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

Sai Memories and Experiences.

Sathya Sai Baba about Jesus Christ's and

Krishna's Life and Message.

Author's Preface

Sathya Sai Baba – the miracle of a blessed life

In this book, I want to share with you my memories of the greatest spiritual teacher, philosopher and miracle worker of our era, Sathya Sai Baba (1926 – 2011). He has been a mentor to tens of millions of spiritual seekers. His love and wisdom was boundless, the miracles he performed were beyond human capabilities.

People from all over the world came to his ashram feeling at home. Sathya Sai Baba was surrounded by an atmosphere of love and joy, happiness and creativity. He taught ancient meditation techniques and mantras, commented on traditional Vedic and Biblical texts. With the help of his supernatural abilities, Sathya Sai Baba healed serious illnesses and changed destinies, helping people to embark on the path of spiritual exploration of the eternal essence of their souls.

Between 1993 and 1999, I translated from English into Russian during personal meetings of Sathya Sai Baba with Russian speaking groups. During such meetings, I had the opportunity to observe how Sathya Sai Baba communicated with followers and visitors, gave spiritual instructions, answered questions, and performed amazing miracles.

After Sathya Sai Baba passed away in 2011, I was asked by friends to write about the amazing events I had witnessed. This is how my books were born.

Sathya Sai Baba was a divine teacher who helped at all levels of human life, from the very heights of spiritual self-realization, to simple and everyday problems related to family life and children. A special role in his communication with students was occupied by the questions of finding and realizing their destiny in life.

Sathya Sai Baba guided every person to explore the nature of the eternal soul. He proclaimed the divinity of every person, this was the essence of his spiritual message. Sathya Sai Baba helped to open the infinite space of the Spirit and make his dream come true.

Sathya Sai Baba was the messenger of a blessed life. He poured out Divine Grace on everyone who has opened his heart, and blessed him to the successful realization of his destiny in 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. The power of spiritual communication

The events described in this book took place in the ‘90s, more than 20 years ago. For a long time, I deliberated over whether or not to share about the mystical and spiritual experiences that happened to me over the years.

In various spiritual traditions, such as yoga, Buddhism, and Christianity, it is considered highly undesirable to talk about your inner spiritual experiences and encounters, because this can lead to a loss of the new and precious energy. When something amazing and divine happens within you, it is better to keep the memories of such experiences a secret for the purpose of storing the resulting energy received from the mystical experiences.

When people thoughtlessly talk about their mystical encounters too soon after experiencing them it can lead to a loss of the energy. After such stories are shared it can sometimes take a long time to restore one's harmonious state back to the peace and calm of the experience. Divine energies need time to take root in the inner world and become an integral part of your life.

Later, when the energies and awareness have taken root, then you can share your spiritual experiences, divine encounters and new awareness, but only if you clearly understand and feel into how, when, and to who you will tell about the amazing events that happened. That’s when sharing about them becomes spiritual service.

Service happens at different levels: helping an elderly stranger cross the road, helping friends move furniture during a move, helping a neighbor with their garden. However, the highest level of service is associated with the manifestation of your genius and the embodiment of your destiny. Having found spiritual treasures in your heart, you must share them with other people. Service is the highest point of the spiritual path and it also manifests in telling people about your spiritual discoveries and insights.

Sathya Sai Baba said that Satsang, spiritual communication, is one of the most important elements of the spiritual path. When a person tells about their innermost experiences to friends, divine vibrations are transmitted because the word has great power.

Consequently, I have decided to share with you some of the mystical experiences that took place during my communication with Sathya Sai Baba. I wish not to impose my vision of Sathya Sai Baba but believe that every person should find his or her own Sai in their hearts and build their own image and understanding of this great and mysterious world teacher. For me, I feel the need to share his love and wisdom and the miracles I have been fortunate enough to witness. This book, then, is the story of my personal experiences.

2. Sai-boy sat in the center of the altar

I learned about Sathya Sai Baba at the very beginning of the ‘90s, when I was twenty years old. Almost immediately after that, I arrived at his ashram in southern India. This meeting was preceded by a long spiritual journey. About ten years earlier, I became very interested in meditation and yoga. I learned about Sathya Sai Baba from one of my acquaintances, and then I met a few more people who also told me unusual stories about an Indian philosopher and miracle worker.

One of my friends went to the USA and met several American devotees of Sathya Sai Baba there. Returning from America to Moscow, my friend told me with great enthusiasm about an amazing Indian saint, Sathya Sai Baba. At some point, information about Sathya Sai Baba began to filter into my life literally from all sides.

At that time, I had little information about the life and teachings of Sathya Sai Baba, and so everything I learned about him was fascinating and powerful, alluring and enchanting. I received photographs and the first videos, as well as amazing stories about his fabulous life, incredible miracles, and the deepest philosophical teachings.

One of the stories I remember hearing happened to Sathya Sai Baba when he was a teenager. I learned this amazing story from a Hindu who came to Russia as part of an Indian trade delegation, his name was Kumarji. He was seriously interested in yoga and knew quite a lot about Vedic philosophy. During the conversation, I discovered he was a devotee of Sathya Sai Baba.

One day, the Sai boy went with a teacher from the school and other students on a trip to the ancient city of Hampi to visit the famous temple of Lord Shiva, called Virupaksha. The whole group entered the ancient temple, but the Sai boy, unexpectedly, decided to stay near the entrance. He pleaded that he had an upset stomach. When the clergy in the temple were finishing the service, all those present saw the Sai boy sitting in the center of the altar instead of the deity. The teacher was angry because he did not expect the boy to behave in this way.

The teacher furiously left the temple, but then was suddenly surprised to see the Sai boy standing calmly in the shadows at the entrance. He was puzzled. It was strange to see the boy standing under the tree as he had clearly seen him in the center of the altar just a moment ago. Astonished, he left a few students next to Sai, while he himself went inside the temple to see if he could grasp what was going on.

Upon entering the temple, he saw the Sai boy once again sitting in the center of the altar. The teacher couldn't believe his eyes. He went back and forth several times. Finally, he realized the Sai boy was not an ordinary boy because he could manifest physically in two places at the same time. This happened years before Sai even announced he was a divine incarnation.

Subsequently, I read this story in several books describing the childhood miracles of Sathya Sai Baba, but at that time I heard it from the mouth of a person who knew the direct participants in those events. After hearing this amazing story, I didn't know how to react. My mind was highly doubtful, but my intuition was clear that this was a true story. My inner world was split in two and I was torn with doubt and curiosity.

3. Materialization of holy ash from Sathya Sai Baba's photo

After listening to the story of the Sai boy told to me by Kumarji, I could hardly believe it. At first, I treated this story as an ordinary Indian fairy tale. I did not want to upset my new Indian friend and decided not to tell him that I strongly doubted the reality of his story. However, the events that took place just a few days later completely changed my attitude to such stories. The next time I met Kumarji was at the subway. It is difficult to say, but perhaps he sensed my distrust of his amazing story about the Sai boy, because I was about to encounter my first miracle. These events are imprinted on my memory in every detail.

I met with Kumarji in the center of the Moscow metro station and we headed toward the exit. Going up the escalator, his friend looked into my eyes and took out a small photograph of Sathya Sai Baba from his pocket. It was the most common calendar, and I later discovered that such calendars with photographs of Sathya Sai Baba are often carried by many devotees.

Kumarji showed me this photograph, and said, “all photographs of Sathya Sai Baba are absolutely extraordinary. They are literally alive.”

After that, Kumarji silently chanted a simple mantra. His voice was soft and gentle. Quietly, he said, "Om Sri Sathya Sai Ram, Om Sri Sathya Sai Ram, Om Sri Sathya Sai Ram."

Immediately, in the very center of the Moscow metro, I noticed sacred ash materialize from this small photo of Sathya Sai Baba and a fragrant aroma appeared around it.

I already knew several stories about the materialization of sacred ash, but this miracle was now unfolding right in front of me. I couldn’t believe that I was watching the miracle of the materialization of sacred ashes. I couldn’t comprehend it. I was surprised, too, that the appearance of the sacred ash came accompanied by fantastic divine smells.

Sacred ash in Sanskrit is called "vibhuti," this word is translated as "revelation." It is very interesting that seemingly ordinary ashes symbolize divine revelation. Sacred ash is used in almost all the temples of India. It is applied to the middle of the forehead and sometimes diluted with water and drunk in order for a person to be healed of illnesses or receive a blessing.

Sacred ash is a symbol of the impermanence of this world and the eternity of the Divine Consciousness. In the Vedic tradition, it is customary to cremate the body after a person dies. In ancient times, sacred ashes were obtained from cremation. Of course, in our time, ashes are prepared by burning various ingredients but its symbolic meaning remains the same.

Ash symbolizes the illusory nature of the body and the entire physical world. On a deeper level, sacred ash also signifies the impermanence of the entire universe. Sacred ash is a deeply positive symbol of the eternal reality of divine consciousness. By applying sacred ash to your forehead, you remind yourself of the eternal divine essence of your soul.

The ashes that Sathya Sai Baba materialized were quite unique, as they possessed great healing power having appeared from the power of the divine thought of the Avatar. Quite often, Sathya Sai Baba materialized the sacred ash directly from his hand. Sometimes sacred ash materialized from his photographs.

The materialization of sacred ash still takes place today and not only in India, but in all countries of the world, in the homes of true devotees, or in temples dedicated to Sathya Sai Baba.

4. Sathya Sai Baba answers the prayers of sincere devotees instantly

I met Kumarji a few years later in India at the ashram of Sathya Sai Baba. I tried to find out from him about the incident that happened at the Moscow metro. For a long time, I did not know how to ask the question of how he managed to acquire the ability to materialize sacred ash. After listening to my naive question, Kumarji smiled and explained that the sacred ash is the great grace of God, which is given only to sincere devotees and that he had no idea how it happens.

“I just pray to Sathya Sai Baba,” Kumarji said, “and a miracle happens if Sathya Sai Baba considers it necessary and useful. Sometimes it doesn't happen unless it's spiritually necessary.”

He explained that when he began to chant the mantra in the Moscow metro, he did not know, for sure, whether the sacred ash would appear or not. It became clear that not only Sathya Sai Baba could perform the miracle of the materialization of sacred ash, but also devotees who found a deep spiritual unity with God. Being in a state of perfect devotion to the Lord, genuine devotees are able to perform amazing miracles, such as foreseeing the future and healing other people. I realized that deeply devoted people were pure instruments in the hands of the Avatar.

In dealing with Kumarji, I was struck by his deep modesty. He had a number of abilities, including clairvoyance and the gift of healing, however, he completely denied his talents, arguing it all happened solely by the grace of God.

Comparatively, some people try to assert themselves and convince others of their alleged greatness, but those who are truly in the deepest inner oneness with God always show gentleness and modesty.

Sathya Sai Baba instantly answers the prayers of his sincere devotees. Of course, not everyone can receive answers to their prayers immediately, but if a person is in a state of perfect trust in the Almighty, the answer to prayer can be prompt. In unity with the divine, a false sense of egoistic authorship dissolves and a person embarks on the path of perfect service, which is only possible when the small ego dissolves in the infinite wisdom of God.

As a result of these amazing events, I was able to understand the colossal power of the Holy Names of the Lord. Mechanically pronouncing mantras, even if you pronounce them for a very long time, will not give you spiritual self-realization and abilities beyond reasoning. The holy names of God uttered with the deepest devotion and love will not only do this but also perform a miracle, instantly.

5. Russian yogis in the Soviet era

Almost ten years before my meeting with Sathya Sai Baba, I began to practice yoga and meditation. Even as a child, I had all sorts of mystical experiences, such as astral travel in the subtle body and memories of past lives. For a long time, it seemed quite natural for me to come home from school, lie down on the sofa and in my astral body go for a walk in the neighboring park. With age, it became clear that such experiences do not happen to everyone.

I was very lucky with the social circle that has been around me since childhood. Among my parents' acquaintances were people who were seriously interested in esotericism, meditation, and yoga. It must be remembered that these were Soviet times during which yoga and meditation were banned.

At that time, it was not possible to go to India – there was no free sale of books on the topic of spiritual practices. Despite all the difficulties, there were enthusiasts in Russia engaged in practicing meditation and yoga underground. Now, it sounds very strange, but such was the reality of Russia in the mid-twentieth century.

Quite a few people practiced yoga in Moscow, Leningrad, Novosibirsk, Kyiv, and other cities, and it was a very interesting and difficult time. Now we have many opportunities to find necessary information instantly, but at that time, there was no such option.

Russian yogis of the Soviet era drew information about meditation practices either from the few books they managed to bring from abroad or from internal mystical experience. They very quickly developed many supernatural abilities in themselves and entered deep meditative states to quench their spiritual thirst by immersing themselves in the inner space of the spirit first of all.

The era of underground Soviet yoga was both strange and tragic, but its raw strength was revealed in how people learned to trust their intuition and their feelings, foregoing their attention to logic and common sense. Some of the first Russian devotees of Sathya Sai Baba came from the Russian underground yoga environment.

6. How to understand that he is an Avatar?

How can one understand that Sathya Sai Baba is an Avatar? Can we be sure that he is a divine incarnation? What are the criteria by which it is possible to identify an Avatar?

First of all, it is possible to realize this, but only personally and independently. Experience gained by other people can only prompt you to think on your understanding and help you in your spiritual practice. Realizing the truth can only happen within your heart. In order for awareness to occur, it is necessary to independently go through the path of reflection, possible doubts, and ultimately, deep contemplation.

It is impossible to understand the truth about the Avatar "for the company." The desire to focus on the opinion of a large number of people is associated with the desire to shift responsibility to someone else. There is a naive belief that if many people think something, then it is definitely true; after all, millions cannot be wrong, can they? They can. The history of world culture gives us numerous examples of when the opinion of the majority did not mean the truth, at all. The most important decisions on the spiritual path must be made on your own, not hiding behind the backs of others.

Are there criteria by which it is possible to determine that Sathya Sai Baba is an Avatar? There are no logical criteria and there cannot be because logic is powerless to understand the mystery of the divine incarnation.

The Vedic and Biblical traditions have tried for thousands of years to develop such criteria, but in vain. Every time an Avatar comes into the world, those people who have an open heart recognize him, and those who try to understand with their minds always make mistakes.

In the time of Krishna, some could understand he was an Avatar, and some could not. Even after several millennia, the divinity of Krishna is not obvious to everyone. The same thing happened with Jesus Christ. Many centuries before the birth of Jesus Christ in the Biblical tradition, the Messiah was expected and numerous criteria were developed for how to recognize him.

The real Messiah does not live according to the rules developed by the clergy. That is why the real Jesus Christ was recognized only by those who went beyond the formal criteria developed by the priests. Jesus Christ was and still is accepted only by disciples who intuitively feel his divine vibrations. In Biblical accounts, it is clear that those who tried to rely on logic did not accept him.

It should be understood that saints and yogis are people who, following the path of long practices of meditation and prayer, have reached a high level of spiritual self-realization, whereas the Avatar is the highest teacher who comes to earth with a special global mission.

Who is this Avatar? And how is the Avatar different from the saints? The Avatar is a great being who consciously incarnates on planet Earth in the world of people. His goal is to help people in the process of divine evolution and his motivation is always compassion and love. The Avatar does not have the karma of incarnations in this world. He consciously comes to this world in the name of love and service.

Since the Avatar does not have the karma of being born in the human world, he incarnates through a virgin birth. In Christianity, it is believed that only Jesus Christ came into this life through the immaculate conception. In some areas of Christianity, it is believed that the Mother of God was also conceived through the descent of the Holy Spirit; that is, as a result of an immaculate conception.

Each Avatar is incarnated through an immaculate conception. For example, this is how Krishna and Buddha were born, similarly like Sathya Sai Baba’s incarnation. During his lifetime this fact was kept secret for a long time, and only when Sathya Sai Baba was forty years old, did he consider it necessary to reveal this great secret. At that time his mother, Easwaramma, was still alive and at the direction of her divine son, the secret of his birth was revealed.

Easwaramma said that one day she went to a nearby well to draw water when, suddenly, a dazzlingly bright blue ball appeared in the sky. Descending above the astonished woman, the ball of light then entered Easwaramma’s stomach. After that, Easwaramma lost consciousness and lay on the ground for some time in a state of absolute bliss. Upon waking, she quickly returned home and told her mother-in-law who strictly forbade her to discuss the topic with other relatives.

How can you recognize an Avatar? This is a very complex question, the answer to which cannot be found with the help of logic. It is not possible to prove or disprove that Sathya Sai Baba is an Avatar – one can only feel it.

7. Holy Night of Shiva and materialization of the Lingam

By the time I first met Sathya Sai Baba in ‘90s, I was already aware of various yoga traditions and spiritual teachers. I was seriously practicing meditation and studying Vedic philosophy. Back in Moscow, when I saw the video recording of Sathya Sai Baba and learned the stories of his amazing life, I instantly felt his colossal energy and power.

Several of my friends told me he is the Avatar of our age. It was difficult for me to understand what this meant, but it was clear that Sathya Sai Baba was a supreme being incomprehensible to my mind.

At that time, I was a Shaivite. Lord Shiva was for me the personification of all higher realizations and transcendental wisdom. When I first saw videos of Sathya Sai Baba and heard stories about his life, I felt he must be the incarnation of Lord Shiva.

One of the most important holidays celebrated in the ashram is Shiva's sacred night, Shivaratri. The exact date of this holiday is calculated according to the lunar calendar. That is why in different years the holiday is celebrated on different days. Most often this happens in the second half of February or in the first half of March.

The symbolism of the holiday is very deep. On this sacred night the wedding of God Shiva and Goddess Parvati takes place. The wedding of the Gods means the unity of Absolute Consciousness and Cosmic Energy, as well as the unity of the spiritual and material in the life of every person. In various yoga traditions, this is considered the most important night for the practice of meditation.

For many years on the sacred night of Shivaratri, Sathya Sai Baba materialized from his mouth a golden Lingam. A Lingam is an egg-shaped object made of stone or metal alloy. It’s a symbol of cosmic egg, source of the entire universe.

There are many videos of Sathya Sai Baba performing this miracle of materialization. Outwardly, it looked as if a golden egg inexplicably popped out of his mouth, but in fact, at first it materialized in his stomach as a clot of divine light. Then the energy rose up through his body and only in the mouth it turned into an egg-shaped golden Lingam.

In the early 70s, on the sacred night of Shivaratri, Sathya Sai Baba again materialized a Lingam. After that, he said, “this is the great Lingam, which was described in ancient times by the sage Kapila.” He then addressed the audience and affirmed all the people present, saying they were there at the time of the birth of this Lingam because they had reached the highest point of their development and were now freed from the cycle of birth and death.

I heard this amazing story from those who were directly present at this event. Think about it, people came to this Shivaratri festival with nothing foretold about such an unusual event about to happen only to become witnesses to Sathya Sai Baba materializing a wonderful Lingam from his mouth and being told they each had reached the highest point of their development upon seeing this great object of power and had now found liberation from the cycle of birth and death.

How to relate to these strange and mysterious words? Is it possible to just attend the Shivaratri festival and gain complete liberation? Such statements can only be made by Sathya Sai Baba, who is the highest divine incarnation. His words possess absolute divine power.

8. Mystery of the Cosmic Egg

In many parts of India there are temples of Shiva, in which Lingams of various shapes and sizes are placed on the altars, from the smallest that can fit in the palm of your hand to gigantic ones, the size of an entire house.

Lingam worship is one of the most mysterious aspects of Vedic mysticism. There are many speculations and misunderstandings around the symbolism of the Lingam. The Lingam outwardly looks like a golden egg. The egg is a symbol of the "cosmic source" from which the entire universe emerged.

Probably in the symbolism of the Lingam, we can see the simple and uncomplicated figurative thinking of those ancient people who first noticed how life appeared from a chicken, ostrich, or crocodile egg. Birds and reptiles produce offspring from the egg, so it is obvious that this reproductive form has become a prototype of the great cosmic source of vitality. The symbolism of the cosmic egg has manifested into the framework of many cultures of the world, including ancient Slavic legends and myths.

Over the years, Sathya Sai Baba has materialized many different Lingams for the Shivaratri festival, thereby proclaiming the significance of this tradition.

Quite often, after Sathya Sai Baba materialized another wonderful Lingam, he made a speech in which he explained the deep symbolic meaning of this greatest object of power.

The egg-shaped form of the Lingam is the absolute divine consciousness. Of course, God cannot be limited by form, but it is the perfect form of the Lingam that can serve as an image of absolute perfection.

Sathya Sai Baba performed all sorts of amazing miracles; the birth of Lingams was one of them. I so often saw the manifestation of his supernatural power that after a while, it began to seem that it was all completely natural. Having become accustomed to repeated miracles, a person gradually begins to think more about the essence of the spiritual path. Perhaps getting used to miracles was part of his divine plan.

The Lingam is a symbol of the divine source of all things in the universe. The Lingams materialized by Sathya Sai Baba were of different materials, and they appeared as gold or silver. It would be a big mistake to assume that these objects are metal in the usual sense of the word. These Lingams were not man-made, they appeared from the depths of the divine consciousness, therefore they could be made from materials not of earthly origin at all.

When I first saw a materialized object, I was extremely surprised. Subsequently, when I managed to see a huge number of such objects and a large number of times to witness the very process of materialization, I ceased to be surprised at this. I think it is necessary to keep the amazing miracles of Sathya Sai Baba in your memory, but first of all, you need to see in them their deep, symbolic meaning.

Let's ask ourselves why Sathya Sai Baba materialized various objects so much? What was their meaning? It is unlikely that anyone will be able to understand the Avatar's intent – we can only speculate. All the objects that Sathya Sai Baba materialized first appeared in his mind as thought forms.

Thought is primary and matter is secondary. Through his miracles, Sathya Sai Baba showed us the infinite power and potential of our consciousness. Sometimes he himself openly said that every person can perform the miracles that he performs. The only problem is that people mistakenly perceive themselves as limited and weak beings, therefore they cannot show the fullness of their energy potentials. He also said that every person can perform the same miracles that he can.

It is impossible to fully understand the process of the birth of the sacred Lingam. I tried to find out from some older devotees exactly how this happens. Interestingly, two people told me the same version, referring to the fact that they themselves learned this directly from Sathya Sai Baba himself. One of those who told me about the process of the birth of the Lingam was Padananda, and a little later, Subba Rao told me the same version.

According to these two, the Lingam originates in the stomach of Sathya Sai Baba as a powerful energy clot and then the energy flow rises through his body and acquires an ovoid shape once in his mouth. Then, the Lingam literally pops out of the mouth. Consequently, the people present see only the last stage of the birth of the cosmic Lingam.

9. The golden years

I prefer not to call Sathya Sai Baba, Swami, as many do, but Bhagavan. In my life I have traveled to different ashrams and studied in different esoteric schools. For me, Swami is a title that is not significant enough for Sathya Sai Baba.

Swami is the word for any man on the spiritual path, especially if he is a monk of one of the traditional Vedic monastic orders. Bhagavan in Sanskrit is a title that is only used to address the supreme divine teacher. Bhagavan is one who is an Avatar and the embodiment of absolute truth.

After I learned about Sathya Sai Baba, I was able to go to him almost immediately. My trips were not by decision or choice and I did not make any effort; they just seemed to unfold before me – everything happened easily and naturally. Events simply turned out so that I was suddenly able to go to India. My first trip happened so spontaneously I did not have even the slightest illusion of free choice; the same could be said about all other trips.

I lived for a long time in all three ashrams of Sathya Sai Baba – in Puttaparthi, Whitefield, and Kodaikanal. Sathya Sai Baba spent most of his time at Puttaparthi, which is the main ashram located in his home village. During the hot season, April and May, he moved to two additional ashrams, Whitefield and Kodaikanal.

It's funny to think about it now, but during the ‘90s it seemed, to us, Sathya Sai Baba already had too many people in the ashram. Sometimes he would say, "you don't understand, the time will soon come when there will be so many people here I will turn into a small orange dot for you."

This is what happened at the beginning of the 2000s, the number of visitors increased dramatically. People could hardly fit in the main temple. Due to the huge influx of people, Sathya Sai Baba became very inaccessible.

In the ‘90s, it was effortless to have direct contact with Sathya Sai Baba, or so it seemed to us. When we came to the program, it was not difficult to find a position in the front rows allowing us to see Sathya Sai Baba up close every day.

In those years, Sathya Sai Baba quite often invited me for personal conversations; this time is now remembered with joy. He interacted especially with Russian-speaking groups. People in the ‘90s believed with enviable confidence that if they came to the ashram, they would definitely have the opportunity to personally communicate with Sathya Sai Baba. These were truly golden years!

Quite often, groups visiting for just a month would get several face-to-face meetings with Sathya Sai Baba. These conversations were called interviews.

When I arrived in India, I already knew English; most Russians did not speak English, which is why I began to translate during personal meetings between Sathya Sai Baba and Russian-speaking devotees. In addition to me, there were several other people who also translated during personal meetings.

10. Frequent personal contact with Sathya Sai Baba

When I was given the opportunity to be Sathya Sai Baba's interpreter for the first time, I was happy and could hardly believe it. A couple of weeks later, when the next interview took place, I was also a translator. After this, such chances began to present themselves more and more often. It was a divine and unique opportunity for close and direct communication. My prayer to Sathya Sai Baba was that he would allow me to communicate with him personally as much as possible, and he fully satisfied my desire.

As an interpreter for Sathya Sai Baba, I often had the opportunity to communicate with him closely. In addition, during the audiences, as a translator, I always had the opportunity to sit very close to him, next to his chair, from where I would enjoy his vibrations of love and universal harmony.

Frequent communication with Sathya Sai Baba allowed me to witness many interesting situations. People came with a variety of questions and problems. Sometimes they were questions related to difficult life situations, and sometimes high philosophical topics were discussed.

It was very interesting to see how people asked their questions and how Sathya Sai Baba reacted to them. Sometimes he could give completely different, even opposing answers, to very similar questions. Each time, his reaction and answers depended on the spiritual level at which the person who asked the question was located. Sometimes, he refused to answer questions at all. These questions were usually not sincerely asked or were simply far-fetched.

From watching Sathya Sai Baba communicate with different people, I was able to accumulate great and valuable spiritual information. When he gave amazing lectures to an audience of thousands, he knew those present were at various levels of spiritual development and had different life interests. His lectures were varied and designed for the vast levels of understanding across the audience.

After the large gatherings, conversations were usually held with a small group in a private, intimate room. These meetings were deeply personal. That is why Sathya Sai Baba could individually respond to people's questions and behavior, wisely consider their situations, and give them detailed and personal instruction.

During communication, Sathya Sai Baba could be quite tough on those who tried to be smart and make a good impression. Some visitors tried to ask difficult spiritual questions, but Sathya Sai Baba's reaction to such visitors was very harsh. This happened if the person was not sincere. Sathya Sai Baba always saw through such people who aimed to show their alleged spirituality and instead pointed out the hidden vices to the clever men.

In his presence, people fell into the purest divine vibrations of love and goodness, and their spiritual transformation took place instantly. Sathya Sai Baba's stern and, at the same time, loving gaze was enough to turn a person from pretension to instantly realizing his ignorance and modestly falling silent in the bliss of God's closeness.

11. Manifestation of great love

People often ask questions about items materialized by Sathya Sai Baba such as rings, rosaries, amulets, earrings, watches and more. Why did he do it? Why did he give rings and rosaries to some, and not to others? Is it true that only weak and insecure people received gifts from Sathya Sai Baba, or vice versa, only high souls of advanced spiritual understanding?

I think everything is much more complicated but at the same time also much simpler. It is difficult to say for sure why he materialized rings or rosaries for some, yet not for others.

One of the greatest American mystics of our time, Wayne Dyer, who highly revered Sathya Sai Baba, jokingly said one of the greatest mantras in the world that destroys the small ego and reunites us with eternity is the seemingly simple phrase: “I don’t know.” Indeed, it is extremely difficult for the ego to say, in the presence of other people, these simple words, "I don't know."

When we reflect on the life of Sathya Sai Baba, it is important to say these golden words, “I don't know” as often as possible. In fact, this is true, we do not know anything about him and cannot know. Who can understand the mysterious craft of the Avatar? Who can realize the infinite reality of God?

It is impossible to fully understand the behavior and intention of the Avatar. Each of his actions has deep meaning and he knew exactly what was useful and necessary for whom. People expressed all sorts of suggestions about why Sathya Sai Baba gave materialized objects to some, and not to others. There can be no logical explanation for it.

It can hardly be argued that Sathya Sai Baba materialized items only for weak people who needed his constant presence. It would also be irresponsible to assume that only those who were at higher spiritual levels of development received such gifts from him.

Ordinary human logic is powerless to understand such subtle divine intention. We understand the events of life from our limited understanding, while the wisdom of Sathya Sai Baba remains limitless and perfect.

There are many videos showing how Sathya Sai Baba materialized many treasured items. In most cases, he made materializations in his room, but sometimes they happened among a large crowd of people.

It is difficult to say why, but at different times the process of materialization outwardly took place in different ways. Perhaps it depended on the energy that Sathya Sai Baba wanted to put into this or that object. Quite often materializations were accompanied by bright flashes of light and sometimes popping sounds similar to that of electricity discharges.

Sathya Sai Baba materialized objects from his right hand. Before creating another object, he made circular movements with his right palm. Then it became clear to everyone present that a miracle was about to happen.

After several rotational movements of the right hand, the object did not just appear from the center of the palm, it quickly jumped out of it. Sathya Sai Baba deftly caught the object when it was already flying from the middle of his palm. After that, he showed the object to everyone present. At that moment it was not yet clear to whom exactly he would give it; momentarily, he’d turn to the future lucky owner and present the gift.

12. Divine calling cards, greatest artifacts

Sometimes Sathya Sai Baba called his miracles "calling cards." These are strange words that sound quite unusual – what did he mean? How is this possible?

The essence of Sathya Sai Baba's teaching was to remind us about the personal God who dwells in the depths of the spiritual heart of every person. Sathya Sai Baba carried the good news to humanity that absolutely every person is a divine incarnation, but people, under the influence of ignorance and illusion, forget about it.

Each person has unlimited spiritual possibilities. We perceive the miracles of Sathya Sai Baba as something supernatural because we have forgotten our true divine nature. That is why he called his miracles "calling cards," because they are designed to remind everyone of the latent dormant possibilities and potentials of consciousness.

All items materialized by Sathya Sai Baba are completely unique. Imagine, right in front of your eyes, he created objects with the power of his thought that never existed until now. This is an amazing miracle that hardly fits into the human mind.

Sathya Sai Baba clearly saw who exactly needed his blessing and how it should happen. To receive a materialized “object of power” from the hands of an Avatar is a great blessing.

The Avatar knows and understands in detail all of your previous births. He is fully aware of all the Karma that you have accumulated both in this incarnation and in previous lives. That is why only the Avatar can fully understand what will be useful and can help you develop harmoniously in this life and realize your destiny.

The objects materialized by Sathya Sai Baba are not just gifts or souvenirs. Such an attitude toward items given by him would be a manifestation of ignorance. It should be remembered that all the objects materialized by him are the greatest artifacts and the most powerful objects of power.

These are magical items that contain special divine energy and information. People who wear his rings, amulets or rosaries sometimes may not be fully aware of their meaning. It is probably even impossible to fully understand this, and it is important to understand and feel these amulets are a manifestation of great divine mercy and love.

13. Unity of all religions, miracles of Jesus and Krishna

Sathya Sai Baba was born into a Hindu family in the Kshatriya caste. This caste has united warriors and politicians since ancient times; however, one should not think that the family and relatives of Sathya Sai Baba were warriors or politicians. His parents were quite modest inhabitants of a small village.

In modern India, belonging to a caste means a family tradition, and does not guarantee financial well-being. These days, representatives of the higher castes can be very poor, while people from lower castes are successful and rich.

The philosophy of Sathya Sai Baba goes beyond the Hindu religion. Teachers of all world religions, such as Krishna, Buddha, Jesus Christ, Zarathustra, and the Prophet Muhammad, are revered in the ashram. Every year the ashram celebrates the most important festivals of all world religions, such as the Nativity of Jesus Christ and Buddha's birthday, Jewish New Year and Chinese New Year, all Vedic festivals such as Shivaratri and Guru Purnima.

Sathya Sai Baba never asked his devotees to change their religion. His teaching was to proclaim the spiritual significance and authenticity of all religions.

The mission of Sathya Sai Baba included communication with people from different countries of the world who belonged to different world religions and different ethnic cultures. His philosophy was not limited to the Indian tradition. Of course, most of all he commented on the Vedic texts such as the Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads. He also commented, quite often, on the Gospels.

One of the accusations that is often made against Sathya Sai Baba by some spiritual schools is that he allegedly performed miracles too often in the presence of a large number of followers and devotees.

This all sounds rather strange, because all the world's great spiritual teachers have always performed miracles in the presence of a large number of people. Remember Krishna, Buddha, and Jesus Christ? They all performed numerous miracles as part of their divine mission on earth.

Krishna and Jesus Christ are best known for their deepest spiritual messages. They preached the doctrine of direct communication between man and God – the quintessence of which is the revelation of God in one's own heart. In addition to philosophical teachings, they also performed a huge number of miracles.

The Buddha also performed numerous miracles despite the fact the essence of his teaching was the practice of meditation. He preached compassion and love for all living beings. Studying his biography, we find multiple evidence of the manifestation of his miraculous power.

All the great teachers of mankind such as Krishna, Buddha and Jesus Christ preached philosophy and taught disciples through action. These actions could sometimes be a manifestation of supernatural forces. Thus, miracles performed by great teachers are a natural element and an important part of their spiritual mission.

Every miracle created by the Avatar has a deep spiritual meaning. The Avatar gives instructions in words, but also in every action, some of which may include manifestations of the supernatural.

14. Sathya Sai Baba on the Life of Jesus Christ in India

Sathya Sai Baba spoke quite a lot about the life and spiritual path of Jesus Christ. He delivered numerous lectures about Jesus Christ that were completely unusual and unique, and they often shared information that cannot be gleaned from the canonical Gospel texts.

If you perceive Sathya Sai Baba as an ordinary person, then the question arises: how can he know all the secret details of the life of Jesus Christ and the features of his spiritual path? However, if you realize that Sathya Sai Baba is a divine incarnation, then his stories about the inner spiritual quest of Jesus Christ and his life path become precious.

The sayings of Sathya Sai Baba about the life, teachings and spiritual path of Jesus Christ are an invaluable treasure. In fact, this is the most reliable source of information about the most hidden details of the inner world of Jesus.

Throughout his life, Sathya Sai Baba gave public lectures and communicated with individuals. His books contain his lectures given to university students and devotees from around the world. The philosophical heritage of Sathya Sai Baba includes dozens of volumes. In his lectures, he covered a variety of topics; in particular, he spoke often about life and the philosophical heritage of Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ preached the unity of all mankind – love for one's neighbor, direct communication between man and God, and the original unity of the soul with God. Jesus Christ taught his disciples that true worship of God takes place in the depths of the spiritual heart.

Every year in the ashram on December 25th, Christmas was celebrated in Western style. In Greek Orthodox Christianity, Christmas is celebrated on January 7th. Since Christians from Europe and America began to arrive much earlier than the Greeks and Russians, the tradition of celebrating Christmas in the Western style was established in the ashram.

During the celebration of Christmas, Sathya Sai Baba delivered the most interesting lectures, which were dedicated to Jesus Christ. During his long life, he left a vast amount of invaluable information on this topic.

Sathya Sai Baba said that in the Tibetan manuscripts, which are kept in the monasteries of the Himalayas, there is information that Jesus Christ spent several years in the northern Himalayas in Kashmir. In those days, Jesus was called Issa, which means the Lord of all living beings.

The fact that Sathya Sai Baba confirmed the version that Jesus Christ lived and studied in the Himalayas is extremely important for a deeper understanding of the teachings of Jesus Christ and his world divine mission. These facts lead us to the realization that Christianity has not only Biblical roots, but to a great extent came out of Vedic philosophy and Buddhist moral principles.

Where did Sathya Sai Baba get his information about Jesus Christ from? Sometimes he spoke in detail about Jesus, as if he himself had witnessed all the events of the distant past. Sathya Sai Baba is an Avatar, and therefore all, even the most hidden events of the past, present, and future are open to his all-pervading consciousness.

Over the years, during the Christmas lectures, Sathya Sai Baba told several stories about how, after the death of his earthly father, Joseph, the teenage Jesus worked for some time as a carpenter. Sathya Sai Baba said that Joseph died when Jesus was a teenager. At an early age, Jesus worked as a carpenter in and around Nazareth. Because of his spiritual quest he made his journey to India.

Sathya Sai Baba repeatedly mentioned the high spiritual level of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Several times, Sathya Sai Baba touchingly shared about Mary’s dedication to the spiritual education of her son, and that as young man, when Jesus decided to leave home and go to India for spiritual education, he received the blessing of his mother.

Nowadays, quite a few spiritual seekers mistakenly believe that family responsibilities are an illusion thinking instead that it is possible to engage in the practice of yoga and meditation, but at the same time neglect their family duties.

Sathya Sai Baba spoke about the fallacy of such a point of view and cited, as an example, the relationship of Jesus Christ with his mother. Mary showed deep concern for the spiritual development of her son and was active in encouraging it.

15. From an early age, Jesus walked the spiritual path

Sathya Sai Baba, with the help of his clairvoyance, could look into the details of the life of any person and learn about every event in history, even if it happened a long time ago. Clairvoyance can be demonstrated by saints and healers; however, it must be understood that their capabilities are limited, but this did not apply to the capabilities of the Avatar.

Sathya Sai Baba's stories about the life of Jesus Christ are amazing with their incredible details. He told stories about Jesus’ life as a teenager. One such story was set in Nazareth when Jesus lived with his mother, brothers and sisters. By this time, his earthly father, Joseph, had already died.

According to the story of Sathya Sai Baba, the teenage Jesus took himself away to a nearby hill. His mother, Mary, soon became worried about the long absence of her son and began to look for him. Eventually, she found him at the top of the hill, sitting on the ground, in a state of deep meditation. He practiced solitary meditation while on the hill for 12 days.

This is a truly amazing story that describes the mysterious details of the inner world of Jesus Christ. We know, at the age of 30, Jesus Christ received an initiation baptism, from his cousin, John the Baptist. After this baptism, he retired to the desert for 40 days in order to practice meditation and prayer. According to information from Sathya Sai Baba, Jesus Christ began to practice solitary meditations and prayers as a teenager.

Sathya Sai Baba stressed that Jesus Christ came into this world with a special divine mission. He was a unique personality, however, Sathya Sai Baba said that Jesus Christ was not born perfect right away but went through the path of spiritual development before fully realizing his oneness with God.

Sathya Sai Baba said that Jesus Christ was Karana Janma, which in Sanskrit means, "born with a special divine mission." There are several excellent lectures by Sathya Sai Baba about this. He said that Jesus Christ, as a young man, practiced many days of meditation in a secluded area on the outskirts of Nazareth.

Sathya Sai Baba said that Jesus Christ went through several stages in his spiritual quest. From a very early age, he followed a spiritual path – the essence of which was the contemplation of the one divine consciousness and the search for God in the depths of his heart.

Nowadays, quite a few spiritual seekers naively assume there is no need to practice any yoga techniques and meditation. Many people mistakenly think that it is enough to attend a few lectures and learn the great teachings of Vedic philosophy, and then, in some incomprehensible way, instant enlightenment should occur.

Using the example of Jesus Christ, Sathya Sai Baba shows that even the greatest souls who came into this world with a special spiritual mission must go through very serious and intense spiritual practices in order to know the truth.

16. Jesus Christ in India – a history of enlightenment

The canonical gospels give few details about the childhood years of Jesus Christ. They describe in more detail the amazing story of his birth and then give a couple of stories about Jesus Christ’s adolescence, after which there is a void in the narrative. What did Jesus Christ do between the ages of 15 and 30? There is no information about this in the canonical Gospel texts.

Perhaps Jesus Christ did not consider it necessary to talk in detail about exactly where he lived and studied for many years. Perhaps for the early Christians this was not essential information, and perhaps those who wrote the Gospel texts quite consciously hid this information.

For modern people, learning as much as possible about the life of Jesus Christ is very important because the more we know about his life, the more we can understand his spiritual message. Most likely, Jesus Christ told his closest disciples exactly what he did and where he lived in the period of those unrecorded years.

Perhaps the priceless information about his life in India was not included in the canonical Gospels because this information was not very clear to some of his students and followers. The first generation of Christians came from a Jewish background, and subsequent generations of Christians consisted primarily of Greeks and Syrians.

The information that Jesus Christ studied in distant India would hardly please and be understood by the early Christians. Perhaps the evangelists considered it more correct to remain silent about these mysterious years in the life of their teacher.

At the end of the 19th century, a Russian of Jewish origin, Nikolai Notovich (1858-1916) became one of the first to openly speak about the life of Jesus Christ in India. Notovich was born into a Jewish family, but later decided to convert to Orthodox Christianity. At the end of the 19th century, Notovitch went to India in order to try to discover the mystery of Jesus Christ. He visited distant monasteries, temples, and ashrams. He managed to visit different parts of the Himalayas, including Kashmir.

Why did Notovitch go to India in search of information about Jesus Christ? Did he have preliminary information that Jesus Christ lived and studied in India prior to his trip? There are suggestions that such knowledge could exist in the Theosophical Society founded by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, as well as in some esoteric societies of Western Europe.

It is quite possible that Notovitch did not just go on this expedition but was sent by "someone" to search for important information about the mysterious years of the life of Jesus Christ in India. He confidently headed for India, as if he already knew what to look for and where to find it.

During his expedition to northern India, Notovitch interacted with Hindu and Buddhist teachers. His goal was to find evidence of Jesus Christ in India.

As a result of his research, Nikolai Notovitch was able to find written evidence that Jesus Christ had studied in the Vedic and Buddhist ashrams of Kashmir. Notovitch was shown the original of an ancient text that described the life of Jesus Christ in India. The researcher could not remove the original document from the Himalayan monastery; nevertheless, he was shown the text and was allowed to make copies of some chapters.

Returning to Russia, Nikolai Notovitch wrote a famous book called The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ. It was impossible to publish the book in Russia, so he published it in France.

Returning to Russia, Nikolai Notovitch was immediately arrested. Two years later, he was released from prison. In Russia, he was banned from publishing books, after which Notovitch left the Russian Empire and moved to Europe.

In Europe, Nikolai Notovitch met with several hierarchs of the Catholic Church, in particular with Cardinal Rotelli. Representatives of the Catholic Church also asked Notovitch never to publish materials about the life of Jesus Christ in India.

Interestingly, the representatives of the Catholic Church were not surprised by the very facts presented in Notovitch's book. The subject of their concern was only the disclosure of secrets. It is a known fact that the Catholic Church offered a large sum of money to Nikolai Notovitch so that he would refrain from further publication. It is difficult to say whether Notovitch agreed to accept the money, but subsequently he refrained from active public activity.

One of the remarkable Indian spiritual teachers of the early twentieth century, Swami Abhedananda (1866 – 1939), having read the materials of Nikolai Notovitch, was shocked by the information about the life of Jesus Christ in the Himalayas, and he decided to personally verify the authenticity of this amazing information.

Swami Abhedananda was a Hindu expert in the philosophy of Vedanta. He had no personal interest in confirming or refuting this version. All he wanted was to know what the truth was.

In the early 1920s, Swami Abhedananda organized an expedition to northern India to Kashmir. He confirmed he was able to personally see an ancient text describing the life of Jesus Christ in India. It was the same text that Nikolai Notovitch had held in his hands thirty years before.

In the late 1920s, Swami Abhedananda published his materials under the title Journey to Kashmir and Tibet. Swami Abhedananda was also unable to obtain the original text – all he testified was that he held the ancient manuscript in his hands.

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.

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