Jamaican Satsang? The Story of Mooji

Moojibaba is a Jamaican Satsang speaker inspired by Hindu philosophy, taught by Sri Harilal Poonjaji of India, also called Papaji. Born on January 29, 1954, Mooji became a spiritual teacher through multiple, truth-seeking conversations at his chai-stall in the UK.

Mooji Baba; Source: Mooji.org

Spiritual learners from all over the world visit India for awakening or spiritual retreats. Foreigners are not an uncommon sight in Varanasi, Dharamshala or McLeodganj. What is unusual, however, is a foreigner transforming into a Hindu spiritual teacher himself! Mooji is one such famous anomaly of Hindu philosophy-inspired, foreign spiritual teachers.

Born on January 29, 1954, as Anthony Paul Moo-Young, his mother moved to the UK from Jamaica when he was just one year old. Young Tony-Moo, as he was known back then, was brought up by his loving father and aunt. However, his father died of pneumonia when Tony-Moo was barely eight years old, leaving Tony-Moo and his two siblings under the care of his brother, George.

George held a different perspective of parenthood, he believed that the Moo-Young siblings needed to be disciplined more than they were showered with affection by their posthumous father.

It was under George’s disciplinarian household that Mooji first encountered spirituality – in the Bible.

As Tony-Moo entered his teenage years, he unexpectedly received a message from his birth mother in the UK. They began to exchange letters and mutually felt the need to meet each other. He moved to England to be with his mother, where he pursued his university studies while being a street artist in London. However, his humble, happy life came to an abrupt turn when his elder sister was shot and paralysed during the Brixton riots of 1985. Disturbed by the circumstances, he turned to spirituality to calm himself.

Tony met a Christian mystic named Michael, who exuded similar, intuitive energy as that of the young Jamaican. Together, they would pray and have insightful conversations regarding Christianity, which propelled young Tony forward in his search for the ultimate Truth.

In his search to transcend towards higher states of consciousness, he stumbled upon the teachings of Maharshi Ramana, which left him mesmerized. He travelled to India with some money that had been gifted to him by his sister. In India, he travelled to Rishikesh and Varanasi, where he met disciples of Sri Harilal Poonjaji, lovingly called Papaji. Tony-Moo had not come to India to meet sages or ascetics, so he initially declined to travel with them to Papaji’s place in Lucknow. However, while he was staying in Varanasi, he felt the urge to seek guidance from Papaji, and so, he booked a train ticket.

After his interactions with Papaji, Moo felt a newfound sense of awareness and serenity. Back in London, he started selling incense sticks and then upgraded to a tea-stall of his own, where he would sell chai to his customers, along with kombucha. Basking in the warmth of Moo’s peaceful radiance, his customers would engage with him in questioning the meaning of consciousness and truth. His answers would confound people’s deep-rooted mundane beliefs, which is how he started being called Mooji out of veneration. Soon, his crowd grew, and he started talking about these issues at public gatherings known as ‘Satsang’ or a meeting in truth.

Fast forward a few years, now Moojibaba has a vast ashram in Portugal where he regularly holds Satsangs and meditational retreats for people from all over the world.