Branislava Micić from the “She” Magazine (Magazin ONA), Belgrade, Serbia, December 2018

Devi (Biljana) Mohan, the first Serbian woman who spoke at the Parliament of World’s Religions

“For the hungry, food is God“. Mohanji

“When you blame someone else and do not assume responsibility, you lose your power.” Devi Mohan

Devi (Biljana) Mohan is the President of a globally active charity organization ACT Foundation founded by her husband Mohanji, a spiritual Master from India. She is an international Certified Yoga Instructor and Director of the Himalayan School of Traditional Yoga. Devi is also a dedicated Mom of their daughter Mila. At the moment she lives in Slovenia.

Devi in Mohanji Datta Tapovan in Toronto, the first spiritual center of her Spiritual Master and husband Mohanji

The main cause of Devi’s interview by the Magazine She (Magazin Ona) was her speech at the Parliament of World’s Religions which took place in Toronto, Canada recently. This was a truly historic moment, since Biljana is the first Serbian national and the first woman from Former Yugoslavia who spoke at this world’s biggest interreligious and interfaith event, slowly growing into a full fledged international interfaith movement.

Can you please explain what is Parliament and what are its goals?

Devi Mohan: The Parliament of World’s Religions (PoWR) is the oldest, largest, most diverse and inclusive global interfaith event which included the biggest number of world’s religions and spiritual communities. Since 1893, when the first Parliament was held in Chicago, till date, this incredible event that celebrates the beauty and richness of our diversity, was held seven times (1893, 1993, 1999, 2004, 2009, 2015 i 2018), always at a different location. As the representative of Mohanji Foundation and experiential spirituality that we stand for, I was truly honored to be part of the event which gave voice to some of the greatest spiritual leaders in history of humankind: Swami Vivekanada, Nelson Mandela, Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso, Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, Jane Goodall, Sri Chinmoy, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and many more.

Powerful energy

What made this 2018 Parliament different?

This time the city of Toronto hosted the Parliament, the city that is number one in the world in terms of its diversity. And the 2018 Parliament was the biggest so far. From 1 – 8 November 2018, around 500 programs and events have been conducted. The Metro Convention Center in Toronto felt like a city, it was indescribably huge. There were around 10.000 visitors from 80 or so countries and more than 200 religious and spiritual communities. Even though I had studied International Affairs and after that did my Masters in Peace Studies, I simply never even heard of some of them (e.g. Cao Dai from Vietnam) and overall really expanded my horizons and knowledge base.

The speech of Devi Mohan at the 2018 Parliament of World’s Religions in Toronto

What left the deepest impression on you at the Parliament?

It was the incredibly powerful energy that was felt throughout the Parliament, starting with the Opening Ceremony when one of the representatives of the First Nation (the natives of Canada) spoke. Throughout the history, the Native tribes in Canada did not fare any better than the Native Americans, but it was wonderful to see that now they finally started to enjoy the attention, recognition and respect that they have always deserved.

All in all, this event was not about tolerance, nor was it an attempt to place all the eggs into one basket. On the contrary, PoWR was about true respect, recognition and celebration of our diversity. When we see a field full of beautiful flowers of all colors and shapes, we feel happy and remain in awe of the wondrous beauty of nature. Who would want to see the same flower everywhere? How boring would that be!

The glorious speaker

How did it happen that you were the one who participated at the Parliament of World’s religions

I admit that by June this year I did not even know that the Parliament of World’s religions continued to be held after the famous speech of Swami Vivekananda, in 1893. During my postgraduate studies, I read about this speech in my favorite book „Autobiography of a Yogi“ . The author of the book, Paramahamsa Yogananda, said that Swami Vivekananda literally downloaded English from the higher consciousness, while traveling from India to America. I was fascinated by that fact. Is it possible to clear up the antennas of our consciousness that much that we can bring down from the celestial library any kind of knowledge that we need? With this book, a true transformation took place in me and my firm decision to turn my inner compass towards opening in higher Consciousness, instead of career and accumulation of material goods, was made.

The audience at the 2018 Parliament

And what happened after this transformation?

After my studies, the first job opportunity appeared in Dubai, in 2005. I decided to move there mainly because it is close to India. Two years later, I met Mohanji and from that moment a whole new life had begun, a life that continues to write novels. In my natal chart, Jupiter is in the house of marriage and that is why it was simply given to me to have a spiritual teacher (Guru) for a husband. With Mohanji I learned what it means to live in the present moment and let the path be formed in front of our feet as we walk. I have no monthly salary, savings, nor do I have anything that is guaranteed in my life, which is exactly what the mind would like. I let myself go completely and while being in the present I do my best to live the spiritual teachings and the truth that we teach. In short, it is an experiential spirituality with an emphasis on selflessness, spiritual practice (meditation, yoga), charity work and assuming responsibility for everything that happens to us, while nourishing gratitude through all experiences, pleasant and unpleasant.

Images from the 2018 Parliament of World’s Religions

Let’s get back to the topic of what brought you to Toronto…

I learned  about the Parliament of World’s Religions in June 2018, during the peace event called Peace Pledge, in Assisi, Italy. It was a gathering of about twenty representatives of various spiritual paths and religions. Before the event in Assisi, I was a part of the first leg of Peace Pledge group that visited Greenland, from where we brought bottled water from the magnificent glaciers which are unfortunately melting at an incredible speed. At the same time, spiritual representatives from India brought with them the water from the holy river Ganges. During the peace prayer in Assisi we had a sacred ceremony during which these two waters were mixed. The energy during that event was superb. It was at this event that I met Audrey Kitagawa, a Chair elect of the 2018 Parliament of World’s Religions, who was the instrument of my participation at this magnificent event in Toronto representing Mohanji and Mohanji Foundation. Even though I didn’t know much about it, intuitively I felt that this event is important and that, in some way, it would change my life.

Devi with friends from Serbia and India in Toronto

What was the goal of your speech?

Remembering Swami Vivekananda and his speech, I gave myself a challenge to let all that I have to say simply flow through me. I didn’t prepare any notes. That is exactly why this was a really special, divinely beautiful and unforgettable experience. The goal of my speech was to express my own truth, based on my personal life experiences and insights. I wanted to emphasize that the charity work (love expressed through action, assuming responsibility to do what we can at any given moment in order to help someone who is helpless or weak), nonviolence towards other beings and Mother Earth, spirituality in general and pure unconditional love, are the key elements in achieving and preserving peace. I would like to share with you a quote from my speech (you can find the edited version of of key parts of the speech on Mohanji You Tube Channel): “I realized that if we want peace as a supreme energy to descend to earth, it must happen through our spine. The spine is the path to paradise. And that was the moment when I turned to India and the ancient teachings, because they have known it all along. They have known that the vertical dimension of human existence is the solution for peace.“

Devi Mohan with John Tory, the Mayor of Toronto

Was this the first time that women spoke at the Parliament?

No, but they were certainly represented much more then before. Several panels dedicated to challenges unique to women and women’s rights were held. In 2018, for the first time in the history of the Parliament of World’s Religions the Chairperson was a woman, and none other then the wonderful  Audrey Kitagawa, whom I met in Assisi. Originally from Japan,  Audrey may not be tall physically,  but in every other aspect she is a true giant. Her speech during the Closing Ceremony of the 2018 Parliament was especially beautiful. With an incredible ease and only a few notes in front of her, beautiful words and deep insights kept flowing through her, like pearls forming a lovely necklace. It was a very touching speech in which she mentioned her mother who was very eager to get educated, but never had the opportunity because she had to raise her daughters. She said: “Although she is not alive anymore, I know that she is with me now  in spirit and that she has achieved her dreams through my success.“ It is a story of many mothers including mine too, although I am fortunate that my Mom is still alive and supports me in everything I do, and my Dad as well.

Whom else among the speakers would you like to point out?

I would like to mention the former Prime Minister of Canada, Kim Kempbell, who made us laugh with her direct and bold statements such as: „Nuclear industry is a testosterone-fueled industry filled with machismo.“ Vandana Shiva from India also spoke brilliantly, focusing on the fight to preserve the seeds of our planet from the frightening hold of GMO corporations. There was one brilliant statement of hers that stayed with me: “All of us were created by the same God. What does that mean? Well, that we are related, that we are brothers and sisters!“

BEND IT LIKE BIBA

Interview with Devi (Biba) Mohan by Penny Fray from Y Magazine, Muscat, Oman, 2013

1)   How did you become interested in Yoga?

I must admit that my initial impression, if not prejudice, about Yoga is that it is too slow for me – since my student days (2004), I was practicing Tae Kwan Do and was used to intense training. While in Dubai (2005 – 2009), I was preparing for the Black Belt in Tae Kwan Do, plus was actively practicing Latino Dance (Salsa especially) and Yoga was nowhere on my list of preferred activities.

My first experience of a proper daily practice of Yoga was during one spiritual retreat in India, when I practiced Yoga and breathing techniques for two weeks and noticed immense changes at the level of body, mind and spirit. In physical terms, I’ve noticed my body changing into a beautiful shape within days, my skin becoming smooth and radiant; I experienced many signs of detoxing.

I learned how to withdraw from the senses and simply float into sleep, which increased the quality of my sleep as well as freshness in the morning – I was able to get up early without any problem. The lightness and causeless joy that I experienced were indescribable. Not only did I lose weight, but it dropped from the right areas – my body looked completely different, and my overall radiance increased visibly. More than the looks, it was how I felt that really mattered – I became balanced, my mind became calmer and concentration levels increased, while stress levels decreased. In line with Yoga philosophy, I trained myself to witness my emotions and thoughts and thus not react in given situations but respond with maturity. I discovered a new dimension of me, a beautiful inner world, and started enjoying the company of myself while also feeling/admiring everything around me, especially the beauty of the nature, much more intensely. Just like one gets excited when exploring new countries and new landscapes visible from the top of the hill, exploring our inner world brings immense joy and truly expands our horizons.

Similarly, when in company of other people, I noticed a big change – I became more compassionate and started sharing love and joy much more than before, pausing for a moment and looking deep into the eyes of each person, admiring the uniqueness of that soul. A desire to do charity work, to serve others and simply express love for no selfish reason, came to me naturally. I also started to feel uncomfortable/unnatural about eating meat and fast food – healthy food habits happened on their own.

Most importantly, I learned to simply flow with life, with no fear, accepting everything that comes my way with gratitude. And this is where the big lessons of life come into the picture, I guess, just so that we can affirm to ourselves experientially whether we have passed certain exams of life or not…

I trained hard to become a Yoga teacher because I wanted to share that joy, lightness and wisdom of Yoga with others. Soon after I became a Yoga teacher, the company I worked for went through financial crisis and monthly salary became a promise that was delayed from one month to another.

I’ll never forget the moment when I came to know that the company which enabled me to enjoy a luxurious lifestyle in a villa by the sea, simply went bankrupt – I was suddenly left with no job, no income, no accommodation and a massive debt on my credit card. I experienced something similar in my childhood, when war in former Yugoslavia erupted in 1991 and, over night, I became a refugee.

But this time I was more prepared to deal with the situation.

I remember my first reaction – I looked at my Yoga mat and thought to myself “I’m fine – well, I have my Yoga mat to sleep on. I will be just fine.” This courage, centeredness and surrender were gifts I could enjoy only thanks to Yoga.

2)   There are so many types out there – from yoga to Bikram to Hatha – how do you know which one is right for you?

I must say that a lot depends from the depth of one’s interest and from the Yoga teacher him/herself. It’s not so much about the skill but about the feeling – whether one really allows him/herself to go beyond the mind and ego and become aware of every cell of the body vibrating in perfect harmony.

I remember meeting a photo model from New York who was showing off in a coffee bar, saying loudly “I practice Ashtanga” – unfortunately, to many, Yoga became just another ‘in’ thing to do, but at a superficial level. I spoke with her for a while and soon came to know that she suffers from insomnia. I told her that something is not right with her Yoga practice because insomnia and Yoga definitely can’t come in a package.

There are many schools of Yoga nowadays but I’d say basic Hatha Yoga done with lots of feeling and awareness, followed by a meditation, is just perfect.

What I feel matters the most is the following:

While performing Yoga asanas with full awareness and breathing through the stiffness consciously, we should understand that we are addressing something that is far beyond mere lack of flexibility. Awareness of each movement and intention with which we move the body while performing Yoga asanas is the key.

The lack of flexibility is associated with energy blockages in the nadis, energy meridians in the subtle body, and with samskaras, negative/painful impressions of the mind stored in the muscles (and subconscious mind), which add on to the ‘luggage’ we carry unnecessarily. Yoga practice helps us to remove these blockages by working on our physical body, and to thus start experiencing the lightness and cause-less joy of our true Self.

Furthermore, it is important to keep the following in mind:

• There is nothing competitive about doing Yoga asanas and one should never become egoistical about his/her ability to perform asanas. Do not compare yourself with others as all of us have unique blockages and our inner journey is individual. While performing each asana, go as far as you can and each time push yourself just a bit more beyond what is comfortable. You will be amazed how fast your physical body will respond.
• While performing each asana, always be aware of your breath – never hold the breath, strain or frown. When breathing through the stiffness, keep your mind calm, facial muscles relaxed and focus on your breath. The quality of the breath will reflect what is going on in the mind, and consequently in the body. Thus, the breath should always remain smooth.
• Most importantly, train yourself to simply witness your physical, mental and emotional reactions as you perform Yoga asanas – do not allow your mind to wander to other subjects or follow other stimuli.
• As you become more regular and more adept in the practice, you can hold the asanas for longer, one to three minutes, without straining, always with relaxation in between. The goal is to hold the asanas with ease and enjoy the practice. Intense and challenging postures should always be followed with a short relaxation and each pose will have its counter-pose.
• Always allow some time for meditation (either in Shavasana or cross-legged position, but always keeping the spine straight) after your Yoga practice, to allow the energy to sink in and the cleansing to take place.

During my first ever Yoga class I met my husband Mohanji (www.mohanji.org ), who is definitely on top of the list of my greatest blessings in life. One of his great gifts is the ability to deliver profound inner experiences during meditation and help people unburden themselves from the unnecessary ‘luggage’ of negativities from the past, stored at the subconscious level.

We recently started conducting detoxing programs/Retreats during which Yoga, breathing techniques, healthy food, spiritual insights, fun-filled gatherings and dance all come together to bring about a profound inner transformation. Our next Retreat will be happening in Serbia in May and is designed for those who want to truly work on themselves with the aim of deep inner transformation.

3)   What are the benefits? How has it helped you? You mentioned that you gave birth more easily, without drugs, thanks to Yoga.

Another unforgettable benefit of Yoga that I experienced was a natural delivery of my baby girl 2 years ago – at the age of 33, without episiotomy. I noticed I was the only lady on the entire floor of the Zvezdara hospital in Belgrade who had a natural delivery without episiotomy.

A month before delivery, one doctor tried to scare me (in order to persuade me to schedule a Cesarean in advance)  by saying that, at the age of 33, natural delivery is too risky cause sphincter muscles are already less elastic and I am most likely to get torn badly. But he did not know that I practiced Yoga for years and Pregnancy Yoga (which includes techniques similar to Kegel’s exercises but much more effective because they are done in postures that increase the effect of muscle contraction and relaxation) during entire pregnancy. I also walked a lot every day and would amaze my cousins who would wake up in the morning seeing me doing a full split on the floor with a big belly in the middle. I was so joyful throughout the pregnancy and I prepared myself mentally for the challenge of delivery with a mindset of a warrior – I will go through it without any chemicals no matter what.

As all mothers know, the pain of contractions is immense and way beyond the threshold of bearable pain. I challenged myself to somehow shift to the ‘right brain’ (active during meditation, creative work, dance..) and relax through the experience regardless of the pain. But the immensity of pain surprised me. I struggled for hours and reached the point at which I thought that I won’t be able to survive this challenge. I witnessed those thoughts and then, at one point, the ‘brave warrior’ in me rose from the ashes and I intuitively discovered a method that worked wonders for me – I stood next to the delivery bed, swayed my hips (similar to Salsa dance) as if spiraling with them, and swayed my head left and right, not caring how I look to others and whether anyone is watching. I just let go and when the pain of contractions would kick in I could somehow flow through it, just spiral through it all, and go beyond the usual body sensation. My midwife came to check on me and was amazed – it took me 14 hours to dilate 5cm and only 30 min. of swaying the hips to open the remaining 5!

Soon enough, a beautiful little girl, the most amazing miracle of nature, was placed on my chest and agh, my joy knew no bounds. In a rush of joy hormones I laughed and cried at the same time in complete delirium – I was on top of the world, I was the Universe!

There are no words that can describe the immensity of that joy – for the first time I felt deeply grateful, deeply honored, for the privilege of being a woman! Thank you Yoga and the ancient sages, thank you Divine.

Biba Mohan

Waking up from a dream not worth perpetuating any longer

Today early morning (29 Nov 2018) a powerful dream/experience/message happened to me. It left a profoundly deep impact, really shook me up and filled me with wonder. I needed time to integrate all those deep emotions and experiences.

Whatever the ultimate truth may be, we must never lose our child-like wonder and the thirst to ‘look up’/within for the answers

In this dream/experience I found myself in a bigger group of people. We were getting ready to go somewhere and Mohanji was there as well, surrounded by people with many questions. In the end only our daughter Mila and I took the journey.

After entering an elegant capsule-shaped elevator made of glass, we traveled up into the transport vehicle – I looked up and saw a beautiful spacecraft, realizing in an instant that this is where the super-light elevator is taking us. The spacecraft was silver, with a bit of pearl-like glow. It was of triangular shape, with one side of the triangle being slightly rounded and decorated with golden lights. Similar to a cockpit, there was a semi-circle made of thick glass towards the top of the triangle opposite from the lights. I’ve not seen such spacecraft ever before, on Internet or any prior vision/account.

As we entered, the area where we got seated was really elegant, all in glass (I assume that’s the ‘cockpit’), with the prime view of beautiful sky all around us. The journey started super smoothly without any sound of engine or any shaking or jerking – all perfectly smooth, soft and elegant. Mila was silent and awe-struck. I could sense the loving presence of other beings around us, but they didn’t ‘wear’ bodies and that didn’t bother me at all. The energy we were in was so overwhelmingly pleasant and the inner sensation of freedom, joy and love simply indescribable.

We were moving at a very high speed and yet so gently. I knew we started from Europe but in less than 1 or 2 min we were passing through New York (I could recognize the tall NY skyscrapers). What really surprised me was the ease with which we were passing THROUGH the tall buildings. We didn’t have to go around them – the moment we approached any of the buildings, their molecular structure would change. It was as if they would instantly turn into some kind of a jelly (or just a hologram) so that we could pass through them smoothly. This was the most superior technology I’ve ever seen! And at the same time it was fully in harmony with everything around it – nicely blending in, not causing any harm or disturbance to anyone. In other words, the evident command of physical laws and laws of nature was not arrogant, but loving and considerate.

After that, the energy became even more intense as we started taking off into outer space. Unfortunately, that part simply did not register in my mind –for reasons unknown to me, all I remember was that I came back to the same place and the same group of people. They were same but I was not… Still so filled with awe after all these supreme experiences, I was literally shocked by the return into this vibration. It felt like an unbearably painful fall. Utter disappointment and depressive heaviness overwhelmed me as I joined the much, much lower vibration of our daily life. I observed the busy minds, people chatting, caught up in their mind, emotions and the mundane issues. “Goodness, what a horrid matrix!”, I thought. It was so incredibly challenging to integrate this experience. I got up with a puffed face as if I cried a lot, rushing to get Mila ready for school on time.

This experience prompted me to write this blog. It makes one wonder – what is reality and what is the dream here…? I still remember the agony with which, towards the end of this dream, I tried to share my experience with one man. I was already feeling how my words could not describe the depth of these mighty sensations of freedom and love supreme. He listened a bit and then brushed it off by saying that he is in a hurry to pack his bag. Surrounded by all those ‘hurry-worry’ types, my second attempt was equally miserable. The pain of not being understood while being separated from those supreme energies demanded silence and introspection. In that crowd, Mohanji alone was different. I knew he would understand me, so I tried to reach him to discuss this experience with him, but he was still surrounded with so many people asking him questions, so I didn’t feel like interrupting. I had to deal with this alone…

It then struck me how difficult it must be to be AWAKE in this world and still function in a sane way… Disparity between our true potential and what we live in our daily lives is painfully huge. The burden that the awakened Masters actually carry, while ever so lovingly and patiently sharing their energy, love and knowledge, is surely unfathomable.

It is high time that we wake up from this reality that CAN BE so much greater, so much more loving and free, if we CHOOSE to break the invisible chains within our minds which perpetuate such reality (the movie ‘Matrix’ comes to mind in a strikingly real and new way…).

I would like to end this sharing with a text I wrote a couple of years ago upon reading an e-book about the encounter with a Pleiadean. (This is a collection of original transcripts of the REAL LIFE interviews of a nurse called Matilda with a spiritually evolved extraterrestrial. This happened in America in 1947.)

(image sourced from the net)

How’s this for a lesson in our forgotten human history on Earth (to me, it makes much more sense than the Darwinian story of our ape-like ancestors or the literal interpretations of the Adam and Eve story):

https://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/vida_alien/alieninterview/alieninterview07.htm

The full e-book can be found here (after Foreword, you can go straight to the Transcripts of the Interview Sessions):

https://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/vida_alien/alieninterview/alieninterview00.htm#Foreword

My prayers and deep gratitude go to the beautiful soul of Matilda Macelroy, a Medical Nurse in the US Army, who wrote about this experience at the time when a spacecraft from Pleiades crash-landed in USA, with ‘Airl’ as the survivor. Matilda was a person of great integrity and purity – without her courage and commitment to the Truth, we would have never had the privilege of reading this literally mind-blowing material.
It was so amazing to read this – I felt that something within me was REELING with joy, as it always felt like common sense to me that highly evolved civilizations not only exist in the outer space, but have been helping us from time immemorial. I personally had several profound inner experiences confirming that.

As Dr. Sunny Satin said, in the amazing book “The Shift”, people who wonder how come we were not aware of the evolved ‘aliens’ so far, should know the following: if we place our current stage of evolution on a scale of 1 -100, we have reached the sad level of only 3! Asking why we are not included into the ‘Galactic Federation’ etc. would be the same like an African bushman asking why he’s not invited to the UN Security Council. In simple words, we are not eligible. Most people still function from the gross level of fear and greed… I just love the way this particular extraterrestrial politely ignored all the US Navy ‘experts’ and would communicate only with a simple nurse, due to her purity. And then, how ironic, they even tried to apply their silly coercion methods on her (electric shocks and the like), as if she had any attachment to her physical ‘doll’ body – simply pathetic!

Here are a few quotes to give you a ‘feel’ of this text:

“The notion that human biological organisms evolved naturally from earlier ape-like forms is incorrect. No physical evidence will ever be uncovered to substantiate the notion that modern humanoid bodies evolved on this planet. Factually, humanoid bodies have existed in various forms throughout the universe for trillions of years.
[…]
The essence of creation and existence cannot be found through the lens of a microscope or telescope or by any other measurement of the physical universe. One cannot comprehend the perfume of a flower or the pain felt by an abandoned lover with meters and calipers.
[…]
Everything you will ever know about the creative force and ability of a God can be found within you – an Immortal Spiritual Being.
[…]
You, and every IS-BE (Immortal Spiritual Being that you are) on Earth, have participated in the creation of this universe. Even though you are now confined to a fragile body made of flesh; you live, in average, for only 65 short rotations of your planet around a star; you have been given overwhelming electric shock treatments to wipe out your memory; you must learn everything all over again each lifetime. In spite of all these circumstances, you are who you are and will always be. And, deep down, you still know that you are and what you know. You are still the essence of you.
[…]
How can a blind man teach others to see the nearly infinite gradients that comprise the spectrum of light? The notion that one can understand the universe without understanding the nature of an IS-BE is as absurd as conceiving that an artist is a speck of paint on his own canvas.
[…]
Study of the spirit has been booby-trapped by the thought control operation through religious superstitions instilled in the minds of men.
Conversely, the studies of the spirit and the mind have been prohibited by science which eliminates anything that is not measurable in the physical universe. Science is the religion of matter. It worships matter.
[…]
The debilitating impact and addiction to the “sexual aesthetic-pain” electronic wave 209 is the reason that the ruling class of The Domain, from which I come, do not inhabit flesh bodies. This is also why officers of The Domain Forces only use doll bodies. This wave has proven to be the most effective trapping device ever created in the history of the universe, as far as I know.
[…]
The vested interest of the “Old Empire” prison system is to prevent you from looking at your own soul. They fear that you will see in your own memory the slave masters who keep you imprisoned. The prison is made of shadows in your mind. The shadows are made of lies, and pain, and loss, and fear.
[…]
The true geniuses of civilization are those IS-BEs who will enable other IS-BEs to recover their memory and regain self-realization and self-determination. This issue is not solved through enforcing moral regulation on behavior, or through the control of beings through mystery, faith, drugs, guns or any other dogma of a slave society. And certainly not through the use of electric shock and hypnotic commands!
[…]
The closest concept that human beings have to describe an IS-BE is as a god: all-knowing, all-powerful, infinite. So, how does a god stop being a god? They pretend NOT to know. How can you play a game of ‘hide and seek’ if you always know where the other person is hiding?”

Our richness is in sharing from the purest space within the heart. In our awareness is the key to Truth…

Mohanji and Devi in Novi Sad, Serbia in 2017. Photo by Marko Milovic

With love and gratitude,

Devi Mohan

Marija Govedarica lives on…

Our Marija – travelling on….

Marija was my best friend, Maid of Honor at my wedding and someone who knew me truly and deeply. So unique in her inner and outer beauty, inimitable in her warmth, Marija was a true blessing.

Marija as the Maid of Honor at my wedding, 18 April 2010

She called me Biljka. That was a nickname by which only Marija used to address me and later on it became contagious – her parents and all our mutual friends started calling me Biljka (pronounced as Bilyka). This word was like a code for expansion of my heart – the moment I would hear Marija’s warm and long “Biiiiiiiiiljka”, coupled with her unique smile, a wave of inner joy would engulf my heart. She would make me feel so loved, authentic and special.

The timelessly beautiful smile of my dear Marija

The warmth and depth in Marija’s eyes, the joy in her mouth-wide-open hearty laughter, her ability to listen ever so deeply and devotedly noticing every little detail, her unique words of endearment and style of communication – that was my one and only shesha whom I love with all my heart.

Not just smiling, but smiling from the heart…

“Shesha” was the number one favorite word invented by Marija, a word embedded with cuteness, softness and love. That was the word she used for her pet and all those whom she loved a lot. Such was Marija’s nature – indescribable beauty and love, and most of all striking purity of heart which can never be forgotten. This is my humble attempt to convey just how much I love my dearest Marija and how uniquely beautiful she was.

University days in Rome

I will never forget our first encounter. We were on some sort of a tour organized by John Cabot University (JCU). I joined JCU in late August 2000, after a year of truly challenging work as Language Assistant for the United Nations Mission in Kosovo. I barely survived that year, went through a near-death experience and many dangerous situations.

Marija and I in 2003 at the entrance to the apartment where I used to live – Via della Scala 6, 2 min from JCU

When I arrived to Rome after winning a Balkan Presidential Scholarship, I received a life line, regained my sanity and started a completely new life. Still, initially it took me a couple of months to actually adapt to my new environment. It seemed too good to be true and the weight of the past experiences took time to digest.

Due to the war in Former Yugoslavia and many ups and downs of life, I felt much older than the students of my generation. I did not quite connect with any of them – not until Marija arrived to JCU a year later. She just appeared out of nowhere that day, during this JCU tour. It was she who spotted me in the crowd of students listening to the tour guide that afternoon. She shared with me later on how she experienced our encounter:

“I noticed a girl who stood out from the rest through her very presence. You were dressed differently and radiated differently. I could feel your clothing and posture were not a show-off different, but authentic different. I somehow knew right away you were from Serbia. When I heard you speak I could make out by the accent that my intuition was correct. So I approached you right away.” That day marked the beginning of a friendship that truly enriched my life.

Graduation dinner, Rome 2003

At that time I was deeply in love with Sinisha, a Serbian guy from Croatia. I met him in Zagreb in August 2000 while waiting for my student visa to be issued. During the two days that we spent together I fell in love with him so deeply that it took me some time to gather myself. Just like everything in my life, Sinisha could not be like ordinary guys. He had an unusually high IQ and was very spiritual, deep, mysterious and complex. Our conversations and emails were like spiritual discourses and many a times our emotional rollercoasters were overwhelmingly intense. There was nothing I loved more than to meet my dearest Marija over a cup of Cappuccino in one of the many beautiful café bars of Trastevere (the heart of Rome, where our University was located and where I managed to find a small apartment to rent) and discuss our number one topic – Sinisha. In fact, ‘Spirituality cum Sinisha’ was our favorite topic because of the depth of his words and his spiritual background. Marija and I loved to talk about spiritual teachings, real-life issues, challenges on the soul’s journey, astrology, love and pain, the essence of life… Many times it happened that I would meet her with the following words, brimming with excitement: “Shesho, you won’t believe what happened….” – we couldn’t wait for the lectures to end so that we could sit together over a cup of Cappuccino and discuss my latest communication with Sinisha and the realization related to the same.

While listening to me, her sparkling eyes would glue on me as if she wasn’t breathing. She would get so deeply engrossed. I have never met such a great listener like Marija. Her empathy was endless and focus onto herself and her own needs so incredibly small. Unlike me, she mainly wore jeans, paid no intention to hair styling or make-up. She was as simple as she could be, completely natural and so beautiful in her simplicity. We were like two opposites that matched perfectly as friends. Sinisha’s father was a great astrologer and he did a 120-page-long astrological profile of both of us. We dissected it in pieces and were often joking about my Moon in Leo (which is why I always had to have puffed hair and striking presence, like a proud lion who finds it natural to dominate and be ‘on stage’) while she was a real Leo in horoscope but so introverted.

Graduation – photo by a dear friend called Beppe

Trip to Baghdad

Soon after graduating from John Cabot University, Marija and I embraced the opportunity to go to work for a month or two for an American company, a private contractor with State Department. Our friend Ron said we would be safe at the Baghdad hotel and could work there as admin assistants. It was a great idea to earn a bit of money, but more than anything to experience firsthand what is happening in Iraq, an experience that kind of matched with our field of studies of International Affairs. So off we went. It was a real adventure to get there and even greater adventure to stay there.

Even though it was very dangerous to commute in Baghdad, we decided to visit the family with whom Marija grew up. She lived in Iraq for several years as a child and was eager to meet these people and see if they needed any help. I will never forget the moment we reached their house with an armored vehicle and their shock when they saw the tall and beautiful Marija whom they saw last when she was 5 or so. With tears in their eyes they showed us the photo of Marija and her family and expressed so much love. All of it was simply surreal.

Postgraduate studies in America

After graduating from JCU and visiting Iraq, I went on to Amerika. I was incredibly lucky to win another scholarship just through mere internet search and application – this time for the postgraduate Peace Studies at the stunning Notre Dame University. I was in touch with Marija literally daily and when she came to know that Sinisha is about to get a son from another lady, with whom he was in a long-term relationship all along, she immediately decided she had to tell me that even though she knew it would hurt a lot. With Marija’s support and love I could handle anything. She always referred to problems as challenges, lessons of Saturn, etc. She had a unique talent to somehow direct one’s attention to deeper topics and meaning, beyond the obvious. She was always there for me to help me surf the waves of duality of life.

Dubai days

After graduating from Notre Dame, my job search and longing to be near India, the cradle of spirituality, brought me to Dubai. I eventually got employed by a man from State Department who recognized me from the UN days in Kosovo and offered me a job as Office Manager straight away. I had nothing else really solid going on so I accepted. The company grew fast and I was soon promoted into Director of Administration. I was allowed to employ people and so I brought Marija and my sister Dana to work with me, while Aleksandra (Belka) from Belgrade joined our merry group later on as well. For almost two years a group of joyous Serbian ladies lived in a villa by the sea in Dubai with an African American friend and we shared many beautiful experiences. We traveled to India many times for various spiritual courses and trainings, went Salsa dancing, walked and meditated at the beach together, trained Tae Kwan Do together and overall shared many unforgettable experiences that deepened our friendship many times over. I felt blessed that we had the chance to live and work together, embracing the infinite possibilities and experiences of life with openness and gratitude.

In 2006 I took two weeks off and joined a holistic doctor from Croatia on a spiritual adventure of travelling across India with GDV camera with which she intended to scan the auras of spiritual Masters. It was lots of fun. In the end we went to the abode of Sathya Sai Baba where I experienced profound realizations. It became clear to me that I wanted to do real service to humanity and that only a man who would be like a spiritual Master but unassuming could be my life partner. I asked Sai Baba for that blessing and forgot about it.

Soon after I returned to Dubai, the company we worked for went bankrupt all of a sudden, owing us last six salaries. We trusted them fully, naively and patiently waiting for the salaries to come. That never happened. In a blink of an eye we entered some serious financial challenges of life. Each one of us went her way looking for a way out of the debt on our credit cards. My sister Dana got a job offer in Nepal and moved there, while Marija and Belka returned to Serbia. Due to the car loan, I had to stay in Dubai and find another job. At that time I also became a certified Yoga instructor, learning how to stabilize myself from within in any circumstance of life. I did get a job offer through another friend to join United Nations Mission in Jordan, but I refused. For the first time after Sinisha, in January 2007 I finally met someone special with whom I could imagine myself in a deep and fulfilling relationship. His name was Mohan and out of respect people called him Mohanji. He was a founder of a charitable organization called Ammucare, dedicated to his daughter whom he lost in a road accident.

Mohanji and Marija in Belgrade, 2010

It didn’t take me long to understand that he was THE ONE I asked for from Sai Baba. Through telepathic communication with Mohanji, Sai Baba made sure we understood that.

Marija and Mohanji in Belgrade, 2010 – when he gifted her the book about Shirdi Sai Baba – Shri Sai Satcharitra

Marija and I now had many more profound stories to share. She was no longer with me physically but we were in touch regularly through online chat and email. After she went to USA and got busy with her studies and work challenges, our communication did reduce a bit but we always longed to spend time together. Memories of our long talks over a cup of Cappuccino were something we always used to mention with great joy.

When I got married in April 2010, Marija was my Maid of Honor at the wedding. We shared the joy of that day and laughed how Mohanji and I left the wedding to conduct the meditation in Belgrade.

Marija and Klara, our Maids of Honor, April 2010

Marija was fully involved with all our spiritual happenings.

Marija leaning on Mila in my belly, after meditation two weeks before Mila was born, March 2011

She was the first person from Serbia to be initiated into Mohanji’s Energy Transfer and conducted Mohanji’s meditation in Belgrade on regular basis.

After meditation in Belgrade, at Toma’s , 2011

When our daughter Mila was born in 2011, Marija came to our home in Novi Sad and held her with endless love. All her loving expressions were special and beautiful.

Marija admiring the new born Mila, April 2011

She was teasing my Dad a lot calling him “Ljubinko” because he likes to kiss a lot and easily cries during any moment that he finds touching. Mom, Dana and I criticize him a lot when he drinks but Marija would always say “Don’t be too strict with my Ljubinko. He has a good heart. That’s what’s most important. ” Her warmth and love simply engulfed our home, with so much joy and laughter. Such was Marija’s presence.

Marija’s parents with my parents at their home in Mostanica, 2015

At this point in time Marija was already living in New York and struggled financially. She spoke often of the tough life lessons that she was going through and how Saturn is delaying everything – no boyfriend, no job, no stability of any sort. But she was not telling anyone just how heavy that weighed down on her. I remember a point when she sent an email asking her closest friends for financial help. I knew how proud Marija was and that she must have been in real, big-time trouble to actually ask for help. Her email left a deep impression and I could feel her pain. With the help of our well off friends who worked in Oman, Mohanji and I opted to send Marija the savings earmarked for Mohanji’s ashram in India because we decided that supporting Marija was more important than buying the land. However, that still wasn’t enough because her student loan debt was very big. I was praying for Marija to come out of those challenges and never thought they would leave a detrimental effect on her health…

Life in Serbia

I never thought I was actually going to move to Serbia. In 2014, after I went to Kailash (Tibet), I decided to take a plunge by leaving my office job, embracing an adventure of life through Yoga teaching and experiential spirituality.

Meeting Marija in Mostanica, Serbia in 2015

Aside from Mohanji, Marija was a great support in this entire process of me becoming authentic and fearless. She was the first to encourage me to simply go back home and experience how much the support of the parents really means, especially when one has a small child. Even though she was not married and did not have her own children, somehow she had this amazing practical knowledge and wisdom. She was right. After ten years of living in the Middle East, I actually felt happy and settled when I came back to Serbia. I travelled a lot in that period and was happy to meet Marija in New York once.

Meeting dear Angelo and Marija in New York, Oct 2014

Angelo, our friend from student days in Rome, and Marija met me in a Pizzeria and teased me about my Indian accent of English (I do admit I was pronouncing some words with Indian accent because I was mainly surrounded with people from India). We hugged and laughed to no end.

Lights of the big city – Mila and I enjoying the company of Marija in New York, Oct 2014

Marija’s style of communication was uniquely transmissible through her written communication as well. Here is one example of messages filled with love that I was getting from Marija via online chat:

“Woooooooow, how sweeeeeeet all of you are.  And my sweet little Milkaaaaaaaa Milkarevich – she is absolutely BEA–U–TI – FUL. Singing a birthday song to her Papa Paparevich.”

Next time we met was at Marija’s home in Mostanica, Serbia in 2015. I came with my parents and daughter Mila, with whom Marija played a lot, talking with her like with an adult. They were plucking strawberries from Govedarica family’s garden, laughed and played, and overall we enjoyed our time together so, so much.

Marija, Mila and the joy of the home-grown, super organic strawberries :-), Mostanica 2015

 

Bidding farewell to Marija

I remember how shocked I was to learn that Marija got diagnosed with ovary cancer. Initially I just couldn’t believe it – the news simply wouldn’t ‘digest’ within me. Then we went on discussing various treatment options. With time I understood her frustration of receiving so many advices but not knowing how it feels when one actually has a fast progressing cancer, demanding urgent action. Even though we never thought Marija would resort to chemotherapy, she said she had to. She was too scared at that point. I felt I had no right to advise her.

I was travelling with Mohanji to US in April 2016 for his programs in America and felt so happy I could squeeze a trip to New York into the already packed schedule.

With my brave Marija, New York, 2016

Mila travelled with us so two of us went to Marija’s apartment in New York to visit her and her Mom Nada who was by her side all along, helping her in all possible ways like only Moms could. Marija was working on laptop, doing her office work from home whenever she could concentrate.

Marija playing with princess Rapunzel Mila 🙂

I admired her determination to continue working even while in the midst of chemotherapy treatment. Mila was dressed as a princess Rapunzel and wanted to play with Marija. She showered Mila with love and attention, never even giving her a hint that she was not well.

Her stomach was filled with water and she was feeling weak but she smiled a lot and showed so much of strength. I was sure she was going to make it. I had a flue that day and could not do Mai-Tri energy healing for her. I felt sad about it as I really wanted to share that energy with her, but I guess it was not meant to be…

Last time I got a message from Marija was on 11 May. She said the latest immunotherapy was working well and that the last scan showed the cancer is withdrawing. She was using several other holistic remedies and said most likely the joint effect of all that was good. We were on Hvar island in Croatia at that time. Mohanji was conducting a retreat. I sent Marija a video in which Mila imitates her style of talking, uttering another famous word of Marija’s: “Chuuuuupitza”. Mila pronounced it exactly the way Marija does and that made her so happy! We laughed about it endlessly. She then said: “Lucky you. Enjoy the sea and fresh air, enjoy for me as well. I am with you in my meditations and prayers.”

Marija in her apartment in New York, supported by her beloved Mom Nada during the challenging days of chemotherapy

I never thought those would be her last words to me.

I sent her several messages in June but never got a reply. And then, one day I got a message from Angelo via messenger: “Did you hear about Marija?” I immediately felt my heart rate increasing and wished he would say that what I felt he is about to say is not true. But he didn’t. Then aunty Nada answered the phone and confirmed it to me as well. We cried together and I simply had to allow myself some time to stay in silence and not run away from the pain.

Two days later, while conducting our regular meditation in Novi Sad, I asked all present to send blessings to the soul of Marija who left her body. The word “death” never resonated with me because I know through my own experience there is no end on the soul’s journey. I knew that leaving the body doesn’t mean that anything real ended, only physical existence in the current scenario did. At some point during that meditation, I spontaneously started sending energy to Marija, as if doing distant healing. I visualized her face and her body and started sending energy, which was literally gushing through my palms. And then it happened – she appeared in my inner vision in the form of light and spoke to me in her typical teasing way: “Biljka, silly, I no longer have a body. Why are you visualizing me like that?” And then she beamed intense sparkling golden energy into my being, flooding me with immense joy. This experience removed all the sadness from my heart. I was ecstatic!

Marija’s smile on the photo, the beautiful white coffin with golden edges, the flowers and the most serene graveyard in the nature – Peace…

At Marija’s funeral, when her Mom Nada asked me to speak about Marija, I agreed simply because I felt I was now empowered to lift myself above the tears and sadness and speak about the beauty of Marija. Frankly, I don’t remember what I said at that time, it all just flowed through me, but I was happy I could do it for I know Marija would have teased me: “Well of course, who will speak if not my dear Biljka”, always encouraging my “Moon in Leo” expressions and the highest possible version of me.

Not a day passes that I don’t remember Marija. In my prayers before eating food, in various moments of life, Marija is with me. Through the scholarship at John Cabot University and love in our hearts, Marija lives forever.

In the month of June 2018 I visited our John Cabot University and our beloved Trastevere for the first time since 2003 when we graduated.

I had tears in my eyes when I entered and saw our group photo with Marija on it. I would give anything to be able to invite her for a cup of Cappuccino in Trastevere and share with her all the latest news and experiences on my soul’s journey.

JCU generation 2013 – at JCU…

Nobody could ever share my joys and pains like my true friend Marija… I walked around the University reminded of so many beautiful experiences with her and soaked all that in through silence and tears…
Destiny so willed it that I came to Italy 15 years later for an amazing event called Peace Pledge, celebrating unity in diversity, the essence of all religions and spiritual teachings – Love and Compassion as the foundation of Peace.

With my husband and Spiritual Master – Mohanji, at the Peace Pledge event in Assisi, 29 June 2018

15 years ago I would have never thought I would be here again with my husband from India and dear friends from various countries, that too for a cause of Peace. A true miracle of life… I regret not meeting any of my friends and former professors as it was weekend. But most of all, I missed my dear Marija a lot…

I love you my dearest shesha – you live in my heart, now and always, into Eternity.

Amin and Namaste,

Your Biljka/Devi Mohan