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