Svyatoslav Dubyanskiy
Sathya Sai Baba. Supernatural Experiences and Divine Transformation. Book Three
61. Golden chain
One of my acquaintances from the Ural (Russia), Alexander, received a beautiful gold chain as a gift from Sathya Sai Baba. Sathya Sai Baba materialized the chain during a personal meeting, and joyfully put it around the neck of my friend, saying this chain would protect him from all dangers. A week later Alexander went home happy.
A few months later, my friend went on a business trip to Kazan city. It was a hot summer and he decided to swim in the cool and rapid river Volga. After diving several times, he came ashore and relaxed on the sand. After a couple of minutes, he noticed the chain around his neck was gone.
Alexander was shocked as he was quite sure that when he entered the water the chain was around his neck. He distinctly remembered correcting it before diving in. Terrified, he didn't know what to do. After standing for a few moments in a daze, he took to the stormy river again but this time to find his lost chain under the water.
It was clear it was simply not possible to find the chain in the fast waters of the huge river. Sad, he went back to the hotel and a few days later returned to his hometown.
The mysterious loss of the chain shocked my friend so much he went into despondency for a long time and almost did not communicate with anyone. Relatives and friends understood that something strange was happening, but he sparingly answered all questions with a request to be left alone.
In fact, it is the most common story: man dives into a river and his chain, perhaps, unfastens or simply flies off under the pressure of a strong current. Stories like this happen quite often. However, in this case, the loss of the chain meant much more because it was not an ordinary gold chain, but a gift from Sathya Sai Baba.
When Alexander later told me about his experiences of that time, he admitted that for a long time he could not tell his friends and relatives about it, because he blamed himself for his carelessness.
However, these events were only the beginning of the story. The miracles of Sathya Sai Baba are the subtlest, multi-step, divine game. This story has an amazing sequel.
62. The golden chain that saved a life – continuation of the story
After a couple of years, Alexander again came to the ashram and Sathya Sai Baba invited him to a personal meeting. My acquaintance was overjoyed at the opportunity of another personal contact with Sathya Sai Baba, but he was very ashamed he did not still have his precious gift, the chain.
As usual, Sathya Sai Baba was sitting in his chair looking at my friend when all of a sudden, he began to laugh. We looked at each other not understanding what was going on. By that time, Alexander had already told me the secret of how he lost the precious chain in the river.
When Sathya Sai Baba looked at my friend and laughed, I intuitively thought that perhaps the reason for his amusement was the loss of the chain. Of course, Sathya Sai Baba knew perfectly well the chain had disappeared in the turbulent waters of the great Volga. Subsequent events confirmed my feeling.
Suddenly, Sathya Sai Baba extended his arm forward with his palm clenched into a fist. Looking at us with a sly look, he opened his fist and we saw the exact same chain in his hand! How could this be? Was it a fantasy?!
Everything that happened was beyond the comprehension of the human mind. We were dumbfounded. Further, when he presented the chain to Alexander, Sathya Sai Baba had said the chain would protect him from dangers.
At the time, we did not pay much attention to those words, but now Sathya Sai Baba repeated his own words spoken two years ago. He further added that my friend was supposed to die that day and the disappearance of the chain saved his life.
Sathya Sai Baba said the chain was not washed away by the turbulent waters of the great river. It was dematerialized by him under water. The proof of this was the fact that at the moment of our conversation Sathya Sai Baba was holding the very chain in his hands.
My friend, in a trembling voice, asked how exactly he was supposed to die, perhaps drown? If the chain disappeared into the river, then it was logical to assume there was a danger of him disappearing into the turbulent waters of the Volga. Sathya Sai Baba, after a short pause, said that another death awaited him, but he would not talk about it.
Sathya Sai Baba placed the wonderful chain in the hands of my friend, who was overjoyed. After a moment, Sathya Sai Baba asked for the chain back and my friend carefully handed it back.
Sathya Sai Baba pointedly raised his hand with the chain up, as if to show it to everyone present, and then he blew on it three times, after which it disappeared. He said that Alexander no longer needed this chain. My friend once again experienced the shock of the speed of the miraculous events, and he sat in silence in the corner until the end of that meeting.
After the interview, Alexander was quiet and thoughtful for several days and I didn't want to interrupt his privacy. However, a week later he came to his senses and told me he had experienced high spiritual states since having experienced the energy of infinite, divine love.
63. Miracle or tricks
There have always been many discussions around the objects materialized by Sathya Sai Baba. There are people who do not believe at all that he could actually materialize objects. Some believe he was a high-level magician and simply pulled various objects from his sleeve. It is the nature of the restless human mind to doubt and be constantly in a state of fear.
To call Sathya Sai Baba a magician is to be completely ignorant of his life and the deeds he has done over the years.
All items materialized by Sathya Sai Baba were amulets. It is appropriate to assume that in different cases he invested different types of energy. These items changed the fate and circumstances of people’s lives.
I want to express my point of view on the process of creation of various objects by Sathya Sai Baba. Perhaps my point of view is wrong, so take my words as just my opinion.
In my opinion, some objects that appeared in the hands of Sathya Sai Baba were indeed materialized by him. Thus, we were witnessing the startling event of the appearance of an object that had never existed before, and I believe such objects arose directly from the absolute consciousness of the Avatar.
An outwardly materialized object could seem most ordinary and quite man-made. This deceptive feeling could sometimes confuse and give rise to the assumption that it was all a hoax.
Let's not judge strictly those who began to doubt the authenticity of the materialization, because if you are shown such a unique object, then you may also wonder how you can understand that this ring or rosary really appeared from the absolute Consciousness of the Avatar? The problem is that sometimes these items looked quite ordinary and man-made.
I will take the liberty of suggesting that some of the objects that appeared in the hands of Sathya Sai Baba could have been teleported. This is also a great miracle, which is different from materialization.
Teleportation happens like this: some object was in another room, and then, by the will of Sathya Sai Baba, disappeared, demobilized in that room, and then appeared in his hand.
In essence, the mystical value of teleported objects is no less than materialized ones. It is difficult to say why Sathya Sai Baba sometimes teleported and sometimes materialized objects. This was probably due to the types of energy he wanted to invest in the item. I want to reiterate that these are just my guesses and assumptions.
64. Materialized watch – a symbol of time
Among the items that Sathya Sai Baba materialized and gave were watches. I have seen many times how he gave people watches that miraculously appeared in his hand.
At one interview, Sathya Sai Baba gave my friend Vyacheslav a beautiful men's watch that appeared from a flash of light. My friend was happy to receive such a unique gift.
Returning to Russia, the young man thought a lot about the meaning of this gift. Intuition suggested the clock indicates the need to learn to feel and use time more wisely as the greatest gift of God. My friend realized how much time he wasted as he was often late or used time inefficiently.
Vyacheslav began to be more attentive to time. He learned how to properly allocate his time, not to be late for meetings, and to plan in advance many events that related to his work and personal life. Having received a gift and realizing its significance, he began to live according to new rules and allocate his time carefully and accurately. Because of this, many circumstances of his life changed for the better.
Of course, you can say that if any person, even without a wonderful clock, begins to use time correctly, he will be able to achieve great success. Sometimes the Avatar gives lessons and hints to people on what exactly they need to pay attention to in such an unusual way, using supernatural events.
A year later, I again came to the ashram for several months. With joy I met Vyacheslav, who received the wonderful watch from Sathya Sai Baba. A young man told me that a couple of months before going to India, a terrible thing happened.
I anxiously tried to find out what terrible thing had happened in his life. My friend told me that two months before his arrival in India, the watch that Sathya Sai Baba gave him stopped.
At first I did not understand why he was so worried about the fact that the clock had stopped – what is so special about it? Vyacheslav looked at me with surprise and said if an ordinary wrist-watch stops, there is nothing special about it, but since this watch was presented by Sathya Sai Baba, there must be deep symbolism in this.
After being silent for a while, my friend even suggested that maybe he was going to die. Maybe the symbolism of the clock stopping was that his time was up.
I did not know what to say to my friend and advised him to ask Sathya Sai Baba. A few days later we were interviewed. My friend waited for the right moment and asked Sathya Sai Baba why the clock had stopped. Vyacheslav's voice was frightened, but he was ready to listen to any answer, even the most severe.
Sathya Sai Baba carefully looked at the young man and in a calm tone said that nothing special had happened, the battery had just run out, and all that needed to be done after our meeting was to leave the ashram on the street and find the first watch dealer standing near the entrance and ask him to replace the battery.
At that moment, we didn't pay much attention to the fact that Sathya Sai Baba emphasized that we should find a very specific watch dealer and ask him to change the battery. First of all, Sathya Sai Baba pointed out that this should be done immediately after the interview and the merchant should be right next to the entrance to the ashram.
We felt that we should follow Sathya Sai Baba's instructions as closely as possible, and so decided to do as he indicated.
Hearing the consoling words of Sathya Sai Baba, my friend breathed a sigh of relief. He realized there was no danger to his life. Nevertheless, Vyacheslav tried to find out from Sathya Sai Baba the deep meaning of why the clock stopped after only a few months.
Sathya Sai Baba looked sternly at the young man and said, "new battery – new time." Everyone present at that moment understood that a new stage in life was beginning for the young man.
Subsequent events confirmed the prophetic words of Sathya Sai Baba. Immediately after returning to Russia, my friend began a new happy and successful stage in his life.
However, the story with the clock did not end there. In the next chapter, I will recount the events that show us that any miracle of the Avatar has the deepest meaning. The fullness of the divine plan is sometimes not clear to us from the very beginning, but may be revealed with time.
65. The divine game – the continuation of the story with the watch
After talking with Sathya Sai Baba, Vyacheslav and I left the interview room and quickly went to the exit of the ashram in order to try to find the watch dealer and change the battery. I felt I should go with my friend as it seemed to me that if I was already involuntarily drawn into this amazing story, then I should go change the battery with him and observe the developing events to the end.
As soon as we went outside, we immediately saw a watch dealer who was standing nearby. There was no other watch dealer nearby, so we had no doubt this was the same person to whom Sathya Sai Baba had directed us.
The merchant had a small cart on which he laid out a huge number of watches and batteries. We approached the man and said we just left Sathya Sai Baba's room, just a minute ago, and that he told us to change the battery at the first dealer we met near the ashram gate. The watch dealer was filled with tremendous joy and surprise.
He looked at us attentively unable to believe all of this was really happening. His shock was quite understandable, as we asked him to change the battery not on an ordinary watch, but on a wonderful watch that was a gift from Sathya Sai Baba. The merchant reverently picked up the wonderful watch and put it to his forehead, as if receiving a blessing from it.
It was completely natural because it was a watch from the hands of Sathya Sai Baba. The dealer replaced the battery and gave the watch back to my friend. After that, the merchant told us a story that revealed the depth of Sathya Sai Baba's divine plan.
The trader said a relative in his family had become seriously ill and that all family members prayed intensely to Sathya Sai Baba to help heal this relative. The merchant then explained that last night in his dream he saw Sathya Sai Baba, who said he was blessing his relative and he would be healed soon.
While sleeping, Sathya Sai Baba informed the merchant that the next day two foreigners would come to him in order to change the battery of his watch. Sathya Sai Baba also said it would not be an ordinary watch, but a materialized watch.
Waking up in the morning, the merchant did not know how to relate to such a strange dream. When my friend and I came and asked him to change the battery on the wonderful watch, he could not believe his eyes, because such an encounter was predicted by Sathya Sai Baba in his dream.
As soon as the merchant saw us, he delightfully realized this was the confirmation of his mystical dream.
After listening to this story, we felt indescribable joy. This story once again confirms that Sathya Sai Baba performs miracles, with the deepest meaning, that are difficult to understand from the very beginning.
Sometimes the miracle that Sathya Sai Baba performed for one person affected the fate of many people. We felt we had become instruments in the hands of Divine Providence.
66. Personal Spiritual Instructions
The spiritual instructions of Sathya Sai Baba have always been personal. They were addressed to the needs and spiritual level of the person who was currently listening to instruction. His recommendations were very diverse, which always amazed and surprised me, and sometimes confused me. Sometimes it took many months, and sometimes several years, in order to understand the full depth of the words he said.
Sathya Sai Baba advised some people to concentrate only on him and not to visit other ashrams or other teachers. Sometimes he said, “if you want to get the maximum spiritual benefit from “this place,” (“this place” he sometimes called his feet), concentrate and do not spray your attention.” Saying such words, Sathya Sai Baba pointed to his feet.
However, it should not be assumed that Sathya Sai Baba told all visitors not to visit other Gurus. Communicating with different people, he could recommend attending seminars and trainings in other ashrams, and possibly studying for some time with other Gurus.
Sathya Sai Baba sometimes said strange words like, "I am not a Guru at all." What does this mean? The mission of the Avatar, to a lesser extent, included teaching the methods of meditation and yoga. All of these practices are done by mentors, who we call Guru. The Avatar grants all people the highest Divine Grace, and he blesses people for the perfect harmony of life.
Quite often, spiritual seekers needed to learn the practice of meditation, mantra, and yoga. For this, sometimes Sathya Sai Baba advised them to go and study in other esoteric schools and ashrams.
There were discussions between various devotees and followers of Sathya Sai Baba about whether one should go only to him, or whether one should visit other ashrams and study different traditions. There is no universal answer to this complex question because each one of us will find the answer only in the personal characteristics of our own spiritual path and the stage of spiritual evolution we are currently at.
Sathya Sai Baba referred me on several occasions to several schools of Kriya Yoga, as well as to several teachers of Tibetan Buddhism, where I studied the energy practices of Trulkor and Mantra. In different ashrams, I received initiations and was trained in many techniques, which helped me develop on the spiritual path.
Strange as it may sound, it is impossible to say there is a tradition of Sathya Sai Baba. He is on the side of all traditions, and he is the source of all traditions and directions; he is the whole integrity of being – He is the whole universe. The task is to reveal the potential of each person and it does not matter which spiritual path this person follows.
In different spiritual schools, I studied numerous techniques, but the main source of blessings and Divine Grace has always been Sathya Sai Baba. It was he who bestowed upon me inner mystical experiences and realizations.
When he sent me to various ashrams, I studied their techniques, methods, practices, philosophical systems, various types of meditation and yoga, and then I returned to Sathya Sai Baba and practiced these techniques, after which I received mystical experiences and insights.
67. Beyond all traditions
Sathya Sai Baba is the one who stands above all traditions. His approach is always personal and it is very difficult to quote Sathya Sai Baba. It must always be remembered that he gave spiritual instructions on the basis of what would be good for the person to whom he is currently giving instructions.
If Sathya Sai Baba saw it was more correct for a person to concentrate exclusively on him, he clearly said, “do not go anywhere else, stay only here.” However, there were cases when the same Sathya Sai Baba recommended people to go and study with other Gurus.
I know that some people left for training in other ashrams and traditions, but after a few years they still returned to Puttaparthi. There were people who left for training in other ashrams and did not return to Sathya Sai Baba, and this was also normal, because the purpose of the Avatar was to enrich the spiritual world of people and not to gain more followers.
If Sathya Sai Baba saw that it would be better for a person's spiritual development to concentrate on another Guru, he would bless and guide the person along the spiritual path beneficial for that person.
This story took place in the very east of India, in the state of Orissa. I came for a month to one teacher of Kriya Yoga. The small ashram was located in the dense jungle and there were only a few small villages in the vicinity. Many wild animals lived in these forests, so I preferred to spend all my time in the ashram.
Accompanied by a couple of local Indians, I still sometimes went outside the ashram. The locals were surprisingly friendly. Walking around the neighborhood, it seemed to me that I was in the stone age. Time seemed to stop in this jungle. Life in the villages was surprisingly simple. With curiosity, I looked at the primitive clay houses and fences made of huge, crooked logs.
People and livestock lived practically in the same room. The border between the world of people and animals was very conditional. This is probably what the primitive idyll of the coexistence of people and domestic animals looked like in ancient times.
In this area lived a queen, a very thin hundred-year-old grandmother. Since she was well acquainted with the Guru, whose ashram I came to, I managed to get to know her. It turned out she was a devotee of Sathya Sai Baba. In her small, clean mansion, there was a separate shrine room with a huge number of portraits of Sathya Sai Baba. Every day she performed meditation and mantra practices in this room, as well as traditional Vedic rituals – Pujas.
One time, together with several friends, I visited the elderly queen. We were invited to dinner, which was supposed to start in half an hour. While waiting, I sat down in one of the rooms, took a book out of my backpack and began to read. At that time, I was rereading The Life of St. Seraphim of Sarov with enthusiasm.
Sitting comfortably, I began to read the story of how one day several nuns were walking through the winter forest and met Reverend Seraphim. The elder gave them a twig with several apples. The nuns were very surprised and asked where these apples on a branch with green leaves came from. It was strange to see this as it was winter and there were severe frosts.
The Monk Seraphim explained that a few minutes before that moment, angels appeared in front of him and gave him these apples, which were not ordinary, but from the Gardens of Eden.
After reading this story, I put the book down and reverently thought about what I had read. Just a few moments later, the queen entered the room. She had just finished worshipping at the altar of Sathya Sai Baba. She carried in her hands a plate of consecrated food. She came up to me and gave me a twig with a few apples. In a low voice she said it was a gift from Sathya Sai Baba.
I was shocked and could hardly believe what was really happening – it seemed too wonderful of a dream. Just a minute before that, I finished reading the amazing story of how Reverend Seraphim gave Paradise apples to nuns in the winter Russian forest, and now, sitting in the Indian hot jungle, I receive the same apples on a small branch as a gift.
The fact is that apples were not grown in this area. This common fruit for us was a rarity for the inhabitants of the jungle in eastern India. The fact that the elderly queen of the jungle gave me a sprig of apples was a clear continuation of the story from the book that I had read a moment before.
Most importantly, I felt the amazing and clear presence of Sathya Sai Baba and his blessing vibrations of love. A couple of years before, he blessed me to go to this teacher of Kriya Yoga, and now he sent me his divine message in such an unusual way.
Once, Sathya Sai Baba, while talking to devotees in his room, showed his hand. He asked, “what do you see in this palm?” Some of those present replied that it was empty. Sathya Sai Baba smiled and said that his hand was really empty, but he was holding everything in it. After these simple words, silence reigned in the room – our souls were filled with great peace.
