Becoming Nature

EMILIE MOGENSEN rekindles a correspondence with her father, THOMAS MOGENSEN, which she started in her youth. Years later, she now asks him about what truly matters to him after a lifetime of meditation, spirituality, and living in the world.

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History is repeating itself and I'm remembering sitting as a young girl in Manapakkam Ashram, where I spent long periods of my youth. I would stay in the simple dormitory and truly enjoy the simplicity of bare feet and daily meditations.

A rather big contrast to my young life back in Denmark. This was before the internet, and I would send my father handwritten letters sharing my experiences with him, getting the replies a few weeks later by snailmail. Those were the days! One letter I remember in particular had me explaining to my dad how fortunate I felt to spend so much time with my spiritual guide at the time, Chariji. I wrote how I didn't feel I deserved this time of magic, where I received so much attention and presence, opening up a window to my inner dimensions to an extent I long for today.

The reply from my dad was very different from what I expected. He simply wrote that I didn't deserve it, and that is what makes a spiritual guide special. He gives it anyway! He gives something that no human can ever deserve. With advice not framed as advice; that is how my dad always brought us up, my brother and me. He wanted us to discover from within and not because of outer dogma.

I live according to this profound wisdom every day—no human can ever deserve what is so much bigger than any action or any thought or any feeling. It evokes humility.

After the release in April of my dad's book, In the Light Awakening, I got the inspiration to renew the letter exchange, this time over email from one part of Denmark to another.

Emilie: Hi dad, congratulations on your new book being released! We are all very happy for this achievement, and I am eager to ask a few questions. If you could put only one word on what your spiritual guide Babuji was for you, what would that word be?