Mumbai Magic

I grew up listening to stories of gods and goddesses, energies that run this creation, but never really thought they were more than stories…till I met Yogi Ashwini.

Recently, on a trip to Mumbai with Yogiji, I had a first-hand experience of what the rishis and munis meant when they spoke of devs and devis and of the world of energy, right here in 21st century, in flesh and blood, and in a state of full consciousness and awareness. Not just me, for all the 70-80 of us who were travelling with Yogiji (all of us have a scientific bent of mind and were initially non-believers), the world around seems not the same any more – suddenly there are so many more layers to it which are apparent now, which never existed till sometime back.

On this trip, Yogiji, gave us several demonstrations on the science of energy, how it works and from where does one get the fuel to channelize it.

The trip started with a workshop on Body Sculpting and Self-Healing which was attended by a mix of all kinds of people – intellectuals, professionals, believers and non-believers – the typical crowd of a busy metropolitan. When Yogiji entered the hall, the place was in complete chaos; a lady, who was a fitness trainer and who had travelled across the globe studying the science of energy, was particularly aggressive and arrogant. She would interject and argue on every statement that was made. As Yogiji took the participants through certain experiences, order was restored and the atmosphere changed to that of lightness and pleasantness. The crowd was swept by the energy of the workshop and couldn’t help but marvel at the glow exuded by Yogiji and all his students.

Back at the hotel, in a smaller group, Yogiji, gave us another magnificent demonstration of energy. He was looking out of the window at the beach as he chanted three mantras to invoke three different forms of Shakti. Then without even turning his face, he asked us to look at the faces of three specific people in the group. Those faces were lit up with a mesmerizing glow, as if a bulb had lit within them. One of them had a formation of a tilak on his forehead. “That,” explained the Living Master, “is the transfer of Shakti which he affected through the medium of sound.” He never looked at them, never touched them, not even prompted them to do anything…and yet they were there, radiant as ever.

As all of us marveled at their instant glow, Yogiji, asked a lady sitting amongst us to get up and insert the plug of the lamp in the socket. The lamp lit up. Yogi Ashwini revealed, “Guru is like a socket, as soon as you plug into it, the current (Shakti) will flow and the glow will be apparent for all to see.” He then asked one of us to blind-fold the lady and asked the lady to remove the plug. The lady did it in no time. He then asked her to re-plug it without taking off the blind-fold. The lady made several attempts, tapping the plug on the wall left and right, without success. Yogiji, gave her directions to find the socket, she could not. He then asked others to help her out. Everyone started giving her directions, some right, some left…leaving her thoroughly confused. Yogiji’s unique way of teaching leaves all mesmerised. How such deep topics are explained in such a simple way leaving a lasting impression on the students. Yogiji then explained, “It took her less than a minute to unplug, and in trying to re-plug she wasted so much time. Connection with Guru is also the same, once broken, you waste a janam in trying to re-establish it and there are so many others you find on your way who misguide you. Even if you find the socket then, it is not necessary it will be empty…It could be that someone else plugged in the time you wasted. The Guru too is limited (not for shishya, but for self). If your power is 60W, you will get that energy till you remove the plug, the socket can do nothing about it. And since the Guru is unlimited for you, you need to constantly upgrade that wattage (by improving karmas)…else the bulb will fuse in sometime.”

With this, Yogiji, asked one person to draw the curtains open. In the brightness from outside the room, the glow of the bulb could hardly be felt. Yogiji smiled and said, “Physical attractions are the scene outside this window, when you draw a curtain to it, you can see the glow. Till the time you are plugged in, you will have the glow, the socket cannot remove the plug on its own. But in the attractions of the world, you will not be able to see it and if you decide to go out there and enjoy a little while, that one thought is enough. You get swept and remove the plug. Guru doesn’t leave your hand ever because he can see the glow in you, but if you unplug yourself…he will not be able to see you anymore, even if he tries.”

At the workshop, was also present a friend of Yogijis, from his early years of learning. We were in a state of shock when we learnt that he is the same age as Yogiji. He looked old and haggard, was having difficulty climbing down the stairs and was out of breath in the mere two minute walk from the workshop hall to the buffet area. Looking at him, it seemed as if someone had taken away the light from him. “That light,” Yogiji, explained later when I asked him, “is the light of celibacy. It is the force of celibacy which you project towards the practitioners when you teach the subject of yog. That complete force is secreted in our body in the form of seven drops of sukra, if even half a drop reduces, the body goes. It would take me merely one month of indulgence to start looking like that gentleman, but he cannot regain his youth even if he tries and wrong yogic practices add fuel to the fire.”

One of the sadhaks then asked Yogiji, as to why the Guru cannot put the plug in the socket for a sadhak. Yogiji, laughed and said, “That plug has to be inserted by you only. If Guru inserts that plug for you because of an emotional thought, you will not be able to value it. Your ego will inflate and after sometime you will take out the plug thinking that you are so great and that you do not need that current. I used to do that in early years of my teaching. I have forcefully given experiences to many, eventually none could stay, and all that force dissipated. You have to come to the Guru, not the other way around and the Guru has to be approached with humility with single-pointed focus to get the desired experiences.”