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

17. Spiritual Masters about the life of Jesus Christ in India

Nicholas Roerich (1874 – 1947), the greatest Russian mystic, artist, philosopher, and explorer of the East, referring to materials he received from a variety of sources, said that Jesus Christ underwent spiritual training in the ashrams of India.

Nicholas Roerich was initiated into a number of Western and Eastern mystical orders. He was a close student of the Mahatmas, the high spiritual teachers of the Himalayas, and also studied with the Tibetan Lamas.

In the 1920s, Nicholas Roerich made several expeditions to India, Tibet, Mongolia, Central Asia, and Altai. For about thirty years he lived in the Himalayas, in a place called Kulu Manali. He published some materials about his eastern expeditions, in which he mentioned he came into contact with numerous testimonies that Jesus Christ traveled through India and the Himalayas, where at that time he was called Issa.

Nicholas Roerich did not hide the fact he received information about the life of Jesus Christ in India not only from the Himalayan teachers, but also from the secret esoteric societies of the West.

Traveling through the places of power of the East, Roerich came into contact with a large number of legends that Jesus Christ lived and studied in Kashmir. It is difficult to say, perhaps the teachers with whom Roerich met in the Himalayas provided him with the original manuscript. It is only known that Roerich preferred only to refer to the existence of information about the life of Jesus Christ in India, but never provided the general public with more accurate evidence.

Unique information about the life of Jesus Christ in India was also confirmed by Yogananda (1893 – 1952), the greatest teacher of Kriya Yoga. In his lectures and commentaries on the New Testament, Yogananda shared many details about the life of Jesus Christ in India.

According to Yogananda's information, Jesus Christ studied at several mountain ashrams in Kashmir and eastern India, in the holy city of Puri, where one of the most important temples of Krishna, called Jaganath, is located. At the time of Jesus Christ, Buddhism was actively developing in India and numerous ashrams of the Vedic tradition continued to exist in parallel.

Yogananda did not refer to the fact that he saw the ancient texts; rather, he based his understanding on his inner experience of clairvoyance, as well as on the information he received from high teachers from the Himalayas. Yogananda said that Jesus Christ studied the practices of Kriya Yoga in the Himalayas and was a member of the inner circle of disciples of the Himalayan Masters.

Of course, for some, Yogananda's clairvoyance may not be a convincing proof of the truth of the information, but for me it is quite a convincing reason to recognize this information as genuine.

18. Yogi Ramaiah about the life of Jesus Christ in India

The unique information about the life of Jesus Christ in India was also confirmed by my teacher of Kriya Yoga, Yogi Ramaiah (1923 – 2006), with whom I studied for many years. He was a direct student of Mahavatar Babaji, an immortal teacher from the Himalayas. I wrote in more detail about the life of Yogi Ramaiah in my books: Babaji – Eternal Consciousness in an Immortal Body and Babaji – the Mystery of Divine Potential.

Yogi Ramaiah spoke not only about the fact that Jesus Christ studied in India, but also revealed details about who exactly he studied with. Yogi Ramaiah said Jesus Christ was a close disciple of Mahavatar Babaji.

In India, Jesus Christ was called Issa. In some cases, this name is pronounced as Ishsha. This name comes from the Sanskrit word Ishvara, which means the supreme Lord.

Yogi Ramaiah received information about Jesus Christ and his spiritual practices in India from his great Teacher, Mahavatar Babaji. Once I tried to find out from Yogi Ramaiah if he had seen a mysterious manuscript with the story of the life of Jesus Christ in the Himalayas. In answer to my question, Yogi Ramaiah replied he had not seen this text and did not even try to look for it, because he heard all the information about the life and practices of Jesus Christ in India directly from the immortal Mahavatar Babaji.

Jesus Christ was trained by Mahavatar Babaji in the practices of Kriya Yoga. Returning to Palestine, he taught some of his students these great meditation practices. Various elements of Kriya Yoga were practiced in the early Christian communities by the Gnostics.

The worldview of Jesus Christ was strongly influenced by Vedic philosophy and the moral foundations of Buddhism. Of course, Jesus Christ was born in a Jewish environment and his preaching was subsequently based on Biblical terminology, but the essence of his teaching clearly points to the Vedic and Buddhist tradition.

The question may arise as to how in those ancient times could Jesus Christ get to distant India? In that distant era, not only numerous caravans with goods went along the Silk Road, but also manuscripts were transported. Philosophers and mystics traveled with the help of the well-functioning system of the Silk Road.

People living in different parts of the ancient world could exchange not only goods, but also knowledge. No one is surprised that at the time of the birth of Jesus Christ, three Magi with a retinue came from Persia in order to greet the divine child. Why do people doubt the possibility of Jesus Christ traveling to India?

The importance of the information that Jesus Christ studied in India lies in the fact that the main source of the teachings of Jesus Christ was precisely the Vedic tradition. This impressive discovery includes the realization that Christianity, first of all, has Vedic roots.

The materials presented in the previous chapters indicate that Sathya Sai Baba was far from being the first to proclaim the truth about the life of Jesus Christ in India. Sathya Sai Baba confirmed what was already known a hundred years before him and added numerous important details about the inner path and spiritual quest of Jesus Christ.

19. Spiritual Path of Jesus Christ

Sathya Sai Baba said that Jesus Christ went through the path of intensive meditation and contemplation practices before he gained perfect wisdom. As a result of the practice of meditation, Jesus Christ gradually drew closer to God. Finally, he was able to realize that he was the Son of God. After that, he continued to strive for the knowledge of God even more intensely and gained the highest experience of oneness with God.

In order to advance deeply in the process of knowledge of God, Jesus Christ went on a distant pilgrimage to the Himalayas. There he practiced meditation, constantly thinking about God.

Sathya Sai Baba said that Jesus Christ practiced in a remote part of the Himalayas for several years. During this period of his life, Jesus Christ practiced various spiritual techniques. Finally, he fully felt the presence of his Heavenly Father's divine love. Jesus Christ realized that God is the original nature of the soul. Then he was able to proclaim: "I and My Heavenly Father are One." This is how Sathya Sai Baba described the spiritual path of Jesus Christ.

In the information that Sathya Sai Baba reports, it is important to note several fundamental points. First of all, again and again, he confirms the fact that Jesus Christ spent almost half of his life in India, including the Himalayas.

From the story told by Sathya Sai Baba, we learn many astonishing details; in particular, that Jesus Christ practiced for five long years in seclusion in the Himalayas. Perhaps during this period, he was in some cave, or in one of the ashrams. Such solitary retreats are a traditional form of spiritual practice for Himalayan yogis. Practitioners of various traditions retire to small ashrams or caves in order to immerse themselves in contemplation and study sacred texts in depth.

Speaking about the spiritual path of Jesus Christ, Sathya Sai Baba reminds us that even the greatest souls must go through the path of spiritual practices before they can realize their inner divine potentials.

In one of his lectures, Sathya Sai Baba said that after gaining in the Himalayas the experience of oneness with God, Jesus Christ received the presence of the Holy Spirit. After that, he decided to return from India back to the west, to Palestine. All the years spent in India, Jesus Christ lived almost alone, communicating with a narrow circle of Teachers and Yogis. Finally, it was time for him to begin teaching disciples. Jesus Christ returned to Palestine to show his disciples and followers the way of salvation.

We know that Jesus Christ was taught by superior teachers. In his open lectures, Sathya Sai Baba never gave the exact names of those Gurus who taught Jesus Christ, and he has not yet revealed this secret.

20. There are no any intermediaries between God and devotees

When I came to the ashram of Sathya Sai Baba for the first time, I understood very well that theoretical knowledge is one thing and inner experience is quite another. Theoretical knowledge is very important, but this is just the first stage as philosophical concepts, themselves, give only the illusion of implementation. The essence of the spiritual path is the inner experience gained through meditation.

People come to the ashram to have Darshan. What is this? The word Darshan comes from the word Darsh, which means to see. Darshan then, is the opportunity to see the divine teacher directly and physically.

Darshan with Sathya Sai Baba is the moment of the descent of divine grace, colossal vital energy, and the consonance of the inner world of a person with the vibration of divine love. In the physical presence of Sathya Sai Baba, people entered deep, divine states. People froze in perfect concentration on his form as he slowly walked through the huge hall, softly between the rows. Everyone's eyes were directed to Sathya Sai Baba.

The greatest miracle occurred during eye contact. How can you describe the look of eternity? Photos can only give a glimpse of it. In his presence, we felt unity and grace, and everyone present would immerse themselves in silent prayer and contemplation.

Over time, there has been something that amazes me more and more about Sathya Sai Baba. One of his greatest miracles was that even though he had tens of millions of devotees, he personally associated with everyone.

He often repeated: “There is not, and cannot be, any intermediary between me and the devotees. I communicate with everyone, only, personally.”

Therefore, both during his lifetime and now, one must be very careful when people appear to broadcast allegedly on behalf of Sathya Sai Baba. He himself warned us against falling into the traps of such swindlers. One must try to independently establish a heart-centered, spiritual connection with God.

Of course, it is easy to understand the principle of face-to-face communication for someone who is fortunate enough to be invited for personal talks in Sathya Sai Baba's room many times. But not everyone was given such a unique opportunity. What if a person did not have the opportunity to talk to Sathya Sai Baba physically, and what of those who could not even come to India in order to see Sathya Sai Baba?

Even if you did not manage to communicate with him on the physical plane, this did not change anything because Sathya Sai Baba is beyond time and space. Through meditative experiences, intuitive sensations, lucid dreaming experiences, Sathya Sai Baba always communicates directly and personally with everyone.

21. Photography with God

I can honestly say I never wanted to take a picture with Sathya Sai Baba, although during personal communication I had such an opportunity. I had the opportunity to take pictures with Sathya Sai Baba many times, but I did not want to physically imprint my closeness with him as it was always enough for me that he resides in my heart. I do not think that taking a picture with Sathya Sai Baba as a keepsake was bad, of course not. Several times I took pictures of him with devotees at his own request.

I always wanted to communicate with Sathya Sai Baba as much as possible and being near him was my highest happiness. Communication with him was invaluable for me, and I understood that as an interpreter I was given a great opportunity to realize the dream of direct communication.

Constantly, I mentally asked for as many interviews as possible, and Sathya Sai Baba answered this inner request of mine, in full. Sometimes I got interviews with a group of friends, and sometimes I went as a translator with groups I didn't know, and then there were cases where I was personally invited.

Being Sathya Sai Baba's interpreter was a great opportunity, because I always sat right next to his chair, which gave me consistent opportunity for close, direct communication. Even though I translated for the group, there were always moments for personal questions.

I once attended an interview that included an Indian family from Delhi; the parents and two children, a boy and a girl. Sathya Sai Baba materialized a watch for the girl as a gift. Her little brother looked especially annoyed as he stared upon the beautiful watch. His expression showed so much sadness as if he would soon burst into tears because he had not received a gift too.

Seeing the boy's distress, Sathya Sai Baba instantly materialized a camera and presented it to the astonished child. The happiness of the child was boundless! He enthusiastically held the gift and carefully examined it. A moment later, Sathya Sai Baba took the boy's camera and gave it to me, asking me to take a picture of him with this Indian family.

Sathya Sai Baba playfully embraced the children, while the happy parents stood nearby. I found a good shot and tried to take a picture, but the camera didn't work. Sathya Sai Baba laughed and ordered me to give the camera back. I did so and he easily took a few pictures of everyone present. After that, he again gave the camera to me and asked me to take pictures. Despite all my attempts to take at least one picture, the camera would not work.

I felt uncomfortable with my helplessness. It seemed in my hands, the camera wouldn’t work, but as soon as I gave it to Sathya Sai Baba, it took pictures normally. Sathya Sai Baba hilariously joked, “all this modern technology is solid magic – sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.”

Finally, I realized that everything happening was a joke of Sathya Sai Baba. With a smile, I turned to him and said that in order to take a picture I needed a blessing. Sathya Sai Baba shook his head approvingly and raised his right hand in blessing. After that, I was able to easily take some good shots.