Written by Dirk van de Wijngaard
Dirk van de Wijngaard, affectionately known as Baba’s Boy, a rescuer of lost children and the most sincere and devoted seeker one could ever hope to encounter, gives us a glimpse into his most precious and treasured experiences. Continuing on from the first part of a new series, “Divine Encounters”, published in last month’s edition of The Awakening Times, he tells the rest of the extraordinary tale of his latest trip to India, in which miracles and grace are showered upon him in a divinely arranged, whirlwind tour lasting only 17 days.
A Potential Āshram at Shiva Yogini Amma’s Temple
The most important thing for me is to feel Mohanji (Dirk’s Guru) from within and understand the meaning of these feelings. For example, I was drawn like a magnet just hearing about the mūrti (idol representing a deity or Master) of the triśūla (trident) with the Holy Snake that Shiva Yogini Amma made. Without seeing it and never having heard of Shiva Yogini Amma before, my heart started to pump heavily and I wanted to rush to it immediately! The importance in this experience is that afterwards I felt Shiva Yogini Amma’s promise to her devotees, before she left the body, and exact the same promise she made when she had her second darśan (divine vision) of Śiva and Pārvatī (Supreme Father and His consort) to take two more incarnations to restore SanātanaDharma (Eternal Order/Natural Order) and bring back the children of God who are lost in māyā (illusion); exactly as Mohanji does! Therefore I feel that those who are moved while reading about, and understanding the deep respect our Divine beloved Brahmarishi Mohanji has for Shiva Yogini Amma, should surely visit this paradisiacal place located at the Valapad beach in Kerala and should they feel inclined, help them to realize a small āśram (a place dedicated to spiritual practice and elevation in awareness). Find out ore about the temple here.
Madhavi Amma
Madhavi Amma who also attended the ceremony mentioned in part 1 of this story and who sat for 20 years in solitude, without food, with snakes covering her body while in complete, blissful samādhi (state of divine consciousness), was “called” by Mohanji to come out of her cave to serve humanity with her Divine Energy and Divine Blessings.
Mahanth Parameswar Bharatiji Maharaj
Also in attendance at the ceremony mentioned in part 1, was Mahanth Parameswar Bharatiji Maharaj, who started his “brahmacharya (celibacy)” at the age of 8 and took sannyasa (renunciation) at the age of 28. After 20 years of celibacy and seclusion in the forest, his Guru gave him his present name. Maharaj is the secretary of Juna Akhada and is responsible for 1008 akhāḍās (places of practice with facilities for boarding, lodging and training) all over India. He was also the leader of MahāKumbhaMelā (the world’s largest gathering of spiritual seekers), as the head Maharaj would be the first person who bathes, naked, covered with ashes, and holding a large triśūla, in the Holy Gaṅgā River, initiating the ceremony and thereby leading millions of renunciates and laymen. Juna Akhada is the largest and foremost among all akhāḍās in India, which were created by Sri Adi Shankaracharya (first in an unbroken line of Masters and considered the prime spiritual teacher of the current epoch) and the most significant one among them is Juna Akhada.
Meeting with Saikrishna Rajagopal in Delhi
“Sai Ram, Dirk! It was such a pleasure to be connected to you by Mohanji this morning. Swami brought about this connection. I was very moved by all that you have done. More strength to you. This is Sai.” This was the first WhatsApp message I received in Holland on 12 August 2022 from Saikrishna after he called me from Mohanji’s ashram in Bangalore earlier that morning. Thereafter we regularly contacted each other and shared our experiences about our Divine and Omnipresent love for, among others Shirdi Sai Baba, Sri Sathya Sai Baba, Devi Amma and Mohanji. We finally met in Delhi on 15th of March 2023. I also met his lovely wife Aparna and 2 of their 3 children, Krishna and Madhavi. Aparna was the only one in the world who was allowed to sing for 2 full hours in Shirdi, and her nightingale voice was clearly heard through the speaker boxes all over the village of Shirdi!
It felt like meeting my real family. They all looked so familiar to me. They even offered me a room in their house and Sai told me that the name “Saikrishna” was given to him by Sri Sathya Sai Baba in Puttaparthi.
Sai Baba also gave His permission and blessed their marriage! They brought me to their organic farm and shelter for abused and wounded animals called Beejom where they have a safe home. They take care of hundreds of animals like 170 cows from whose dung they make bricks, which are sold locally, and who are not farmed for milk. 40 local people get a monthly salary from these sales. Horses who were wounded and sick are cured and they give free horse-riding lessons to local schoolchildren! They also take care of 40 abandoned dogs, donkeys etc. Visiting this unique project, representing Aparna’s Divine Love and sevā (selfless service) to the animals and respect for nature. It instilled in me a deep respect for her and for the support of Saikrishna and their children also of course! Find out more about this wonderful project here.
Then Saikrishna asked me to accompany him to the Sri Sathya Sai International Centre in New Delhi where he introduced me to the manager and volunteers. He asked him if we could possibly visit the private room of Sathya Sai Baba Himself. They answered that it was impossible and that the only man who had the key and may give permission for this was out of town. It was only allowed once or twice a year for VIPs, which is extremely rare. I told Saikrishna that it will happen whenever Sai Baba Himself decides, and that is OK for me. The manager told us that Sai Baba stayed in this room, just 3 years before He left the body and that it was His last ever visit outside the ashram of Puttaparthi. As we left, some staff members came and told Saikrishna that they would allow me to do the āratī (ritual offering of a lit lamp, camphor, and incense to a deity or Master), which of course we did! After āratī, we walked to the car and the manager and seva dahls (volunteers) loudly called, “Stop, stop, please hold on, the man with the key is on his way and he got permission to let you enter and stay for a while in the private room of our beloved Sathya Sai Baba!” Surely a miracle had happened! After visiting the Holy room and thanking Mohanji and Sai Baba in my heart, we went back to Saikrishna’s home.
Conversation with the “Cowardly” Parrot!
Aparna and her daughter Madhavi took me to one of the rooms where a couple of wonderful parrots live. They told me that the male always wants to bite Madhavi and visitors, that he behaves very dominantly, and because of this character she became very scared and insecure. The lady parrot however, flew across the room and amicably enjoyed our company.
I sat beside his cage which is always open and asked him to come to me. He tried a to scare me and I replied, “If you do not come to me, I will surely inform everybody worldwide that you are a coward.” Then he looked at me and walked slowly from his open cage-door down to the left armrest of my chair and started listening seriously to what I had to tell him. Aparna told me that he had never done this. I figured out that he is very jealous that his wife can fly across the room and that because of his insecurity he is too afraid to fly. He also cannot understand what visiting people talk about and is very scared that one day these visitors will take his wife away from him. I told him that he should not be scared of this and, out of that frustration, jealousy and possessive temperament, start biting Madhavi. I told him to stop biting Madhavi and start accepting all the guests whom Aparna invites to come and meet him and his adorable lady, because they as a couple are so cute, pretty and adorable! I asked Aparna for a nut and said to him, “If you accept my proposal and eat this nut out of my hand, as a confirmation of our deal, I will tell the world that you are a good boy, and nobody who comes here will ever harm you or your lady. That we promise you! But, if you disagree, I will sing to the world, showing them the video of you being a coward, and you should be ashamed of yourself! Do we have a deal?” He gently bowed his head down and took the nut, accepting my proposal! I recently asked Madhavi about his behavior and she told me that the good boy had not bitten her or others since.
Because he feels the lady to be his property, he becomes jealous almost automatically when someone comes near her, and because he does not know whether people are really nice or pretending to be nice or gossiping about him, he gets scared. The fear of losing her became so great that he dared not fly, even with his perfect strong wings.
I whispered to him that even with human beings, wars are created because of jealousy, possessiveness, gossiping, ego and misunderstandings! He now understands that his lady will stay with him as long as he loves her and now spreads that love to others too.
The Photograph of Sree Shiva Prabhakara Siddha Yogi
“Who is this man and where does he live?” Looking at a small photograph of Sree Shiva Prabhakara Siddha Yogi, Saikrishna asked me this question. I told him that I do not know where he lives, but that Mohanji gave me this photo in September 2022, just a couple of hours before my flight back to Holland from India. When Mohanji gave this photo to me he looked intensely into my eyes for a few seconds, saying very seriously only these 2 words: “Very Powerful”. Since then, it has become a part of my little “traveling pūjā (spiritual ritual or ceremony) room”, which is a collection of photographs with a big picture of Mohanji together with smaller photographs of, among others, Holy Devi Amma from Bangalore, Shirdi Sai baba, Mother Mary, Devi Mohan etc. (Mahakali Amma and Sathya Sai Baba have been with me for the last 34 years! I worship them and consider them as my real family. I take them with me on every journey, so that I can worship them, talk with them and drink tea with them whenever I want, which feels fantastic. I never feel lonely because my real family is always with me; in my heart and in my room. I told Saikrishna that for the last 7 months, I sincerely did intense prayer and mantra to this very powerful Sree Shiva Siddha Yogi and that I can even feel His presence in my heart. After Saikrishna asked me this question, I asked him to find out where he lives or lived. Meanwhile, I felt I was struck by lightning and my heart started bumping, which could have only one meaning: Sree Shiva Prabhakara Siddha Yogi wants to meet me! Then I sat down, closed my eyes and humbly asked Mohanji for a sign. Mohanji immediately showed me the face of Manoj (whom we met in part 1). I WhatsApp video-called Manoj and showed him the photo and asked him if he knew where this holy man lives. When Manoj saw the photo tears came to his eyes. He told me that he has never been there but knows the location because 3 months earlier, a saṃnyāsī (renunciate) whom he had never ever seen before, came to him in his village and told Manoj while passing by, that he would soon travel to the holy place Omallur in Kerala, to visit the samādhi (in this context, samadhi refers to both a Master’s conscious exit from their body and the place where that occurs, usually frequented by as a place of pilgrimage) shrine and the holy rock of Sree Shiva Prabhakara Siddha Yogi! Manoj said that I should book a ticket for the flight from Delhi to Trivandrum, a flight of three hours and five minutes. I asked Saikrishna to help me immediately get a ticket to Trivandrum. Saikrishna said, “Dirk, better you sleep well and go fresh after breakfast tomorrow morning,” but I asked him to see if there was an earlier flight, then he said, “Yes, but that is at 21.00 hours and you will step out of Trivandrum airport at approximately 00.45 hours.” (19th of March 2023) “From there you have to take a cab for 2,5 hours to Omalloor and then arrive there at 03.00 in the morning.” I told him that was perfect, because that is my prayer time! Saikrishna politely helped me with the booking and at the same time Manoj took the 4 hour train journey from Cochin to Trivandrum! We met exactly 00.45 hours outside the Trivandrum airport!
Manoj said that he had missed me very much and felt empty when I was “gone”. I told him to concentrate, as though he were falling in worldly love, with butterflies in his stomach, and that this pure, sincere, Divine Guru-Disciple Love is a billion times stronger and more powerful than he could ever dream of, and that this Divine Love of Mohanji will remove all empty feelings: “Chant your mantra at least 1008 times – not 108 times – per day, while doing work or traveling (no need to close eyes) and to do more sevā. When the mind starts automatically repeating a holy mantra and you are full of Divine Love for your Guru, then there is actually no space left for any thoughts other than pure thoughts. The mantra will even protect you!”The cab driver could not find the holy place and we booked a room in a nearby village. From there we went onto the street and asked people all over, where exactly this holy place is. Although the location is known, it is still very hard for drivers who have never been there to find it. Much later we finally found a driver who knew. The samādhi shrine was open and the pūjārī (priest who conducts rituals) was doing his pūjā (ritual or ceremony).
The Holy Rock of Sree Siva Prabhakara Siddha Yogi
When we arrived 4 dogs welcomed us at the bottom of the rock, and one of them stayed with me all the time. In a sort of trance in the airplane Mohanji had shown me, as though watching a video, that I had to sprinkle the holy water from the ceremony at Shiva Yogini Amma’s temple (as narrated in part 1) on every snake, triśūla (trident) and every other holy icon on the rock and after everything had been sprinkled I had to pour the rest of the Holy water very carefully, with sincerity, while reciting my mantra over the holy Śiva Liṅgam (icon representing the supreme consciousness of Śiva). I did the abhiṣekam (ritual bathing of an idol of a deity, Master, or Liṅgam) according to Mohanji’s telepathic instructions with a small spoon. I had only one small glass jar of the holy water with me, it was rolled up for protection in a small Shiva Yogini Amma bag and then I carried it in my Mohanji bag. We climbed the huge rock and I immediately went to execute Mohanji’s telepathic command. I was in a sort of trance and never noticed that Manoj was taking photographs and even filmed a few seconds. After the abhiṣekam, I humbly prayed to Mohanji to be left alone on the rock for meditation. A moment later Manoj said, “Dear Dirk, I do not have as much energy as you and I am really exhausted and need to sleep, is it OK if I go for a good sleep in the guesthouse?” Now I was alone, with the holy dog. Manoj left a mobile with his number for me to call him when I was finished. After kissing the rock and thanking Mohanji, I went into a deep trance and deeply felt the Divine Love and presence of my mast (ecstatic) Mohanji, whom I thanked for His Divine telepathic connection with me. I told Mohanji that I know and deeply feel that HE is the ONLY Director of this mast journey!
I can never describe in words the Divine Love that Mohanji and Sree Siva Prabhakara Siddha Yogi showed me in the trance/meditation. I was totally “gone” and enjoyed being with many celestial beings, including many Masters. When after a few hours, I came out of the trance/meditation the whole rock smelled like celestial amṛtam (nectar of immortality) vibhūti (sacred ash). In the trance, everything was nice and very cool, but when I came out of the trance, I became aware that the rock was boiling hot! I had burned my head, shoulders, upper body, legs and feet! When I tried to get up, I could not stand on my feet, because blisters appeared immediately.
To get to the phone I needed to walk two meters which was impossible on bare feet. Luckily, I had the two small bags with me. Without a doubt, they (bag of Shiva Yogini Amma and bag of Mohanji) protected me.
The Smell of Amṛtam and the Materialisation of Vibhūti
I called Manoj and told him that the rock was boiling hot, to take slippers with him and to come as soon as possible because I had burning pains. All the while the holy dog, (Mohanji?) stayed with me and for a normal dog it would never ever have been possible to walk on this boiling rock! When Manoj arrived, he also noticed the heavy fragrance of amṛtam – vibhūti and said, “Look Dirk, there is a lot of vibhūti on top of the head of the snake and on top and all around the holy ŚivaLiṅgam!” Now I also saw it and Manoj said, “Surely it is materialized vibhūti.” I then told Manoj not to tell anyone before we get 100% confirmation. I humbly knelt down and placed and thanked Shiva Yogini Amma, Sree Siva Prabhakara Siddha Yogi, and Mohanji for this gift. I telepathically asked Mohanji’s permission to fill the small Shiva Yogini Amma water jar, which was empty after the abhiṣekam, with this Holy vibhūti.First, I placed the “very powerful” photograph on this Śiva Liṅgam and against the snake and asked Manoj to take a photo of this sacred moment. In gratitude and in total bliss we left this most holy place and went to the guest house. Even six weeks later I still suffered from itchy burning wounds!
Private Interview with Holy Devi Amma in Bangalore
On 24th of March 2023, just 5 days after visiting the holy rock of Sree Shiva Prabhakara Siddha Yogi, I got a call informing me that holy Devi Amma from Bangalore had granted me a private interview, just before my night flight back to Holland. When I arrived in the evening, I was still in a sort of Mohanji-Divine-trance and wanted to share my experiences with holy Devi Amma. Her daughter opened the gate and Amma was already waiting for me. Before I could utter a word Amma looked with visible seriousness on her face and asked me twice, “Do you have the vibhūti with you? Do you have the vibhūti with you?” When I nodded and said, “Yes,” the seriousness in her lovely, motherly face vanished and an angelic smile came across her Divine face! Then Amma continued: “all the time He was with you on the rock, all the time He was with you on the rock,” then, “He materialized all vibhūti for you, He materialized all vibhūti for you. Then I asked Amma if she had time for me because I had to tell so many experiences and Amma answered: “I have all the time for you.”
Now I could relax a little and started to tell her about my prayers and mantra and the Divine Love Mohanji fills me with. I showed Amma many pictures of the visit to Saikrishna and his family. I told her about the conversation with the parrot and she said, “Yes, we can talk with animals.” She then told me a story of something that happened a long time ago. Some villagers came to Amma and told her that a big cobra had entered their village and all people were very scared and asked for Amma’s help. All villagers had wooden sticks and stones to throw when needed. Amma told them not to use violence and spoke loudly, but politely to the snake: “Dear child of God, thank you for your darśan (divine vision, or vision of the divine), but all innocent villagers here are frightened of you. You came in peace, so I give my promise that if you listen to what I will tell you then nobody will hurt you. Please roll yourself up so that I can put my wooden stick through the opening which will appear, then I’ll lift you up and carry you back to the entrance gate of our village so that you can return in peace to your forest!” All villagers witnessed the cobra rolling himself up and Devi Amma placing her wooden stick through the middle of the hole and lifting up the heavy snake! Then Amma laughingly said, “All the frightened villagers were following me, but they did not come nearer than 10 meters from behind me!” Amma put the cobra carefully down at the gate and thanked him for his darśan and collaboration.
Omnipresence of Devi Amma
While showing Amma photographs on my mobile phone, Amma just took the mobile and scrolled by herself and came across a photo of Guruswamy from 32 years ago. “Ahh Guruswamy,” she said innocently, “he was from Ponnampet and lived in the āśram of Sadguru Sai Shankar, four hours’ travel from Bangalore.” More scrolling and then, “Ahh.” “NC Nanaiah,” I said, “Do you also know Mr. Nanaiah from my organization called Peoples Trust, located on Doddaballapur Road, 50 minutes from Bangalore?” One of my main projects which started three decades ago. Then she mentioned Sadguru Sai Shankar again, and others which nobody else really knows! I was stunned and so thankful to her that holy Amma just graced me with a glimpse of her Omnipresence!
Devi Amma’s Written Declaration on 24th March 2023
As a present, I brought a wonderful framed photo of Mohanji with me. Amma accepted it and immediately placed it in front of her other Holy photographs. I said, “Amma, may Mohanji’s photo always remain there?” She said, “Sure it will, Mohanji is my son”.
Then I remembered that I had another copy of the same photo with me (without a frame) and showed it to her. Amma happily took the photo of Mohanji and asked me for a marker and wrote: “I love you my Son – Blessings -Devi Amma.”
Then I told Amma of a dream I had in which Shirdi Sai Baba and Sri Sathya Sai Baba appeared and commanded me to bring the protection ring to their son Mohanji!
Divine Fragrance Again
After a long time, Amma asked for the Vibhuti. I took it out of my bag and gave it to her – I had never opened it – Amma unscrewed the small, sturdy lid from the jar and the whole room was filled with the same smell as on the rock of Sree Shiva Prabhakara Siddha Yogi! She went into a short trance, exactly as Sai Baba did in the interview room in Puttaparthi when He materialized the protection ring for “me”. Amma said, “Do you smell it? Do you smell it? He was with you all the time. He was with you all the time. All the vibhūti was for you, all the vibhūti was for you!” I did not tell Amma that I only filled the small glass jar of Shiva Yogini Amma, and left the rest for devotees who come to worship at the rock, maybe in the coming days. She took a large piece of paper and took out half of the vibhūti. Then she put some on my throat, head, third eye and in my mouth. I felt it was a sacred moment. Later at home in Holland, when I heard of Amma’s heart attack, I wondered whether this Holy Powerful vibhūti, delivered by Mohanji’s squirrel – Dirk, was needed to protect Amma.
“Do you want it back?”
At the inauguration of the Mohanji Centre of Benevolence and Shirdi Sai Temple in Scotland, I was very happy to meet Saikrishna, Aparna and all their 3 children Rukmini, Krishna and Madhavi. Of course, I carried the photo collection, along with Devi Amma’s written declaration, and photos of Mohanji’s parents.
In the morning I gave Shiva Yogini Amma’s glass jar, half filled with the materialized vibhūti of Sree Shiva Prabhakara Siddha Yogi – the first half having been accepted by Devi Amma, to one of Mohanji’s assistants to hand it over to Mohanji. The assistant returned and told me Mohanji wanted to meet Parvati (Dirk’s daughter) and me later. In the evening we were called and happily, we could hand the photo collection to Mohanji. Then I thought it might be possible to get some of this vibhūti to share with others. The moment I had the thought, sitting in front of Mohanji’s Lotus feet, he immediately asked me, gazing seriously into my eyes, “Do You want it back?” I froze! Here, Parabrahma Brahmarishi Mohanji was teaching me a very important lesson! I clearly understood, within a split-second, that asking the Guru for something is weak; it means that we do not understand that Guru knows perfectly well what his child really needs. Like a baby gets nourishment and everything else the baby needs, from the first Guru in his human life, the baby’s mother. So I answered, “No, No Swami, I don’t need anything, only an Uninterrupted flow of Divine Love towards thy Lotus Feet, that’s all I need, I folded my hands with dignity. So, first Guru sends me as a dummy customer for almost 25 years to the brothels of India to rescue thousands of minor-age girls and deliver them back home to their Father and Mother. Now Mohanji gives me messages telepathically and makes me his ‘’delivery boy’’, just like a grown-up boy in a family who does everything his parents ask him to do, or like a DHL delivery boy who gets an order to deliver some goods to some needy places. It is crazy if the delivery boy asks the customer, “May I have something of the package I have delivered to you?” Utter nonsense! What a teaching! Words from Divine Masters can have different meanings on different levels, as Devi Amma said, “It was all for You.” She was right, It was… Jai Mohanji!
As Shiva Yogini Amma Said; “Just follow Guru’s instructions and Surrender Everything to Guru Himself. Execute the orders in Silence and Guru will always Guide, Guard and Protect you!”
Whenever you Sincerely think with Gratitude of Mohanji and your chest becomes warm, your eyes get wet, your tears flow over your cheeks and you do not know why, then be sure that Mohanji is giving you darśan in the āśram of Your heart.”
“My life in this body is less significant than my life in your hearts.” – Mohanji
So beautiful and blissful
Thank you so much for sharing