While working in the canteen, I met an elderly Italian man, who, like me, worked daily in the canteen. Gradually, I found out he was an employee of the Vatican and belonged to the Franciscan order. I prefer not to give his name because that was his wish.
One day I asked my Italian friend why he comes to Sathya Sai Baba? He answered me with a rather funny phrase, which I could not even understand from the very beginning. He said that Sathya Sai Baba is "Papa of the Papa." At first, I did not understand what he meant. He laughed and repeated his thought once more. The idea was simple – if the head of the Catholics is the Pope, then the "Pope of the Pope," in this person's mind, was Sathya Sai Baba.
I asked him why he worked modestly in the dining room, despite the fact he held a high position in the Vatican, and that people with high social status lived in the ashram in special apartments with the opportunity to take better seats in the front row during the program. After listening to my question, he was silent for a while, and then reminded me of the epistles of the holy Apostle Paul, which says Christians are people who live in love and service.
All people are children of God, there are no masters or servants, but in the Lord, all are brothers and sisters. This man lived very modestly in the ashram, and almost no one suspected he held an important position in the Vatican. Such amazing meetings truly change lives and fill the soul with wisdom. Gradually, you begin to understand that all life is a single spiritual process and there is nothing unimportant.
Everything in life is essential, even the smallest actions, because the divine will is manifested in everything, and the divine presence is felt everywhere. Sathya Sai Baba often said: "The hands that help people are more sacred than the lips that say a prayer." Truly golden words.
38. My acquaintance with two priests
In the 1990s, I was twice lucky to meet Orthodox priests from Russia and Ukraine in Puttaparthi. The Vatican takes a more flexible position in relation to various Indian, Tibetan, and Chinese religious and philosophical trends. For example, I know several cases when in Catholic seminaries in Europe and America, Buddhist teachers from Tibet and Thailand taught meditation practices to seminarians.
Unfortunately, Orthodox churches, both Russian and Greek, are more closed. However, there is a big difference between the position of church leaders and what Christians themselves think and feel. Among Orthodox priests there are quite a lot of spiritually seeking and free-thinking people.
Twice in the ‘90s, I met Orthodox priests in Puttaparthi. It was interesting and symbolic that one of these priests was from the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. When I saw this man, I immediately understood from his appearance that he was a Christian priest. Getting to know him better, I learned that he really was a priest from the Kiev Lavra.
I was pleased to meet this priest, because the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra is the mother of all Russian Christian monasteries. It's great that a priest from the greatest Orthodox Lavra came to Sathya Sai Baba.
It is sad, but the leadership of the church, and the Lavra itself, are quite cautious and negative about contacts with other traditions. I cannot give his name because it might cause problems for him. This priest learned about Sathya Sai Baba from his friends and immediately wanted to come to Puttaparthi in order to see the famous Indian teacher who preaches universal values, love, and compassion for all living beings.
The priest wanted to see everything with his own eyes, and then draw conclusions about the truth of Sathya Sai Baba's teachings based on his own experience. Subsequently, my friends from Kiev met with him, he cordially received them at his Lavra. He continued to serve as a Christian Orthodox priest, but of course he could not openly declare to his church authorities that he had visited Sathya Sai Baba.
I met the second Orthodox priest in the ashram a couple of years later, it was already in the late ‘90s, and he was from the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. This is very symbolic, since the Sergius Lavra is also one of the most important shrines of Christian Russia.
This priest came twice with great interest to see Sathya Sai Baba. I do not know how his fate developed in the future, whether he remained within the framework of the Orthodox Church or not. For me, these stories are important because even if they are thin threads, they still connected the Kiev-Pechersk and Trinity-Sergius Lavra with Sathya Sai Baba.
39. The Dalai Lama and Karmapa wished Sathya Sai Baba long life and success in his worldwide divine mission
Buddhism is one of the largest world religions. In countries such as China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, Tibet and Mongolia, Buddhism is the main religious tradition. Buddhism is also one of the traditional religions of Russia, along with Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. For many centuries Buddhism has been practiced in the Russian regions of Kalmykia and Buryatia.
Buddhism is a unique religion based on wisdom and compassion. The most important method of the spiritual path of Buddhism is contemplation and meditation. Every year on the full moon in May, Buddha's birthday is celebrated. On this day the most prominent Buddhist teachers, such as the Dalai Lama and the Karmapa, send large delegations to Sathya Sai Baba's ashram.
In Tibetan culture, it is customary to congratulate on the holiday in the form of wishes for a long life and the successful implementation of a spiritual mission. On the birthday of the Buddha in the central temple of the ashram, traditional Buddhist rituals are performed, the content of which are wishes of long life to Sathya Sai Baba and the success of his worldwide divine mission.
I remember how on the birthday of the Buddha, about one hundred Tibetan Lamas gathered in the ashram of Sathya Sai Baba and sang with inspiration: “Om Mani Padme Hum Sai Baba!” It is important not just to talk about unity, it is important to show it in real actions. Sathya Sai Baba was open to all traditions and many traditions were open to him. The greatest Buddhist teachers of our time deeply revered Sathya Sai Baba and considered him the spiritual guide of all mankind. It is very important when spiritual leaders show mutual understanding and unity by example.
40. Sathya Sai Baba Healed My Australian Friend Instantly.
On one of my visits to Puttaparthi, I met an Australian of Lebanese origin, his name was Ron. He was a very interesting person with a unique destiny and a subtle inner world. He played the flute superbly and was well versed in Islamic and Vedic philosophy. At some point of his stay, an insect bit Ron in the left armpit, of which he accidentally tore off the wound, causing an infection. In the Indian climate, such wounds are very dangerous because they do not heal well.
After a few days passed, he began to grow an abscess that looked like a large ball under his armpit. We all began to seriously worry about Ron's health, because if an infection got into the wound in such a hot climate the consequences would be deplorable. Ron went to the hospital every day for procedures, and he was prescribed medicines and ointments. Local doctors advised Ron to go home to Australia as soon as possible, because in a familiar climate it would be much easier to recover. The wound eventually swelled to a large size, about the size of a fist. It was already difficult for him to keep his arm straight, because the sore had already become so large and very painful.
On the day Ron made up his mind to urgently return home to Australia, I met him on the street. We entered the ashram together and decided to go through a small passage that was next to the mandir. During the daytime, the mandir was usually empty, but to our surprise that day, in the very middle of the mandir, we noticed Sathya Sai Baba sitting with a small group of students around him. We stopped and watched Sathya Sai Baba interact with the students.