Among the many Vedic texts, Sathya Sai Baba singled out Narayana Upanishad in particular, so all the students at his university carefully studied it and even learned it by heart.
The Narayana Upanishad is a small scripture, profound in its philosophical content, amazing in its rhythm and poetic style. I came into contact with this text at the very time when I was thinking about how I could combine Christian prayer with mantra practices.
I came to the mandir, and as usual the evening program began when Sathya Sai Baba came out and sat down in his chair. One of the lecturers at the university began the lecture. At this time Sathya Sai Baba was attentively looking into the hall and closely scrutinizing all those present.
At some point Sathya Sai Baba looked at me. There were quite a lot of people in the mandir, and I was sitting close to the center, and if Sathya Sai Baba looked at me, it could be easily noticed. It began to seem to me that he was reading my thoughts, and subsequent events confirmed I was not mistaken.
Suddenly, Sathya Sai Baba interrupted the lecture and invited a college student to come to the middle of the temple; everyone present was silent in anticipation. A microphone was placed in front of the student, and the boy sang the Narayana Upanishad as a memento. This event literally shocked me because I was sitting and thinking about Narayana Upanishad.
After that, the teacher came out to the microphone and said it was no coincidence that Sathya Sai Baba asked this student to sing the Narayana Upanishad. The teacher said, “there is one important detail, it is that this boy is not a Hindu.” Outwardly, he looked quite like a Hindu; in fact, he was an Iranian, was born in a Muslim family, and together with his family he moved to India a long time ago.
Being an Iranian and a Muslim, this student practiced the prayers of the Islamic religion every day, performed Namaz, however, this did not prevent him from studying Sanskrit and Vedic philosophy, as well as chanting the Narayana Upanishad daily. For me it was a complete revelation, it was a clear and exhaustive answer to my doubts.
Sathya Sai Baba had the colossal ability to literally scan the minds of the thousands of people who sat before him. Every action, every gesture he made was always a response to the thoughts, doubts, and questions of someone present.
35. The statue of the deity disappeared, and Sathya Sai Baba appeared instead
In the late ‘90s I returned to Whitefield, the ashram of Sathya Sai Baba, which was located on the outskirts of Bangalore. Literally a few days after my arrival, several buses drove up to the ashram, from which a large number of Hindus, dressed in festive attire, got off. They solemnly entered the ashram, and it was clear from their appearance they all belonged to the Brahmin caste. In their hands were gifts and offerings. This caught my attention and I decided to find out what happened.
I managed to discover that all these people came from the ancient city of Tirupati, which is located on the east coast of India. Tirupati is the largest temple complex in India, in the center of which is the majestic statue of Lord Venkateswara.
There is a curious version about the history of Venkateswara. According to legend, the statue of this deity is actually not stone, but alive. Allegedly, several centuries ago, a spacecraft landed on earth, on which an alien flew in and settled in this city. The alien entered a deep meditative state and remained standing in this place. A huge temple of Lord Venkateswara appeared around the alien. Over time, the alien was covered with special robes so parishioners could not notice that it was a living being and not a statue. I will not argue that this version is true, but the fact that the statue in this temple does not look like an ordinary stone statue is remarkable.
In the late ‘90s, an amazing miracle happened at the Venkateswara temple. Vedic tradition dictates that the main worship services be performed at sunrise. In India, sunrise, both in winter and summer, occurs around six in the morning, therefore, worship services always begin at the same time.
One morning, the priests of the temple were worshipping the statue of the deity with everything going on as usual. The many hours of ritual action included washing the statue, offering flowers, incense, and various oils while the priests sang mantras and made symbolic offerings to the statue of the deity.
When the priests began to wash the statue, they felt the feet of the statue were alive. All those present saw very real, living, human feet at the statue of the deity. Instinctively, the priests raised their heads to see what was happening to the statue itself. The head of the statue disappeared and the head of Sathya Sai Baba appeared instead. A little later the statue itself disappeared and Sathya Sai Baba himself stood in its place. This miracle was seen by a large number of clergy and pilgrims who came that morning to worship.
A huge number of people witnessed this unique miracle, the statue of Venkateshwara simply dematerialized, and instead of it, Sathya Sai Baba, who could be seen and even touched, appeared for some time. Then Sathya Sai Baba disappeared, and instead of him, the statue of Venkateswara, which was familiar to everyone, appeared.
This event made such an awe-inspiring impression on all those present that the priests who performed the service immediately informed their families about this miracle. On the same day, they decided to go immediately to the ashram of Sathya Sai Baba in order to thank him for such a miracle and blessing.
36. Catholic nuns came to Puttaparthi to talk to Sathya Sai Baba and receive his blessing
One day, I saw several large buses pull up to the ashram from which Catholic Nuns and a huge number of children got off. They entered the ashram gate, and I became curious, so I decided to get to know them. We talked for just a few minutes, as they had to settle the children and lead them into the dining room. These few minutes were enough for me to find out who they were and why they had come.
The Nuns said their Catholic monastery was located in the south of India in the state of Tamil Nadu. They said they have a school and an orphanage and the children they brought were students from their school. They came to Puttaparthi for a few days to talk to Sathya Sai Baba and receive his blessings.
Surprised, I said, “you are Christians, how do you feel about the fact that this is a Hindu ashram?”
They smiled and said, “Sathya Sai Baba is a great saint who is beyond dogmas and conventions, he blesses everyone. God is one, he just appears in different religions under different names.”
It was very pleasant to hear these simple and wonderful words from the lips of Catholic Nuns. It seemed the most ordinary case well showed the open atmosphere of Puttaparthi.
37. Once I met a priest from the Vatican in Puttaparthi, he told me that Sathya Sai Baba is the "Papa of the Pope"
Indian cuisine is famous for its original taste and spiciness, so it was not familiar to most foreigners. People who came to the ashram from America and Europe could hardly eat such spicy food. Therefore, a dining room with European cuisine was created in the ashram. There were few full-time employees in the ashram, most of the functions were performed by people who performed voluntary free service.
Prices for living in the ashram had always been affordable; accommodation, food and shopping were so cheap that many wondered, how is this possible? One of the reasons for such low prices was that a large number of people served in the ashram for free. Some worked in the garden or in the museum, and sometimes in the dining room.
I often worked in the canteen, serving food, or cutting vegetables in the kitchen. By doing this service, I felt I was helping the life of the ashram. People of various nationalities worked in the dining room: Italians and Greeks, Russians and French, Americans and Chinese, Japanese and Argentines. Very often, when we were cutting vegetables or sweeping in the kitchen, we sang traditional chants together dedicated to Krishna or Ganesha. The work environment was relaxed and fun.