Svyatoslav Dubyanskiy
Sathya Sai Baba. Supernatural Experiences and Divine Transformation. Book Three
20. There are no any intermediaries between God and devotees
When I came to the ashram of Sathya Sai Baba for the first time, I understood very well that theoretical knowledge is one thing and inner experience is quite another. Theoretical knowledge is very important, but this is just the first stage as philosophical concepts, themselves, give only the illusion of implementation. The essence of the spiritual path is the inner experience gained through meditation.
People come to the ashram to have Darshan. What is this? The word Darshan comes from the word Darsh, which means to see. Darshan then, is the opportunity to see the divine teacher directly and physically.
Darshan with Sathya Sai Baba is the moment of the descent of divine grace, colossal vital energy, and the consonance of the inner world of a person with the vibration of divine love. In the physical presence of Sathya Sai Baba, people entered deep, divine states. People froze in perfect concentration on his form as he slowly walked through the huge hall, softly between the rows. Everyone's eyes were directed to Sathya Sai Baba.
The greatest miracle occurred during eye contact. How can you describe the look of eternity? Photos can only give a glimpse of it. In his presence, we felt unity and grace, and everyone present would immerse themselves in silent prayer and contemplation.
Over time, there has been something that amazes me more and more about Sathya Sai Baba. One of his greatest miracles was that even though he had tens of millions of devotees, he personally associated with everyone.
He often repeated: “There is not, and cannot be, any intermediary between me and the devotees. I communicate with everyone, only, personally.”
Therefore, both during his lifetime and now, one must be very careful when people appear to broadcast allegedly on behalf of Sathya Sai Baba. He himself warned us against falling into the traps of such swindlers. One must try to independently establish a heart-centered, spiritual connection with God.
Of course, it is easy to understand the principle of face-to-face communication for someone who is fortunate enough to be invited for personal talks in Sathya Sai Baba's room many times. But not everyone was given such a unique opportunity. What if a person did not have the opportunity to talk to Sathya Sai Baba physically, and what of those who could not even come to India in order to see Sathya Sai Baba?
Even if you did not manage to communicate with him on the physical plane, this did not change anything because Sathya Sai Baba is beyond time and space. Through meditative experiences, intuitive sensations, lucid dreaming experiences, Sathya Sai Baba always communicates directly and personally with everyone.
21. Photography with God
I can honestly say I never wanted to take a picture with Sathya Sai Baba, although during personal communication I had such an opportunity. I had the opportunity to take pictures with Sathya Sai Baba many times, but I did not want to physically imprint my closeness with him as it was always enough for me that he resides in my heart. I do not think that taking a picture with Sathya Sai Baba as a keepsake was bad, of course not. Several times I took pictures of him with devotees at his own request.
I always wanted to communicate with Sathya Sai Baba as much as possible and being near him was my highest happiness. Communication with him was invaluable for me, and I understood that as an interpreter I was given a great opportunity to realize the dream of direct communication.
Constantly, I mentally asked for as many interviews as possible, and Sathya Sai Baba answered this inner request of mine, in full. Sometimes I got interviews with a group of friends, and sometimes I went as a translator with groups I didn't know, and then there were cases where I was personally invited.
Being Sathya Sai Baba's interpreter was a great opportunity, because I always sat right next to his chair, which gave me consistent opportunity for close, direct communication. Even though I translated for the group, there were always moments for personal questions.
I once attended an interview that included an Indian family from Delhi; the parents and two children, a boy and a girl. Sathya Sai Baba materialized a watch for the girl as a gift. Her little brother looked especially annoyed as he stared upon the beautiful watch. His expression showed so much sadness as if he would soon burst into tears because he had not received a gift too.
Seeing the boy's distress, Sathya Sai Baba instantly materialized a camera and presented it to the astonished child. The happiness of the child was boundless! He enthusiastically held the gift and carefully examined it. A moment later, Sathya Sai Baba took the boy's camera and gave it to me, asking me to take a picture of him with this Indian family.
Sathya Sai Baba playfully embraced the children, while the happy parents stood nearby. I found a good shot and tried to take a picture, but the camera didn't work. Sathya Sai Baba laughed and ordered me to give the camera back. I did so and he easily took a few pictures of everyone present. After that, he again gave the camera to me and asked me to take pictures. Despite all my attempts to take at least one picture, the camera would not work.
I felt uncomfortable with my helplessness. It seemed in my hands, the camera wouldn’t work, but as soon as I gave it to Sathya Sai Baba, it took pictures normally. Sathya Sai Baba hilariously joked, “all this modern technology is solid magic – sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.”
Finally, I realized that everything happening was a joke of Sathya Sai Baba. With a smile, I turned to him and said that in order to take a picture I needed a blessing. Sathya Sai Baba shook his head approvingly and raised his right hand in blessing. After that, I was able to easily take some good shots.
22. Sathya Sai Baba appeared on the photo
This story was told to me by Mr. Subba Rao, one of the oldest devotees of Sathya Sai Baba. Not far from Bangalore there is a comprehensive school founded by Sathya Sai Baba. In the early ‘90s, the school celebrated its anniversary. Teachers and students invited Sathya Sai Baba to attend the event and he gave his consent promising to come without fail. The day came, but Sathya Sai Baba did not come, despite the fact that teachers and students were waiting for him.
The whole day there was a lavish music and dance program, in which all the students at the school participated. The children hoped they would be able to demonstrate their skills in front of Sathya Sai Baba, but, alas, he was absent. By the end of the holiday, the children were deeply upset and disappointed by the absence of their beloved Sai.
During the holiday, several photographers took numerous pictures. To everyone's surprise, one of the pictures taken during the program clearly showed that Sathya Sai Baba was standing on the stage next to the children, although he was not physically there.
When Mr. Subba Rao told me this story, I asked if the photograph had survived. I did not want to offend my interlocutor with distrust, but I still wanted to get confirmation of the wonderful story. Mr. Subba Rao silently got up from his chair, went to the closet, took out a photograph and showed it to me. I carefully held the priceless photograph in my hands. Outwardly, it was an ordinary photo in which there were dozens of children on the stage with Sathya Sai Baba as if he were actually there in person. This shot was something special. Joy shone in my heart as I carefully peered at the photo, which was a manifestation of the love and omnipresence of the Avatar.
A similar incident happened in the mid ‘90s in Moscow in the home of some devotees. One day about fifteen devotees gathered together. They’d practiced mantras all evening and after that merrily drank tea and ate cakes. Some of those present took some pictures. After the pictures were printed, everyone saw that Sathya Sai Baba appeared in several pictures standing between the people.
23. Born from the Light
Sathya Sai Baba was born from an immaculate conception. This was told many years later by his mother, Easwaramma. A luminous ball descended on her and entered her stomach. Easwaramma lost consciousness, but it was not an ordinary swoon – it was the highest divine trance. She then realized that she was pregnant.
No one knew about this for a long time and it was only in the ‘60s when Sathya Sai Baba allowed his elderly mother to tell the residents of the ashram that he was born as a result of the descent of divine energy.
The miracle of the Immaculate Conception in Christianity is attributed exclusively to Jesus Christ. In fact, a number of high teachers were incarnated through an immaculate conception, because they did not have the karma of birth in the human world. This is how Krishna and Buddha incarnated.
This is a very complex topic beyond human understanding. Avatars come in different levels. The complexity of the theme of Avatars lies in the fact we look at the physical body of a divine teacher and see in front of us, it would seem, an ordinary person.
The physical body of the Avatar creates a colossal illusion that it is an ordinary person, just like you and me. The physical form of Sathya Sai Baba created a huge delusion. At times, it was difficult to understand that a divine being was embodied in this human body.
Most people who came to Sathya Sai Baba felt the most powerful energies, but there were also those who came, looked at him, and disappointedly said, “so what? he walks, communicates with people, we don’t feel anything!”
There were cases when people were given the unique opportunity to personally communicate with Sathya Sai Baba, and after an hour of talking with him, left the room and asked me, “what is so special about it? We talked to him for an hour, and we didn’t feel anything.” Alas, there have been situations like this.
One must be completely insensitive in order not to feel the great and purest energies. One does not need to have special psychic abilities in order to feel the radiance of divine love in the presence of Sathya Sai Baba.
It is impossible to prove or disprove that Sathya Sai Baba is the highest divine incarnation. Logic and reason are powerless to determine the infinite inner nature of God. All attempts by people to argue, prove or disprove the divinity of Sathya Sai Baba are completely meaningless.
There are devotees and followers who sincerely try to prove to their friends that Sathya Sai Baba is the Avatar. However, their arguments are completely unconvincing, because against any argument there is always a counterargument.
There are people who consider Sathya Sai Baba to be a cunning swindler and deceiver, and they also try to prove their point. Their arguments are also completely helpless.
Only intuition and subtle inner spiritual experience can reveal the deep realities of the Avatar. That is why any discussion is useless. In this chapter, we recalled one of the greatest miracles of Sathya Sai Baba, which is that he was born as a result of an immaculate conception. How can we prove or disprove this fact? Of course, it is logically or scientifically impossible to do so.
What we have as information is the testimony of Sathya Sai Baba's mother. He who wants to doubt will always find a reason to doubt. The very life of Sathya Sai Baba proves he is the greatest teacher of mankind. Even now, many thousands of years after Krishna, Buddha and Jesus Christ lived, there are people who doubt the authenticity of the spiritual message of these divine teachers.
There are even people who generally doubt that Krishna, Buddha, and Jesus Christ lived on this planet. Some people try to claim that Krishna, Buddha, and Jesus Christ are just fictional characters.
In this book, we recall amazing events, some of which I have personally witnessed. Some of the stories I tell in this book I have learned from other devotees. How can you trust my stories? How can one trust the stories of other people who personally knew Sathya Sai Baba and witnessed his divine play? Only your intuitive feeling and inner spiritual experience can give an exhaustive answer to all questions.
24. Blessings and trials, the story of Vasudevan
People asked Sathya Sai Baba for blessings and help in solving all sorts of life problems, but sometimes exactly the opposite result turned out when, temporarily, the situation worsened or became more aggravated. How to relate to this – why did this sometimes happen?
The true blessing of the Avatar does not mean the instant fulfillment of your momentary whims. The task of the Avatar is to guide you on the path of spiritual growth. It is the quality of spiritual evolution that is the most important criterion, even if one has to go through some difficulties, trials, and crises.
Sometimes, it may seem to people the Avatar, allegedly, did not help in some situations. When you come to a healer or psychic, you expect mandatory help in solving your problems, especially since most often you pay the healer for his services. People often try to shift their problems onto a healer or psychologist, expecting them to solve all their problems for them.
Any healer or psychologist, any yogi or psychic is within certain limitations. The forces, knowledge and energy capabilities of each person are limited, but the wisdom and energy of the Avatar are unlimited. It may seem to you that the Avatar has helped someone but not someone else; this is only your limited understanding. The Avatar helps everyone, only in different ways.
Let's remember another story that Mr. Subba Rao told me. In the city of Chennai, in southern India, there lived a man named Vasudevan. He worked as a manager in a large company. When he was in his early 20s, his health began to deteriorate rapidly. The main problem was the deterioration of kidney function.
Vasudevan went to the doctors, but the medicines did not help. Vasudevan's mother-in-law was a devotee of Sathya Sai Baba. She advised the young man to pray to Sathya Sai Baba and ask him for healing.
Vasudevan came to the house of his mother-in-law, who had a large home altar, in the center of which hung a large and beautiful portrait of Sathya Sai Baba. At the same time, several relatives were going on a trip to the ashram. The young man took advantage of this opportunity and gave a letter to Sathya Sai Baba asking for healing.
Despite all the requests to Sathya Sai Baba, the young man's condition worsened. Friends and business partners began to laugh at Vasudevan and advise the young man to stop being involved in such nonsense and try to find real doctors who could help him recover from the disease.
The young man was in a difficult situation. Some of his relatives advised him to pray more intensely to Sathya Sai Baba, while his friends ridiculed him for his naive belief in the strange miracle worker.
Finally, Vasudevan's mother-in-law was able to persuade him to pray again in front of the photograph of Sathya Sai Baba that hung in her house. After that, the young man's health deteriorated even more.
25. Living presence in the photo, continuation of Vasudevan's story
After a sharp deterioration and instead of healing, Vasudevan became very offended by Sathya Sai Baba. The more he prayed, the more his health deteriorated. He concluded that Sathya Sai Baba was most likely a swindler, and perhaps even a practitioner of magic. The inner world of the young man was filled with doubts and fears.
The complexity of this situation was compounded by the fact that he learned about two cases which occurred about the same time. Two other people also prayed in front of the photo of Sathya Sai Baba and received a fairly quick recovery from their illnesses. Vasudevan could not understand why he was being pursued by serious setbacks.
Finally, getting very angry with Sathya Sai Baba, he literally ran into his mother-in-law's house and went into the room where the large photograph of Sathya Sai Baba hung. Vasudevan started talking to the photo as if Sathya Sai Baba was present right in front of him.
He directly stated, looking into the eyes of Sathya Sai Baba, who was depicted in the photograph, that he was a swindler and engaged in magic. After that, Vasudevan stated that if Sathya Sai Baba is indeed a divine teacher, then he must immediately prove it.
At that moment, several relatives were present in the house, all of them devotees of Sathya Sai Baba, and upon hearing such words from the lips of Vasudevan, they froze in horror. Before the young man had time to angrily utter his words, he suddenly felt a strong flow of energy pass through him like an electric discharge.
Vasudevan understood that it was a mystical experience because there was no source of electricity nearby. At that moment he felt, with horror, as if he was losing control of his arms and legs. After that, he fell to the floor. The relatives immediately called the doctors, who made the terrifying diagnosis of partial paralysis. Almost at the same moment, when the doctors left the house, sacred ash began to materialize on the large portrait of Sathya Sai Baba.
Relatives understood that everything happening had a deep meaning. It was obvious that Sathya Sai Baba, who is the embodiment of divine love and compassion, could not "punish" the foolish young man. These strange events were intended to give Vasudevan a deep lesson and lead to spiritual realizations.
The relatives felt that all of this was actually the blessing of Sathya Sai Baba. The feeling of the invisible blessing presence of God was also confirmed by the fact that the sacred ash began to appear from his photograph.
Vasudevan did not know what to do next. His state of health was extremely tenuous. Thankfully, the paralysis was only partial and with difficulty he could still move around in a wheelchair.
The fact the paralysis occurred instantly after the young man stood in front of the portrait of Sathya Sai Baba and challenged him speaks of Sathya Sai Baba's colossal superpowers. At that time, Vasudevan could hardly understand what was happening to him and what the deep meaning of these strange events were.
It was so improbable that at times it seemed to him everything happening was a strange dream. Most importantly, Vasudevan began to understand that photographs of Sathya Sai Baba are not ordinary images, but the living presence of the Avatar.
26. Inscrutable are the ways of the Lord, the end of the story of Vasudevan
Vasudevan’s relatives were able to convince him to go to the ashram. The trip was organized within about six months while the young man remained in his wheelchair and needed constant help. The journey from Chennai to the ashram was relatively close and relatives were able to arrange everything necessary.
When Vasudevan arrived at the ashram, he was very worried because he did not know how his meeting with Sathya Sai Baba would go. If a photograph of the Avatar had such strong energetic power, what would be expected at a direct meeting?
Sathya Sai Baba slowly approached the young man and looked at him intently. He called him by name and also said he knew he had come from the city of Chennai. Vasudevan was surprised as this was their first meeting. Since the young man was unknown to anyone, it was simply impossible to assume a forgery. After that, Sathya Sai Baba invited the young man to a private conversation in his room.
Being alone, Sathya Sai Baba immediately told Vasudevan about all the details of his medical history. He also told the astonished young man he knew well how his health gradually deteriorated each time he prayed near the photo. After that, Sathya Sai Baba repeated word for word all the harsh words and accusations that the young man had made in the house of his mother-in-law in front of the photograph.
Vasudevan was completely shocked by everything and wept with shame and joy. He felt the colossal, divine love emanating from Sathya Sai Baba.
After listening to this amazing story, I decided to ask Mr. Subba Rao what happened to the young man after that. Mr. Subba Rao smiled and said it would be easy enough to find out because Vasudevan was going to visit the ashram again in a week.
My meeting with Vasudevan actually took place exactly one week later in Mr. Subba Rao's room. Vasudevan no longer showed any signs of paralysis. After his first visit to the ashram, he was healed and moved to the USA with his wife.
I was interested to know Vasudevan's opinion about all the events that happened to him. For example, I was curious to know his thoughts on why, instead of healing him instantly, Sathya Sai Baba subjected him to quite severe trials in the beginning.
Vasudevan said he was able to realize the greatness of the divine plan of Sathya Sai Baba. We, ordinary people, perceive life within the framework of duality, the essence of which is the constant change of happiness and suffering. We are constantly striving to avoid suffering and to find happiness. But happiness is just as fleeting and impermanent as suffering.
When we ask the Avatar for help, it would be naive to assume he will fulfill our whims in accordance with how our ignorant ego would like them to be achieved. The Avatar views our life from the point of view of the divine evolution which the soul of each person goes through.
If it would be more beneficial for a person to pass tests that will lead him to deep spiritual insights, then this is exactly what will happen according to the Avatar's plan. Blessings of the Avatar are aimed at spiritual growth and not at the satisfaction of momentary desires.
Sometimes trials are more beneficial for spiritual development than simply solving trivial problems. Awareness, insight, and spiritual growth are what is truly important for the soul. It may seem more important to us to gain fleeting luck, but God, who is in the depths of the spiritual heart, leads everyone along the path of self-knowledge.
Sathya Sai Baba often said, "I give my devotees what they want so that later they will be spiritually transformed and ready to accept from me what I really want to give them."
What amazing deep words! Sathya Sai Baba sometimes joked that people came to him and asked for simple material things, not realizing that all of “this” is not permanent.
He also joked that people couldn't understand that he was like a "heavenly wish-granting tree." Human fantasies are sometimes too primitive. People asked the Avatar for trifles, while the "cosmic tree of wish fulfillment" can fulfill all desires and bestow beyond what can hardly be imagined.
Sathya Sai Baba sadly joked that often people came to him and asked for only "one cup of coffee, maximum two," even though he could give them the eternal bliss of divine consciousness.
