-Rajyogini Dadi Hriday Mohini
{Rajyogini Dadi Hriday Mohini, affectionately called Dadi Gulzar, is one of the original ‘jewels’ of Brahma Kumaris organization. Presently Additional Chief of Brahma Kumaris, she is better known as the medium of Incorporeal God Shiva and Brahma Baba (combined name BapDada). Having started her spiritual life at the tender age of eight, in Om Mandali (erstwhile name of the organization), in 1937, Dadi Gulzar has seen it spreading its wings in over 130 countries in all the five continents of the world. Humble yet down-to-earth an epitome of simplicity and royalty, this Messenger of God shares her childhood experiences with particular reference to the elevating company and loving sustenance of Brahma Baba, founder of the organization. – Editor}
It was my fortune that I came to Baba when I was just a child. Baba looked after us as if we were princes and princesses. My lokik mother Dadi Allrounder had intense love for Baba. As my father did not have much knowledge of spirituality, he was unaware of the changes that were taking place in our lives. My mother was a devotee of God and she had knowledge of the Gita. Baba allowed little children to stay as they would in a gurukul and arranged for their studies. As I was eight years old, I was put in the boarding house in Om Niwas. Our family resided in Karachi and Baba had opened the boarding hostel in Hyderabad. My cousins and I were sent to the hostel in a group. Amazingly, all others of that group left and I alone stayed on.
Baba used to call us Thakurs (idols)
In India, small idols of deities are kept at home on a gaddi (they make a gaddi especially to keep the idols on it). The idols those days were made of gold and silver and people worshipped them. They’re called thakurs in Sindhi. Baba used to say, “These are my living thakurs.” We were told “You all are thakurs, you were a deity and you will again become a deity.” Baba always filled us with intoxication, and we used to move along with the intoxication that we are Baba’s thakurs. Dadis used to teach us and another group of mothers used to look after us. The care we received was really great. Baba provided us all amenities. Baba used to say that devotees offer the first fruits of the season to their favourite deity. “Those are non-living idols, but these are my living idols and so seasonal fruits should be offered to them first”, Baba often emphasized.
Baba would come daily to wish us
Baba used to write lessons for us, which were taught to us by Dadis. He would write dialogue/short plays and we would enact them. He also used to write songs and poems which Dadi Mithu would teach us.
Dadi Chandramani used to teach us drill (physical exercise) every day. Before the drill, we never used to do meditation as we now-a-days do, but we’d sit on the bed and practise seeing the soul, sitting face-to-face and considering the self as a soul. Baba made the lesson of the soul firm. Every day after the drill, Baba and Mamma used to come to the drill ground, to wish us good morning.
We used to live in a big hall comprising 80 beds. It was the duty of a mother to make up the beds in the evening and ensure that we were fully covered inside the mosquito nets. She would check with a torch to see if there were any mosquitoes inside the net. Then she’d tuck in the mosquito net, as a curtain is closed in front of the idol in a temple. Later on Baba and Mamma would come to wish each of us Good Night. In this way, Baba and Mamma used to wish us Good Morning and Good Night every day. Are there any father and mother in the entire world who would go to their children both in the morning and night to wish them Good Morning and Good Night in such a way? Not even in the golden age!
Baba taught us to adopt three forms
Together with giving us the best care, Baba also gave us knowledge. Baba used to tell us to check our chart for three minutes after sitting inside the mosquito net on the bed. He taught us to check: what we did during the entire day. Baba would give us the knowledge that we children become Brahma, Vishnu, and Shankar as well: when you wake up in the morning, create the world and you become Brahma; you sustain this during the day and so you become Vishnu; at night you become Shankar and destroy, finish and let go of the entire day’s errors and omissions. We had a regular practise to check our chart like this, as the song was played.
After that Baba and Mamma would come to wish us good night. Another song would be played when we sat considering ourselves as a soul. Those days we didn’t have much knowledge about God. We were told about soul-consciousness only and were guided to practice it. So, for three minutes we would sit face-to-face and give each other the drishti of soul- consciousness. After this we would go to sleep with the song ‘Sleep O’ princess…’ being played. All of us used to go to sleep at once. That scene was worth seeing. We used to sleep in such a way as if we were Baba’s thakurs, and princesses. The faith and intoxication which Baba had given us – that you are a soul, you are a thakur, and you are becoming a deity– was very firm. The awareness that I am Brahma, Vishnu and Shankar was also very firm.
We used to ask each other early in the morning, “Who are you now?” And we’d reply, “I’m Brahma.” During the day when asked we would say to each other, “I’m Vishnu”; when asked at night the answer would be, “I’m Shankar.” In this way we were trained and made to practise: I’m a soul, I’m a thakur, and I’m Brahma, Vishnu and Shankar. We were taken for a walk after drill in the morning. A guru held his satsang in the garden where we used to walk. Baba composed a song for those who used to go to the satsang and Mithu Dadi taught us to sing it. We would go into that garden and conveyed Godly message through songs. In this way Baba trained us to do Godly service even in our childhood.
Baba conveyed Godly Message through children
Once, some government officers visited Om Niwas. This building was very tall and was so well decorated with electric bulbs that it could be seen from quite far, even from the railway station. When those officials came, Baba inspired us to enact a short play. One child performed as Bhula bhai and another acted as a Brahma Kumari. In the play the Brahma Kumari asks Bhula bhai, “Bhula bhai, do you know who you are?” Bhula bhai says, “Can’t you see? I’m a human being.” The Brahma Kumari says, “Bhula bhai, you are bhola (innocent). You don’t know about your own self. You don’t even know who you are!”
Those officers understood that it was for them. Then the Brahma Kumari explained to Bhula Bhai who he was and what was his name. The officers listened and understood that the message was being given to them, though indirectly. Baba always used to say that if young children explain knowledge to adults, the latter won’t take ill. So Baba used to prepare dialogue as per the situation and time and had it enacted by us.
Obstacles on the Divine Path
Some of our family members, who were habitual of vicious and tamasik way of life, didn’t like our spiritual advancement and they, supported by their well wishers, created several hurdles in our path. One day we had gone for a walk in the garden. When we returned, we found them resorting to picketing there. People were camped on the steps up to Om Niwas. They said, “Children, all of you may go inside, but we won’t let the adults in.” Among the group were our maternal uncles, paternal uncles and other relatives. When they asked us to go inside we said, “No. We won’t go in unless you allow the elders to go too. We’ll stand here.” Two hours passed. They began to feel sorry for us as relatives of each child were in the group. They started offering us chocolates, sweets etc., but we didn’t take anything from them and just stood there. They came to us repeatedly and said, “Eat this chocolate, eat that sweet, and eat toffee.” But we had so much intoxication that we told them, “You people are like monkeys. We don’t eat anything from monkeys.” We threw the chocolates and everything away. Even though we were young in age, we had so much intoxication of being God’s children, like God. We used to consider ourselves ‘Shivohum’ (I am Shiva). We didn’t have the knowledge of God, eternal World Cycle, Genealogical Tree (Kalpa Tree) etc. We just practised that ‘I’m a soul and you are also a soul and we were told about Shivohum. Baba used to get us spiritually intoxicated in this way.
Loving Sustenance and Wonderful Training
Baba would inspire and uplift us by saying, “You are God’s children; you are the master even of God, because children are both a child and a master.” We forgot the entire world – our mother, father, maternal and paternal uncles and aunties, everybody – because of this intoxication. We felt that Baba is our lokik and alokik mother and father. We never remembered our lokik mother or father. Baba got us spiritually intoxicated to such an extent that we felt as if our feet didn’t touch the ground. We always felt that we were up above, in the sky. Besides, there was the role of trance and visions then. As soon as Baba came and gave drishti, the entire class would go into trance. Someone would be dancing, someone else running around; some other calling out for Krishna— it was a very wonderful part, greater than that of a prince or princess. I always think that the sustenance we received, nobody else in the entire cycle would have received. When I was eight years old, my part of divine visions began. Baba once came to conduct satsang at the house of my mother’s aunt in Karachi. My mother was known as Dadi All Rounder. She took me with her to attend the satsang where I went into trance. Thus I grew up in the yagya under the direct supervision, love and care of Brahma Baba and the godly family.