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 2nd 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 3rd I was led to a book about Mahavataar Babaji. While reading about the encounter of Yogiraj Siddhanath 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. 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 right, scanning me from inside, as if going through my energy records. Then they settled again and I could 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 high score to the teacher, I went to Mohanji to share what had just happened. He said with 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.
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 not strong enough to 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.
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, starting with Babaji series and dedicated to my direct experiences with the Masters, with Divine Grace.
Recording of Awakening Yoga Nidra
AYN was recorded in Bangalore, on May 5th 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.
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 3rd 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 third eye that gave us so much and continues to shower us with Grace
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 deep prayer and surrender, Kumbha Mela with Mohanji 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 7th) 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…
The super happy Devi after 360 Degrees meditation and the new Babaji mantra shared with the public for the first time on Buddha Purnima 2020.
With love and gratitude,
Devi Mohan