“It’s true that we don’t know what we’ve got until we lose it, but it’s also true that we don’t know what we’ve been missing until it arrives.”
– Unknown Author
Many years ago, I had seen the film The Terminal with Tom Hanks in the lead role and thought that it was story-telling at its best, till I learnt that the film was based on the actual experience of an Iranian Merhan Karimi Nasseri who spent eighteen years in the Charles DeGaule Airport in Paris.
On Saturday, I had the privilege of meeting another person who symbolises human spirit in a way that few have done so far in my life. He is Mohsen Khatami, another Iranian refugee. He had to flee Iran due to fear of loss of his life or liberty for having the temerity to translate into Farsi some books written by the Indian mystic Osho.
Mohsen has been living in India on a United Nations Refugee Status document since the year 2001 when he fled Iran. He has been sustaining himself by getting his translations published in Iran and other countries. He lives as a resident in a commune at Ahmednagar, a town about a hundred kilometers from Pune. This commune was set up by another Indian mystic Meher Baba.
For a refugee, Mohsen comes across as an enigma. He is cheerful, bubbling with enthusiasm, totally without rancour about his beloved Iran’s current status and the people responsible for his exile. He appears to be totally at peace with himself and the world and love oozes out of his every pore. His recent mail to me, which gives a measure of the man, opened with this message.
“Dear RamanaJi
Best in Existence for you
“There is no Sadhana greater than love.
There is no law higher than love.
And there is no goal beyond love.
God and love are identical.”
Meher Baba”
Mohsen has no problems within India. He loves being in India and savours all the experiences that it offers. He however cannot travel out of India as he does not have a passport. He has not bothered to find ways and means of obtaining some document which will allow him to travel outside India as he says that if he can’t go, he can’t go. No disappointment, no anger, nothing, just total acceptance. He also cannot get simple things that we take for granted like a driving license, a telephone connection etc as he cannot give acceptable proof of residence. In other words, he is a nobody! In spiritual terms of course, that could be No Body! To me he symbolises a highly spiritual persona with a totally joyful approach to life and all that it has to offer. He has a purpose in life, which is to translate many spiritual books into Farsi and that makes all the difference. He has found the one purpose in life which is so elusive to most of us.
Mohsen is easily approachable. He is on Facebook. His blog contains more information about him both in English and Farsi.
I will be delighted to be of any help to anyone wanting to know more about Mohsen’s work and other details. Please contact me via my ‘contact’ page if you do.