Sathya Sai Baba. Supernatural Experiences and Divine Transformation. Book Three

In this area lived a queen, a very thin hundred-year-old grandmother. Since she was well acquainted with the Guru, whose ashram I came to, I managed to get to know her. It turned out she was a devotee of Sathya Sai Baba. In her small, clean mansion, there was a separate shrine room with a huge number of portraits of Sathya Sai Baba. Every day she performed meditation and mantra practices in this room, as well as traditional Vedic rituals – Pujas.

One time, together with several friends, I visited the elderly queen. We were invited to dinner, which was supposed to start in half an hour. While waiting, I sat down in one of the rooms, took a book out of my backpack and began to read. At that time, I was rereading The Life of St. Seraphim of Sarov with enthusiasm.

Sitting comfortably, I began to read the story of how one day several nuns were walking through the winter forest and met Reverend Seraphim. The elder gave them a twig with several apples. The nuns were very surprised and asked where these apples on a branch with green leaves came from. It was strange to see this as it was winter and there were severe frosts.

The Monk Seraphim explained that a few minutes before that moment, angels appeared in front of him and gave him these apples, which were not ordinary, but from the Gardens of Eden.

After reading this story, I put the book down and reverently thought about what I had read. Just a few moments later, the queen entered the room. She had just finished worshipping at the altar of Sathya Sai Baba. She carried in her hands a plate of consecrated food. She came up to me and gave me a twig with a few apples. In a low voice she said it was a gift from Sathya Sai Baba.

I was shocked and could hardly believe what was really happening – it seemed too wonderful of a dream. Just a minute before that, I finished reading the amazing story of how Reverend Seraphim gave Paradise apples to nuns in the winter Russian forest, and now, sitting in the Indian hot jungle, I receive the same apples on a small branch as a gift.

The fact is that apples were not grown in this area. This common fruit for us was a rarity for the inhabitants of the jungle in eastern India. The fact that the elderly queen of the jungle gave me a sprig of apples was a clear continuation of the story from the book that I had read a moment before.

Most importantly, I felt the amazing and clear presence of Sathya Sai Baba and his blessing vibrations of love. A couple of years before, he blessed me to go to this teacher of Kriya Yoga, and now he sent me his divine message in such an unusual way.

Once, Sathya Sai Baba, while talking to devotees in his room, showed his hand. He asked, “what do you see in this palm?” Some of those present replied that it was empty. Sathya Sai Baba smiled and said that his hand was really empty, but he was holding everything in it. After these simple words, silence reigned in the room – our souls were filled with great peace.

68. Great secret

Everyone who came to the ashram wanted to get the treasured opportunity of personal communication with Sathya Sai Baba. As I have repeatedly said, it was impossible to sign up for such an audience because each time Sathya Sai Baba personally chose who to invite for a conversation.

I remember in the nineties we noticed a kind of "secret" as to how to get an interview. Some groups used this divine "secret" and some did not, although they knew everything.

Groups came to the ashram, usually for three to five weeks. Naturally, people wanted to get interviews and talk to Sathya Sai Baba. Those who came to the ashram had a question: what needs to be done to get to a personal meeting? Naturally, there were no rational answers and methods.

It seemed to some that Sathya Sai Baba invited only “advanced” people to personal meetings, while it seemed to some that only “weaklings” were given interviews. Both of these views were very naive because the divine plan is much more subtle.

When the first devotees from Russia started coming to the ashram, they interacted a lot with the American and European devotees, who by that time had been coming to Sathya Sai Baba for many years. One of the Americans in his communication with the Russians mentioned that Sathya Sai Baba highly appreciates the Gayatri Mantra. He said that Sathya Sai Baba could feel the vibrations from a distance and knew exactly which group was practicing this ancient mantra, after which he immediately invited them to a personal conversation.

Having heard that Sathya Sai Baba feels very subtly when the Gayatri Mantra is practiced, one Russian group tried it, and then another and a third. I remember being inspired by this information too because I love this unique mantra so much. It was important that the whole group practiced the Gayatri Mantra together; only then the "secret" would work.

What is a group? In the ashram it was customary for people to live in small groups. Most often these groups consisted of fifteen or twenty people. Usually, they were people from the same city or people who came to the ashram together.

Sometimes devotees from different cities or even from different countries could form groups. Sathya Sai Baba almost always invited people for interviews in groups; very rarely he invited one person alone, although there were such cases.

69. Language of ancient culture – Sanskrit

Sanskrit, the most ancient language that came from the depths of millennia, was spoken by the ancient Aryans and all the Vedic texts were written in this language. Sanskrit has survived to this day thanks to the two upper castes of Hindu society: the Brahmins and the Kshatriyas. It was the Brahmins and Kshatriyas who carried Sanskrit through the millennia, and for which we should all be grateful for. However, it is important to understand that Sanskrit is the property of all mankind.

The essence of education in Vedic schools for children from the caste of Brahmins and Kshatriyas is the study of Sanskrit. Children from an early age learn Sanskrit grammar, which allows them to learn all the other Vedic sciences: philosophy, astrology, medicine and much more. All ancient texts are written in Sanskrit, so knowledge of this unique language is key to understanding Vedic wisdom.

In the universities and colleges founded by Sathya Sai Baba, all students also studied Sanskrit in parallel with other subjects. College and university students received quite secular education (for example law and economics), but also studied the history of Vedic culture, yoga, philosophy, and meditation.

Sanskrit is not a secret language. Now, all over the world many people study Sanskrit, and there are wonderful teachers, good programs, and textbooks. In order to practice mantras, it is not necessary to know the sacred language at a professional level, but a basic understanding of Sanskrit is very useful. By understanding Sanskrit a little, you can become more aware of the contents of the mantras and the richest philosophical terminology.

Another important reason for learning Sanskrit is its purest divine vibrations. A huge number of people in all countries of the world listen to Sanskrit mantras, sometimes without even understanding their content. The strongest cleansing vibration of Sanskrit affects the intellect and energy structure.

The mission of Sathya Sai Baba is global, therefore a huge number of people who belonged to the most diverse religious and spiritual traditions came to him. More than a million people came to the ashram for big holidays.

Sathya Sai Baba was born into a Hindu family in the Kshatriya caste, and there are a large number of Vedic temples in his ashram. However, when people from different countries come to the ashram, they feel this is a universal spiritual space in which everyone is comfortable.

Each visitor was encouraged to remain himself and to continue to practice the tradition he considered most aligned to himself. In Puttaparthi, people fell into a universal space of love and harmony where everyone could more clearly understand and find themselves.

The tradition that you practice as your personal spiritual path is your choice. Near Sathya Sai Baba, all your divine potentials turn on. Getting into its purest vibrations, you get a unique opportunity to follow the path or the system of practice that is close to you.

70. Universal space of unity and synthesis

Sathya Sai Baba showed the importance of joint practice because the true fruits of a person's spiritual development are manifested precisely in the ability to harmoniously interact in society.

It is not so important how deep the mystical experiences are that you get during meditation. What is important is what spiritual state you are in after meditation and how you build relationships with other people in your life. What you do and how you feel after practicing meditation shows how deep your meditation practice has been.

Sometimes those who regularly practice Meditation and Mantras can enter into deep states and experience sublime mystical experiences, but at the same time they are not able to build relationships with people around them. An important indicator of the depth of practice is not only what happens during meditation, but also what happens after meditation.

The practice of a mantra can take place on several levels. One of the variants of practice is to say the mantra out loud. You do not need to be a professional musician or singer to practice mantras, but in order to properly practice mantras, you need to get into the rhythm.

Mantras can be chanted quite well by anyone who practices regularly. Gradually, the voice becomes more confident and stronger. When the mantra is pronounced aloud, then there is a physical vibration that affects the nervous system and brain cells, as well as cleanses the surrounding space.

The word has tremendous power. One of the greatest mistakes is to neglect or underestimate the power of the word. Everything we say is already a mantra. It is clear that sometimes we say something in jest. However, you need to be careful, because the word has power, so even a jokingly spoken word still manifests itself as an energy vibration.

There is a famous phrase in the ancient Vedic medicine, Ayurveda: "whatever you eat is a medicine." Everything we eat and drink – clean water, good food – all of this is medicine. It would be strange to first consume low-quality products and then take medicine in order to improve health.

In the same way, whatever you say is a mantra. It would be foolish to practice the great mantras for an hour and then go swear and gossip for the rest of the day.

Once in an interview, Sathya Sai Baba was asked to bless those present and teach the practice of a special mantra. He looked at everyone with a smile and said: “Remember that every spoken word is a mantra and every action performed is worship of the Lord.”

71. The birth, life and death of the Avatar is part of his divine plan

It may sound strange, but I easily got over the departure of Sathya Sai Baba in 2011. At some stage, I stopped perceiving him as a divine personality and felt him as a universal consciousness. He gave me the great opportunity of frequent communication with him. He repeatedly manifested himself in my mystical dreams and meditative experiences. At some point, the presence or absence of his body was no longer so important to me. I feel his living presence, first of all, in my heart.

Sathya Sai Baba is the omnipresent consciousness. Now his tomb is in Puttaparthi, the village where he was born and lived all his life. He left his relics as a great gift and this is one of the keys to communicating with him.

Previously, we concentrated on his physical body, but now Sathya Sai Baba as the Absolute Consciousness is present everywhere. His relics are the place of greatest power. Those who were close to him and knew him well and those who did not find him during his lifetime come here.

A few months before Sathya Sai Baba left his body, I had a mystical dream. In this dream, I entered a spacious hall, the sun shone through the large windows, and many beautiful photographs of Sathya Sai Baba hung on the white walls. His books, translated into all languages of the world, were placed on tables and bookshelves. I walked around the hall with curiosity, carefully examining the photographs and books. Suddenly, Sathya Sai Baba appeared. He came up to me and pointing to his photographs and books, said that now he is present only in photographs and books.

When I woke up, I tried to understand the meaning of this dream. It became clear to me Sathya Sai Baba would soon leave his body. There was a state of harmony in my soul. My mind said I should grieve, but my soul was filled with peace.

The life and death of the Avatar is a divine game. Only ignorant people mourn the passing of the Avatar. His consciousness is beyond birth and death; beyond being and not being; beyond time and space.

One of the greatest spiritual teachers of our time, Ganapati Sachchidananda Swamiji, immediately after Sathya Sai Baba left his body, said that "the birth, life and death of an Avatar is part of the divine game."

I remember the difficult and tragic days when we learned that Sathya Sai Baba left the body. At that time, quite a lot of my friends and acquaintances plunged into a difficult emotional state. It seemed that with the departure of Sathya Sai Baba, life lost its meaning – it was an irreparable loss.

At that time, I often repeated to my friends the words of Ganapati Sachchidanand Swamiji, that "the birth, life and death of the Avatar is part of his divine plan." I remember how these simple and wise words helped many to understand the meaning of what is happening and to realize that the Avatar does not go away, but is eternally present.

72. Treasures of the Spiritual Heart, Mystery of Eternity

Now, many people are asking the question: What is the future of Sathya Sai Baba's mission on earth? When he was alive, people came to his ashram and discussed all sorts of issues with him, enjoying his presence and deep spiritual instructions.