Some conversations stay with you long after the recording ends, echoing not just in your mind, but in your soul. My recent guest on The Sharon Fitzmaurice Podcast Mohan Ranga Rao, shared one such story. A story not of overcoming, but of becoming. Not of fixing, but of feeling. A story shaped by profound loss, and an even deeper love.
Mohan’s life changed irrevocably with the birth, and devastatingly, the loss of his beloved daughter, Yogita. Born blind, Yogita’s presence shattered everything Mohan thought he knew about fatherhood, strength, masculinity, and identity. Just four days after her birth, when he learned of her blindness, something within him cracked open. Not just his heart, but his very worldview.
What followed was not just a medical journey, but an emotional and existential one. He had to unlearn the idea that to love meant to protect and to fix. He had to let go of the illusion of control. And in doing so, he began to understand what it meant to love someone purely, without condition or expectation, a love that transcends even time and space.
His first book, Inner Trek: A Reluctant Pilgrim's Journey to Tibet, emerged from a spiritual reckoning. What began as a physical trek through the Himalayas became a soul-deep pilgrimage - an inner awakening that helped him begin to make sense of the unimaginable. The mountain path became a metaphor for the rugged terrain of his heart: unpredictable, painful, sacred.
His newest book, Myopia: A Father's Journey into Love, Loss and Sight Beyond Vision, is even more intimate. It does not tie grief up in a neat bow. It doesn’t offer hollow comfort. Instead, it gives us something much more powerful: truth. Raw, unfiltered, beautifully human truth. It is a meditation on pain as transformation, love without form, and seeing not with the eyes, but with the soul.
Reading it and speaking with Mohan, invites us into a space we often avoid: the space of suffering. But what if suffering, rather than something to escape, was something to engage with? To sit with, breathe into, learn from?
That is the philosophy behind Amopia, a community and conscious framework Mohan has founded. Blending science, spirituality, and resilience, Amopia teaches us not to fear suffering, but to see it as a wise teacher. It offers courses, workshops, and a deeply supportive community for those navigating grief, change, or simply the deeper questions of life.
As I reflected on our conversation, I felt so moved by the sacred vulnerability Mohan embodies. It reminded me how many men, fathers especially, are never given the space to grieve out loud, to cry, to fall apart, to speak of their pain without shame. Yet grief lives in all of us. It is not bound by gender. It is not something to be hidden. It is a sacred rite of passage, and it deserves to be witnessed.
For anyone who is grieving, feeling lost, or walking through the wilderness of emotional pain, know this:
You are not broken.
You don’t have to have answers.
Grief is not a problem to solve, but a journey to honour.
There is still beauty in the world, even if you can’t see it right now.
You are allowed to love and mourn at the same time.
Here are some holistic tools that may gently support you on this path:
✨ Mindful Presence – Allow yourself to feel without needing to fix. Simply being with your emotions can begin the healing.
✨ Breathwork & Meditation – Even a few minutes of conscious breathing each day can create space between you and your pain, helping you ground and soften.
✨ Creative Expression – Whether through writing, music, art, or movement, let your grief have a voice. It doesn’t need to make sense. It just needs to be heard.
✨ Spiritual Inquiry – Whether through journaling, prayer, sacred texts, or silent reflection, let your heart ask the big questions. Answers may not come, but peace often does.
✨ Connection with Nature – The natural world holds us without words. A walk among trees, sitting by the sea, or watching a sunrise can return us to the rhythm of life.
✨ Community Support – Surround yourself with those who honour your process without rushing it. Connection is medicine.
Mohan’s journey is a reminder that we cannot always choose what happens to us, but we can choose how we walk through it. And sometimes, the most courageous act is simply to keep our hearts open, even when they’re breaking.
To Mohan, thank you for reminding us that vision is not always about what the eyes can see, but about what the soul can feel. That love endures beyond all loss. And that grief, when held with tenderness, can become a sacred teacher.
With deep reverence and love,
Sharon
