In 1987, Mooji had an encounter with a Christian which began his spiritual quest.[5] Mooji continued to work as an art teacher until 1993, when he quit and went traveling in India. [4]
In India he met Papaji and attended his satsangs. He returned to London in 1994 when his son died of pneumonia.[4][3] Mooji visited India to attend Papaji's satsangs over a period of several years. Each time he returned to Brixton, London to sell chai and incense, as well as give away "thoughts for the day" rolled up in straws taken from McDonald's.[3] He became a spiritual teacher in 1999 when a group of spiritual seekers became his students, and began to produce books, CDs, and videos of his teachings.[4] On Tony Moo becoming known as Mooji, Mooji said, "What can I say, except that’s life." Mooji's brother Peter said that people had always followed him wherever he went.[4]
Mooji continues to give satsangs at various locations around the world, regularly attracting over a thousand people from 50 nationalities.[2][4] He also holds meditation retreats, sometimes with up to 850 people, each paying between €600 and €1000 for 7 days, including the cost of satsang.[2] He purchased a 30-hectare property in the parish of São Martinho das Amoreiras, in the Alentejo region of Portugal, and created an ashram called Monte Sahaja.[6] According to Shree Montenegro, the General Manager of Mooji Foundation, there are 20 to 40 people living full-time in the ashram.[2] A fire at the ashram in 2017 required the evacuation of close to 150 people.[7] Activities at the ashram are funded through the UK-based charity Mooji Foundation Ltd., which reported an income of £1.5 million in 2018 (of which nearly £600,000 came from 'donations and legacies'), as well as through income from its trading subsidiaries Mooji Media Ltd in the UK, and Associação Mooji Sangha and Jai Sahaja in Portugal.