Recipe for Harmony and Abundance
Hello everybody, I hope you are all doing well.
After a lot of travel and hectic programs in 2023, I’m now talking to you from Bangalore.
I hope you all had a wonderful year. I did. I had. In 2023, we did a lot of work. Mohanji Foundation, ACT Foundation, Ammucare and the upcoming World Tribal Alliance started in 2023. Not everything started; the Mohanji Foundation existed before, ACT existed before, and Ammucare existed before. But the celebrations began in 2023.
Celebrations in 2023
We also inaugurated 5 Ashrams in Australia, Scotland, Serbia, Slovenia and America. In all these places, except America, we brought Sai Baba, Dattatreya and Ganesha. And activities started happening there. Even in America, even though it was a very tight schedule, we managed to do a retreat. So, this year has been really meaningful in every aspect.
Apart from the activities of the Mohanji Foundation and the associated foundations, I also did many other projects outside the Foundation, and some of them were very meaningful and relevant in today’s times.
Coming back to our platforms, ACT Foundation celebrated its 20th anniversary in two places where I participated – one in London and one in Serbia. Both were extremely good programs, well-orchestrated, well-presented programs. Ammucare’s 20th anniversary was celebrated in New Delhi. I was able to attend that as well – a beautiful function. We honoured a lot of people. We respected all the volunteers and all the people who led ACT Foundation and Ammucare for the last 20 years of its existence. We honour them, respect them, we love them. And we are grateful that because of them, we are here today; the foundations are here today. Now, we are growing. We’ll be branching out further. We will be developing many areas and handling new things.
So all these things need manpower, determination, dedication of people, and that’s all grace. Everything is grace. We started without anything. Ammucare was started with no capital in 2003. Now, when we look back after 20 years, we see that so many people have come, helped, participated, and they also got tremendous satisfaction. Tremendous grace flowed through them. Their life got enhanced. So, it has been a grand collaboration.
Now, when I sit at the end of 2023, I have a lot of satisfaction in my heart, too. All these years, we walked. Many of us walked together. Some people left us. Some people stayed. I’m grateful for everything, everybody.
Talks in various platforms
As I said earlier, apart from our organizations and platforms, I spoke or participated in various other programs of our sister organizations, which were not necessarily founded by me. Still, they are our well-wishers, and we are their well-wishers. And we love each other, and we grow together. I’ll name a few. And the new annual report will cover the entire thing. So here, I am not trying to tell you many things, but it’s just for your awareness.
The year started with the Indo Transworld Chamber of Commerce’s inaugural program in Kochi. Then, I also participated in the Varanasi Amicability Diplomatic Club Program, which was a grant program. Then, Kalinga Institute in Bhubaneshwar was also a remarkable program. I also spoke at the Parliament of All Religions of Bharat in New Delhi, which is an amazing program.
Also, I spoke at a hall in the British Parliament this year. I attended the National Cadet Corps parade ceremony this year in Bangalore, Karnataka and the GOA team was selected to represent in the National Day Parade, etc. I met and spoke to them, which was a brilliant program. I also spoke at Amity University in Noida, India. I also spoke at the John Cabot University in Rome, the Utrecht University in the Netherlands and Bournemouth University in the UK. These are all universities, students, faculty members, etc. So, I interacted with many of the upcoming young generation, which was very meaningful and fulfilling for me, too. I hope they also got something out of it.
Apart from that, for the sake of the stability of the world, I contributed my time to building temples, which are stabilizers, basically, under Moksha Trust. 108 Shiva linga temples are coming up in Tali in Kerala, which the honourable governor inaugurated by laying the foundation stone this year. I was there, too.
And in Varanasi, a very important program happened; one crore Parthiv earthen Shiva lingas were worshipped. And it was a very important function. This is for the stability of the nation and beyond.
Every year, we do Ayyappa Pada Seva, which is taking care of the people who are walking to Sabarimala from different states. From different states, they walk all the way and come to Sabarimala. It’s a very tedious and effortful trip. We meet and greet them, and we try to alleviate their pain, especially in the legs. And that’s what we do as a service to the pilgrims. We did that this year. We are doing it again in January 2024.
I also participated in the prana pratistha of Bhagavan Nityananda in Udupi, which was a grand function. So many people came, and the Masters came. It was such an important event. There was a similar function, which was also very grand, the 100th anniversary of Shivayogini Amma in Kerala. I had pretty much a long role in the whole process, and I was there almost the whole time.
Also, this year, the Sri Guruvayurappan temple project in Vrindavan and London got started. Even though we were planning the temple in Vrindavan last year, this year, we acquired the land and started taking meaningful steps, and that is in progress. The Guruvayurappan Temple London project was launched along with ACT Foundation’s 20th anniversary in London. I was there, too.
So, this is pretty much about 2023. Just to give you a synopsis, we have been very busy. I’ve been travelling extensively, and sometimes, when you shift time zones and have back-to-back programs, it affects your health.
Purpose
But purpose leads us. The purpose is far more important than our physical abilities or lack of abilities. So I kept moving, and I’m happy that I moved because I met most of you in various places. We interacted. We had a good time together. I hope the same happens in 2024.
Now, thinking about 2024, one word that I would like to give you is harmony. At any cost, maintain harmony. Remember to maintain harmony. This is very important for you, for your stability, for your growth, for your relevance, and to have a great life. Inner harmony is very important. Let us look at these aspects in a little bit more detail.
Abundance
Let’s take the first alphabet A. The alphabet A signifies our Tradition—the Tradition of abundance. The Dattatreya tradition, the Raja Yoga path, is a path of abundance. There’s no dearth of anything. There’s no shortage of anything. Then why are there shortages? Only because we don’t believe in it. We don’t trust it. We don’t trust in ourselves. Often, we don’t trust that we can have abundance in our life. We self-defeat it. We want abundance, but at the same time, we don’t believe that we can have abundance. So remember, A is equal to abundance.
Acceptance
The second A is acceptance. If you cannot accept yourself, you cannot accept the world. Neither the world can accept you. So acceptance is a very, very important thing.
These are the things you should practice in 2024. From 2024 onwards, whatever the world is going to give us, it could be good, it could be bad, so many calamities are expected. So many people have predicted wars, more situations like COVID, and pandemics. People have predicted various things, including satellite outages and no satellites to support the transmissions. All these things, anything, we don’t know. But if anything happens, whatever happens, you should remain stable.
The fundamental is self-acceptance. Accept yourself. Don’t forget abundance. You are born abundant. You have an abundance of time with you. Time is an abundance. Use the time well. Time is your money, the currency of life. Use your time wisely. Use the time to understand yourself, accept yourself, respect yourself, and love yourself. It’s important.
Acceptance, self-acceptance, self-respect, self-love. All important. Very important. In 2024, if you want to practice one thing, practice this. At every point in time, think about the conflict you are entertaining. How much are you accepting? How much are you resisting? How much are you rejecting? And that will tell you where you stand in life.
If you accept yourself with all your flaws as well as strengths, you will feel great. You will be stable – stability. Remember this word at any cost. Whatever makes you unstable, stay away from it. Whether it’s a relationship, a situation, a time, an event or an experience which tilts you and makes you unstable, get back to stability as soon as possible. This is for your sake, for which you need to forgive and forget, too. You have to forgive and forget for unburdening yourself, not for other’s sake. Other people may accept you or reject you, but that doesn’t matter. But for your sake, you need to forgive yourself and forget. No guilt, no regret. When life is bringing your situations, flow through it with maximum flexibility and acceptance – self-acceptance.
Appreciation
While you go around accepting yourself, while you are stabilizing in yourself, learn to appreciate. Learn to appreciate everything. Learn to appreciate yourself. “Hey, look here, I am breathing. I have food to eat. I have love around me. People are caring.” Mohanji family is a reality. We are all one. We are one family; it does not matter where you are. But we are one family. We are together. We are walking together, holding each other’s hands. Appreciate what you have in abundance and be grateful for it.
Do not look at the deficiencies because that will suck your energy out. It’s important to appreciate every small thing with a childlike wonder. You will appreciate life and be happy that you were born. Even you will appreciate your sorrows and the lessons you learn from failures, everything you will appreciate. Remember this A, appreciation.
Awareness
Another thing is awareness. Always be aware of who you are. Beyond what you project to the world, there is a You inside which is making you, helping you project yourself. Remember that awareness. Awareness of who you actually are. When this matter, this energy leaves the body; we call that body a dead body. That matters. It’s within you. Be aware of it – awareness.
Ahimsa
Last but not least, ahimsa means nonviolence. It is very important. No violence in thoughts, expressions, or actions. Never hurt anybody. Because if you hurt other people through your expressions or actions, so many people will hurt you. When you hurt others, others will hurt you too. So whatever you sow, you will reap. Better to give love, kindness, and compassion. Sow compassion, sow kindness, sow love, you’ll reap that.
Brotherhood
Now, let’s travel to the next alphabet. B, brotherhood. All of us are the same. All the beings of Earth are one, one family. One world, one family. There are no differences. So, go through all the differences that society has given to us, all the concepts, and look at humanity as one family. We are one family beyond caste, creed, country, culture, colour, religion, and language. Start nurturing brotherhood so that you have relatives everywhere. Wherever you go, that’s another person from your own family. It doesn’t matter who their parents are, where they have come from, or their upbringing. And please remember, all of us are fighting our own battles. Everybody in the world is fighting their own wars, their own struggles, their own battles.
So try to give them kindness, understanding, support, and some kind of companionship, if possible, or at least don’t disturb them, understand them. Recognize them as unique beings, and be grateful that we are all living together in this world at this time. Brotherhood, we are all one. There is no division; no caste, country, culture, or religion can divide us. Nothing can divide us. We are all one.
Brilliance
Next B is brilliance. Be always brilliant. One aspect is brightness. You are bright by birth. When will you be really bright? When you are selfless, when you are caring, when you are compassionate, you are bright. Another aspect of brightness is staying away from darkness. Staying away from darkness simply means not being involved in emotional situations or emotions of various natures: ownership, possessiveness, binding factors of life, and staying away from illusions.
Stay with the truth. The truth is that you are alive today. You’re walking today; you’re listening to this today, now. This is the truth; stay with the truth. And be brilliant, be bright. Give light to people.
Becoming
Another aspect of alphabet B is becoming – becoming who you really are. This is a good practice for 2024. Stay away from whatever you are not. You’re not anger, hatred, jealousy, revenge. You’re none of these. You are compassion, kindness, love, selflessness. You are brighter than the brightest. Be that. Becoming is always being that – not succumbing to emotions and staying afloat, using your intelligence.
Whatever is not expanding you, do not engage in those things. Gossip does not expand you. Talking bad about people diminishes you. That’s not becoming you. So becoming, remember this word.
Beingness
Lastly, beingness. Beingness is the remembrance of who you really are; we spoke about it earlier. But beingness is a good practice to always remember and be the energy inside. That means moving from the gross to the subtle. The physical – the body, mind, intellect, ego, all those things are helpful to experience the Earth. But now, if you go back to what inspires these or supports them, it is to experience whatever you are experiencing. So being aware of that, being That, being or fundamentally being yourself. Be you.
Communication
If you really want respect from the world, you should be trustworthy. Trustworthiness is a great virtue, and to attain that, there are four C’s. The fundamental one is communication. Always remember the other side, the listener’s angle, and how they feel it.
Please remember any word we utter may be interpreted, or mostly, will be interpreted as how they are. So keep an eye on their state before you start speaking. In other words, listen more and speak less. Feel more, speak less. What you need to convey truly, or if you want to make a change, do it yourself. Lead through example. Live your life, and that’s the right communication. If you don’t love somebody or consider somebody apart from you, not part of you, they will do the same to you.
Disconnection happens. So, as I mentioned, harmony is extremely important. This is one of the fundamentals we should learn. And if you’re not harmonious with anybody around you, even one person, that simply means that deficiency is sitting in you, not in the outside world. The outside world is your own projection. If you don’t trust other people, they don’t trust you.
Communication is very vital. Communication is an art. Speak only when you have to, and speak kindly. If you cannot speak kindly, don’t speak. So, in 2024, I would like to see much more meaningful, encouraging, stabilizing, and loving communication. Understand each other, support each other, love each other, and together evolve. Let’s evolve together.
Connection
The next point is connection. Connection is very vital. We are eternally connected to God factor. God is not a person. It’s an energy, supreme energy, huge brightness, brighter than a million Suns, that which sustains and maintains the entire Universe. That is the God factor. We are a part of the God factor. We are a unit, but the unit is connected to the Universe.
So, the connection we already have. Now, realize that connection. Similarly, we are all connected. If you feel that connection deeply, honestly, we will never have separation. If you are feeling separated at all, that simply means we have not nurtured our connection. Nobody will leave you if they are really connected to you. If somebody left you, that simply means that the connection was not real. It was either for a purpose, some reason, or somebody else’s opinion. These two connections will not stay.
If two people are connected using their own faculties and with a clear understanding of each other, there’ll be no separation. If somebody is separated, that simply means that person was never connected to you deep enough or never understood you, never accepted you. So you should not leave people. Make sure you do not discontinue the connection. That tells you your stability, your integrity. As a person, your strength of personality is determined by your stable connection.
Yesterday, today, tomorrow, the day after, this year, next year, years ahead, we are still connected. A mature person will never go away from any connection. They will take time to connect, but they will never go away once connected. So those who are departing from you, going away from you, bless them because they could never connect to you in the first place. Don’t blame them, don’t harm them, don’t criticize them. They could not connect to you.
Conviction
Next is conviction; what you believe in drives you. It cannot add to your stability if you don’t believe in something. So, take your time to believe in something. But once you believe in it, stay put and have a very stable conviction. Conviction is something which you really, truly believe from your heart.
Consistency
Another C is consistency. If you are not consistent, you will not be respected. Keep your time, value others’ time, keep your promises and always be consistent in whatever you deliver. Consistency is very important. If you are not consistent, you will not be respected by anybody. People will not trust you if you are not consistent.
Commitment
Lastly, commitment. When you are committed, stay committed. If you cannot do it with something which is beyond your capacity, do not commit. You can very well say no. But once you commit, you must fulfil it. Once you promise it should be delivered. A promise is always a promise. So, these are the factors which should make you trustworthy in the world. It’s very vital for your stability. Practice these things.
Decision
Now we come to the alphabet D. I’m just stopping at D, but now we have to be serious about where we are going – Decision. Very important D, decide. The decision is what you want from life. That should have firm conviction, vision (firm vision, clear vision) and clarity of purpose. Take your decision based on that. And to support it, to walk towards it, to move in that path, you need discipline. Practice it with the discipline.
Determination
Another aspect is determination. Once you are clear about where you want to go, you should add it to your determination so that nothing can distract you. So practice not getting distracted.
Discipline
That’s another D: discipline, determination and practising how to come out of distractions. This is very important. So these D’s are very vital for you: decision, discipline, determination, staying away from distraction.
Dharma
Finally, a very important D, Dharma, righteousness. Always stay with the truth, do what is right, never harm or hurt anybody, never resort to violence, and never steal or betray anybody. Follow Dharma so that you will remain pure. Your path will automatically help you to go further because Dharma protects those who protect the Dharma. So these Ds remember.
I have taken you through A, B, C, and D. These are food for thought, and probably, this will help you to stabilize yourself in 2024 and even beyond.
Conclusion
Now, as I conclude this, I once again wish you a very happy New Year. May all of you, yourself, your family, and all your friends enjoy the happiness and joy of life. May all of you have great fulfilment and satisfaction from life and whatever you’re doing. May you all perform it with deep Dharma, righteousness, and goodness, and may you have the ability to share what you have in abundance with everybody around you who does not have it and thus feel rich inside.
I wish you great richness inside. That’s what will attract richness from the outside. While I talked about harmony, I repeat, please maintain harmony with everybody. There are no enemies. It’s all in your mind. There are no enemies, and they are all people. As I told you earlier, everybody is going through their own struggles. We must respect it. We are all going through our own path. We are all our own histories. So respect it. Give immense respect. Never exploit anybody, never betray anybody or steal from anybody. Let them all be happy with what they have got. What destiny provided them, we should not be envious. We should be happy with what destiny has given us. And we work towards improving it, strengthening it, stabilizing it. Humanity first, harmony next, happiness forever.
I wish you a great 2024, and I hope we’ll meet this year and in all years. I love you so much, and I walk with you. I really want to see you happy and successful in life. So, share and grow. Do not hesitate to share. When you share, you’re showing the abundance already in you. God has given you whatever you have. Be grateful, be harmonious, and always look at everybody as your own family. One world, one family.
I love you. Happy New Year.
Transcribed by Ulla Bernholdt
Proofread by Rekha Murali