Sathya Sai Baba. Supernatural Experiences and Divine Transformation. Book Two [Святослав Игоревич Дубянский] (fb2) читать онлайн

Svyatoslav Dubyanskiy Sathya Sai Baba. Supernatural Experiences and Divine Transformation. Book Two

Memories, Experiences and Philosophy

Author's Preface

Divine teacher who helps at all levels of human existence

Before you is a book about the life and philosophy of the great Indian mystic and miracle worker Sathya Sai Baba. He was a spiritual mentor, philosopher, public figure and the most significant miracle worker of our time. Sai Baba preached the unity of all religions, taught meditation practices, and his blessings healed and changed people's lives.

For me, Sathya Sai Baba is a divine teacher who helped at all levels of human existence, from the highest spiritual realizations to the most everyday problems related to health, family life, and creativity. All issues that were important to people were also important to him.

For several years I watched how Sathya Sai Baba gave spiritual instructions and changed people's lives

I had the good fortune to communicate with Sathya Sai Baba a lot between 1993 and 1999. I have translated from English into Russian during Sai Baba's personal meetings with numerous Russian speaking groups.

For several years, I have watched Sathya Sai Baba communicate with followers and visitors, give spiritual instructions, answer questions, heal from serious illnesses and, with the help of his blessings, transform people's lives.

After Sathya Sai Baba left the body in 2011, my many friends asked me to write about the amazing events I had witnessed. Thus was born my books.

In the first book, I reminisce about how Sathya Sai Baba was during direct communication, as well as the history of his miracles, to which I was a direct witness. The book was warmly received by readers. It was important for me to receive good and useful advice.

Thank you all for your support and guidance, your warm responses have inspired me to keep going. It is nice to know that the book has been accepted not only by those who have known Sathya Sai Baba personally for many years, but also by those who are just now beginning to learn about him.

Sathya Sai Baba proclaimed the divinity of every person, this is the essence of his teachings. I tried to reflect on his spiritual heritage. The seeming simplicity and clarity of Sathya Sai Baba's words are sometimes deceptive. The last thing I would like to do is impose my understanding of Sathya Sai Baba's teachings.

Everything expressed in this book is just my understanding of his philosophy and mission. With this book, I invite each of you to think and reflect with me about the eternal questions of the spiritual path and human existence.

The book contains numerous stories from the legendary life of Sathya Sai Baba. I think that his life is not so much an object for worship, but an example for each of us from which we can learn a lot. Talking to him, I was able to understand that the last thing Sathya Sai Baba wanted was to create a "cult" of himself.

He sought to direct each person to investigate the nature of the eternal soul. First of all, Sai Baba proclaimed the divinity of every person, this was the essence of his teaching.

The stories given in this book are taken from various sources, some of these stories I have witnessed, some of the stories were shared with me by the first devotees of Sathya Sai Baba with whom I was fortunate enough to communicate.

I express my deep gratitude to senior Sathya Sai Baba devotees such as Subba Rao, Maheshwarananda, Padananda, Dr. Rao, Yogi Harri and Venkateshwar Shastri for the many stories I heard about the life and miracles of Sathya Sai Baba from these great devotees.

Realizing your mission in life is the most important task for every person.

Sathya Sai Baba possessed perfect insight, with the help of clairvoyance, he scanned the inner world of each person, deeply understanding his needs. He preached a harmonious life in which each person must fulfill his divine destiny.

I would like you to consider this book not as a fascinating story about Sathya Sai Baba and his miracles, reading amazing stories about his incomprehensible life and contemplating his mission, you can see practical guides in spiritual practice and daily life.

Being the messenger of a blessed life, he poured out Divine Grace on everyone who is was open and ready to receive it. He blessed everyone to the realization and successful realization of their destiny. Understanding and realizing your mission in life is the most important task for everyone, thus you embody your God-given genius.

Everything we do in life is steps on the spiritual path.

Many years of association with Sathya Sai Baba completely transformed my life. His blessings touched every aspect of my destiny. Now I write books, conduct master classes and seminars on the practices of Kriya Yoga and mantras, and also talk about the life and teachings of Sathya Sai Baba in lectures. It may seem that I have always been such a "wise man".

Like any other person, I went through a life path full of doubts, internal conflicts, difficulties and problems. I am in the process of spiritual exploration, contemplation, and meditation. I'm on the road, just like everyone else. Probably, I have already managed to realize something, but something else remains to be understood and implemented in the future. We are all on the path of divine evolution.

In this book, I invite you to take part in the remembrance of the greatest Divine Incarnation, which I and many of you had the good fortune to witness. I invite you to reflect on the deepest meaning of his teaching.

As a professional artist, I am grateful to Sathya Sai Baba for helping me realize that not only meditation and prayer make up the spiritual path of a person. Everything we do in life is the steps of the spiritual path, every person we meet in life is a teacher, every life situation, every success and every trial makes us more experienced and wiser.

This book will be of interest both to those who know Sathya Sai Baba well and to readers who are just beginning to get acquainted with his life and teachings. The book shows Sathya Sai Baba as a universal teacher who combines the wisdom of all world religions and guides people on the path of harmonious development of divine self-knowledge and a happy human life.

Gratitude

I express my deepest gratitude to all my friends and relatives who took an active part in the work on this book. Thank you all for your kind and helpful advice, valuable information, technical, and financial support.

Special thanks to my wife Svetlana Dubyanskaya, as well as to my parents Igor Grigoryevich and Tamara Alekseevna.

Special thanks to Anupriya Wijayaweera for arranging the publication of this book. Thanks go to Alexander Bukreev for the cover design.

1. Who things and acts?

There are many types of knowledge, but there is only one greatest knowledge – this is self-knowledge, the knowledge of one's eternal True Self, this is the knowledge of the unchanging ultimate reality. Your True Self was never born and will never die.

(Sathya Sai Baba – Sathya Sai Gita Chapter 1)

The main thing for which we are born into this world is to realize the greatest secret of the True "I". This secret is what most of Sathya Sai Baba's instructions were devoted to. "I" exist – is a statement that sounds perfectly clear to every person. The obvious thing is that "I Am", even if it is not always clear what "I" is. Self-existence is so obvious that it does not need proof and discussion, as it is an experience inherent in absolutely everyone. However, the simplicity and evidence that "I" exist does not make the question of what "I" is simple.

There are many types of knowledge, all of which are very important for the development of human culture. Sathya Sai Baba never denied physics, mathematics, jurisprudence, economics, or the many other sciences important for development of human society. However, there is a knowledge that is most important, and that is knowledge about the essence of one’s soul.

Who constantly strives to be free from problems and suffering, as well as to find eternal happiness? Who wants to be successful? Who wants to receive genuine answers to the most important questions of the universe and dispel their doubts? Who seeks to know the absolute truth, thinks, and meditates? To all these complex questions, the answer is simple: “I am”.

Even if you say you do not have all these desires and questions, then we can ask: who does not have questions and desires? The answer will be exactly the same: “I” do not have desires and questions.

If someone says he does not believe in the existence of "I" at all, then it is appropriate to ask: who does not believe in the existence of "I"? and again the answer is "I". You have thoughts, feelings, desires, preferences, opinions – you do things, but at the same time, most often you forget to realize or understand who this “I” is, which thinks, feels, and acts.

The true "Self" existed before the birth of the physical body and will continue to exist after one’s death. Sathya Sai Baba never denied the numerous branches of human culture, he even founded several major universities and colleges in India, which successfully taught various disciplines, allowing graduates to get good jobs and build successful careers.

Sathya Sai Baba was extremely active in public and social life, and he taught his followers the same. Of all kinds of knowledge, Sathya Sai Baba considered the knowledge of oneself to be the highest. A person who has known his soul discovers for himself the greatest cosmic secret of the essence of being. Only then all other types of knowledge and all activity, in general, acquires a sacred meaning, otherwise everything is pure vanity.

The omnipresent "I" is invisibly present in wakefulness and in sleep, in happiness and suffering, in birth and death; it existed long before the birth of your physical body and will continue its existence after the death of the body. The body is born and dies, but the "I" is eternally present in the infinite cosmos. Everything in this world is impermanent; everything changes every second, but the True Self is an eternal observer present invisibly and invariably in the center of the constant cycle of impermanence and variability.

2. Sathya Sai Baba ana Wolf Messing

It is extremely difficult to talk about Wolf Messing, the famous mystic of the twentieth century. This man is a mystery as quite a lot is known about him, but at the same time almost nothing is known of him. He was the first to recognize and proclaim the truth that Sathya Sai Baba is a divine incarnation. Messing's spiritual path was very complex and ambiguous. Some perceived him as a prophet and a great soothsayer, and some called him a charlatan. Nevertheless, he had unique supernatural abilities and perfect clairvoyance.

All his life he asked spiritual questions about the meaning of human existence, trying to understand why God gave him such a unique talent. Messing accurately saw the future, both of individual people and of entire nations, and when something wonderful was about to happen, he was sincerely happy. With the help of his amazing clairvoyance, he accurately saw the future of people and entire countries but could do nothing to change unfolding situations that would cause great suffering.

Messing was a unique conductor of accurate information. In the twenties and thirties, he traveled extensively around the world, including India, which was then a colony of England. In 1936, he traveled to India and visited Bombay, Calcutta, and Bangalore. While on the train traveling from Bangalore to Delhi, the train stopped at Anantapur railway station. According to some accounts of the story, Messing began to feel strong, intuitive vibrations and walked off the train, telling his escort they must stop in this city. This surprised his assistants, who, at first, tried to persuade him to get back on the train and continue the journey in their comfortable carriage, but Messing was not inclined and remained on the platform while his assistants unloaded things and, although perplexed, remained with him. The reason for such strange behavior was that Messing felt the presence of a great divine teacher nearby and decided to look for him.

I tried to discover more information from some senior Sathya Sai Baba devotees, such as Subba Rao, Padananda, and Maheshwarananda, about how exactly this meeting took place between Messing and little Sathya Sai Baba, who was then around ten years old. There are different versions of exactly how this historic meeting eventuated. Different books describe different details, and the exact details are simply not known. It is only known that such a meeting took place.

The surprise of this event lies in the fact that at that time Sathya Sai Baba was about ten years old, and this meeting was several years before he proclaimed himself an Avatar, revealing to everyone around him the special spiritual mission of his incarnation. In those days, no one treated the Sai boy as special, he was just a simple village boy. Of course, the locals were very surprised when the famous soothsayer from distant Europe, upon seeing the Sai boy, proclaimed the famous words of prophecy: "He is a divine person!"

According to one version of the story, when the train pulled into Anantapur, Messing suddenly felt a powerful motivating energy which caused him to rush out of the carriage, demand a car, and drive in the direction of where his intuition was calling. He came to the village of Puttaparthi and drove to the very house where, the boy, Sathya Sai Baba lived.

According to another version, little Sathya Sai Baba was not far from the railway station that day and Messing, who got off the train, easily discovered the divine child. The details of the story are not so significant for me. The important thing is that Wolf Messing's precise intuitive feeling and his clairvoyance led him to the young Sathya Sai Baba. Messing is acknowledged as being the first person to understand the divine nature of Sathya Sai Baba, and to prophesy who he is.

As was, during the life of Sathya Sai Baba, so now, disputes about who Sathya Sai Baba was, and remains to be, do not subside. There are many opinions. Some consider him the greatest divine incarnation and teacher of humanity, and some consider him a cunning deceiver. There can be no absolute and exact proof of who Sathya Sai Baba is, All evidence given by man is in the realm of logic, and yet, it’s common knowledge that divine incarnation is outside all logical reasoning.

In the Vedic texts and throughout biblical scriptures, there are many descriptions of the qualities of the Avatar and the Messiah: i.e., divine incarnation. All of them are quite naive and have little to do with life, because all attempts to rationally define the Avatar or the Messiah are products of ignorant human ideas about what the Avatar or Messiah should be like. But the peculiarity of the unstable and insidious mind is that for any argument there is always a counterargument.

When Jesus Christ came to earth, many high priests quite sincerely expected the Messiah, but they could not recognize him because they relied upon their interpretations of the many predictions and signs as described in earlier prophetic texts. The chief priests expected the Messiah to come according to their own ideas of what he should be like.

The problem was that Jesus was the way he was, and not the way the high priests wanted him to be. Those who tried to understand Jesus failed to do so, intellectually. Despite the fact priests sincerely expected the Messiah, they did not accept him once he appeared, and consequently, they’re still waiting for the first coming. Only those people who had an open heart could feel and understand his divine energy and accepted him as the Good Shepherd.

Similar stories happened in the life of the Buddha. In the time of the Buddha, there were many highly educated philosophers who could not understand and accept the Buddha and arrogantly considered him a charlatan. The same fate was with Krishna. Now, after several millennia, it is easy enough to say that Krishna is the divine teacher of mankind, but during his lifetime there were quite a few philosophers and scholars of the Vedic texts who denied him.

3. You are perfect from the beginning, for God created you in his image and likeness

God is love. Love can only be felt through love. One who is in love can find oneness with the Divine.

(Sathya Sai Baba – "Collection of lectures", 1991)

Love is the greatest treasure in the world. God is the True Self of every person, which is why to love God means to love your Higher Self. Love begins with love for oneself, which is the divinity that lies dormant in the Spiritual Heart of each person. Self-love has nothing to do with selfishness.

True love for yourself lies in the awareness of your infinite creative potential. How can you love God if most of the time people don't even know how to accept themselves? How can you love your neighbor if you do not understand how to accept and love yourself?

To love God means to see God in every person. You look into the eyes of the person right in front of you and see in them the light of the True Self, which is also your True Self. I was incredibly lucky in the ‘90s to meet Mother Teresa at the Delhi airport as she walked through the huge airport building blessing everyone in her path. I watched her actions with awe, feeling the amazing divine love emanating from Mother Teresa. I also approached her in order to receive a blessing.

The divine vibrations of Mother Teresa at that moment gave rise to amazing realizations in me. Thoughts and images flowed through my mind. An inner voice spoke to me.

You contemplate the True Self, which means you contemplate God. You trust your intuition, which means you trust God's plan, because intuition is the voice of God. You respect yourself, which means you respect God because you are divine. You allow your dream to come true, because in your dream God creates this perfect world. You do your job in life and follow your destiny, which means you are doing the work of God. You love yourself because you are originally perfect, for God created you in his own image and likeness. You are originally perfect because God incarnates in the world in every person.

It is very helpful to meditate on your name and appearance. Try to respectfully look at your reflection in the mirror or at a photo or video of yourself, or perhaps listen to a recording of your voice. What you feel when listening or seeing will be an important indicator of how you perceive yourself, because the soul is manifested in your voice and appearance. Self-love begins with love for your name, appearance, and voice.

All people are deeply interconnected because all are one in the Divine Consciousness. By reading Christian and Buddhist sacred texts, you will learn about the importance of love and compassion, and you will start to consider how to love the whole world.

It is very easy to love all of humanity; it is more difficult to love the person who is nearby and right in front of you. Loving humanity is a good idea, in theory, but often that’s where it ends. We keep people at arms-length and at a distance, viewing humanity as a collective noun made up of abstract people with their abstract joys, needs and sufferings. But humans are not abstractions of reality – we are people traversing the highs and lows of everyday life trying to become the hero of our own journey. When we condense humanity down to something we can “love” as an idea, but not actually impact on a personal level, we miss out on the beauty that comes with interdependent relationships. When you begin to appreciate each person as an individual, abstract humanity turns from having ideas about someone’s reality to directly engaging in the truth of their reality. This is when you begin to “love your neighbor as yourself” and face the complexity of humanity at an individual level by loving people in spite of their complicated lives.

The person right in front of you may need your help, understanding, and support. To see the Eternal Consciousness in every person behind the veil of their personality is true love.

4. Sathya Sai Baba blew on the branches three times, they instantly turned into a small crucifix

Dr. John Hislop is very famous among Sathya Sai Baba's devotees. He was a man of unique destiny, who for many years practiced various spiritual systems and communicated with leading gurus and philosophers of the twentieth century such as Krishnamurti and Shivananda. However, John Hislop continued to feel dissatisfied and incomplete in his spiritual life.

He felt that all the books he read and the seminars he went through, in which he studied the practices of yoga and meditation, were just steps to something very important. At the end of the sixties, he learned about Sathya Sai Baba and immediately came to his ashram. Seeing Sathya Sai Baba for the first time, Hislop was shocked by the strong vibrations of love emanating from him.

Subsequently, John Hislop published an amazing book entitled “My Baba and I”, his conversations with Sathya Sai Baba, in which he shared the most interesting answers given in response to various questions relating to the spiritual development of man and society. For many people, the book became a reference point providing clear answers to the difficult questions in one’s spiritual development. This book has been translated into numerous languages, and new editions are constantly being printed. People who want a deeper understanding of Sathya Sai Baba's philosophy read and re-read this amazing book.

John Hislop was a blessed soul, and a particularly close devotee of Sathya Sai Baba. Hislop was fortunate to follow him relentlessly for many years, observing his life and listening to his wise instructions. We are lucky that Hislop not only enjoyed his fellowship with Sathya Sai Baba but carried the good news further by writing books, communicating with people, and telling stories about Sathya Sai Baba that he witnessed or directly participated in.

In the early seventies, Sathya Sai Baba went to a large nature reserve located near the city of Mysore, in the very south of India. Sathya Sai Baba took several people with him on the trip, including John Hislop. The area near Mysore is famous for its mild climate and beautiful pristine nature consisting of low mountains covered with jungle, full-flowing fast rivers, a huge number of wild animals and the life of the local population untouched by civilization.

An account of the trip records how Sathya Sai Baba walked with his small group for a long time through the jungle accompanied by local guides. Finally, everyone sat down to rest on the bank of a fast mountain river, enjoying the beautiful views of the mountains. Suddenly, Sathya Sai Baba picked up two branches, folded them in the shape of a cross and showed them to John Hislop before he blew three times on the branches. They instantly turned into a small crucifix of magnificent work. Sathya Sai Baba immediately gave this wonderful crucifix to the shocked Hislop. Photos of this cross are well known and very common.

Many times, I have watched Sathya Sai Baba materialize objects. He made several circular movements with his right hand and small flashes of light appeared directly from the palm of his hand. Rings, rosaries, or amulets miraculously appeared from these flashes. Materialized objects may seem the most ordinary, but in fact they are the greatest objects of power arising from the pure divine light. One of the ways in which Sathya Sai Baba materialized objects was extremely unusual, he blew on his hand three times and an object appeared there.

Breathing is a sacred act. Life begins with the first breath and ends with the last breath. Breathing happens by itself. It is not in our will to breathe or not to breathe. Breathing is the divine will manifested in man. In fact, God, himself, breathes in every person.

The Yogis of India and the Russian Orthodox Elders believe that breathing is a manifestation of the Holy Spirit. Proper meditation begins with conscious breathing and deep prayer is performed in the rhythm of breathing. One who reaches the highest meditative state stops breathing for several hours or even for several days. In Sanskrit this state is called Samadhi.

Sathya Sai Baba breathed on his hand and materialized objects. Each object was a newly created small universe appearing right before your eyes. I have always been fascinated by the moment itself – that high spiritual state one feels when attuning with Sathya Sai Baba at the very, wonderful, moment of breath to bring forth a creation of the world in miniature. As God breathed the breath of life into mankind, Sathya Sai Baba materialized objects with the help of three significant breaths, showing that breath gives birth to life and creates a miracle.

Subsequently, that cross given to Hislop also came with some amazing details. Sathya Sai Baba said the cross was made from a piece of the same tree on which Jesus Christ was crucified. This is absolutely incredible! How can this even be? Who is Sathya Sai Baba who can do such a thing?! How could Sathya Sai Baba materialize a cross from the same legendary tree 2000 years after the event. Explaining the meaning of this cross, Sathya Sai Baba also said that the face of Jesus depicted on this cross is an exact portrait of Jesus on the day of his crucifixion after several days of torture and hunger.

5. All people are enlightened, they just don't know about it

The true "I" is always in awareness. All living beings experience the True Self as the awareness of "I Am". When the sense of self is misidentified with the body or mind, it becomes selfishness. Delusions of the mind cloud the True Self. It is like the clouds blocking the radiance of the sun. In the same way, the mind blocks the radiance of the True Self. The mind is unable to know the True Self, the mind is also unable to experience the supreme bliss of the True Self. One who has gained self-realization can be conscious under any circumstances of life.

(Sathya Sai Baba – "Summer Showers in Brindavan", 1990)

"I" is the original true name of God. God is the True "I" of every person and in general of every living being. "I" and God are eternally one, which is why it is written in the Vedas that everyone can realize that “I AM God.” The Gospel says: "I and my Heavenly Father are one." These aphorisms speak of the inner reality not only of the prophets and teachers, but of the essence of the soul of every person. This is the essence of Gnostics, that is, mystical Christianity.

By carefully studying the gospel message, we see that Jesus taught three basic doctrines. First, the realization of one's divinity. Second, direct communication between man and God. Third, love and compassion for one's neighbor. Jesus pointed out that God and the Kingdom of Heaven are the inner reality of every person.

The message of Krishna, Jesus and Sathya Sai Baba are identical and point to the inner divinity of each person, to the direct communication of man and God, and to the importance of serving people. At a higher level of spiritual practice, one discovers the truth that "I and My Heavenly Father are one." At this level, the communication between man and God becomes the communication between the Absolute "I" and the individual "I", which takes place in the depths of the Spiritual Heart.

The true "I" is originally enlightened and perfect; it does not need enlightenment, because enlightenment is its nature. As a person feels himself as a separate being, he strives for enlightenment as the final liberation from suffering. Realizing the true nature of his soul, a person opens the great treasure that is hidden in the Spiritual Heart.

For many years, the Buddha aspired to enlightenment, and having received this state, he was surprised to say that it turned out he had always been enlightened. However, the Buddha and many Masters, having gained enlightenment, utter wonderful words that all enlightened people simply do not know about it.

"I Am" is the door to higher reality. The beginning of the spiritual path lies in the awareness of one's existence, i.e., "I Am". At first glance, this sounds too elementary and obvious, but most people are not aware of their existence – most live their entire lives in unconsciousness. Self-existence is a well-known sensation for every person; it is so familiar that it often goes unnoticed. The feeling of "I Am" is the door to the highest reality and it is from this knowledge that the true spiritual path begins.

You are what you think you are. You are inherently free, so no one can give or take away your freedom. Remember that the information you are given may be true for some, but it is not necessarily true for all. You have the right to accept or reject any point of view, regardless of the authority of the person who tells you something. You are what you think you are so, be aware of your freedom.

The divine man is free and of good morals. Freedom alone is not enough. Freedom in ignorant hands can cause grief and suffering. The freedom of the wise is based on good. You are free because you always have the freedom to choose, even if you may not always understand it. The freedom of choice in the life of a wise man is based on love. The freedom of the unreasonable is based on selfishness.

The Buddha told his disciples they could only accept his teaching if they agreed with it after thinking deeply about the essence of the teaching. This was a manifestation of true freedom. Sathya Sai Baba also never demanded thoughtless submission. He left people with the right to free choice and the right to learn from their mistakes.

6. Sathya Sai Baba was unpredictable

I will now tell a very famous story in this chapter, which I heard from several senior devotees who were close to Sathya Sai Baba for many years. In 1961, a traditional Vedic ceremony was planned to be held at the ashram. For this, several experienced Hindu Brahmin priests were invited. Vedic ceremonies are performed according to strict regulations. According to the astrological calculations made by the clergy, the ceremony had to start at 7.30am. This was immediately reported to Sathya Sai Baba. After listening to all the details of the calculations, Sathya Sai Baba said that it was not favorable to start the ritual at this time and that the correct time would be 9.30am. Moreover, he proclaimed that the ritual could only be started at the time specified by him.

The priests were very experienced astrologers and insisted on the accuracy of their calculations. Sathya Sai Baba did not respond to their objections, so it seemed to the priests they were able to convince him of the correctness of their opinion.

When the appointed day arrived, the clergy got up early in the morning, took a bath and prepared to leave the house to calmly reach the temple to prepare and start the ceremony at exactly 7.30am, as planned. It had heavily rained all night and in the early morning it continued to pour without a hint of the bad weather ending.

The priests dressed as they should in special vestments, but looking at the raging weather, did not know what to do as it was impossible to leave the house because of the storm. Missing the scheduled start of the ritual would be a big mistake and would be considered an unfavorable sign, and so everyone present began to worry.

The downpour was so heavy that the Chitravathi River overflowed its banks in the morning, and since the priests lived on the other side of the river, they simply could not come to the ashram on time. The only thing that could be done was to stand at the exit of the house and just wait. After some time, the rain suddenly stopped abruptly, and they were able to get to the ashram and begin the ritual.

The atmosphere was tense since the start was later than scheduled, and some began to doubt whether it was necessary to start worship at all. When the ceremony finally began, it was exactly 9.30am, as Sathya Sai Baba had predicted. Realizing that everything happened strictly in accordance with the predictions of Sathya Sai Baba, everyone sang praises to God in joy.

After some time, Sathya Sai Baba decided to hold another big Vedic ceremony, and for this he again invited the same priests to the ashram. As soon as all the priests arrived, he gathered them in his room and told them to draw up an exact list of ritual accessories needed for worship a few days before the start of the program.

It may seem strange to you why so much attention was paid to all the details. The fact is that since ancient times in the Vedic tradition all the details of the rituals are considered very important: when to start the ritual, who should conduct it, what mantras should be pronounced, how to properly install the statues of deities, and much more.

In accordance with Sathya Sai Baba's instructions, the clergy compiled a detailed list that included a huge number of various items, such as special incense and flowers, ghee and special rice, bells and offering plates, special cloths for deities, small spoons for holy water, and many other things. He was given the list and ordered the administrators of the ashram to buy everything they needed in strict accordance with the items listed.

Just five minutes before the start of the ceremony, the chief clergyman realized with horror he had forgotten to include the ritual silver jar, Kalasha. Nervously, he approached Sathya Sai Baba, who had already left his room and was on his way to the ceremony site and explained the situation in a trembling voice. Sathya Sai Baba smiled, shook his head knowingly, and instantly materialized an ancient ritual silver jug.

It was clear to all those present that this was a special jar. On its walls there were several images with images of the Deities. The jug looked like an old relic as if it was not an ordinary item but had come from another time in history. Some people present plucked up the courage and asked Sathya Sai Baba to tell the story of the unique jug. He said it was the same jug he used in his previous incarnation to perform solemn ceremonies.

In his past life, Sathya Sai Baba was called Shirdi Sai Baba because he lived in the city of Shirdi, in the western part of India. In each incarnation we call him Sai Baba, but the first name always changes. As I have already mentioned, in the previous incarnation he was called Shirdi Sai Baba because he lived in the city of Shirdi. In his last incarnation he was called Sathya Sai Baba: the name, Sathya means "truth". In the next incarnation, in accordance with his predictions, he will incarnate in southern India and his name will be Prema Sai Baba. Prema means "divine love" in Sanskrit.

So, Sathya Sai Baba materialized a jug, which he also used in his previous life to perform Vedic ceremonies. Surprisingly and incomprehensibly, he could not only overcome space, but also time. By materializing a jug from his previous life, he revealed that he experienced being outside of time and space.

All the miracles of Sathya Sai Baba had a deep spiritual meaning, they shocked and transformed everyone present, as well as everyone who later learned about these miracles. When reading stories about the life of Sathya Sai Baba, try to imagine all the events described as clearly as possible. Imagine that you, too, are present in the events unfolding so that you feel and experience an even stronger energy and receive blessings.

All outer worship ultimately leads to the mystical experience of the Absolute Self. The true "Self" is beyond space and time. Each person is born into this world with a unique spiritual task. Everyone is the creator of their life and the author of their reality. In the highest sense, the goal of human life is self-knowledge of the eternal divine essence of one's soul and self-realization of one's God-given talents.

Spiritual evolution takes place not only in meditation and prayer, but in all life events. Any experience you have in life is part of your spiritual evolution. Everything you do can become a spiritual practice if it is done in the awareness of oneness.

Your physical body, family, financial situation, success, like everything else, is the result of your own thoughts. If you are not satisfied with the circumstances in which you live your life, you need to start with the transformation of your thoughts. A man is what he thinks.

The Vedas and the Bible say that every person is created in the image and likeness of God himself, which means that every person is initially perfect, brilliant, omnipotent, and a wise creator of his reality. But there is another point of view about the creation of man. If we perceive God as a higher power that is outside of man, then we can say that God created man and endowed him with certain qualities. However, if we understand God as the True "I", then it turns out that "I am God" created himself as "I am man." In Sanskrit, this is called "Sambhava", which means "created" itself.

In this chapter, we have recollected amazing stories about traditional Vedic ceremonies which were performed quite often in Sathya Sai Baba's ashram. Why was it necessary? The deep meaning of Vedic worship is to reveal the inner divinity of each person. All outer worship ultimately leads to the mystical experience of the Absolute Self.

7. Unity of duality

Where there is duality, there is a desire to acquire or a desire to avoid, a desire to possess or a fear of losing. When you gain wisdom, you experience a state of oneness where there is no duality, which means there is nothing to desire and nothing to avoid.

(Sathya Sai Baba – Sathya Sai Gita Chapter 14)

Man lives in duality because the main property of the manifested world is duality. There's nothing wrong with that as it's just a property of the universe. Duality is manifested in male and female, day and night, sun and moon, north and south poles, right and left hemispheres of the brain. The Chinese Taoist tradition talks about the interaction and balance of Yin and Yang. Even in the process of breathing, duality is manifested – inhalation is replaced by exhalation.

The question is not how to run away from duality, but how to perceive duality. A person who sees the original unity in duality is freed from attachments and internal conflicts. Duality is not to be fought or avoided, it must be understood and accepted. There are no contradictions in duality because duality is the harmony of unity in diversity. Perhaps the most striking manifestation of the unity of duality is shown in the interaction of male and female principles in the universe.

A person who is in the Spirit of God naturally finds abundance and happiness. Only one who constantly divides and cannot accept the integrity of the universe tries to give up the so-called material to acquire the so-called spiritual. The Divine is in everything. Where and why do you want to run away? Maybe it's time to see God in everything?

Even if you practice visualization regularly and very well the result will not come, because it is necessary to also perform an action. Even the Avatar always acts.

The Avatar is also in the world of duality. He performs actions being in the awareness of the original unity. Sathya Sai Baba also aspired to implement his projects and successfully achieve his social goals. Spirituality is not about trying naively to avoid active social activity, but about doing action while realizing the unity and interconnectedness of all that exists.

The most subtle action that absolutely everyone performs is breathing. The process of breathing is deeply connected with the flow of thoughts and the circulation of vital energy. Some tried to tell Sathya Sai Baba that they were supposedly completely freed from any activity. His response was, “how can you be inactive if you are breathing? Breath is the original source of any action.”

8. Difficult mysteries of past lives

One day an Indian family came to the ashram: a husband, wife and two children. They were eager to have an audience with Sathya Sai Baba in order to consult with him on several serious issues. They asked an acquaintance, who worked in the administration of the ashram to intercede on their behalf and ask about a personal meeting with their Sai Baba.

In the earlier period of Sathya Sai Baba's life, when there were still not so many people around him, such situations were quite possible. Subsequently, he became so popular that it was impossible to arrange individual personal meetings. Each time, to invite or not to invite a person to a personal conversation was the exclusive choice of Sathya Sai Baba himself. However, in those days one could ask someone to arrange a personal meeting.

So, this Indian family turned to an acquaintance who worked in the administration of the ashram and asked him to help in organizing an audience. When the administrator turned to Sathya Sai Baba with the request, he immediately said that both children in this family were blind. This surprised everyone present, because Sathya Sai Baba was not familiar with this family before and none of those present knew the children were blind.

Several days passed, but Sathya Sai Baba did not extend invitation for this family to have a private conversation. A few days later, Sathya Sai Baba approached his assistants and told them that in her previous life the mother of the blind children had pierced the eyes of her adopted children in anger, and as a result of this, in this life her two children were blind. Hearing this revelation, everyone was surprised how much Sathya Sai Baba knew not only about the present life, but the past lives of people.

In most cases, people perceive situations superficially without understanding the underlying causes of certain events. When problems start, the question arises: if I did nothing wrong, why am I suffering? Most often, people perceive their life as limited within this incarnation. Thoughts and actions committed in the past literally build all the circumstances of life in the present. Everything that happens in this life is shaped by what a person has done in many previous births, but it is quite difficult to remember exactly or consciously to know the actions of your past lives.

Nowadays, more and more people receive various mystical experiences associated with visions of their past incarnations. The big question is how accurate these mystical visions and sensations are. Quite a lot of people enthusiastically say that they were Pharaohs in Ancient Egypt and great Lamas in Tibet in past lives.

Quite often, past life visions are based on inflated egos. People want to be special and great, so ideas arise that it was you who was Alexander the Great or Cleopatra in a past life. However, the reality of your past lives may be completely different and what the ego may whisper is likely to be very far from the realities of your past lives.

Sathya Sai Baba accurately saw the thoughts, states, energy, and karma of a person, so he built his communication with everyone based on what he knew about the depths of the inner world of a person. Sathya Sai Baba understood the inner world of the audience member so deeply that the person himself could not know about himself and not even guess some of the hidden labyrinths of his own subconscious.

It might seem that Sathya Sai Baba is too kind and gracious in his dealings with some, and yet very harsh with another, but there was a deep reason for everything. Such situations constantly happened around Sathya Sai Baba. He could easily heal one person and ignore the problems of another. Each of his actions had its own mysterious and deep meaning. Of course, some, not trying to reflect on the deep meaning of his actions, might resent Sathya Sai Baba, accusing him of being merciful to some and supposedly hard-hearted to others.

There are many things you can ask someone else to do for you. Someone can fix your computer or car, and there’s no need to do it yourself. You can ask someone to collect useful information for you, so you don't have to do it personally. But there are other things, essential things, you need to do only on your own, for example: change your attitude toward yourself, realize your purpose in life, be aware of your dreams, practice meditation, mantras, and prayers.

Krishna, Buddha, Christ, and Sai Baba cannot meditate for you and realize your destiny in life; you must do all this on your own. All actions of Avatars such as Krishna, Buddha, Christ, and Sai Baba take place in the world of duality, but those actions take place in the spirit of non-attachment. The action of the Avatar is based on wisdom and perfect knowledge of the situation. In past lives, you have accumulated karma, which determines everything that happens to you now. Karma is an information flow that exists completely objectively, regardless of whether you accept it or not. It is quite obvious that Sathya Sai Baba lightens the karma of people, but part of the karma still needs to be worked out on your own.

Karma is accumulated by the individual soul over a large number of past lives. Karma exists only for the individual soul. Not only every action, but every thought creates a new karma, and it can seem impossible and unattainable to free oneself. Figuratively speaking, having worked off the old karma this afternoon, in the evening you accumulate a new one. What to do? Where is the exit from the cycle?

Being aware of yourself as the True Self places you outside the accumulation and cycle of karma, as if you are freed from cause and effect. One who performs an unconditional action, as in they feel no selfish attachment to the outcome, turns that action into a meditation and is protected from the accumulation of karma because the intention is selfless. One who is in the flow of the True Self performs actions in love and compassion for all people, feeling the presence of divinity in themselves and everyone else.

9. Your Cosmos is your happy dream

If you realize the truth that you are not the body and mind, but are the True Self, you will be able to free yourself from ignorance. You will realize the truth that your "I" is one with God, you will be able to realize the truth that "I AM God." After you realize this, you will understand that everything in this universe is sacred.

(Sathya Sai Baba – “Lectures at Kodaikanal”, 1996)

Yes, truly everything in this world is sacred. The manifested world is a manifestation of divine energy. Divine energy is pure in nature, which means that everything in this world is initially pure, and only the distortion of perception can create the illusion that this world is polluted.

God is the Creator; man, created in the image and likeness of God, is also the Creator. In creativity, a person reveals his divine potentials and talents. You are actively creative in a universe of diversity. Your thoughts are wise, your words are true, and your deeds are perfect.

There is a great delusion that the allegedly manifested universe is a world of continuous suffering. Is it so? The cosmos is the manifestation of divine energy. This world is suffering to the extent that you perceive it as such. What if we perceive this world as a space of creativity and spiritual evolution, in which the True "I" is a contemplative observer of everything that happens in the universe, but also an active creator of everything that exists.

Each person is the Creator of his own cosmos. Your cosmos is the result of your "emotionally charged thought forms." The cosmos is a happy dream in which only you are the true author. Your cosmos is the space of truth, love, wisdom, happiness, joy, health, abundance, creativity, and fulfillment.

If sometimes it may seem to you that life is terrible and darkness has covered everything, know that darkness does not have self-existence, for darkness is not manifested Light. If at this stage of your life you are surrounded by evil and gloomy people, then know that anger does not have self-existence, for anger is not manifested Love.

If you feel the stupidity and absurdity of human life and cannot understand the meaning of your being, know that ignorance has no self-existence, for ignorance is Wisdom not manifested. You are the Creator of everything that happens to you.

10. "The work you do is the work of God"

Do not distance yourself from active social activities, for the work that you do is the work of God. If you do your work in a spirit of unity, that pleases God.

(Sathya Sai Baba – “Lectures at Kodaikanal”, 1996)

Sathya Sai Baba is the clearest example of an ideal life. It is quite obvious to me that Sathya Sai Baba is a divine Avatar who embodies the fullness of divine love and wisdom. He was born as a human and lived a wonderful human life. His life is the greatest example for each of us.

An Avatar born in the human world is always active in social activities. It may seem to us that society is a terrible and absurd space, but we see what we are ready to see. The manifested world is originally perfect, and everything happens in perfect accordance with the Divine plan.

Active work in human society is largely based on the correct alignment of one's relationship with money. If you use finances correctly, you will embody all your good ideas in the social space of human society. Money is a divine energy that God uses to develop and improve human culture.

In the Vedic tradition, the energy of money is personified by the Goddess Laxmi. Can the beautiful Goddess Laxmi be bad or sinful? Speaking in scientific terms, money is the universal equivalent of exchange. Goods and services are exchanged in human society, usually, for money.

Money is just a function in the exchange of goods and services, it cannot be sinful or righteous. With the help of money, scientific research is financed, universities are built, industry and agriculture develop, books are published, and films are made, medicine develops, new technologies are created, and much more. Think about how many good deeds are done with the help of money and with the help of the energy of the Goddess Laxmi.

Sathya Sai Baba was never engaged in business or commercial activities; he helped people, and therefore, in gratitude, many wealthy families considered it an honor to donate huge sums of money to him because they knew that he would correctly use those financial resources for the benefit of people. Sometimes people mistakenly believe that money is the cause of all evil, but in fact money is a form of divine energy.

There is a common misconception that active participation in social life interferes with spiritual practices; in particular, meditation. There is no sin in money. The cause of all problems is the selfish use of money, greed, lust for power, self-interest, and attachment to material objects. Ignorance gives rise to problems and suffering, whereas the realization of the True Self gives wisdom.

Sathya Sai Baba never married, but all his life he paid great attention to his family. He was very respectful toward his parents. When his father and mother passed away, he gave instructions to build a large tomb for them, around which there is a magnificent park. Sathya Sai Baba treated his brother and numerous relatives with care and respect. All of this is an example of how a perfect person should live and act.

The Avatar, performing His great divine mission on earth, was very active in society; for society itself is also part of divine creation. Sathya Sai Baba built a magnificent ashram where millions of people come from all over the world to study meditation and philosophy. He founded several universities, where he gathered the best teachers. Unique specialists were gathered and special programs for teaching various disciplines were developed.

In his village, He built two large modern hospitals and equipped them according to all modern standards. He founded charitable projects, including financing a drinking water supply system for a great number of villages in southern India.

There were millions and millions of people around Sathya Sai Baba who were spiritually transformed by his blessings. Numerous people from different countries were able to embark on the path of self-improvement and meditation. Of course, there were exceptions; sometimes he could bless people for the life of monasticism and the solitary practice of hermitage. However, he mainly preached on the active creative position of a person in society as being an important element of the spiritual path.

11. Spiritual Heart – the greatest secret of the universe

The wide heart realizes the Truth that the Divine is in everything. Realizing this, you will be able to experience the unchanging, eternal and ultimate reality.

(Sati Baba – "Collection of lectures", 1991)

One of the greatest discoveries of Vedic mysticism is the knowledge of the Spiritual Heart, which is located on the right side of the body. In Sanskrit, the Spiritual Heart is called Hrideyam. The Higher "I" is outside of time and space, and it manifests itself in the entire universe.

Everything that you see and feel is a manifestation of the Divine Self. There is no such place in the universe where there is no True Self – it is everywhere and in everything. However, it is the Spiritual Heart that is the door to the eternal and infinite Absolute Self, which, in fact, cannot be reduced to any point in the human body.

It is in the Spiritual Heart that the mystical experience takes place, which the Vedas call "I Am I" and the Bible describes as "I Am Who I Am."

By practicing meditation on this mysterious point, one gains the realization that the Divine is in everything. The Spiritual Heart is just a door, a pointer to the Divine Self, which is in everything. Sathya Sai Baba paid great attention to this key knowledge. Without knowledge of the Spiritual Heart, philosophy remains a mere set of concepts, and only meditation on the Spiritual Heart can help take a step toward inner mystical experience.

The feeling of separateness from existence leads to fears, which give rise to a feeling of hostility about the environment. A person who perceives himself as a separate being is always tense and aggressive, and such a person always suffers, even if he lives in a beautiful palace. Sathya Sai Baba demonstrates in each of his actions the breadth of his heart – his words and deeds were truth manifest. He was in the perfect state of the Absolute Self, and in his presence all people experienced "an unchanging, eternal and supreme reality."

12. Boy Sai told his parents that devotees were waiting for him

This story is one which happened to Sathya Sai Baba when he was very young. At the time, Sathya Sai Baba was only fourteen years old, and like all children he went to a regular school. It was early in the morning when he went to class and on his way turned suddenly and returned home. That morning he felt that the day had come to reveal a great secret.

Seeing their son come home unexpectedly, his parents looked at each other excitedly while trying to understand what was going on. Having quickly entered the house, the Sai boy said in a determined tone: “I no longer belong to you. The illusion of this world has left me. My many devotees are already waiting for me.”

The household did not know how to react to these strange words. Suddenly, a dazzling bright light shone around the head of the boy Sai. At that moment, the neighbors entered the house and also saw the majestic scene. The fourteen-year-old Baba stood calmly in the middle of the room, shining with a bright light. Recovering from their stupor, relatives and neighbors fell at his feet, asking for blessings. They could not understand the full depth of what was happening, but intuitively they felt the significance of what was unfolding before them.

After this amazing incident, boy Sai moved to a nearby abandoned Krishna temple. The temple was very ancient and, by that time, completely abandoned. The teenage Sai inspired the other boys in the village to rebuild the temple and soon several adults joined them. So, the ancient temple of Krishna was restored and became a new home for a wonderful young man. There, with friends, he sang traditional Bhajans daily, along with chants dedicated to the Vedic Gods.

Sai openly spoke of his past incarnation as Shirdi Sai Baba, a great teacher, miracle worker and sage who lived in India at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. It is assumed that Shirdi Sai Baba was born in the ‘30s of the 19th century and left this world in 1918. At the end of his life, Shirdi Sai Baba predicted that in eight years he would be reincarnated again.

The Sai boy was born in 1926, that is exactly eight years later. His miraculous wisdom and supernatural abilities amazed all the locals and visitors, and soon the first devotees and visitors began to flock to him. In the beginning, people came from neighboring villages to look at the miracle worker boy, and everyone marveled at his knowledge and insight.

Of course, many were surprised that the boy could accurately tell of his previous birth. Rumor about him spread far beyond the native village, and people came from afar. The fact that the little Sai was the incarnation of the great Shirdi Sai Baba arose interest, surprise, skepticism, and curiosity among all who came to communicate with him.

The ‘40s went by and one day a photographer came to the boy Sai and tried to take a picture of him. Sai stood next to a large stone. The photographer asked the holy youth to move away from the stone so he could take a more beautiful composition, but Sai refused and asked to take the picture exactly where he was standing. Once the photo was printed, an image of Shirdi Sai Baba, his past incarnation, appeared in the picture in the place of the stone.

13. The free thinker is free

Only the mind is responsible for your ups and downs. Only the mind is responsible for your limitations and liberations. This mind is responsible for the fact that man has forgotten his true divine reality, it is the mind that has brought man to hell.

(Sathya Sai Baba – "Summer Showers in Brindavan", 1990)

Only your thoughts are responsible for all suffering, and this is good news! It means your thoughts only are also responsible for happiness and joy. Although you cannot influence the world around you, you are in complete control of your thoughts, which means that your happiness is also in your own hands. The cause of tension and suffering is often found somewhere between sensing a separateness of existence and relaxing into that source of happiness where you feel unity, contentment, and peace.

When you seek happiness for yourself, you always lose it, but when you give happiness to others, you always find it. Peace and harmony are the complete acceptance of what is happening in the here and now. All states, such as suffering, happiness, and peace take place in your inner world. How you feel at this point in your life depends entirely on your conscious decisions about what thoughts and emotions you allow to dominate your mind.

The mind creates artificial authorities and mental garbage that leads to delusions. A person can be very authoritative in one community, and completely unauthoritative in another. Of course, this does not mean that you need to become a nihilist and fight everyone just for the sake of showing your supposed love of freedom. Any person’s opinion should be thoughtfully and respectfully treated; however, do remember you have a right to your own independent position, regardless of the strength of outside influences.

A person deprived of the freedom of thought is doomed to become a cog in the system, dependent on the opinions of others and invariably becoming the victim of manipulation. A restless mind gives rise to false thoughts that make life hell. Your thoughts only create the hell in which you then have to live. A free-thinking person is free. Only a free person can contemplate and meditate on the truth.

The mind is an ordinary tool. There is nothing wrong with the mind because it is the mind that allows you to make the right decisions in many simple everyday situations. When you need to shop for clothes in the right size or find the right way, sign documents correctly, you use your mind perfectly.

The problem begins where the mind ceases to be a mere instrument but desires to become the master. The mind tends to take you back in time, making you worry endlessly about what can no longer be changed. The mind creates many fantasies like a nightmare. So it is, then, that the mind stops doing its simple technical functions and tries to be a master, and this creates problems.

The real task of the mind is to be the perfect tool for solving technical problems, such as making the right purchase or making the right financial calculations. A well-functioning mind can help you understand business documentation, understand a new computer program, and more. But don't let the mind try to impose answers to questions about the meaning of life on you. The mind cannot understand this, as it was created for something else.

Memory is the greatest function of the mind. If you had no memory, how could you learn a foreign language, drive a car, or use a computer? However, when the memory is stained with negative emotional moods, resentment, and claims, you instantly fall into the abyss that is created by the mind.

Every moment, the universe is re-created. Instead of regretting the past, bless the past and move on. Your past is perfect, and you have nothing to regret, you are born again every moment. You never have to prove anything to anyone – this is the restless mind – you do not need to take part in the games of the mind, as you are originally perfect and free.

You are what you think you are. This is one of the most important concepts on the spiritual path. If your self-esteem is more significant for you than what the world around you can dictate, then you will be able not only to understand your purpose in life, but to realize your talents.

There are numerous false self-identifications, such as: you are a body or a nationality, a gender, or a name. You use many things in your life, including a body, a name, a degree, and real estate, but you are above and beyond of all this. When one identifies with the mind, false identification occurs. You are not the mind, but you are using the mind. It sounds simple, but what about the actual implementation of this truth in everyday life?

There is no need to fight with the mind – it is a beautiful and perfect instrument, unless you become the master and then it rules you. The mind is really a great tool. It can count and analyze, and it needs to be loved like everything else given by God. The mind is also a gift of God, so it needs to be taken care of, educated, trained, and taught. My advice is to leave all doubts and internal conflicts behind and live in the present. Be simpler. The mind only creates enormous difficulties.

14. Sathya Sai Baba helps before a person knows about the danger

This story I was told by Mr. Subba Rao. It shows how Sathya Sai Baba sometimes knew of people’s troubles before they even did. Sathya Sai Baba did not get ill very often, but when he did, his illnesses had a deep meaning associated with complex energy processes. Once, he had a very high temperature and everyone in the ashram got scared and urgently called the doctors. I was always surprised and even amused when Sathya Sai Baba's assistants called doctors for him. It was strange to watch how these excited assistants invited doctors to treat the one who treated everyone else. On this particular occasion, he listened to the advice of his doctors but refused to take their medicine. A few minutes after the doctors left, his temperature returned to normal.

In the evening of that same day, Sathya Sai Baba had a meeting with a group of devotees. This meeting was organized as a small open-air dinner. A beautiful starry sky shone overhead, and the atmosphere was relaxed. Everyone was happily talking with Sathya Sai Baba when suddenly he turned to one of those present and in a serious voice said, “tomorrow I will warn my mother to be more careful with fire.”

Hearing these strange words, the people asked Him to clarify.

He said, “today this woman was practicing prayer and meditation in her room and did not notice how the candle set fire to her clothes … the woman could have suffered because she was in a deep meditative state. I felt this and sent her my blessings – this is why my temperature rose for a short time.”

The next day, it was discovered that his mother really had practiced meditation so deeply that she did not notice her clothes catch fire and the flame suddenly go out. She was left with only a slightly charred sari.

I know of quite a lot of cases where Sathya Sai Baba came to help before people could realize the danger. Similar situations happen to me as well. This was another amazing ability of Sathya Sai Baba – his absolute clairvoyance and powerful energy allows him still to carefully follow the fate of his devotees.

15. The True Self shines like the sun

Your True Self is different from your name and body. Try to understand what this "I" means. The true "I" is in the spiritual heart, it is the Higher "I" of the entire cosmos, it is the Absolute Consciousness.

(Sathya Sai Baba – "Collection of lectures", 1991)

Everything in this world is impermanent and is in the cycle of change. Cities, empires, and entire civilizations rise and fall. In the history of mankind, even the strongest and most invincible empires crumbled to dust. What may seem stable and eternal may disappear tomorrow without leaving even a memory of itself. Yes, indeed, everything is impermanent in the universe, except for the True Self.

The True Self shines like the sun, even if temporarily obscured by clouds. Every living being, not only man, but also animals, feel their "I". This amazing experience is the basis of everything that happens to each of us in every moment of life. It is impossible to imagine your non-existence. Even if you try to fantasize about your non-existence, there must still be an “I” that will stubbornly fantasize about its alleged non-existence.

For various reasons, people may lose awareness of their self-existence, just as people do not notice the heartbeat and breathing process.

In the ancient philosophical text "Avadhuta Gita", the sage Dattatreya speaks about the reality of the Higher Self:

"I am unborn, although I live in this world, how can there be life or death for me? One who gains clear awareness reaches the serene state of the true Self, and then many people praise his name, for he becomes a teacher. Self is completely free from passion and dispassion. Self is flawless, perfect, and pure, truly "I Am" the Divine Consciousness and the highest Truth.”

Why is the Spiritual Heart on the right? We have already talked about the Spiritual Heart in previous chapters, and we will discuss this important topic in the future, because this is one of the most important secrets and treasures that came to us from ancient times. The Spiritual Heart is located on the right side of the body. In Sanskrit, the Spiritual Heart is called Hrideyam. It is in the Spiritual Heart that the actual experience of the unity of the “I” and God takes place.

Why is the Spiritual Heart on the right, why not in the center or on the left? I don't know… ask God…

The only thing we know is this most important point is located on the right, in the region of the liver. Meditation, concentration, and contemplation of this point opens the gate to the eternity of the Divine Consciousness, which is your True Self. At this point, the self-realization of your higher nature takes place, having opened this mystical point, a person is born again as a divine being.

16. Eternal and impermanent

I will never leave you. You may forget me, but I will never forget you. You may hate me, but I will always love you. I have no enemies in this world, I always keep my word.

(Sathya Sai Baba – “Dasara”, 1998)

It is difficult to find such unconditional love for everyone in this world as Sathya Sai Baba demonstrated. He blessed everyone regardless of what people thought or said about him. During his earthly life, he had several tens of millions of devotees and followers, but also a huge number of envious people and ill-wishers.

When numerous absurd accusations rained down on him in the early 2000s, he remained completely indifferent to all gossip and slander. He continued to communicate with people and bless everyone: both those devotees who loved him and those evil wishers who hated him.

In this chapter we will mention ridiculous accusations fell upon Sathya Sai Baba. I have no desire to discuss these stories in detail, however, these heinous accusations are also part of the story, and we can learn a lot from remembering this situation. Oddly enough, the authors of all the slander were former devotees and followers of Sathya Sai Baba, who were disappointed in him as a spiritual teacher.

Disappointment and crises happen to almost everyone who follows the path of spiritual quest. Perhaps, spiritual crisis does not happen to those who do not ask spiritual questions. If you are disillusioned with your teacher or with the spiritual system that you have been following for many years, the wisest thing is to simply thank the teacher, leave him, and then try to find yourself in some other spiritual direction. If you feel gratitude, then your past is in harmony with the present and you have passed the lessons of life and are ready to develop further.

Most people in their lives repeatedly move from one esoteric direction to another. Such is life. Even if for several years you studied under the guidance of some guru, and then became disillusioned with him, you can still find sincere gratitude in your heart. It is important to be grateful to all the teachers who have helped you in life with good advice and blessings.

However, not everyone is wise. Disillusioned followers sometimes transmute their hostility and inharmonious energy into unsubstantiated accusations to release their own pent-up frustrations. This is a type of negative transference. The group of accusers, with their flurry of slanders, consisted of a couple dozen very active and angry people: some were from Sweden, the USA, England, Russia, France, and also from India. Sathya Sai Baba was their favorite teacher and now he is their enemy.

All of the hype was enthusiastically received by television and the press. In any profession there are honest professionals, and there are those who are ready to earn money on anything. Unfortunately, among journalists, not everyone follows the principles of honesty and responsibility for the accuracy of information – some seek to increase their ratings at any cost.

Sathya Sai Baba was accused of financial fraud. He invested all his money in education, medicine, and charity, yet he was accused of being a magician and a fake, even though he performed amazing miracles and healings witnessed by the masses. Granted, he materialized gold jewelry with various stones, among which there were many expensive diamonds – pieces of jewelry, which are today, still worn by thousands of devotees around the world. What kind of magician would give you gold and diamonds and ask for nothing in return?

He was even accused of organizing contract killings! It’s hard for me to talk about and to reconcile such accusations about Sathya Sai Baba, a divine soul who spent his life saving his devotees, even those who knew him little, with the power of his blessings. It makes no sense to me.

Spiritual crises are normal, but the big question is what to do with spiritual crises? Sathya Sai Baba was absolutely indifferent to all gossip. Unfortunately, the accusers could not provide any evidence for their accusations – they simply made a lot of noise. Such is human nature, that today one praises Sathya Sai Baba for helping solve troublesome problems, but when tomorrow’s new difficulties and trials begin, what then?

There were many cases where Sathya Sai Baba quickly helped people and they were happy. There were also cases that when the healing did not happen instantly, people became disappointed and accused him of fraud, because he did not justify their hopes for an instant solution to their problems. People are accustomed to the fact that Sathya Sai Baba solves all people's problems with the power of his energy within a second. More realistically, it can sometimes take time to solve some people’s difficult situations due to their karma. In these cases, some could be offended by him.

In my life there were many internal conflicts and difficulties, which most often were hardly noticeable to others. Sometimes I received miraculous help and support from Sathya Sai Baba almost instantly, and sometimes my problems took years to resolve. In my relationship with Sathya Sai Baba I went through many periods of disappointment and crisis. I have come to realize that some people expect only sweets and entertainment from Sathya Sai Baba, but actually, he leads us along the spiritual path, the purpose of which is not to satisfy our conceit or satisfy all our whims but to lead each student to enlightenment.

17. The Spiritual Heart

All spiritual paths end in gaining wisdom. Meditation is a way of contemplating your divine nature, which is your true reality. Everything is within you and you are in everything.

(Sathya Sai Baba – Gita Vahini Chapter 6)

Philosophy gives intellectual knowledge of the truth and yoga leads to the actual experience of truth. Philosophers meditate on the truth and yogis are in the mystical experience of truth, which takes place in the depths of the Spiritual Heart. The search for truth is self-exploration, self-knowledge, and self-contemplation.

The right side of the body is considered more sacred in the Vedic tradition because there is the door to eternity: the Spiritual Heart. Wisdom is the fruit of meditation. In order to gain great wisdom in your inner mystical state, immersion in meditation is necessary for there to be a realization that "everything is inside you and you are in everything."

Sathya Sai Baba is an Avatar, he can consciously pass from one incarnation to another, but is it possible for everyone?

Sathya Sai Baba consciously reincarnates. Conscious reincarnation allows you to transfer to the present life all the accumulated spiritual experience of past lives. You temporarily live in a beautiful physical body, on the wonderful planet Earth.

You are going through the path of spiritual evolution not only in this life, but many incarnations. The only thing that youbrought with you into this life is the wisdom from past lives, but if the process of reincarnation is not conscious, then most of the treasure is lost.

The soul is in the process of reincarnation, traveling from life to life, incarnating in different worlds and in different circumstances. At a higher level, reincarnation happens consciously. At a high evolutionary level, the “Self” passes into the next incarnation consciously, retaining the memory and knowledge of the spiritual experience accumulated in the previous birth. Everything is within you, including your past and future lives. Being in the awareness of your divine essence, you observe the process of reincarnation.

Awareness in the process of reincarnation is the result of self-realization received in the practice of meditation. The divine person consciously passes the path of reincarnation; therefore, he is free from the fear of death, retains an understanding of the present moment in any situation, including at the moment of death of the body.

Of course, some may doubt and say that Sathya Sai Baba is a great Avatar and can consciously pass from one incarnation to another, but is this possible for everyone? Realizing your True Self, you come to understand that "everything is within you, and you are in everything." Everything happens inside your consciousness, including the process of reincarnation.

Everything happens inside you: life and death. A person who is conscious in the present moment remains conscious in the journey of the soul to a future incarnation. If you think about death and the afterlife journey of the soul, then you imagine it as a future event, but when death actually happens, it happens in the present moment.

Awareness of one's divine nature leads to awareness in the process of reincarnation. When you begin to understand the process of the soul's transition from one life to another, the fear of death disappears, because you begin to understand that the journey to the next life is not much more difficult than the trip from Moscow to St. Petersburg. The question is that it is reasonable to prepare for each trip in advance.

The basis of conscious reincarnation is the self-realization of one's higher nature. The Avadhuta Gita beautifully and poetically describes the reality of the Self:

“Having got rid of the feeling of individual consciousness and pride, the sage finds everything within his own Higher Self. "I Am" here and now, "I" was always in the beginningless past, and "I" will always be in the eternal future. "I" unborn and immortal, primordial and eternal, "I Am" being – consciousness – bliss, "I Am" boundless like space. "I" was before the appearance of the physical body, and "I" will be after the disappearance of the physical body.”

A person who is conscious at every moment of his life becomes a high-level yogi. The one who has realized his Higher Self consciously lives life and also consciously goes through the process of the posthumous journey of the soul because everything is inside you, both life and death.

18. Trinity in the Vedas and the Bible

This story is repeated by me in memory of and in gratitude to two senior devotees of Sathya Sai Baba, who lived in his ashram for many years. First, Maheshwarananda, the author of the famous book Sathya Sai and Nara Narayana Guha Ashram, told me about this event, and then later, Padananda repeated the same story to me.

It happened in the early spring of 1978. Sathya Sai Baba spent some time in a place called Ooty, a large nature reserve with magnificent mountains and primeval jungle. Sathya Sai Baba was returning by car to his ashram, and it was necessary to pass the city of Mysore and then Bangalore. It was a full day trip.

The line of cars speed along the road. Sathya Sai Baba's car drove at the head of the column, and all the escorts followed him. Not far from Mysore, Sathya Sai Baba chose a picturesque place, asked to stop, and invited everyone to relax in nature with him. A couple of dozen people who accompanied Sathya Sai Baba sat beside him on the grass.

Suddenly, an amazing miracle happened in front of everyone present. The usual human form of Sathya Sai Baba disappeared, and in its place a three-headed deity with six arms appeared: it was Lord Dattatreya. Everyone present was blessed by this amazing transformation. The three heads of Dattatreya symbolize the three main Vedic deities: Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva.

Dattatreya is also called the Vedic Trinity. I often quote an ancient philosophical treatise on the nature of the True Self called the Avadhuta Gita. The authorship of this text is attributed to the sage Dattatreya, who is symbolically depicted with three heads, because, in accordance with mythology, he was the incarnation of three great Gods at once: Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.

When you think about God, you begin by seeing God as a higher being located somewhere in heaven, but as you become more advanced in your spirituality, you gradually realize that God is not in outer space, but in the Spiritual Heart. The same is true with the Trinity. At the first level, the Vedas speak of the Trinity as the three greatest Gods: Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva.

The Christian tradition says that the Trinity is God the Father, God the Spirit, and God the Son. However, from the point of view of high esotericism, the Trinity is the three main aspects of the inner world of man – for everything is inside. The idea of God as a Trinity has always been in the Vedic tradition. Esoteric knowledge about the Trinity has a deep and varied symbolism; the essence of which is Divine Consciousness, Cosmic Energy, and Soul.

The Vedic Trinity, also symbolized by the "cosmic principle of the teacher," is not some kind of "being" or personality, but a principle. All the teachers who you have met on your life path are the embodiment of the "cosmic principle of the teacher." Someone taught you how to read and write, use a computer, and drive a car, and someone taught you the high knowledge of meditation and mantra. The same principle is in the depths of your consciousness. Perhaps it has already begun to manifest itself, or perhaps not yet. Almost constantly and daily you change your roles in life – sometimes becoming students, and sometimes becoming teachers.

The area where the amazing transformation of Sathya Sai Baba, turning into a deity with three heads, took place is located near the ancient city of Mysore and the sacred river, Kaveri. This area is especially associated with the many mythological stories of Dattatreya, the Vedic Trinity. Sathya Sai Baba repeatedly pointed out his next incarnation on earth would be closely connected with Mysore. Sai Baba reincarnates consciously. While alive in this life, he talked about some of his past incarnations and also indicated where he will incarnate in the future.

Using stories about his past and future lives, Sathya Sai Baba indicates that each person goes through the path of divine evolution in many lives. The fact that we live many lives does not mean that we have the right to neglect the current incarnation and thoughtlessly waste time.

Yes, all eternity is at your disposal, but still every moment, every day lived is unique and precious. Sai Baba reincarnates consciously, and every person has the same opportunity, but for this to happen it is necessary to realize the immortal core of his soul.

19. I trust myself, then I trust God who dwells in my heart

If you have not lit the lamp of wisdom in order to illuminate your life path, then you will wander along a foggy path filled with fear as your fellow traveler.

(Sathya Sai Baba – Jnana Vahini)

Ignorance and lies do not have self-existence, for ignorance and lies are a lack of understanding of wisdom and truth. "Self" and God are originally one, which is why the Vedas proclaim: "I AM God." If a person does not see the light, then it seems to him that he arrives in darkness, although in reality darkness does not have self-existence, for darkness is not manifested light.

Walking along the spiritual path, we achieve nothing, because we already possess everything. Moving to the heights of the spirit, we discover what already exists from the very beginning. Of this great truth, God declared to Moses, "I am who I am." The deep meaning of this great phrase is that the true name of God is "I". Jesus preached the same thing: “I and my Heavenly Father are one.”

There are many types of conditioning that create feelings of inferiority and limitation. A person who perceives himself as a separate being always suffers, but one who feels the unity of all that exists is in joy.

To light the lamp of wisdom means to realize the original unity. When you talk to God, you are essentially talking to your Higher Self. You are listening carefully to the message of God, and in fact you are listening to your Higher Self.

You listen to your intuitive feelings and hear an inner voice; you trust yourself, which means you trust God who lives in your heart. In joy, you embody your destiny in life, which means you are doing the work of God who directs your every action.

20. Diamond surprise

Even though Sathya Sai Baba is gone, and we are awaiting the day of his next incarnation, he continues to live strongly in my heart and memory. This next story is about a time when Sathya Sai Baba was invited to visit Bombay by Indulal Shah.

A reception was arranged in Mr Shah's house in honor of his dear guest, Sathya Sai Baba. During the gala dinner, the guests were served a huge amount of food, but Sathya Sai Baba barely ate any. It is customary in India for people to lavishly treat their dear guests. Because Sathya Sai Baba was a dear guest, people began to treat him and they prepared great lashings of food, although all this was unnecessary. During that day, Sathya Sai Baba only ate micro-doses of the simplest food, which was enough for him.

Sathya Sai Baba's chief interpreter, Anil Kumar, once told me that he asked Sathya Sai Baba how he manages to get by with almost no food, since food is one of the main sources of energy. To this Sathya Sai Baba replied with beautiful and deep words. He said that he did not need to get energy from food, for he himself was energy. It all depends on how you perceive yourself. The true "I" is the original source of all things, including energy. That is why Sathya Sai Baba did not need much food and sleep in order to be active and productive during the day.

Going back to Sathya Sai Baba's visit to Bombay City and the grand reception at Mr. Shah's house, there among the many dishes, the guests were served Vada, which are small round-shaped pies. Sathya Sai Baba turned to the daughter of the owner of the house and told her to choose any Vada, and then, before eating it to carefully break it into two parts. The girl did so. Upon breaking the pie into two, she found gold earrings encrusted with diamonds. In such an unusual way, Sathya Sai Baba materialized this beautiful gift for her.

Another similar story happened in the late ‘90s in the South Indian mountains, in the ancient town of Kodaikanal. Sathya Sai Baba invited some devotees for dinner. During dinner, Puri, a type of traditional flatbread, was served. Sai Baba turned to one of those present and told him to choose any cake, and then break the cake in half before eating it. When the man broke the cake, he found a golden ring inside. The man looked at Sathya Sai Baba with surprise. Sathya Sai Baba smiled at the man and said this was a gift especially for him.

Watching the amazing life of Sathya Sai Baba over the years, I stopped being surprised by miracles. Gradually, such events began to be perceived as something natural. This is probably for the best, because when you stop being surprised by the supernatural, you begin to think about the deep meaning of what is happening.

Sometimes I tried to understand the meaning and spiritual significance of Sathya Sai Baba's miracles, and sometimes it began to seem that there was no need to look for a special meaning, because the "games of the Lord" have no logical explanation – they are a manifestation of love and are like beautiful poetry; they are beautiful in themselves.

21. You are what you think of yourself

The secret of creation is known only to the Creator; the rest cannot know it.

(Sathya Sai Baba – "Collection of lectures", 1991)

The question is how do you know yourself? If you perceive yourself as a limited human being, then the secret of the universe is hopelessly hidden from you. However, when, as a result of a spiritual journey, a person gets to the very depths of his Spiritual Heart, then he becomes the same Creator, who is the original creator of everything that exists. Everyday experience sometimes reveals that you are limited and weak, but the truth is there is great power in the depths of your soul.

People are convinced they are, supposedly, unworthy of realizing their dreams, but this is not accurate thinking. If you see problems in your life and feel deep dissatisfaction, then you need to simply change your perception of yourself, as well as your reactions to the events in the surrounding space.

All changes in life must always begin with a change in yourself – it’s these changes that impact and create positive change in your environment. The construct that you “should not” be selfish sometimes keeps us from even attempting to fulfill our infinite potential. This principal is simply a guise of a good idea taught to us as children and reinforced by people around us who prefer we do their will their way, instead of allowing us to just be ourselves.

Is allowing yourself to sing your own song and become all you were created to be, instead of surrendering to someone else's will, be it friend, spouse, or institution, selfish? I think not. You are what you think of yourself. You are the only one responsible for your own mind and your own life.

22. Sathya Sai Baba materialized a living parrot

This is another wonderful story about Sathya Sai Baba told to me by Yogi Hari. I later read this same story in several books written about Sathya Sai Baba.

One day Sathya Sai Baba went on another trip in the state of Andhra Pradesh, which is located in the south of India. During one of the stops, he was invited to visit with some people. Naturally, many people always traveled with Sathya Sai Baba, so the whole procession was invited. This is in accordance with the tradition that if a teacher travels with students and an invitation is extended, then the teacher will be invited with the entire retinue.

During the reception, Sathya Sai Baba and all those present were offered treats. Sai Baba animatedly communicated with the owner of the house while he made some kind of picture on his plate from leaves and nuts. Everyone listened attentively to what he was saying and observed with curiosity the unusual image that Sathya Sai Baba was putting together from the items on the plate.

Finally, it became clear that Sathya Sai Baba had skillfully laid out a picture of a parrot. He looked around and asked, “what do you think God does?”

Some of those present answered that God is engaged in creation. After that, Sathya Sai Baba softly and, unexpectedly, touched the image of the parrot and it came to life, flapped its wings, fluttered, and flew out the window. How does one relate to such an event as this, even when it happened in front of a large number of witnesses?

The rational mind refuses to accept the reality of such events. Perhaps some will say it was a mass hallucination or hypnosis, while others may argue that Sathya Sai Baba is a divine incarnation and, therefore, is able to create a great miracle and create a living being from inanimate objects in front of everyone. How to relate to such miracles?

23. Love is God

Love is God, live in Love. Truth is God, follow Truth. Just as a bird has two wings, Truth and Love can allow you to soar to the heights of the spirit. Follow the greatest path of divine Love.

(Sathya Sai Baba – “Lectures at Kodaikanal”, 1996)

Love yourself, and then all the people around you will love you, because the energy of love changes and transforms everything. If you love the work you do in life, then all the people around you will also love what you do because the work that you do in love attracts good people and resources.

Everyone will want to help and participate in a cause that is saturated with the energy of love. To love yourself means to love your parents, your family, your people, the heritage of your ancestors, your city, and your fatherland.

When you are happy, all the people around you who communicate with you, or simply pass by you, also find happiness because the vibration of happiness transforms the space. Harmonious and wise thoughts give rise to an atmosphere of goodness and peace.

Of course, sometimes you need to take action to change the world for the better, but sometimes it’s enough just to make friends with yourself so that the world becomes a better place around you.

24. Materialization of objects that never existed before

During interviews, Sathya Sai Baba often materialized various objects such as rings, rosaries, medallions, and figurines of the Deities. Materialization is a miracle resulting in some object that has never existed before this moment appearing in physical space. This type of mystical experience shows us that thought is material and thought can create physical reality. The following miracle I wish to share happened in front of me and allowed me to personally observe the process of creation.

I often saw how Sathya Sai Baba performed materializations. Outwardly, it looked like this: He made circular movements with his right hand – within a moment of doing this, there was a flash of bright light in his hand, sometimes accompanied by a crack, and then one or another object appeared from the flash of light.

Repeatedly, I witnessed when materializations occurred through the bright flash of light accompanied by a loud and sharp sound, but sometimes the process of materialization looked a little different. Sathya Sai Baba also made circular movements with his right hand and several luminous balls appeared from his palm, sometimes with an object appearing from the balls.

There were times when Sathya Sai Baba materialized objects without a flash of light; objects simply appeared in his hand. It is difficult to say why this happened differently, perhaps it was dependent on the kind of energy he wanted to put into the object that appeared.

When I was present at interviews as an interpreter, I sat right under Sathya Sai Baba's right hand. This made it easier to translate and watch how He materialized objects. As soon as Sathya Sai Baba began circular movements with his hand, it became clear that materialization was about to happen. In those unique moments, I would concentrate as closely as possible and try to peer into what was happening so as to feel the energy that arose.

For me that moment of materialization was an important energetic experience. I would experience various sensations, for example, a sharp cold, or, on the contrary, a heat wave. At first, after seeing the materializations the first few times, I was numb with surprise – all of it shocked me, and I did not know what to think. Gradually, I became used to it.

When supernatural events happen often, you get used to them. Once the shock wore off, I began to pay close attention to the energy sensations and awareness that took place in the immediate vicinity of Sathya Sai Baba during the moments when he performed his amazing sacred acts.

25. Sathya Sai Baba helped a young man overcome time and space

This is a story about a young man from Sri Lanka who was a Christian by birth, but since childhood felt close to the Hindu Goddess, Kali, and was also deeply interested in Vedic philosophy. He went to study in India at a Christian college, but began to frequent various ashrams, and eventually became a Hindu monk.

When he returned home to Sri Lanka for the holidays, his family was very upset to see him in the orange traditional robes of a Hindu monk. He returned to India, and after some time came for the first time to the ashram of Sathya Sai Baba. He was in disarray and did not know what to do next and how to live – the conflict with his relatives greatly upset him, because his life’s quest was spiritual, and he did not want to upset his relatives.

The young man managed to get the opportunity of personal communication with Sathya Sai Baba. During this conversation, he sincerely told Sathya Sai Baba that he would like to spend many years as a hermit in the forest, practicing meditation, and he also wanted to receive a mystical vision of his beloved Goddess, Kali.

Sathya Sai Baba was always very attentive to such requests. Sometimes people, wanting to seem spiritual, pretended to speak out about their alleged desire for austerities.

Feeling the sincerity of the young man, Sathya Sai Baba touched his head sending him instantly into a trance, which lasted about an hour. However, in the sensation, several years passed, during which the young man went to the jungle and lived as a hermit in a distant ashram. At the end of this mystical experience, he was able to meet the Goddess Kali, herself.

Seeing the majestic Goddess, he shouted loudly and joyfully, which frightened the people sitting in the next room. The young man's cries were loud and continued for several minutes. The people sitting outside the doors of Sathya Sai Baba's room did not dare to enter the room, but they waited with tension for the denouement. Soon after, the door opened, and the young man came out of the room – his face was joyful, and his eyes shone with bliss.

At the end of this communication, Sathya Sai Baba brought the young man out of the trance and gave instructions that it was not necessary for him to go into the forest and become a hermit, instead he should practice meditation daily and work in his specialty of helping people around him, by his example.

I remember how this event was vividly discussed in the ashram. Many people wondered how Sathya Sai Baba was able to push the boundaries of time and space. Sathya Sai Baba also told this young man about his previous incarnations. Since this is a personal topic, I prefer to remain silent about it.

26. His eyes are like the ocean, plunging into them you can find eternity

A person standing on the shore admires the scenery of the majestic ocean, but he sees only waves running along the surface. Only a diver who plunges into the depths of the ocean waters discovers treasures – precious pearls hidden in the depths.

(Sathya Sai Baba – "Summer Showers in Brindavan", 1979)

Imagine this scenario for a moment. The Avatar is completely focused on you, He looks into your eyes, and you peer into the depths of his gaze. It is difficult to endure such an amazing, loving, and piercing look as it scans right through you leaving you with nowhere to hide. We all must independently discover the Truth about ourselves. The answer to the question about the nature of one's "Self" can only be found independently in meditation. Of course, direct communication with Sathya Sai Baba could in some sense replace many hours, or maybe many years of meditation practice.

Sathya Sai Baba was in perfect awareness of the True Self. Looking into his deep eyes was like seeing the purity of your own True Self. Sathya Sai Baba's eyes were like the ocean and plunging into them I found eternity. I remember the first time our eyes met, I could not bear more than one moment and so looked away as the feelings of omniscience and purity were so strong. I was simply not ready.

Gradually, I was able to look into his eyes longer and experience unspeakable joy. The feeling came over me as if something significant was happening, but what exactly, I could not fully understand or realize. Perhaps the best words to somehow describe these experiences are the indulgence of Divine Grace.

Sathya Sai Baba was attentive to every question with which people came to him. If a person came with a question related to healing from illness or a family drama, he would discuss these topics as carefully as he discussed questions related to philosophy and meditation.

Sathya Sai Baba was not at all like those gurus who consider questions of high philosophy worthy of discussion, while neglecting issues related to so-called mundane topics. Sathya Sai Baba perceived the whole life of each person. In love and compassion, he manifested himself as a universal loving mother, caring for every person.

After leaving their audience with Sathya Sai Baba, people would enter a special state of peace and bliss, sometimes for several hours. I remember after my own personal communication with Sathya Sai Baba, other followers immediately approached and implored me to share on the things that Sai Baba advised me, or to tell them the events of our direct communication.

I understood very well the desires of the people to learn as much as possible about our beloved Sathya Sai Baba while in informal communication with me. I tried to politely avoid talking to others for the first few days immediately after talking with him.

I preferred to retire to my own space and spend time comprehending, as far as was possible, everything that happened during our direct communication. Often, my usual form of comprehension disappeared – I had no words, and they were insufficient for conveying the depth of awareness and altered states of being. A few days later, I would gradually enter the normal rhythm of life, albeit knowing I was a different person; and by that, I mean, transformed. The old was gone, the new had arrived.

What does it mean to plunge into the depths of the ocean waters that Sathya Sai Baba spoke of? The ocean is a symbol of Absolute Consciousness. In the Avadhuta Gita, the sage Dattatreya speaks of the nature of Consciousness:

“I Am” Absolute Consciousness, for me there are no enemies and friends, how can “I” speak of something as good or bad? My Divine Consciousness is devoid of expansion and contraction, fullness and emptiness, it is beyond existence and non-existence. There are no prescriptions and rules for me, the Self is beyond conditioning, how can "I" describe the nature of my Absolute Consciousness, it is beyond the mind.”

Only you can walk your own path in life, so the colossal blessings of Sathya Sai Baba do not cancel the practice of meditation. There is no need to shift the responsibility for everything that happens in life to Sathya Sai Baba and expect him to solve all your problems in a second, while you will lazily wait and do nothing. Alas, this does not happen. You can observe the beauty of the ocean as much as you like, but at some point, you need to have the courage to dive into the depths and find the treasure waiting for you.

27. Sathya Sai Baba saved the elder of the Himalayan tribe

The Himalayas is a very long mountain range located in the north of India, which runs from the eastern to the westernmost border of the country. In this vast territory there are several Indian provinces, one of which is called Assam. At some point in this part of the Himalayas clashes began between hill tribes and representatives of the government of India.

The country's leadership tried in every possible way to calm the raging tribes and fulfill all their demands. In order to calm the local population, the governmentbuilt schools and hospitals in this remote mountainous area and began to develop agriculture more actively. Despite all of these efforts, conflicts continued.

One of the elders of the tribe suddenly fell ill and became very weak, the main problem was the poor condition of his stomach. He could not eat, he constantly vomited, and he had relentless stomach cramps and pain. The government sent the elder to the best hospitals in Delhi and then Calcutta for treatment, but this did not help. Then some government officials decided to send him to Sathya Sai Baba and ask for healing. It was a truly unusual decision for government officials.

In the end, the representatives of the tribe brought their elder to the ashram. Sathya Sai Baba invited them for a private conversation. During the meeting, he materialized for them a plate with the image of the God of the Sun and the God of the Moon.

This was doubly miraculous, because the tribe was just about to build a temple to the Sun and Moon. Sathya Sai Baba sensed their desire, and before they themselves asked him about it, he presented the magical plate, which they subsequently would place at the base of the altar.

At the end of the meeting, Sathya Sai Baba materialized sacred ash for the sick elder and asked him to eat it immediately. After the audience ended, the entire delegation went to the dining room. The elder felt very hungry and decided to eat.

The escorts were worried because they assumed that due to stomach problems, he would instantly become ill and possibly even vomit. The elder ate a huge amount of food with gusto and felt great. He claimed to have received instant healing from Sathya Sai Baba's sacred ashes.

Everyone was happy to hear this wonderful news. The delegation returned to their native village and began to build their temple to the Sun and the Moon. They installed the sacred plate materialized by Sathya Sai Baba at the base of the altar and recalled with gratitude their communion with him and his blessings.

28. Suffering disappears

In fact, no one and nothing belongs to you. As soon as you are freed from the false sense of ownership, you are freed from attachments, and at the same moment suffering disappears.

(Sathya Sai Baba – Sathya Sai Gita Chapter 12)

You, as an individual being, own nothing. Everything in this world came from the True Self. We again delve into the fact that the answer lies in the right awareness of the question: who is "I"? Sathya Sai Baba had a very high regard for the great mystic and philosopher of the twentieth century, whose name was Nisargadatta, who lived in Bombay. Most often, Nisargadatta preferred to speak about the truth without referring to authoritative sources, but sometimes he commented on the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita and the Bible.

The Bible is the story of the relationship between God and man. The Bhagavad Gita is also the story of the relationship between God and man. Most people read the Bible and the Bhagavad Gita from a human point of view. Nisargadatta gave his students unusual advice to try to read these sacred texts from God's point of view.

Almost everyone reads the Bible, identifying themselves with the person who communicates with God. But there is another option for reading the sacred text. Imagine that you are God and read the Bible from God's point of view.

In order to discover countless treasures, you need to seek and find, otherwise they will forever remain lost.

Awareness of one's "I" is the entrance to the spiritual path. You are in the process of self-exploration to the extent that you are on the spiritual path. Meditation, in essence, is not about acquiring something, but about letting go of that false sense of separateness of existence. Release from this false sense reveals a great treasure that has always been yours, even if you temporarily forgot about it.

29. Sathya Sai Baba resurrected a girl

This is another miracle story about such amazing events that took place at the end of the ‘50s, of which I learned about from Mr. Subba Rao. Subsequently, this story became so famous that it is written in many books about Sathya Sai Baba.

Mr. Venkataram and his family, after a happy journey to Sathya Sai Baba's ashram, were driving their car home to Bangalore. Suddenly, something terrible happened. The little daughter of Venkataram lost consciousness. She had a strange seizure and her breathing stopped. The family reached the nearest village in the hope of finding at least some kind of doctor.

As they left their car in search of help, an old man, who looked like an ordinary peasant, appeared next to them. He calmly approached them and carefully took the child in his arms. Instantly, from his touch, the girl began to breathe and cry, which made her parents very happy. They were relieved to see their beloved daughter revived, fearing she was already dead.

Mr. Venkataram, the girl's father, was overjoyed and as a token of gratitude, immediately offered a large sum of money to the unknown old man. The old man politely refused. Venkataram did not know how to thank the stranger and decided to at least ask for his name, to which he replied, Jyoti Adipali Somappa.

A little later, Sathya Sai Baba talked of this incident to his closest assistant, Kasturi. In particular, Sathya Sai Baba told him how he appeared in this village in the form of an old villager. He also said to the astonished Kasturi that he took the dead girl in his arms and resurrected her, further explaining he appeared in the village with a changed appearance so that people would not recognize him, but think he was some unfamiliar old man.

Kasturi inquired about the strange name Sathya Sai Baba introduced himself with: Jyoti Adipali Somappa. Sathya Sai Baba replied that it was a very ancient name with a deep meaning. It means the sacred mountain Kailash, as well as Lord Shiva and his wife Goddess Parvati, who live on the very top of this sacred mountain.

Any male deity of the Vedic tradition symbolizes one or another aspect of the divine consciousness. Shiva is not some kind of deity living in heaven, but a symbol of absolute consciousness. Any female deity of the Vedic tradition symbolizes one, or another, aspect of cosmic energy. Goddess Parvati, wife of Shiva, is "Mother Nature." Sathya Sai Baba exercised both powers of the absolute consciousness of Shiva and the entire cosmic energy of the "mother of nature."

Almost all the miracles of Sathya Sai Baba are amazing in their transcendence. If I didn't know him personally, it's hard to say, but maybe it would be difficult for me to believe in the possibility of such events. We are all accustomed to the manifestation of miraculous power as demonstrated by the Saints of different religions, but what Sathya Sai Baba did was beyond the capabilities of ordinary Saints. He not only solved people's problems and protected them from mortal danger, but his actions always had the deepest meaning, of which you could ruminate on forever.

30. So-Ham Meditation

When you inhale, the breath itself produces the sound "So", and when you exhale it produces the sound "Ham". Together, it sounds like "So-Ham", which means "I am God." You are constantly breathing, your very breathing naturally repeats “So-Ham”, “So-Ham”, “I am God, “I am God.”

(Sathya Sai Baba – "Dasara", 1998)

So-Ham is one of the most important practices of Kriya Yoga. Sathya Sai Baba often spoke about So-Ham meditation. At various times, he advised his devotees on various types of meditation techniques, but he recommended meditation "So-Ham" as the most ancient and effective technique leading to a high spiritual experience and a significant increase in human energy.

The first sound "So" means Absolute Consciousness. The second sound "Ham" means individual consciousness. There is another translation of this Mantra. The sound "So" means "the father principle of the universe." The sound "Ham" is the "mother principle of the universe." This is a very short and simple Mantra containing the entirety of the universe.

This technique is performed as follows: the sound “So” is mentally pronounced on the inhale, and the sound “Ham” is mentally pronounced on the exhale. During the execution of this technique, it is necessary to be aware of the process of your breathing, mentally pronouncing “So” on each inhalation and “Ham” on each exhalation.

The nature and speed of breathing is related to your emotional state. A person who is in a state of harmony and peace breathes slowly. A calm state of mind is manifested in calm breathing. Those who are under stress breathe quickly and deeply. A restless state of mind is manifested in restless breathing. Emotional states affect breathing. It is logical to argue that a conscious change in breathing affects the flow of thoughts and emotional states.

In a normal situation, the flow of thoughts forms the character of the breath, and during the practice of meditation, conscious breathing forms a harmonious flow of thoughts. You build your life with your thoughts, so you need to understand that it is breathing that is an important tool in harmonizing thoughts, which means harmonizing life in general.

It is very difficult to influence the flow of thoughts directly, but it is quite easy to change the breath. Many people wonder how they can calm their anxious thoughts. Breathing is a powerful key to influencing the nature of your thoughts, this is important because it is thought forms that form all the circumstances of life.

The movement of vital energy in the body is also associated with breathing. Life energy in Sanskrit is Prana. The harmonious movement of vital energy is also associated with the nature of breathing. In order to harmonize the flows of vital energy, it is necessary to consciously work with breathing.

Perfect meditation begins with mindful breathing. Conscious breathing is a method that can positively influence health promotion, inner peace and emotional stability, release from fears, stress, and depressive states. All of this can be achieved with the “So-Ham” meditation. Conscious breathing allows you to awaken and redirect vital energy.

Sathya Sai Baba said that awareness of breathing and understanding of the original divinity of your soul is important, but what words you pronounce is not so important. Instead of the mantra "So-Ham", you can mentally say, "I am God." Inhale as you say, "I" and as you exhale mentally say, "God".

The universe is the dream of God. By practicing the So-Ham meditation, you come to realize the truth – God is within you – and, at this higher level, you begin to understand the unity of "I" and God. Sathya Sai Baba is a divine incarnation in the perfect state of the True Self, which is why everything was possible for him, because the True Self is the original source of everything.

The practice of "So-Ham" leads to the realization that "I and My Heavenly Father are one." Realizing this truth, you begin to perceive everything that happens as your dream, and it depends only on you whether it is a happy one.

31. Sathya Sai Baba rescued a cobra that was run over by a car

Here is another story that shows the extent of Sathya Sai Baba’s love for all, both human and creature. One day Sathya Sai Baba was returning by car to his ashram from a nearby town. Suddenly, a cobra crawled onto the road. The driver looked at Sathya Sai Baba in the back seat. He seemed to be deep in thought, sitting with his eyes closed, and so the driver decided not to stop and take care of the cobra so as not to disturb him.

The car quickly flew along the road, and an hour later they reached the ashram, stopping in front of the main temple. When Sathya Sai Baba got out of the car, everyone present noticed his clothes were covered in dirt. Having mustered up the courage, someone asked how this happened because when he got into the car, his clothes were completely clean. Sathya Sai Baba smiled and explained that the dirt on his clothes was because he materialized for a moment on the road to save a cobra.

Strange as it may seem, the practice of meditation in itself is not a spiritual act. Only when you combine meditation with the motivation of love and compassion do you become authentic spiritual practitioners. Vedic mythology shows that all demons also practiced meditation and mantras. Despite this, they still remained demons, because their motivation was based on satisfying their selfish desires, to the detriment of everyone around them. Therefore, one should not think that a demon is one who denies the practice of meditation and mantra. In fact, a demon is someone who has a false, selfish motivation.

The main sign of a spiritual person is a sincere motivation of love and compassion. With a spiritual person, any action becomes divine, because it is aimed at the benefit and benefit of all those around.

How could Sathya Sai Baba perform such an amazing miracle? Think about it, he materialized for a moment, right on the road, saved the cobra and got back in the car, all this happened in a fraction of an instant. Incredible! It may seem to some that saving a cobra with the help of supernatural abilities is not a very great feat.

Sathya Sai Baba has great love and compassion for all beings. This example shows how important it is to be responsible for one's actions and try not to harm any living beings. In the Vedic tradition, the animal world is closely connected with people. Of course, people are at a higher level of development, but animals are perceived in India as part of divine creation. It is well known that almost all animals and birds are considered an important part of Vedic mythology.

This story once again makes us think about the meaning of the miracles that Sathya Sai Baba constantly demonstrated. Some may ask, is it not easier to just stop the car for a minute and thereby save the cobra? Yes, it might have been easier to just stop the car, but divine teachers prefer to use any situation to teach a lesson. Every action of Sathya Sai Baba had a deep meaning and carried a divine message.

32. Unity in Diversity and Diversity in Unity

All Vedic texts and all sages with high spiritual experience describe God as the highest inner essence of the soul of every living being.

(Sathya Sai Baba – Gita Vahini, Chapter 20)

Philosophy gives theoretical knowledge of truth, and yoga leads to the inner experience of truth. Philosophers meditate on truth, and yogis reside in the actual experience of truth. One who practices self-inquiry is on the spiritual path, and everyone must independently discover the truth about himself.

The answer to the question about the nature of one's "Self" can only be found in meditation. To the extent that a person is in the process of self-exploration is the extent that he is on the spiritual path.

There are many answers to the fundamental question: who is "I"? These two answers are the most basic: "I am the Soul" and "I am God." How to make a choice between the human and divine nature of your "I"? How to understand who the "I" really is? Am I the individual Soul or God? There is no need to make any choice. In fact, at every moment of time, "I" carries both the Divine and human nature.

Sathya Sai Baba says that "the sages describe God as the highest inner essence of the soul of every living being." This means that the reality of "God" and the reality of the "soul" exist in parallel. Both of these realities, absolute and individual, are in primordial harmony and unity.

The Self is potential and manifested, positive and negative, soft and hard, logical and intuitive, eternal and momentary. The Self is a great ocean and a small drop. Self is beginningless unity and infinite diversity. Self is unity in diversity and diversity in unity.

33. Personal meetings with Sathya Sai Baba, everything was unpredictable

Interviews were an important aspect of the daily program. Sathya Sai Baba would sit in his chair, which looked more like a throne. Some followers came with spiritual and philosophical questions, and some with questions relating to the circumstances of life. All those invited to a personal meeting sat on the carpet directly in front of him. Sathya Sai Baba was like a conductor for the interview. Quite often people brought photographs of their relatives with them in order for Sathya Sai Baba to bless them.

Only Sathya Sai Baba decided how the meeting went, if he wanted to give someone the opportunity to speak, he gave them that opportunity, at the same time he could completely ignore someone else. Sathya Sai Baba could turn to someone present and ask: “what are your questions? What is your problem? What do you want to say or ask? Then the person got the right to talk to him and ask his questions.

Some tried to interrupt the neighbor and ask their question, but Sathya Sai Baba made it very clear with whom exactly he wanted to communicate at the moment.

There were cases when large groups came, but Sathya Sai Baba could only talk to one person during the whole meeting, and the rest just sat and listened. There were interviews where he could talk to each person in turn. Every time everything was unpredictable.

When people turned to Sathya Sai Baba with really important questions, he listened attentively and gave detailed answers. If people came who wanted to show off their intelligence and education, Sathya Sai Baba interrupted such a farce. If he understood that a person was not sincere in his questions and asked them only to be smart, he could abruptly interrupt the clever man and point out his hidden vices and problems in front of everyone.

Only those who were completely sincere in their questions received deep and comprehensive answers from Sathya Sai Baba.

34. Sathya Sai Baba met a woman whom he knew in a previous life

Here is another story told to me by Yogi Hari. One day Sathya Sai Baba went on a long journey through the state of Kerala, in the southwest of India. He visited many cities and villages and finally came to the ancient city of Thiruvananthapuram. During this trip, as always, Sathya Sai Baba was accompanied by numerous devotees, and among them was a man named Bhagavantam. During this meeting, Sathya Sai Baba drew attention to an elderly woman.

Sathya Sai Baba turned to Bhagavantam and said he knew this woman well from childhood. At that time, Sathya Sai Baba was about 30 years old, and the woman was over 70, so Bhagavantam was extremely surprised at such strange words and decided to ask Sathya Sai Baba what they meant. He immediately said that he knew this woman well in a past life. In a previous incarnation, Sathya Sai Baba lived in the city of Shirdi, in western India. He was called Shirdi Sai Baba.

Bhagavantam approached the woman and asked if she had seen Shirdi Sai Baba as a child. The woman said that when she was a very small girl, her uncle took her with him to see Shirdi Sai Baba, and he gave her a medallion, which she wore around her neck all her life.

Thus, Bhagavantam was able to confirm the words of Sathya Sai Baba. Most often, people think in terms of the events of one life, but Sathya Sai Baba knew exactly everything that happened to everyone in previous incarnations.

35. People are like rays of a single sun

A person must do his job in society, constantly realizing the relationship between Spirit and Matter. There are many people around you, all people have different physical bodies, but in all bodies there is one divine Spirit.

(Sathya Sai Baba – “Lectures at Kodaikanal”, 1996)

The world around us reveals great diversity, but at the base of this diversity lies a deep unity. One divine spirit dwells in all people. Unity and diversity are one of the greatest mysteries of the universe.

Everyone has their own purpose in life, but it is important not only to understand it, but also to realize it. Realizing your purpose in life is real success. A person who lives in harmony with the aspiration of his soul is truly happy and satisfied. A person is realized not only in deep meditative practices, but in the actions he performs physically.

The realization of one's divine potential occurs through activities in society, it can be scientific research, artistic creativity, social activities. We are all united in spirit, but in this manifested world we have incarnated as a huge number of unique individuals with our own talents and characteristics. The sun has many rays and people are like the rays of a single sun.

It is written in the Avadhuta Gita:

“For the True Self, there is no birth and death, there is no bondage, there is no liberation from bondage. Truly, each person is inherently an eternal reality and is inherently perfect. The Self is absolutely pure, I have no body, my mind is a stream of thoughts that have nothing to do with me, Self is beyond the illusion, Self calmly observe the illusion of this world. In the True Self, there is no distinction between desire and its absence, activity and inactivity. Although I am acting, there is no activity for me.”

Some mistakenly assume that the philosophy of the True Self supposedly must lead to the denial of family relationships, financial success, the implementation of social projects. Sometimes people read the books of Sathya Sai Baba or the ancient Vedic texts such as the Avadhuta Gita and make the erroneous conclusion that the contemplation of the True Self should supposedly be accompanied by complete apathy and denial of the physical and material world around them.

The question is: how do you perceive yourself and the surrounding space? Are you attached to the results of your actions? In fact, the philosophy of the True Self, on the contrary, helps to reveal dormant potentials and talents. Approaching the deep essence of his soul, a person becomes a wise creator of life.

You are incarnated with a special spiritual mission, but each person around you is also unique, and incarnated also with a special spiritual mission. No one is better or worse than you – everyone plays a role in the performance of life – all people are different, and each person is completely unique. Each person is God receiving the experience of human existence.

You live in harmony with the entire universe, complementing everything that happens around you. Realizing your purpose in life, you feel the whole world complements and helps you to realize the work you do. The unity of spirit and matter is the unity of Divine Consciousness and Cosmic Energy. Both of these aspects are inside each person, and their play and interaction give rise to the whole diversity of the universe.

36. Immaculate Conception of Sathya Sai Baba

Sometimes you have to see something to believe it. This story is about a religious man whose doubts kept him from believing the greatest miracle of all until his questions were answered by the voice of a woman.

Sathya Sai Baba once said that in ancient times the Divine Consciousness incarnated on Earth as Krishna. According to tradition, Krishna was born from a virgin birth, he entered like a flash of light into the womb of his mother. Sathya Sai Baba declared that just as Krishna incarnated on earth in ancient times, he, Sathya Sai Baba, incarnated in this world in our era.

Among those present was one of the renowned experts in the Vedic scriptures named Rama Sharma. Sathya Sai Baba's words aroused many doubts in him. He decided not to voice his doubts aloud, but all this seemed very strange and even implausible. Krishna was a divine incarnation. Rama Sharma questioned the validity of Sathya Sai Baba’s claim, asking: is Sathya Sai Baba as great and significant as Krishna?

As time passed, Rama Sharma continued to think over the strange words of Sathya Sai Baba. His doubts not only did not decrease with time but, actually, became more and more intense. He constantly pondered whether it was true that Sathya Sai Baba was the divine incarnation of our era.

Rama Sharma knew that one of the few signs of a divine incarnation is a virgin birth, just as Krishna, Buddha and Jesus were conceived. If he could find out whether Sathya Sai Baba was born in this way, then he could answer with confidence the difficult question about the authenticity of Sathya Sai Baba's divine origin.

One day, Sathya Sai Baba was sitting surrounded by a group of devotees and visitors. Rama Sharma was also present, and it was during this meeting, that he felt it a good moment to clarify the difficult issue. Gaining courage, he asked Sathya Sai Baba bluntly whether his conception was virgin or ordinary.

All those present were extremely surprised by such a strange question. In silence, they waited for Sathya Sai Baba’s answer. This story took place in the ‘60s, when Easwaramma, Sathya Sai Baba's mother, was still alive. At this particular meeting, she was sitting next to her son. Sathya Sai Baba addressed her in a mysterious voice and asked her to share about the incident which happened to her next to the well, nine months before his birth.

According to eyewitnesses, Easwaramma did not want to tell this story but Sathya Sai Baba insisted and so she agreed.

She explained how on that day, as usual, she went to the nearest well for water. Suddenly, a luminous blue ball appeared in the sky out of nowhere, which swiftly flew up to the frightened woman and entered her stomach. Immediately, she experienced an exalted spiritual state, after which she lost consciousness. An hour later, she woke up and rushed home where she told her mother-in-law what had happened. The excited mother-in-law strictly forbade Easwaramma to tell her relatives and neighbors about the event, so as not to cause speculation and ridicule. Many years later, Easwaramma first spoke about this amazing incident at the request of Sathya Sai Baba himself.

After Easwaramma told all the details of this story, Sathya Sai Baba turned to the astonished Rama Sharma and asked him if his doubts that he, Sathya Sai Baba – born of a virgin birth – had been dispelled.

Immediately after the birth of Sathya Sai Baba, many relatives and immediate neighbors clearly felt he was not an ordinary baby. In his presence, people experienced unusual spiritual states of bliss and joy, and for this reason visitors came especially to Easwaramma's house in order to glance at her newborn son.

37. Sathya Sai Baba in the Himalayas

In the early ‘60s, Sathya Sai Baba made one of his pilgrimages to the Himalayas. The most ancient and sacred city located in the upper Himalayas is Badrinath. It is hot there in summer and a lot of snow falls in winter with severe frosts making life in the mountains extremely difficult. The road leading to lowland India is closed for the entire winter season. Few people are able to live in Badrinath all year round and most pilgrims and tourists go for the summer and leave in the winter.

Badrinath is a small town nestled among snowy peaks surrounded by a few ashrams and hermitages in the gorges. In the center of the town there is an ancient temple of Lord Vishnu. Pilgrims from all over India come here to receive the blessings of the Divine. In previous eras, getting to the Badrinath area was difficult, with yogis and hermits being protected from the bustle of big cities and military conflicts.

The city of Badrinath got its name from the fact that the ancient temple of Badrinath is located there. This temple is so ancient that it is difficult to say who founded it and when. It is only known that a long time ago it was a temple of Shiva. There was a period when the temple was abandoned. In the eighth century the temple was restored by the great mystic and philosopher Shankara, who materialized the main statue of the Deity. Nearby is a sacred lake. According to legend, Shankara materialized the statue right under the water and then took it to the shore. It was Shankara who restored the temple and installed a miraculous statue there.

Some of the most significant teachers have the power to create from the world of their imagination objects that do not previously exist in the world. There were cases when Sathya Sai Baba materialized statues underground. Usually it happened like this: Sathya Sai Baba blessed a piece of land and then ordered the men to dig in the indicated place.

To the astonishment of those assembled, stone or metal statues of various Deities were dug up. Some of the statues that Sathya Sai Baba materialized in such an unusual way were small in size and some were quite large. I saw a huge statue of Ganesha that Sathya Sai Baba materialized near Bangalore in southern India.

The very fact that Sathya Sai Baba visited the Himalayas several times in his life is very curious. About five thousand years before the birth of Christ, the sage Vasistha lived in the Himalayas. His ashram was located in a cave on the banks of the sacred Ganges. Legends about this cave ashram have remained since ancient times, but no one knew where it was located.

During a trip to the Himalayas, Sathya Sai Baba pointed out the exact location of this sacred cave and gave his blessing for a small ashram to be built at the entrance to the sacred cave. Thus, the cave of the sage Vasistha was rediscovered. I have visited this beautiful place many times and have been in awe of the magnificent mountains, fast icy waters of the Ganges, fresh air, and amazing atmosphere. Anyone who comes to this fabulous place feels the beauty and power of the Himalayas.

In the ‘60s, Sathya Sai Baba visited the Himalayas several times and his route was always the same. He would come to the holy city of Rishikesh, in the foothills of the Himalayas, and then he would travel with a small group of devotees up the Himalayas to Badrinath.

He spent only a week in the Himalayas and then returned back to the south of India to his ashram. The great and mysterious question is: why did Sathya Sai Baba make repeated pilgrimages to the Himalayas? This amazing region of the world is famous for the fact that great Yogis and Mahatmas have lived here since time immemorial.

38. Human and Divine

Man, constantly contemplating God, acquires unity with God.

(Sathya Sai Baba – “Stream of Divine Love”, 1993)

All the great teachers of mankind proclaimed the path of direct communication between man and God. Krishna, Buddha, Abraham, Christ, Mohammed, and Sai Baba spoke about this. At a higher level of development, a person who thinks about God, worships God, and meditates on God begins to realize his original oneness with God.

The great truth about the essence of human existence was proclaimed by Jesus, when he said: "I and my Father in heaven are one." God is the Heavenly Father of every person, and every person is a Child of God.

Self and God are originally one. This fundamental truth is proclaimed by the Vedas. In an ancient text called the Narayana Upanishad, it is said that one who knows Vishnu becomes Vishnu. Vishnu is the symbol of Absolute Consciousness. We are all one in Consciousness, and we are all Consciousness from the very beginning – we just temporarily forget about our true infinite nature.

The spiritual path is gradual and long and there is no need to wait for the result the next day. One of the greatest obstacles on the spiritual path is expecting results too quickly. Nowadays, many people want solutions to their problems instantly. There are a huge number of announcements and advertisements heralding seminars that promise to solve all your problems instantaneously.

I remember how, while walking around the outskirts of Rishikesh, in the foothills of the Himalayas, I repeatedly saw advertisements for classes that claimed to help you heal from all diseases in “just three days” and to help you attain enlightenment in “just 30 days.” It sounds ridiculous, but such offers exist in large numbers, and they’re in demand. There is no such suffering or problem that you cannot be freed from as everything can be prayed for, but healing does take time.

You can talk about the unity of your "I" and God as much as you like, but only meditation practices give an actual mystical experience of higher reality. Meditation techniques help to gradually awaken latent spiritual and intellectual possibilities. You are what you think about most of the time. Man, constantly thinking about God, discovers unity with God.

The spiritual path consists of many paradoxes. In fact, it is not possible to gain unity with God because we are all originally united in God. What is actually happening is an epiphany of what is happening and always has been. "I AM God" is not an achievement, but a discovery.

39. Sathya Sai Baba visited America in a subtle body

Here is another story told to me by Subba Rao. This one is about an American, John Sinclair, who was a man of unique destiny. He was a successful businessman with a huge fortune. However, his success in business did not bring him happiness in life; in fact, the more successful his businesses became, the more he felt depressed and meaningless in his existence. One day he began to pray intensely. His prayer seemed like a spontaneous and free conversation with God.

He began to talk to God and share about his problems, internal conflicts, and spiritual doubts. He did not know who God was or what he looked like, but he clearly felt his presence. There was a clear feeling that some unknown cosmic force was attentively and silently listening to the cry for help from the depths of his heart.

John Sinclair communicated with the "unknown God" for several evenings. A week later, he felt his life changing in a strange way, as if some invisible hand was protecting and guiding him at every step. One night he heard strange footsteps in the living room of his house. Without turning on the light, he cautiously walked through the darkness to see who was walking there. He could feel the presence of someone in the living room, but no one was visible. The strangest thing was that Sinclair had no feelings of fear. On the contrary, he experienced a surge of joy and bliss.

For most, the feeling that some invisible person is walking around in your house would most likely give rise to horror and panic, but Sinclair felt the complete opposite. The next night the strange experience was repeated. Sinclair tried to visit several spiritual centers to discover who exactly could’ve visited him.

In one of the spiritual centers of New York, Sinclair met a man who suggested that, most likely, it was Sathya Sai Baba, a great spiritual teacher from India. Gradually, Sinclair felt a deep spiritual connection with Sathya Sai Baba and wanted to meet him personally. For a long time, this did not happen due to employment and affairs that constantly prevented Sinclair from going to India. After some time, he finally managed to go and meet with Sathya Sai Baba. During their personal communication, Sathya Sai Baba told Sinclair how he visited his house several times at night. With this confirmation, Sinclair was happy. Sathya Sai Baba told Sinclair how he protected him from many dangers and sent blessings. Sinclair felt and understood this was true because he experienced all of this in his own experience.

After that, Sathya Sai Baba said he had a request to ask of Sinclair. Sinclair was very grateful to Sathya Sai Baba for his help and blessings, so he was ready to donate any amount of money, but Sathya Sai Baba did not mean money. Looking closely at Sinclair, Sathya Sai Baba asked Sinclair to always be happy. These words of Sathya Sai Baba shocked the American and instantly he felt the deepest love and sincerity coming from Sathya Sai Baba.

In the early ‘90s, Sinclair once said he was raised in the Christian tradition and since childhood had worried about being born two thousand years after Jesus lived. He always dreamed of meeting a divine teacher and when he saw Sathya Sai Baba, he realized his dream had come true.

40. "I Am I"

The physical heart is on the left side and the spiritual heart is on the right side.

(Sathya Sai Baba – “Lectures at Kodaikanal”, 1996)

Of all the quotes I have chosen from Sathya Sai Baba's books, this one is perhaps the most important and practically necessary for meditation. The True Self is the original source from which everything arises.

In this book, we discuss in several chapters the most important topic of the Spiritual Heart, which is located on the right side of the body. It may seem strange to repeat the same thing several times, but Sathya Sai Baba, during his long life, regularly spoke in lectures, as well as during personal meetings, that the Spiritual Heart is on the right side. Therefore, correct meditation should be directed precisely at this mysterious point.

In Kriya Yoga Meditation tradition, we use affirmation to help us concentrate on truth about our Supreme Self.

"I Am" in everything and everything in Me.

The Self is outside of time and space, Self is the source of time and space, "I Am" at every moment of time and at every point in space.

"I Am" is here and now, "I Am" is always in the beginningless past, and "I Am" is always in the eternal future.

Self is embodied in the temple of the physical body.

"I was" before the appearance of the physical body and "I Am" after the disappearance of the physical body.

"I Am" in wakefulness, in dreams and in deep sleep, in dying, in reincarnation and in eternity.

"I Am” unborn and immortal, primordial and eternal.

The Absolute Self corresponds to the Spiritual Heart, which is located on the right side of the body. In Sanskrit, the Spiritual Heart is called Hrideyam. Over and over, we ruminate on this most important point in the body. It is in the Spiritual Heart that the actual mystical experience of "I Am I" takes place.

In the great Vedic formula of "I Am I" there is a double "I" to indicate the simultaneous existence of the absolute and individual reality of "I". At every moment of time, "I" am both the Absolute "I" and the individual "I". At every moment of time, "I" am simultaneously God and man.

41. Sathya Sai Baba may use forse to help the devotees

In the south of India lives a man named, Anantappa. He has been a follower of Sathya Sai Baba for many years. Anantappa's devotion and love for Sathya Sai Baba is surprisingly deep and sincere. Every day, he practices mantras, prayers, and meditations, and constantly feels the invisible presence of his Sathya Sai Baba.

One day Sathya Sai Baba gave Anantappa his photograph. Anantappa placed the photo on the home altar, and after a while, sacred ash began to materialize from it. Sacred ash in Sanskrit is called "Vibhuti", it is a symbol of the eternity of the spirit and a reminder of the impermanence of all material things.

The word "Vibhuti" also means "revelation", because "Vibhuti" is not just ashes, but something special that carries a philosophical message. Sacred ash has the power to heal people from disease and protect them from negative energy influences. It can even help people to achieve their goals and plans.

Usually, sacred ashes are kept in small boxes on the home altar or carried in a pocket in a bag. I know many stories of people receiving healing through using sacred ash. If health problems arise, it is smeared like an ointment on that part of the body where there is disease. Sacred ash can be diluted with water and drunk, and there are many cases of people receiving solutions to their problems after regularly drinking a solution of sacred ash.

Ordinary ashes are prepared by burning various ingredients, but Sathya Sai Baba's ashes are especially famous because they are not man-made. Sathya Sai Baba materialized sacred ash during personal communication and gave it to people as a token of blessing; there are also cases today still when sacred ash materializes from his photographs. This amazing miracle is happening in the homes of devotees in different parts of the world, not only in India, but also in Europe, America, and Russia. When such a miracle happens, people go to the blessed home to see the miracle of divine revelation.

According to tradition, the hosts must necessarily distribute part of the sacred ashes to all who visit. Such a miracle blesses not only the family living in the house, but also their friends. People began to visit Anantappa's house in order to receive blessings and some sacred ash.

Anantappa had a problem with his daughter's husband. He was a rude and suspicious man who constantly suspected his wife of infidelity. It got to the point that he just locked her in a room. It was impossible to live in such conditions, so the unfortunate woman declared they should go to Sathya Sai Baba so that he could confirm her devotion to her husband, and if not, she promised to commit suicide right in the ashram.

Anantappa went to Sathya Sai Baba with his daughter and son-in-law. During a personal meeting, Sathya Sai Baba confirmed that the woman was honest with her husband, but the husband did not believe him and even began to speak rudely and disrespectfully to him. Sathya Sai Baba ordered him out of the room and promised Anantappa and his daughter that everything would be fine in the future.

Anantappa stayed at the ashram with his daughter and son-in-law for a few days. During that time, the conflict within the family grew as the son-in-law continued to swear and now accuse Sathya Sai Baba of being a cheat. Anantappa was annoyed, and so when they boarded the train home, Anantappa decided he and his daughter would ride in the same compartment, while the son-in-law would ride in one nearby.

Not long into the journey, Anantappa heard the loud, panicked cries of his son-in-law. Quickly, Anantappa ran into the compartment along with the conductor. They saw a frightened son-in-law lying on the floor, alive, but badly beaten. Who could’ve attacked his son-in-law in the closed compartment? When the son-in-law calmed down and came to his senses, he said that Sathya Sai Baba appeared out of thin air in his compartment and beat him hard on the cheeks and then scolded him for not respecting his wife and not trusting her fidelity. Of course, no one could doubt the words of the son-in-law because he was physically quite beaten. After this incident, the son-in-law immediately believed in the divine powers of Sathya Sai Baba and completely changed his attitude toward his wife.

If simple persuasion fails, the Avatar can use force to change the situation. Such incidents have happened many times in the history of mankind. In ancient times, divine teachers such as Rama Avatar and Krishna could quite physically bring down their wrath on the demons. Jesus also physically drove out the merchants from the temple in Jerusalem. An ordinary person's anger is a manifestation of weakness and ignorance. However, the justified anger of divine teachers, such as Sathya Sai Baba, is a manifestation of love and compassion, and it is a great blessing. Sathya Sai Baba is the embodiment of divine love and great compassion, therefore, any of his actions are based on wisdom and love.

It may seem to us that if Sathya Sai Baba helps only “good” people and punishes “evil” ones, then this is right and just. But who are the “good” and the “evil”? Who determines whether a person is "good" or "bad"? The True Self of each person is divine and in the True Self we are all in unity. It is easy to accept that the True Self of Saint Mother Teresa and Saint Seraphim of Sarov is divine but are you ready to accept that the True Self of Adolf Hitler and Leon Trotsky is also divine, although crushed by ignorance and selfishness.

The Avatar comes to this world not only to help spiritual seekers, but also to put demons on the spiritual path. By the way, the mission of the Avatar also includes blessing not only people, but also animals. For example, in the ashram of Sathya Sai Baba there was a small zoo in which deer and an elephant lived. Sathya Sai Baba regularly visited his zoo to bless the animals.

When Sathya Sai Baba left his house, a huge number of birds intuitively flocked to see him. When Sathya Sai Baba moved from one part of the ashram to another, the birds also flew after him. I observed this phenomenon many times. It was interesting to see how not only the people felt the presence of Sathya Sai Baba and tried to be as close to him as possible, but also the creatures.

42. Gratitude is completion

Everything in this world was created by God. If everything came from God, what can you offer him? The only thing you can offer to God is your love, that is the only thing he expects from you.

(Sathya Sai Baba – Sathya Sai Gita Chapter 1)

In one of his personal meetings, Sathya Sai Baba said that because of love, the True Self was divided into an infinite number of individual beings. All beings living in this world have arisen from love and in love they pass the way of spiritual evolution. To see and realize this is to see what is. Love is the only thing the soul can offer to God; it is the only true and eternal gift from God to man and from man to God.

Everything is Absolute Consciousness; everything is God. Every human being has a divine desire to know the Absolute Truth. Truth can be sought at different levels through the methods of religion, science, and art. The highest level of the search for Truth is self-exploration and self-knowledge.

Quite a lot of people confuse love with lust, instincts, attachment and even greed. Genuine love is pure and altruistic; in true love, one feels unity. One who is in the vibration of love naturally loves himself and everyone around him. A person who is in the flow of love looks into the eyes of another person and sees his True Self there.

Divine love is always shown along with gratitude. Gratitude is a great power. When you are grateful for something, it is already happening. Gratitude is completion. If you feel perfect gratitude for the events of the past, then this means you have gone through all the lessons that life has set for you. If you do not feel sincere gratitude for the events of the past, then this means that the lessons have not yet been completed.

Be thankful that you are who you already are, for you were perfect from the start. Be grateful for your life, for it is glorious and exciting. Thank God for perfect health and longevity, for the happiness of the family hearth, the wise heritage of the ancestors and the well-being of the descendants, for the enjoyment of material abundance and for the joy of free creativity in business, science, and art. If you are sincerely grateful for your happy life, all of this will happen; for what you are truly grateful for manifests itself at a rapid pace.

There is a famous American devotee of Sathya Sai Baba whose name is John, but people call him "John – thank you Sai" because he repeats only one prayer, no matter what happens to him, he prays: "thank you Sai, thank you Sai, thank you Sai.” He has had difficulties and trials in his life, like everyone else, but he always repeated his “thank you Sai” prayer.

By repeating this simple prayer, John transformed his life and helped to transform the lives of many who came to know about him. Sometimes John met withgroups and talked about his life. He taught and transformed people by his example.

I started writing this book while living in Sathya Sai Baba's ashram, and it was great to meet John there, again. We joyfully recalled the past years when Sathya Sai Baba was among us, and we could enjoy daily communication with him.

Be grateful for everything that happens because there are lessons you need to learn in order to rise to higher levels of awareness. Give thanks for the unity of all that exists, and for the fact that everything in your life happens in Divine Grace. God is a mirror that reflects your thoughts and feelings, even those most secret, so let love and gratitude reign in the secret spaces of your heart.

Only those who have love can give love. A person who loves himself is able to give love to all people around and to present love to God. As soon as you love yourself, all the people around you will also love you because your vibrations will awaken only love in those around you.

When you arrive in love and happiness, all the people around you will experience happiness because you will shine with the energy of happiness. If you are in a state of peace and harmony, then all the people around, communicating with you, will feel peace and harmony.

43. Sathya Sai Baba Stopped the Flood

The Chitravathi River flows near the ashram, and most of the time it is full flowing with a fast current of abundant water, but sometimes it can completely dry up for several years. During the whole life of Sathya Sai Baba, the river was full flowing, and toward the end of his life, the water began to leave. In the last years of Sathya Sai Baba's life, the river dried up completely.

Some took this as a sign that Sathya Sai Baba would soon leave this world, but most did not want to think about this sad topic and assumed the river dried up simply because there had been too little rain for too long.

The story we are going to remember now took place when Sathya Sai Baba was very young. That year, the Chitravathi River was so full of water that it flooded the surrounding fields. There was so much water that it began to approach the house where Sathya Sai Baba lived at that time. This place is called "old mandir", which means "old temple".

As a result of the flood, the "old mandir" turned into a small island around which the water raged. The devotees were afraid that the water would soon flood the premises. Some had already packed their things preparing to wade out of the village, while others were going to climb large trees and wait out the flood there. The situation gradually escalated, and of course, panic grew. The most devoted remained calm and waited for Sathya Sai Baba's instructions.

At the moment when the water came very close to the main entrance of the building, Sathya Sai Baba calmly left his room and, to everyone's surprise, spoke to the element of water, as if to a living being. He told to the Chitravathi River that it was enough to flood the surrounding fields and villages.

He ordered the waters of the flooded river to return to its usual course. At the same moment, the water quickly began to decrease and soon returned to its normal flow. This shocked all the locals. That same day, they thanked Sathya Sai Baba for saving the village from the big flood.

Sathya Sai Baba is a great teacher who reincarnates in different eras – some of his incarnations are world famous and some are secret. His mission is to help unleash the potential of every person. Happiness and self-realization of people is the purpose of his embodiment. Sathya Sai Baba performed miracles throughout his life and poured out mercy and blessings on people as if from a cornucopia. Each person is the God of his own cosmos. If you are able to think about changing the events and circumstances of your life, then it is possible to achieve it.

A huge number of people live on this wonderful planet, but everyone lives in their own reality. The reality of one person is the joy of creativity, happiness, and abundance, while the reality of another is continuous problems, suffering and internal conflicts.

The realities of life are shaped by the thoughts and emotions that dominate your mind. A harmoniously and correctly thinking person builds his universe brick by brick as a space of happiness, joy, health, love, wisdom, and self-realization. According to the harmonious vibration of your thoughts and emotions, the divine reality of your life is manifested.

44. Devoted Heart

There is a wonderful story, one man turned to God and asked him to publish his address. God answered when someone chants His holy names, God lives in the heart of such a person. Even the highest heavens are only branches, but the heart of a devoted person is the main place where God permanently dwells.

(Sathya Sai Baba – “Lectures at Kodaikanal”, 1996)

Of course, everyone who comes to the ashram really wants to have the opportunity of personal communication with Sathya Sai Baba. But only Sathya Sai Baba himself made the decision to invite or not to invite someone to a personal conversation. There was one way by which one could influence Sathya Sai Baba's decision and get the opportunity for personal communication, which was by chanting the ancient mantra, Gayatri. The essence of any mantra is the Holy Names of God; it is they who bring colossal power to any Mantra.

By chanting the Holy Names, a person awakens the presence of God in his heart, which is why Sathya Sai Baba said that even heaven is just a branch, but the true seat of Divinity is the spiritual heart of a person. The Gayatri Mantra has a special place in the Vedic tradition. People who practiced the Gayatri Mantra established a deep mystical connection with Sathya Sai Baba and would attract his attention and receive many blessings.

All mantras are divine. Sincerely practicing any one of them will help you to gain high spiritual experiences and perfection, however, Sathya Sai Baba said that it is the Gayatri Mantra that includes the wisdom and energy power of all Vedic scriptures.

One who constantly practices the Gayatri Mantra receives the fulfillment of all good desires and the destruction of all evil inclinations. The one who chants the Gayatri Mantra receives the blessing equal to the chanting of all Vedic texts, such is the power of this mantra. Each mantra contains the names of God, which is the power of any mantra.

It is very important to not only pronounce the text of the mantra correctly, but also to deeply understand the content. While repeating Gayatri, one should reflect on the amazing philosophical significance of the teachings set forth in this great mantra. The Gayatri Mantra reveals the divine potentials dormant in every person, provides healing from diseases, increases intellectual abilities, and changes the circumstances of life.

45. Eye of wisdom – perception of unity

The "eye of wisdom" is very important for every person. It is also called the "eye of the true Self," the "divine eye," and the "eye of the Divine Consciousness." All these names are synonyms. By opening the "eye of wisdom," you realize that everything is divine, and you will be able to perceive the entire universe in the spirit of unity.

(Sathya Sai Baba – "Summer Showers of Brindavan", 1990)

Physically, a person has two eyes, but in fact, every person has a third eye. By the way, the third eye is also manifested quite physically. In the center of the brain there are several points of tremendous mystical and spiritual significance: the pituitary gland, the hypothalamus, the thalamus, the pineal gland, and the medulla oblongata. All these points play an important role in the process of meditation and clairvoyance.

With three eyes you contemplate three times: future, present and past. The third eye is located at the place where the flows of the three sacred rivers join – this is how the ancient texts explain the three main energy channels of the spine, which join in the third eye.

One of the ancient symbols denoting the third eye, or the eye of wisdom is the All-Seeing Eye. Lord Shiva is depicted with the third eye. All these symbols show the importance of meditation on the eye of wisdom. The symbol of Shiva is also a five-pointed star, meaning “a perfect person” who has gained true awareness of the True Self.

The three eyes correspond to the three levels of initiation in the ancient mysteries. A person walking on the spiritual ladder goes through three initiations. Climbing up three steps, the pilgrim enters the temple where secret knowledge is revealed to him.

A person who opens the eye of wisdom perceives everything in unity. In the life of such a person, the reunion of Spirit and Matter takes place and unites the single stream of spiritual self-knowledge with material abundance. Spiritual evolution takes place on all planes of human existence. Spirit self-realizes in matter, and matter comes to life in Spirit.

46. What needs to be done now, needs to be done only now

Here is an anecdote about knowing when to act. A person came to the ashram who had many problems in life; and who does not? He lived in the ashram for about a month, but Sathya Sai Baba did not invite him to a personal conversation. After some time, Sathya Sai Baba invited him to an audience. Entering the room, the man resentfully told Sathya Sai Baba he had been waiting for this meeting for more than a month because he had many questions and requests for help. Sathya Sai Baba was stunned, and calling him by name, said that he had been waiting for him for many years.

It seemed to all of us that it was effortless to come to Sathya Sai Baba – we bought a ticket and flew to India. What could be easier? In fact, only those who were personally invited by Sathya Sai Baba on a subtle mystical level came to his ashram. It is difficult to understand with the mind how he could invite everyone, because tens of millions of people came to him. Sathya Sai Baba is the omnipresent Spirit for whom nothing is impossible.

There were times when people learned about Sathya Sai Baba and felt in the depths of their hearts that for some reason they had to meet this unusual mystic from distant India. Some, feeling the call, instantly packed up and drove while others found many excuses as to why it was impossible to do it now, preferring to postpone the trip.

What needs to be done now, needs to be done only now. When the doors of space are open and you get a chance, you need to use it because fate can change and tomorrow it will be impossible to do what seems easy today.

Everyone must come to an understanding of where he aspires to be and what he does in life. One of the questions that Sathya Sai Baba sometimes asked during personal communication was: “what do you want?” Sometimes he would say: “state your goal!” Hearing the soft voice of Sathya Sai Baba, people were immersed in long reflections. Sathya Sai Baba was omnipresent and clairvoyant. Naturally, people had a desire to find the answers to their many questions from him and to consult him about how to act in various situations.

People are accustomed to shifting the responsibility for what is happening in life to someone else, and Sathya Sai Baba was the ideal candidate whom to shift the responsibility to when making an important decision. Sathya Sai Baba never dictated what to do in life or offered ready-made answers. He did not deprive people of the right to free choice; on the contrary, he inspired them to make independent decisions. Each person must come to an understanding of where he aspires to be and what he does in life.

47. To understand your purpose

A person performs an action, and he has the right to possess the results of his action. Nobody can deny it. It is important to free yourself from attachment to the fruits of your labors, successful or unsuccessful. The Vedic texts say that one should act, but not identify with the fruits of one's actions. It is not right to emotionally depend on the successful or unsuccessful results of one's actions, but it is also wrong to refuse to work. You need to do what needs to be done, understanding that at the right time the result will come, but you do not need to be attached to the result, then your actions will be perfect.

(Sathya Sai Baba – Gita Vahini, Chapter 5)

Sathya Sai Baba often said that the ideal example of a harmonious life for modern man is the ancient Indian emperor, Janaka. Since ancient times, there has been a wonderful tradition in India, according to which the rulers also received spiritual education.

Of course, one can receive a formal religious and philosophical education, but at the same time there is little interest in deep spiritual searches. Janaka was a true spiritual seeker. For many years he seriously studied philosophical texts and invited mystics and yogis to his palace in order to receive instructions on meditation practices.

Spiritual self-knowledge and meditation practices in no way conflict with a happy and successful social life. In ancient civilizations, it could not have occurred to anyone to share the path of divine knowledge of one's soul and material well-being. The question is not to avoid being active in society, but to correctly perceive the work that you are doing.

It is very important to realize your purpose in life and strive to fully embody it. Happiness and satisfaction largely arise when a person realizes his destiny along with the tasks of the current incarnation.

For some people it is clearly understood what exactly their business in life is, yet for others it can be quite difficult to understand. In order to understand your destiny, you must discard all the artificial restrictions that exist in your mind. Forget about all the seeming limitations and multiple conditionings imposed by the environment.

Imagine you have no financial restrictions, and you have a lot of free time along with all the other possibilities. How would you live your life? What would you do? Feel what brings you joy and happiness.

Meditation and contemplation of the True Self most fully reveals the answers to all questions of life. The more clearly you feel the eternal essence of your "I", the more clearly you realize what exactly your purpose in life is. But it is not enough to understand what your soul wants. It is just as important to organize your life in such a way that all circumstances develop so that you can realize your plans.

It is important to act without attachment to the result, although no one says that the result should not rightfully belong to you. You may own ideas, useful information, a firm or company, products, and much more. Yes, it's all yours, but once you are free from attachment, you can turn your business into a process of meditation.

You came into this world empty-handed, and you will leave this world also empty-handed. The only thing that will always be yours is the richest, spiritual experience accumulated in the process of life.

Jesus talked about building up treasures in heaven. Heaven is a symbol of the soul, and treasures are a spiritual experience. These treasures are always yours and no one can take them away or steal them from you; moreover, the more you share these treasures, i.e., your spiritual experience, the more enriched you are. Conversely, material treasures are subject, according to Jesus, to impermanence, corruption, and thieves.

Let's be clear once again, Sathya Sai Baba, Krishna and Jesus did not say that nothing should be done or everything should be divided equally in a communistic way, no, and again no. Everything that is rightfully yours should be yours, but without attachment. Only then can you fully fulfill your spiritual task in life and be happy under any circumstances.

Let's go back to one of the examples that Sathya Sai Baba often pointed out – the life of Emperor Janaka. Emperor Janaka lived five or six thousand years before the new era. He was a sage and an enlightened yogi who studied philosophy and practiced meditation. He was an enlightened emperor.

Janaka was a physically strong and healthy man, and he was happy in his family life. He justly ruled his city and participated in battles. He was fabulously rich, lived in the palace and his robes were decorated with precious stones. At the same time, Janaka was the greatest mystic and philosopher of ancient India. Emperor Janaka, using the example of his life, showed the path of integral development of the personality.

In the inner world of every person there is a hierarchy of positive images. Much is said about this in modern esotericism and psychology, but in fact it was already well known in the ancient Vedic tradition.

Sometimes it is difficult to understand why in life something works, and yet, something else does not. Of course, there are many reasons for success and failure, but an important factor in the outcome is the quality of the positive images invisibly present in the depths of your consciousness.

Positive images can be real people you know personally: relatives, friends, teachers, and they can be historical figures: saints, national heroes, political leaders, great scientists, and artists. A positive image builds the circumstances of life and determines the direction of your energy.

You unconsciously begin to imitate those positive images and begin to build the circumstances of life. It is important to consciously build positive images because it is the positive images that subsequently direct the circumstances of your life in an upward trajectory.

The positive image of Emperor Janaka shown in Indian history reveals that a person who practices meditation and reflects on the eternal issues of being can at the same time be harmonious and successful in their material life. Emperor Janaka is an excellent example of the unity of Spirit and Matter.

A yogi is not one who avoids family life and is afraid to touch money, naively assuming to achieve holiness by denying material existence. A true yogi is one who has gained self-realization: he is in harmony with himself and everyone around him, and lives life joyfully and happily in the awareness of absolute unity.

48. Sathya Sai Baba blessings manifest on all levels of human existence

Sathya Sai Baba is the greatest miracle worker. He often organized large Vedic ceremonies in his ashram, despite the fact that he himself was not a follower of any one of the world religions; nevertheless, he still paid great attention to the development of the Vedic tradition. During such programs, a large number of clergymen would come, as well as many devotees. The program always lasted for several days. Vedic Mantras were repeated from morning to evening along with worship.

On one occasion, after the clergy performed the final part of the ceremony, and with only a couple of hours remaining before completion of program, black thunderclouds began to fill the sky and it began to pour. Thunder clapped, nearby, as bright lightning flashed. Everyone present began to worry because the completion of the ritual would be disrupted due to the change of weather. At that time, the main temple had not yet been built so the entire program took place in the open air.

Sathya Sai Baba calmly looked at the sky and said there was no need to worry, as it would not rain. He carefully looked toward the black clouds, closed his eyes for a moment and raised his hand as a sign of blessing. Instantly, the clouds disappeared, and the sun shone.

The strength of Sathya Sai Baba’s energy was so great that people, driving up to the ashram, already forty kilometers away began to feel a special energy. He was not just a philosopher who commented on sacred and philosophical texts. Sathya Sai Baba possessed tremendous superhuman strength, which he manifested for the benefit of all people.

The energy power of Sathya Sai Baba is enormous. He was able to help tens of millions of people in such a way that every single person felt a personal, spiritual connection with him. He transformed all levels of human existence.

Sathya Sai Baba's blessings manifested in all aspects of human life, from finding a happy family life, building successful business projects, healing from serious illnesses, strengthening excellent health to having protection in dangerous situations. Most importantly, his blessings helped people realize their purpose in life and actualize their dormant talents.

49. Space of spiritual evolution

Spirituality does not mean the life of a hermit, on the contrary, true spirituality involves active participation in the life of human society. Spirituality is to sow the seeds of divine love in the hearts of all people, to work so that all of humanity flourishes and develops in harmony and peace.

(Sathya Sai Baba – "Summer Showers of Brindavan", 1990)

Yes, it is a very common misconception that a spiritual person should be a hermit and an ascetic. For centuries, official religion has reduced the spiritual path to mere external renunciation, or worse, imitation of renunciation. The spiritual path is "subtler than the subtle," it consists in contemplating and realizing the identity of one's Self and God.

It would be naive to assume that by retiring to the mountains or forests, renouncing family life and material well-being, only then will you come closer to realizing the eternal treasure that is hidden in the depths of your Spiritual Heart.

People go on distant pilgrimages seeking God in distant temples, while the true pilgrimage is made to the depths of their consciousness. Of course, if a trip to holy Jerusalem, Mecca or Kailash will help you find the truth in your heart, then you need to go. By the way, Sathya Sai Baba by no means denied the need for pilgrimages or temporary solitary practices. A trip to Sathya Sai Baba’s ashram is also a pilgrimage that has helped many people to discover the truth within themselves.

Arriving at Sathya Sai Baba’s ashram, deep spiritual seekers did not become attached to his outward form but discovered eternity within their hearts. Sathya Sai Baba constantly asked people not to be attached to his physical presence, but to dive into the depths of their soul.

Of course, it was difficult to implement because Sathya Sai Baba was a living divine incarnation. In the presence of Sathya Sai Baba, it was very difficult to get rid of attachment to him and disengage from the desire to constantly see him, listen to him, and communicate with him.

The manifested world is a space of spiritual evolution and endless self-perfection. Matter, space, and time are manifestations of the Divine Consciousness. If you want to escape from the illusion of this world, then you need to change your perception as just physically avoiding participation in social life will not help.

I have visited many Orthodox and Catholic Christian monasteries, Buddhist monasteries and Himalayan yoga ashrams. Monastic life in any denomination cannot help or bring one closer to the depths of the spirit; any monastery, whether Buddhist or Christian, is still a part of society. Real renunciation takes place in the mind, and it consists in letting go of attachment.

Even if you go to the distant Himalayas, you will see the same human society there. One should not run away from one's duties in society but should be cleansed of ignorance and attachment. Trying to run away from people and pretend to be a saint is naive. The spiritual path is insight, awareness of divinity in yourself and in every person who is next to you.

As long as you are in duality, you will want to run somewhere or avoid something, expecting to find peace outside the circle of life. Being in unity, where and from whom can you run? While serving society and people, you feel that in fact there are no “other” people, because everything is in unity.

Everything that happens in life is a step on the spiritual path. Sathya Sai Baba perceived life in unity, therefore his blessings affected all levels and aspects of human existence. Good health, a happy family, caring for one's parents and children, a successful career and business, scientific research and artistic creativity, spiritual insight are all integral parts of the divine evolution of man.

50. The Power of the Holy Names of God

This is a story about an Indian women named Pedda Botu who lived in the ashram and was deeply devoted to Sathya Sai Baba. She was a very close devotee of his and everyone knew her well and loved her very much for her kindness and sincerity. One day she asked Sathya Sai Baba how to meditate. He replied that she did not need to meditate at all but should constantly chant aloud or, to herself, the Holy Names of God. In those distant times, few people lived in the ashram, so some devotees preferred to sleep on the street just under the windows of Sathya Sai Baba. Blessed people!

One night, Pedda Botu was sleeping on the grass under the windows of Sathya Sai Baba, covered with a light blanket. It was very comfortable for a hot Indian night, but suddenly it began to rain. Pedda Botu woke up to several large drops beginning to fall on her. The first thing she said softly was the mantra: “Om Sri Sathya Sai Ram.” Immediately, the door opened and Sathya Sai Baba came into the street pretending to be dissatisfied. He asked Pedda Botu why she did not let him sleep.

The frightened woman apologized and said she had not called him. However, Sathya Sai Baba insisted that she woke him up and called him. After that, Sathya Sai Baba explained that the power of the Holy Names of God is so great that one who constantly repeats them achieves the deepest intimacy with God. For such people, it is enough to say the mantra “Om Sri Sai Ram” only once and God immediately perceives this as a personal appeal and instantly comes.

The first time I heard this story was from Padananda, and then Sathya Sai Baba told about it in my presence.

One day I thought about how many times you need to repeat a mantra or a prayer in order to be heard? We all know the stories from the Gospels when, through the prayer of Jesus, amazing miracles took place, i.e., the resurrection of the deceased Lazarus, the materialization of fish and bread, healing from diseases, and much more. We remember the amazing stories about Saint Seraphim of Sarov – a prayer uttered by him only once could bring down the Holy Spirit.

In the ashram, people often discussed that it is not so important to say a lot, but it is important to pronounce mantras of high quality. But what does quality mean? Some suggest that if you say the mantra with perfect concentration once, then this is quite enough and you do not need to practice it millions of times. These are all complex and deep questions.

In the story I told in this chapter, Pedda Botu felt the beginning of rain and spontaneously uttered a mantra and received an instant response from Sathya Sai Baba. He felt her prayer and immediately left his room. It should be remembered that Pedda Botu lived in the ashram for many years and practiced various mantras millions of times.

Most importantly, she was deeply devoted to Sathya Sai Baba and her sincere love for her teacher was so endless that it is simply impossible to put it into words. It should not be thought that a single repetition of the mantra was enough. However, the mechanical repetition of the mantra is also meaningless.

Sathya Sai Baba jokingly said that if the mere amount of repetition of a mantra were sufficient, then the first person to achieve enlightenment would be a tape recorder. Great joke!

51. "You are perfect!"

Sons of men, remember that you are made in the image and likeness of God. You are perfect!

(Sathya Sai Baba – “The Stream of Divine Love”, 1993)

The Vedas and the Bible say that God created man in his image and likeness. In every person there is a divine desire to know the Absolute Truth. This is the desire to comprehend one's source. The highest level of the search for Truth is meditation on the fundamental question: who am "I"? Going deeper into his Spiritual Heart, a person gets to his original source, to God, who is the True Self.

Sathya Sai Baba says: "You are perfect!" You strive to know the Truth and you will know the Truth; it turns out, you are the Truth itself. Your thoughts, words and actions are for the good of all, because you are made in the image and likeness of God. Since God is your True Self, it turns out that you, as a person, are created in the image and likeness of your True Self.

Speaking and thinking about the fact that God created you, you should remember that God is your Higher Self, which means you are "self-created". There is no external force that created you because there is no external force; everything is in your consciousness.

52. Jnana Yoga – the path to self-knowledge

The sage draws absolute bliss from his Higher Self, he does not seek bliss in the surrounding space.

(Sathya Sai Baba – Jnana Vahini)

These wonderful words of Sathya Sai Baba are taken from a book called Jnana Vahini, which translates as "stream of wisdom." One of the highest branches of yoga is called Jnana, which means wisdom. The main method of this direction of yoga is contemplation and reflection on the nature of one's Self. There are many ancient texts on the philosophy and practice of Jnana Yoga. One of the most basic treatises in this trend is the Avadhuta Gita; a text I quote often in my books.

The source of bliss is located in the Spiritual Heart. It cannot be found in outer space. If you realize yourself as an individual being, then the whole of life turns into a series of impermanence where joy is replaced by suffering, and then again, this is only a temporary joy, which comes.

It is your perception that allows you to truly enjoy the circumstances of life. If a person is fabulously rich, but at the same time depressed, then wealth will not be able to make him happy. A huge number of people after having achieved financial wealth found only problems, disappointment, and fears, instead of happiness. Only a true philosopher can enjoy material well-being because material well-being in itself has not yet made anyone happy.

Sathya Sai Baba lived a long life in an ordinary human body, which sometimes got sick, grew old and eventually died. Everything happened to him, it would seem, just the same as to all other people. However, one should not be deceived by their seeming commonness. People live in mortal bodies because of their Karma, but Sathya Sai Baba did not have any Karma. He incarnated in this world at will with a special and divine mission.

Some wondered why Sathya Sai Baba did not create an immortal golden body for himself? Why did he live in an ordinary human body? The energy of the immortal light body is so pure that few people can withstand such perfect vibrations.

If Sathya Sai Baba were in a golden immortal body, then almost no one would be able to get close to him and get the experience of direct communication. Sathya Sai Baba shows an example of the possibility of achieving harmony while living on Earth. That is why he lived in an ordinary body in order to enable more people to see him and even communicate with him personally.

One of the most prominent philosophical texts of Jnana Yoga is the Avadhuta Gita, in which the sage Dattatreya says:

“Purifying myself with meditation and dissolving into infinite bliss, I spontaneously sing this song about Divine Consciousness. I do not desire material wealth because I already enjoy abundance, I do not desire enlightenment because enlightenment is my nature. The Self is beyond desire because the whole world originally belongs to me, the Self do not follow religious precepts because they are illusory, the Self do not seek liberation because the Self is free.”

The subtlety of the philosophy of the True Self lies in the fact that this doctrine in no way denies an active life in society and the possibility of embodying one's talents. Some mistakenly think that if we are talking about the True Self, then it is necessary to deny human happiness and creative self-realization in science, art, business, and social activities. The philosophy of the True Self assumes the correct self-identification – the understanding of the eternal as eternal, and the illusory as illusory. A true understanding of oneself turns the activity in society into a process of pure meditation.

Divine Grace descends on all planes of human existence, transforming human nature into divine. Spirit is fully manifested in matter, and matter is spiritualized in spirit. Practicing yoga, a person gradually comes to a harmonious state of mind, returning to his original divine nature. Having reached the integral realization, the yogi carries out the divine transformation of human nature and becomes a Godman.

When you realize yourself as the Universal Self, you transcend the cycle of duality and impermanence. Meditation prepares the inner world for the descent of the divine current and leads to the perfect realization of Truth. As a result of the practice of meditation, a person goes through a gradual transformation on all planes. The perfect human life consists in the realization of unity and the realization of divinity on all planes of one's being.

53. The Real Guru

Who is a real teacher? It is he who leads the way, destroying delusion and ignorance. Who is the true student? This is the one who seeks to control the restless mind.

(Sathya Sai Baba – Gita Vahini, Chapter 11)

The real Guru is the Highest Self. This truth Sathya Sai Baba proclaimed all his life. It is this true teacher who eliminates ignorance, which consists in the erroneous perception of oneself as being separate from the surrounding world. A student is an individual self who learns from his own Higher Self.

Restlessness of the mind leads to uncontrollable craving for objects of desire, a false sense of separateness, fear, and suffering. In fact, you are learning from yourself – your Higher Self teaches your individual Self. However, most often the teacher appears as a wise and experienced person; such a person we call, Guru.

In Vedic philosophy there is a deep concept of the “principle of the teacher.” A teacher is not so much a personality as a cosmic principle that can be embodied in various people who teach us throughout our lives.

Throughout your life, you meet a huge number of teachers who help you learn a lot of important things, teach all kinds of necessary disciplines, and pass on the necessary skills. However, the highest teachers foster knowledge and practices related to the knowledge of the eternal and pure nature of the soul. A true teacher always remains transparent, striving to point out to the student the infinite potentials of his soul. The teacher reminds the student of his original freedom, for only a free person can realize his divinity. The delusions from which the teacher is freed are the false idea of his own weakness and infirmity.

The teacher guides the student to find his purpose in life and to realize his God-given talents. The teacher opens the soul of the student, just as a lotus flower opens at sunrise. You are incarnated with a special spiritual mission, but each person around you is unique, also incarnated with a special spiritual mission – no one is better or worse than you, all people are different, each person is unique – each person is an infinite spirit gaining experience of earthly existence.

Inspired wisdom not only comes from teachers, but also can be found in many books, particularly sacred, spiritual texts. Any scripture performs the functions of a teacher when talking about the inner divinity of a person and blessing the reader. In every tradition, sacred scriptures are respected and held in high regard. In Christianity, it is the Gospel; in Hinduism, it is the Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads; in Judaism, it is the Torah. A careful and thoughtful reading of sacred texts clarifies perception and brings down blessings.

In fact, life itself is the greatest teacher. Everyone is able to recall well a number of situations that taught them significantly more than theoretical lectures. It is important to perceive the events of life not just as a series of random events, but as lessons to be learned that offer something useful to be learned from them.

Being a student is very difficult. The student is not the one who puts the portrait of the teacher on the home altar and burns candles and incense to it every day. A true student is one who embodies the wise instructions of his teacher in his daily life.

Sathya Sai Baba directed people to self-study, often repeating that the true teacher is in the Spiritual Heart. It is in the depths of the soul that the most profound answers to all questions can be found. Divinely, every person has a mysterious desire to explore the nature of his Self – this is the essence of the spiritual path.

54. Miraculous photos of Sathya Sai Baba

This is a story about a Japanese man I met at the ashram who told me an amazing story about his friend, who was also a devotee of Sathya Sai Baba.

Returning home from India to Japan, this friend hung a picture of Sathya Sai Baba in his room above his bed. In this part of Japan, where this devotee lived, earthquakes sometimes occurred. Unfortunately, shortly after his return from the ashram, a massive earthquake struck, causing several buildings to collapse. The earthquake occurred at night, which was especially dangerous.

The man woke to hear a roar and strange cracking noises. Three walls of the house in which he lived had collapsed. After the noises subsided, he got out of bed to inspect the damage. It was then he realized he’d been sitting unharmed on the bed. What was left of the house was a wall and part of the roof, but it was the very wall on which was hung the cheerful photo of Sathya Sai Baba.

The following story is similar, but it happened with one of my Russian friends. Alexander sat down in front of a photograph of Sathya Sai Baba late in the evening, lit a candle and began to practice mantras. He relaxed so much he did not notice how he fell asleep, yet in a dream he saw Sathya Sai Baba.

Waking in the morning, Alexander saw that during the night, while he was asleep, a fire broke out in his house. The candle fell igniting the tablecloth and as a result the photo of Sathya Sai Baba also caught fire. The fire strangely went out by itself. It is interesting that the photo of Sathya Sai Baba was burned exactly along the contour of his figure.

55. Bright thoughts, wise words, and perfect action

Someone can describe to you the sweet taste of a ripe mango beautifully and colorfully, but until you taste the mango directly for yourself, you will not be able to understand the wonderful taste and sweetness of the mango.

(Sathya Sai Baba – Sathya Sai Gita Chapter 24)

Mango is not just a sweet and tasty fruit, but a deep symbol meaning the fruits of human good deeds. To taste sweet mango, symbolically, means to gain the fruits of spiritual awareness, harmony, and peace. Meeting with Sathya Sai Baba, itself, is the result of many good deeds in past lives, but it is important not only to see the external form of Sathya Sai Baba, but with the help of his blessings to find peace in the soul and to open the endless space of possibilities and potentials in your heart. Sathya Sai Baba poured out mercy on everyone who came to see him and he brought down the divine energy, which brought people into amazing mystical states and helped them experience the infinity of consciousness.

Reading books can help you gain intellectual knowledge while the path of meditation allows you to gain the treasure of self-realization. In meditation, the delusion that you are a limited being disappears, just as darkness disappears when the sun rises in the morning. You are the master of your thoughts, words, and actions, which means only you create your reality. There are no accidents in life – everything is the result of cause and effect. In meditation the illusion of separation and conflict dissolves and the true reality of unity in diversity remains.

The mango is a symbol of the spiritual fruits you receive as a result of intensive and deep practice of meditation and service in society. In meditation all doubts and conflicts come to an end. Your bright thoughts, wise words, and perfect actions create a happy and joyful space.

If something does not make you happy or does not bring you joy, leave it with gratitude and move on with your wonderful life, for you consciously and freely choose only that which brings joy, happiness, contentment, bliss, and peace into your life.

56. Self-esteem and inner freedom

It is difficult for people to understand what spirituality is and what individual freedom is. If you analyze the divine principle more deeply, you will realize that true spirituality and individual freedom are one in essence.

(Sathya Sai Baba – "Summer Showers of Brindavan", 1990)

There are quite a lot of misconceptions that spirituality and individual freedom are allegedly in conflict. The essence of spirituality is in the realization of the Truth about the nature of one's Self. Personal freedom is the most important foundation of the spiritual process of self-knowledge. A free person trusts his intuition, while a person deprived of freedom is guided by domineering opinions. A free person is responsible for his actions, while a person deprived of inner freedom shifts responsibility to others.

A free-thinking person is able to reflect on the essence of his soul, while a person deprived of inner freedom can only memorize the thoughts of others. Whatever the great thoughts of the sages, they do not need to be thoughtlessly memorized, because then they become dogma. Personal freedom ultimately leads to the core of the Absolute Self, which only a truly free person can open.

True freedom is always associated with caring for everyone around you. If you realize your freedom to the detriment of other people, then this is ordinary selfishness, which has nothing to do with freedom. Many books have been written and many sermons delivered about the need to love and care for others, but all this has long become dogmas and beautiful words.

Only one who practices meditation begins to deeply feel the unity of all people. Feeling the unity of all that exists, a deep understanding of morality and ethics arise, but not as dry and lifeless book ideas, but as a natural need of a spiritual person.

People around you may be friendly, support your ideas and projects, but some of your relatives and friends may be very negative. They may constantly try to instill in you that you are allegedly not capable of doing anything in life. Remember that you are free because of what you know about yourself and your talents. This self-understanding is more important than what others think.

When your self-esteem is more valuable to you than what the world around you can dictate, you not only understand your purpose in life, but you begin to embody all your talents and share the things that are really important in life.

57. Believe in yourself and make your choice

This next story seems so insignificant on the surface, but in fact it shows Sathya Sai Baba's amazing attentiveness to every detail and to every person.

One day Sathya Sai Baba came to Mumbai (Bombay) to meet his devotees and students studying under the program of the Universities of Sathya Sai Baba. Preparations were made for his arrival, including many students lining up in front of the entrance of the university. Each of them had one red flower in their hands, which they were going to present to their dear guest.

Among the greeters was a small boy, who was taking a preparatory course and was not yet a university student, so he was not allowed to stand in the front row, and he was not allowed to give Sathya Sai Baba a flower. The boy was very upset about this but decided not to give up. Finally, the long-awaited day came for the meeting of Sathya Sai Baba, and his car drove up.

The young boy edged his way toward the students awaiting Sathya Sai Baba’s approach and quietly squeezed through the crowd. He really wanted to give Sathya Sai Baba a flower, and he must have been very worried he would not be given such an opportunity. Seeing a simple flower on the ground in front of him, the boy must have joyfully picked it up.

Sathya Sai Baba passed by the students with each one offering him a flower. As a sign to show each student he accepted their offering, Sathya Sai Baba simply smiled and touched each flower. As there was an empty seat in the front row, the boy, going unnoticed by anyone, confidently stood up with the other students. When Sathya Sai Baba approached the little boy, he gladly took the flower into his hands.

The meeting lasted quite a long time and throughout the whole program Sathya Sai Baba lovingly held this small flower in his hands. Everyone around was surprised as to where this flower in his hands had come from until they realized it was the flower given to him by the young boy.

There were many miracles, unusual events, and stories in Sathya Sai Baba's life. Some of his miracles are very significant and even amazing, and some seem barely noticeable, but that did not make them any less significant in their essence. In fact, there were no trifles for him.

This story shows that freedom can manifest itself in many ways. Each of us regularly makes choices. Only a person who believes in himself can make his choice in life and achieve his goal.

58. Easy to workship Guru, but difficult to follow his teachings

You are very fortunate that you have the opportunity to communicate directly with the Avatar, who is the embodiment of Eternal Life.

(Sathya Sai Baba – “Lectures at Kodaikanal”, 1996)

I am sometimes asked: who is Sathya Sai Baba? Everyone knows that he is the most famous spiritual teacher of our time, but the question speaks to who he is, in essence. I think it is important to find your Sathya Sai Baba in your heart. Some connect him with the energy of Shiva, while others see Krishna in him.

Of course, Sathya Sai Baba has many opponents who accuse him of fraud and even black magic. If a person cannot understand and accept a great teacher, then it is best not to devote yourself, rather try to find your spiritual path in something else. The most correct thing is to go deep into meditation, open your heart and mind, and there, in the depths of your inner world, open your own Sathya Sai Baba.

Sathya Sai Baba said that Self is the original and true name of God. Thus, faith in one's True Self is the highest manifestation of faith in God. Sathya Sai Baba is a great sage who has infinite love and compassion. His teaching is not about “who he is,” but about what the essence of the soul of each person is. He preached not so much his own divinity, but the divinity of each person.

It is very easy to build numerous temples and install magnificent statues of Krishna, Buddha, Christ and Sathya Sai Baba. It is easy to worship teachers, but it is much more difficult to follow their teachings. There are many huge statues of Buddha in the world, but few people try to practice meditation and compassion as taught by the Buddha.

There are many churches and monasteries in the world with beautiful icons and sculptures of Jesus, but few are ready to try to embody in their lives the ideals of love and direct communication between man and God that Jesus Christ preached. In our time, there are more and more temples of Sai Baba, altars with his image, and this is very nice, but let's think not only about formal worship, but also about the embodiment of the wise messages that Sathya Sai Baba left us.

Sathya Sai Baba left the physical body, but he continues to bless all people. When he was in the body, we could come to him, enjoy the fellowship with him, discuss our questions with him and listen to his wise instructions. What to do now when he has left the body? Sathya Sai Baba is an extraordinary phenomenon, of which there are few examples in history. Even after he has left his physical body, his ability to give answers to prayer appeals remains exactly the same as during his lifetime.

The tomb of Sathya Sai Baba is located in his native village of Puttaparthi, in the very south of India. When a great teacher leaves his body, his relics become an object of reverence. The relics continue to work miracles and answer people's prayers.

Despite the fact that Sathya Sai Baba left his physical body, on the subtle plane he continues to visit people in dreams, give answers to questions, help in difficult situations, bless, and instruct on the spiritual path.

We are really incredibly blessed that we were lucky enough to be close to the Avatar, the divine incarnation, and watch his endless games.

One aspect of the spiritual path is the practice of meditation, mantras, and the study of philosophical texts. In Sanskrit this is called sadhana. By practicing meditation and mantras, you gain the wisdom and mystical experience of Divinity. The goal of spiritual practice is not to become smarter or more educated, but to experience in your inner mystical experience what is written in the sacred texts.

There are many stories in the Vedic texts about how demons also practiced mantras and rituals. What is the difference between a demon and a spiritual person? Practicing meditation and mantra is only half the story. Meditation and mantra must be practiced on the firm foundation of the right motivation of love and compassion. Buddha, Jesus, and Sai Baba emphasized the importance of serving the people who are right next to you.

It is easy to proclaim beautiful theories that the True Self is everywhere and in everything, but it is much more difficult to see the True Self in the people around you. Through his life, Sathya Sai Baba set an example of a perfect life in the joy of divine creativity and service to all mankind.

59. Sathya Sai Baba blessed human beings and gods

This is a story told to me by Padananda. It takes place during the time when there were not so many devotees around Sathya Sai Baba. I was lucky to communicate with people who lived in the ashram in those distant years, when Sathya Sai Baba was very young, and his ashram was just being built.

He told me this story so emotionally and in detail that it began to seem to me that he himself was one of the participants in everything that happened. When I tried to ask him directly about it, he waved his hands and said that all of this happened not to him, but to two of his friends. Who knows?

One day two devotees were sleeping on the veranda right under the windows of Sathya Sai Baba's room. In later times, this was no longer possible due to the large number of visitors, but in those distant blessed times, devotees could fall asleep right at the door of their beloved teacher. On that day, everyone in the ashram fasted in honor of a special holiday.

The Vedic tradition also has its own fasting system called Ekadashi. This fast is observed for one day, falling on the eleventh day of the lunar calendar. In accordance with tradition, it is recommended to arrange fasting days for yourself on this day according to the lunar calendar, which favorably affects the health and emotional state of a person.

The most important post in the annual cycle is called Vaikuntha Ekadashi. The observance of this fast is considered especially important and auspicious. Vedic myths tell that Lord Vishnu listens especially carefully to the prayers of people and instantly blesses those who fast on this day.

So, the day we are now remembering was Vaikuntha Ekadashi, which is the most important post of the year. The two devotees were sleeping peacefully on the veranda under the night sky full of stars. They suddenly woke up after hearing a strange noise. Looking around, they saw a bright light shining from Sathya Sai Baba's window.

The light was so strong and flickering that both devotees immediately realized it could not come from an ordinary light bulb. Frightened, they went to the room in order to check what was going on. Opening the door, they saw a strange sight that surprised them so much they were forced to stop at the entrance and could not enter the room even a single step.

Sathya Sai Baba was reclining on the bed. He seemed to be in a state of deep trance. Directly in front of him stood several luminous Gods and Demigods, who respectfully bowed to Sathya Sai Baba. Around the bed, seven large fires were burning right in the air. Both devotees watched this scene for a while and then respectfully left, carefully closing the door behind them. Almost all night the light shone from the windows of the room, and the two devotees reverently prayed sitting nearby.

The next morning, they approached Sathya Sai Baba and asked him to explain the meaning of what they saw the previous night. Sathya Sai Baba explained that the seven fires burning around his bed were in fact the Sapta Rishis, the seven ancient sages. They came to his room along with the Gods and Demigods.

Important festivals of the Vedic tradition were regularly held in the ashram. Vedic holidays were celebrated, and the most important holidays of world religions were also celebrated: Buddha's birthday, Christmas, Chinese New Year and Jewish New Year. Sathya Sai Baba never suggested that people change their religion. He helped people to understand more deeply the teachings and practices of the tradition to which each one belonged.

Sathya Sai Baba blessed Hindus to study the Vedas and practice mantras, Christians to study the New Testament and practice prayers, and Muslims to study the Koran and pray. No matter what language you speak to God, ultimately all prayers reach the Highest Divinity, which is your True Self.

God is love, and because of love He incarnates in the world of people. Being among people, Sathya Sai Baba simultaneously blessed the heavenly Gods, who sometimes appeared visibly in his room. There were many such stories. In later years, I and a few of my friends saw how, on special days, luminous balls appeared in the sky above Sathya Sai Baba's house and then flew rapidly toward his chambers.

60. Mindful breathing is the eternal presence of the Spirit of God

Listen to what your breath is telling you. With each inhalation, the mystical sound “So” sounds, and with each exhalation, “Ham” sounds. "So" means God, "Ham" means "I". Thus "So-Ham" means – "I am God." If you constantly meditate on your breath, then the Divine Consciousness will awaken inside you, and the false ego will dissolve. In the Vedic tradition, the great mantra "So-Ham" is called Hamsa Gayatri. Every day you breathe 21,600 times, which means that your breath invisibly recites this great mantra 21,600 times. “I am God,” “I am God,” “I am God” is the great message of the inner voice that is constantly resounding within you.

(Sathya Sai Baba – “Collection of Lectures”, 1991)

Sathya Sai Baba often preached the So-Ham meditation. In this book we have already considered this meditation. While seemingly simple, it is actually a complex and powerful technique. According to my observations, most people, having learned about this technique, do not attach much importance to it, as it seems too simple.

The first sound "So" means God the Father. The second sound "Ham" means the individual soul. During the execution of this technique, it is necessary to be aware of the process of your breathing, mentally pronouncing “So” on each inhalation and “Ham” on each exhalation. The sound “So” is mentally pronounced on the inhale, and the sound “Ham” is mentally pronounced on the exhale.

It is not necessary to say these sounds in Sanskrit. You can say them in your own language: "I am God." As you inhale mentally say “I”, as you exhale mentally say "God".

On inhalation, spiritual energy rises up the spine, and on exhalation, it descends. This movement of energy happens every time you breathe, whether you are aware of it or not. In order for the movement of vital energy to be stronger, it is necessary to strengthen it with visualization.

You can imagine how with each inhalation an energy ball of light rises up the spine from the coccyx to the crown, and with each exhalation this imaginary ball of light descends from the crown to the base of the spine into the coccyx.

Visualization is a powerful technique that sets energy processes in motion. We often talk about the famous principle: "if you can imagine something, it's already happening." As I mentioned, energy circulates through the spine whether you are aware of it or not, but you can enhance this process with your visualization.

Meditation is not about achieving something but contemplating what is already here and now. In meditation, you discover and notice what is already the essence of your being. In meditation, you don't need to strive anywhere, you just need to be yourself.

You begin your meditation by being aware of the breath, which is already happening, you just have to notice it. Then, begin to fix your attention on the divine, such as the image of Krishna, Buddha, Jesus, or Sathya Sai Baba. Over time, you will realize that you do not need to reach God, you just need to notice him, because he initially dwells in the depths of your heart.

The ancient philosophical text Avadhuta Gita perfectly describes what is the highest mystical experience that a yogi receives as a result of the practice of meditation "So-Ham":

“My Divine Consciousness does not appear and it does not disappear, it has no beginning and no end. The Higher Self is not created, originally free, not bound by anything, by its very nature it is perfect. I am free from birth and death, free from doubt and confusion, even the gods worship me. In my true nature there is no attachment, there is no liberation from attachment, in my true nature there is no desire and there is no detachment from desire.”

The poetic lines of the Avadhuta Gita perfectly describe the divine state that one who practices the So-Ham meditation receives. This meditation technique is based on conscious breathing. When considering breathing, it is easy to understand that the process of breathing occurs outside of your will or your decision. Of course, you can adjust the speed and depth of breathing, but the breathing itself is beyond your will. Who is breathing? God breathes in you.

Both in the Bible and in the Vedas, there are many images showing that God breathes life into a person – breathing is life itself given by God. In breathing, God manifests himself clearly every second in every person. People go on distant pilgrimages to the sacred mountains of Kailash or Arunachala, or to the sacred cities of Jerusalem or Varanasi.

All pilgrimages are made in order to meet with God, even while he is always present in the Spiritual Heart. True pilgrimage is conscious breathing that reveals the incorruptible treasures of the Spiritual Heart.

The Avadhuta Gita says:

“A person who makes a pilgrimage to the holy cities in search of the true Self, thereby rejects the omnipresence of the true Self, which is located in the spiritual heart. An enlightened sage lives happily in solitude, even if he lives in a large city, he is always in solitude, even if he is in the midst of human communication. The yogi gets rid of desires for material enjoyment and even desires for enlightenment, he dispels doubts, and his attainment of perfection occurs spontaneously.”

Everything happens inside, any external actions make sense only if they reveal the mysteries of the Spiritual Heart. The correct system of meditation begins with conscious breathing because breathing is the key that opens the gate to Divine Consciousness.

The true pilgrimage is made in the process of breathing. It is a journey into the depths of the soul. A person who is aware of his breath is in the awareness of the present moment.

There are many terms denoting the highest reality. All of these terms mean the True Self. You can call the ultimate reality Krishna Consciousness, Buddha Consciousness or Christ Consciousness; they are all the same. Different religious directions have been debating over terms for centuries, not seeing the original unity. “So-Ham” meditation leads to the experience of Christ Consciousness, Krishna Consciousness, Buddha Consciousness.

The practice of conscious breathing exists in many spiritual directions, in particular esoteric Christianity. Throughout the centuries of the development of Christianity in Greece, Egypt, Syria, Serbia and Russia, there has been the practice of the Jesus Prayer on the breath.

The original form of the Jesus Prayer was: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me." This is a prayer of gratitude to Jesus for the Divine Grace that all people who pray and meditate on Christ receive. Much later, an absurd word was added to this prayer: "… a sinner."

Man is originally divine, for he was created by God in the image and likeness of God himself. The Holy Spirit is constantly present in the breath of every person. Every human soul, at every moment of its existence, is perfect and holy, even if it is not always aware of it. Breath is always divine, and thoughts can be sinful.

Jesus taught his disciples the Lord's Prayer, in which each person addresses God as Father. Jesus reminded that people, unfortunately, are prone to selfishness and greed. All negative qualities must be liberated. Once you recognize your mistakes, you should avoid repeating them. However, making mistakes does not make you a sinner.

By divine justice, everyone gets what he deserves; what you sow is what you reap. Despite all the cycles of being, each person still remains originally divine by the right of his creation from God. Man is perfect because he breathes, and breathing is the eternal presence of the Spirit of God.

61. Infinite Possibilities of the Spirit

This is a story told to me by Subba Rao, one of Sathya Sai Baba's most unique devotees. For many years he worked as an expert at the UN, was a successful politician and public figure, and then left everything and moved to the ashram. I was lucky to repeatedly communicate with this amazing person, mystic, and sage.

This story took place at a time when Sathya Sai Baba was still very young, and there were relatively few devotees around him, so people could invite him home for a family holiday. One Indian family wanted to perform the traditional worship of Goddess Gauri in the presence of Sathya Sai Baba. Hindus regularly perform many religious rituals in their homes to bless the family and protect the home.

Goddess Gauri is one of the many female deities who symbolize Mother Nature. In all ancient cultures, nature, mountains, fields, forests, rivers, and oceans were revered and deified. In Vedic culture since ancient times there has been an attitude towards nature as to the Mother Goddess. In the Vedic tradition there is no place for consumerism and cruelty toward the environment.

In India, everything is sacred: rivers and mountains, animals and birds. Of course, I am not inclined to idealize the attitude of modern Hindus toward environmental issues. Unfortunately, modern people sometimes forget the origins of their culture and begin to treat nature with dangerous and ignorant irresponsibility.

Sathya Sai Baba always encouraged and supported the tradition of worshipping the Vedic Gods and Goddesses. All these ancient rituals have a deep meaning. Those who carefully and seriously perform the ancient rites subconsciously change their attitude toward themselves and the world around them. The Vedic Gods and Goddesses are images and symbols that tune in to the awareness of the divinity of the entire universe.

So, this Indian family invited Sathya Sai Baba to visit their home in order to worship the Goddess in his presence. Sathya Sai Baba agreed to come on the appointed day. The head of the family carefully prepared for the complex Vedic ritual by collecting everything necessary: flower petals, incense sticks, ghee, new fabrics for the statue of the Deity, and much more. However, the man completely forgot about the special seeds, which were supposed to be presented during the solemn ceremony.

Sathya Sai Baba, as promised, came to the house of the devotees. He was reverently seated in a large chair and the ceremony began. The couple recited mantras and brought flower petals, incense, rice, milk, and more to the altar. Suddenly, several black ants crawled out of one flower.

Sathya Sai Baba smiled and joked that it was very unusual to worship the Goddess with the help of ants. Some of those present laughed merrily, while others, on the contrary, became nervous. The fact is the appearance of ants could be perceived as a violation of the strict requirements of the ceremony. The spouses were very worried, but before they had time to get scared, an amazing miracle happened instead – the ants turned into seeds. These were perfect and were just the seeds missing for the proper completion of the ceremony.

All those present were surprised by such a miracle. Sathya Sai Baba turned living beings, in this case, insects into seeds. There were cases where, on the contrary, he turned non-living objects into animals. We have already mentioned such a case in a previous chapter. The significance of such miracles is so great that it is difficult for most people to even imagine such a thing possible.

Sathya Sai Baba had a unique ability to materialize objects. A miracle I saw many times. Sathya Sai Baba materialized various items such as rings, rosaries, figurines of the Deities, and much more. All of these items were the most powerful amulets.

If Sathya Sai Baba saw that a person really needed protection or support, he gave materialized amulets. He did this in order to protect him from potential danger or to bless him for the successful completion of some business.

The question arises, how are the miracles of Sathya Sai Baba connected with the knowledge of the divinity of the soul? Why perform and demonstrate miracles at all? Miracles are different and they are performed for different purposes. Sathya Sai Baba beautifully explained several times that his miracles are "divine calling cards." All of his miracles and manifestations of the supernatural had the deepest spiritual meaning.

In this book, we have remembered many amazing stories, most of which are beyond the capabilities of the mind. Each of Sathya Sai Baba's miracles was a manifestation of his great compassion and divine love. With the help of his supernatural power, he saved people from problems and suffering, and most importantly, made it possible to realize there are no restrictions for you, because you are God.

Miracles are practical manifestations of the philosophical claim that the True Self is the original source of all things. The entire universe is a gigantic divine dream. During the dream experience, you can easily turn ants into seeds.

In a dream, you can fly and pass through walls. As soon as you wake up and fall into physical reality, you again begin to feel like a weak and limited human being. The question is, how do you become aware of yourself in both sleep and wakefulness? Do you realize that, in fact, sleep and wakefulness are one and the same? Are you aware that sleep and wakefulness are happening in your mind?

Those who misunderstand the essence of Sathya Sai Baba's mission accused him of wanting to show his superiority and special abilities with his miracles. In fact, all the miracles of Sathya Sai Baba were aimed at showing the dormant inner possibilities of each person.

He never believed that only he could perform amazing miracles. I was a witness when he said there is nothing special about what he does. He pointed out that everyone can perform all amazing miracles, because every person is essentially a magician.

Being in the state of the Cosmic Self, Sathya Sai Baba demonstrated amazing and transcendent miracles. He showed that everything is possible for one who has realized that Self and God are identical. His miracles had the deepest meaning, and they were a manifestation of the truth about the infinite possibilities of the Spirit.

62. The Grace of the Supreme Light

The true Self is a single cosmic Consciousness. Knowing the True Self, you know everything.

(Sathya Sai Baba – Jnana Vahini)

Even if you are constantly thinking or talking about God, this does not mean that it is spirituality. Sounds weird? If you perceive God as a higher cosmic personality living somewhere in heaven, then such a God is no closer to spirituality than the weather forecast for tomorrow or the exchange rate for today. Only when you begin to realize God as the True Self of each person, then He becomes the subject of spiritual research.

First comes the realization that you are not the body, then you begin to realize you are not the mind, and then you come to the realization that you are not the soul either. What remains? The feeling of separate existence disappears. In the dissolution of the separate personality, impersonal eternity remains.

***

In this book, we have reflected on some of Sathya Sai Baba's aphorisms and recalled the amazing stories of his life. Each of his words enrich us with infinite wisdom and fill our hearts with incomparable joy. Each of his words is the light of truth, enlightening our human existence.

I am grateful to fate that my life is deeply connected with Sathya Sai Baba. I was lucky to communicate with him for several years and receive invaluable spiritual instruction. I will probably never be able to fully understand it. I am grateful that I have had the opportunity to write this book, to reflect on the profound meaning of Sathya Sai Baba's teachings, and to tell you, dear reader, some of the instructive stories of his life.

In every person there is a desire to know the Truth, not just the truth, but exclusively the Absolute Truth. The phrase itself: Absolute Truth, has a strong vibration. Even without understanding what Truth is, simply by repeating this word one can feel the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Truth can be sought at different levels. The highest level of the search for Truth is the study of the nature of one's Self. That is why Sathya Sai Baba said: "He who knows the True Self knows everything."

In striving for the cognition of the Truth, the sacrament of the Grace of the Supreme Light is acquired. The descent of Grace is by no means an accident but is the result of a deep regularity of cause-and-effect relationships. Striving for the pure light of Truth attracts the descent of Grace.

I aspire to the knowledge of the Truth, I cognize the Truth, and suddenly it turns out that I am Truth itself.

"I am who I am."

"I Am I."

Оглавление

1. Who things and acts?

2. Sathya Sai Baba ana Wolf Messing

3. You are perfect from the beginning, for God created you in his image and likeness

4. Sathya Sai Baba blew on the branches three times, they instantly turned into a small crucifix

5. All people are enlightened, they just don't know about it

6. Sathya Sai Baba was unpredictable

7. Unity of duality

8. Difficult mysteries of past lives

9. Your Cosmos is your happy dream

10. "The work you do is the work of God"

11. Spiritual Heart – the greatest secret of the universe

12. Boy Sai told his parents that devotees were waiting for him

13. The free thinker is free

14. Sathya Sai Baba helps before a person knows about the danger

15. The True Self shines like the sun

16. Eternal and impermanent

17. The Spiritual Heart

18. Trinity in the Vedas and the Bible

19. I trust myself, then I trust God who dwells in my heart

20. Diamond surprise

21. You are what you think of yourself

22. Sathya Sai Baba materialized a living parrot

23. Love is God

24. Materialization of objects that never existed before

25. Sathya Sai Baba helped a young man overcome time and space

26. His eyes are like the ocean, plunging into them you can find eternity

27. Sathya Sai Baba saved the elder of the Himalayan tribe

28. Suffering disappears

29. Sathya Sai Baba resurrected a girl

30. So-Ham Meditation

31. Sathya Sai Baba rescued a cobra that was run over by a car

32. Unity in Diversity and Diversity in Unity

33. Personal meetings with Sathya Sai Baba, everything was unpredictable

34. Sathya Sai Baba met a woman whom he knew in a previous life

35. People are like rays of a single sun

36. Immaculate Conception of Sathya Sai Baba

37. Sathya Sai Baba in the Himalayas

38. Human and Divine

39. Sathya Sai Baba visited America in a subtle body

40. "I Am I"

41. Sathya Sai Baba may use forse to help the devotees

42. Gratitude is completion

43. Sathya Sai Baba Stopped the Flood

44. Devoted Heart

45. Eye of wisdom – perception of unity

46. What needs to be done now, needs to be done only now

47. To understand your purpose

48. Sathya Sai Baba blessings manifest on all levels of human existence

49. Space of spiritual evolution

50. The Power of the Holy Names of God

51. "You are perfect!"

52. Jnana Yoga – the path to self-knowledge

53. The Real Guru

54. Miraculous photos of Sathya Sai Baba

55. Bright thoughts, wise words, and perfect action

56. Self-esteem and inner freedom

57. Believe in yourself and make your choice

58. Easy toworkship Guru, but difficult to follow his teachings

59. Sathya Sai Baba blessed human beings and gods

60. Mindful breathing is the eternal presence of the Spirit of God

61. Infinite Possibilities of the Spirit

62. The Grace of the Supreme Light