THE UNIVERSE KNOWS

WORDS: DEVI MOHAN
PHOTOS: FROM THE PRIVATE ARCHIVE

Sometimes we need to lose somewhat in order to gain at a different level, where it truly counts. This principle of losing in order to increase the inner space for receiving what is truly needed, sums up my Coronavirus quarantine experience.

Since the days of war in Former Yugoslavia, I em­braced uncertainty as my friend and a launching pad into a better, more expanded understanding and experience of reality. Interestingly enough, when Mohanji and I got married in 2010, he told me: “By marrying me, you have married uncer­tainty.” He is usually very cryptic and it takes time to understand the deeper meaning of his words. I remember smiling and giving a naughty remark: “How romantic.” 🙂 But at a deeper level, it was a confirmation for me that I am on the right path.

All our comfort zones are beloved to our ego and mind full of expectations, insecurities and de­sires. At the soul level, there is absolutely no at­tachment to comfort zones. We are all equipped by our Creator to deal with anything, and by that I mean anything, that comes our way – including the current Coronavirus fear pandemic perpetu­ated by the media.

I would like to start this experience sharing by looking back at the start of 2020, when I conduct­ed an unforgettable Conscious Dancing session in Belgrade, Serbia. I remember the thought I had “This year is going to be something special.” From there on, I was in a full speed – starting from Slovenia, I travelled to Serbia to conduct a training program, then proceeded to a pilgrimage to the Holy Land as Mohanji Foundation repre­sentative. This was followed by some super-in­tense series of yoga and meditation programs that I conducted in Qatar, various programs and trainings within Mohanji Foundation platform in Sri Lanka and India, then a month-long Hima­layan School of Traditional Yoga Teacher Train­ing Course (where I had committed to be actively involved as the Faculty till the final examinations), until the next destination where programs were planned – London.

But Universe had a different plan… Just before coming to India, our daughter Mila joined Mohanji and I in Sri Lanka for his birthday celebration and the travels that ensued. She was to stay with us for two weeks before resuming school in Slove­nia. We even celebrated her birthday early, before she was scheduled to leave. However, just when the Yoga Teacher Training Course was ending, the sudden lockdown took place in India. In the middle of the night, as the full curfew was being enforced, I managed to reach Mohanji ashram in Bangalore, a lovely house in which Mohanji, his parents, Mila and a couple of our friends were staying. The entire situation with Coronavirus lockdown seemed like a scene from a Matrix movie. It was completely surreal.

All of this felt like somebody pressed a mighty brake from above while I was on the fastest high­way track, moving in full speed. “And now what?” was the natural question that arose in many minds, including mine. Air tickets were lost, programs cancelled, opportunities lost, plans changed, but at a deeper level there was a lot to be gained. Upon Mohanji’s advice, and by the natural flow of the events that ensued, I intensi­fied what was missing – quality time in silence within, through my own spiritual practice, as well as the quality time with our daughter Mila, who misses her parents too many times per year.. Her Indian grandparents are elderly and this was a precious time for Mohan family to spend time to­gether. I am forever grateful on that opportunity.

Moreover, soon after the lockdown had started, the auspicious time of Navratri came. Tradition­ally, this is the special time in India when different aspects and qualities of Divine Mother are being celebrated, worshipped and imbibed through a fire ceremony called Homa. Since the days of war and despair in Former Yugoslavia, when my spiritual journey effectively started, I felt an es­pecially deep connection with the Divine Mother (in Christianity we call her Mother Mary, but lat­er on in India I connected at a deeper level with all aspects and qualities of Mother, including the powerful, fierce, protective one). This led me to choose the name Devi in 2015, to honor and further strengthen this sacred connection with Mother.

It is said that five is the minimum number of people needed to form solid group energy in any spiritual process. And so it happened that five of us (from Europe, USA, India and Australia), were blessed to get together and truly make the best out of the Coronavirus quarantine situation. We were getting up at 4.30am to prepare and chant mantras for 3h hours every morning during those nine days of Navratri Homa. This was done in the virtual company of tens of thousands of peo­ple who were joining us through Facebook Live streaming. We were receiving feedback from people how powerful the cleansing was, crying, bliss, inner revelations, clarity at the level of the mind, deep inner experiences, all this took place.

In my case, it all culminated on the first and second day after Navratri. The morning after Navratri, on April 3rd, my usual Consciousness Kriya practice felt much deeper and I could feel the energy in my spine for quite some time after­wards. On April 4th, I followed the same routine of yoga and kriya and then felt the pull to take a nap afterwards. Mohanji told me that from 9 – 10.30am that morning will be a “special time, highly auspicious, great for chanting Shiva man­tras. Not a minute should be wasted.” I got up just on time and hurried to join my friends Rajesh and Ananth who did a prolonged Yagnya (cleansing through fire) especially for this occasion. Ananth then started chanting the Rudram – he said he has been practicing Vedic chanting since child­hood and really loves it. I must say it was really amazing. I could feel the effect of this Rudram, together with the Yagnya that Rajesh was per­forming, and simply enjoyed the vibes seated next to them.

At some point I felt a super intense energy liter­ally grabbing me from above. My eyes got rolled up and my lower jaw dropped instantly. I had no control over this energy and could not close my mouth, nor open my eyes, not to mention look­ing elsewhere. I was totally consumed by this intense, blissful energy. This was totally unex­pected. While part of me was surrendered to this sudden state, another part of me was witnessing it all in awe, completely present in the moment. The entire experience was fascinating and a bit scary at the same time, depending on the per­spective. I understand now why Kundalini is sym­bolically depicted as a snake. It really felt like a big snake coursing through my spine, while its hood on top of my head was like a huge, power­ful magnet that kept my eyes rolled up and glued to it in the feeling of continuous, super intense presence.

I stayed in that state for an hour or so. It was beyond amazing! The whole experience lasted exactly till the end of those 90 minutes that Mo­hanji described as the important time for spiritu­al practice. Such is the blessing of having a Spir­itual Master in one’s life.. It took me a while to settle down and digest this experience in silence. After I grounded myself through a bit of food and could finally manage to speak, I thanked Ananth and Rajesh from the bottom of my heart. After some time, I went upstairs to joyfully share the experience with Mohanji, although aware that he would know about it anyway. After I briefly explained what had happened, he replied in his usual, cryptic way: “I know, I saw it. Good. Write about it while it is still fresh in your mind.”

It was then that I remembered that I had com­mitted to Mia that I would contribute to the May edition of Refresh Your Life magazine. This expe­rience created a sufficient momentum to write.

The following day, April 5th, was yet another special day. This time it was the extraordinary astrological position of Jupiter and Pluto con­junction. A global wave of meditation was being organized by many spiritual groups across the globe, all meditating at the same time. Mohanji agreed that we too give our contribution to this wave of positivity. I was to conduct it. We chose one of our standard meditations, but I was to modify it a bit to make it match with the intention and inclusion of the element of Light that was essential for this global wave. Little did I know how deeply this would hit me. The entire medita­tion was a preparation to safely enter into a vast state of expansion, way beyond our planet, and connect with the Light. In all my years of medi­tation I have never felt the light so vividly and in­tensely. From the Cosmic Sun, to galactic Suns, to the Central Sun of our Galaxy, my conscious­ness witnessed the flow of the sacred light to our Sun and then through our crown and spine the light was being grounded into Mother Earth, all the way to her core. At the end I chanted a spe­cial mantra, celebrating the Light. Every cell of my body was vibrating and the glory of sacred unity was felt throughout. This was beyond beau­tiful. Again, I received many messages of grati­tude from friends, who were also blown away by the power of this meditation. One of my friends shared her vision of higher beings, way above the 5th dimension, who joined us during this medita­tion and supported it with their blessings. I felt so incredibly blessed to serve as an instrument in this process. I will forever treasure all these sa­cred experiences. If it wasn’t for the Coronavirus quarantine, I doubt I would have been to dedicate this much time to spiritual practice. Thank you Universe, I forever trust the Divine Providence be­hind all our experiences.

I was reminded of the ancient Chinese proverb “May you live in interesting times.” This is that special time on our planet when a huge transfor­mation is taking place at the level of individual consciousness, collective consciousness, from understanding of our reality and our true histo­ry, to a huge change in our education system, healthcare, financial/economic system – all of it. It is a great blessing to be alive in the here and now. My message to all the readers is – choose wisely how you utilize this precious time off that has been given to us. Be aware where your atten­tion goes, for where the attention goes, the ener­gy flows. May this be a great time of transforma­tion and spiritual awakening for all of us.