The mission of Sathya Sai Baba is global, therefore a huge number of people who belonged to the most diverse religious and spiritual traditions came to him. More than a million people came to the ashram for big holidays.
Sathya Sai Baba was born into a Hindu family in the Kshatriya caste, and there are a large number of Vedic temples in his ashram. However, when people from different countries come to the ashram, they feel this is a universal spiritual space in which everyone is comfortable.
Each visitor was encouraged to remain himself and to continue to practice the tradition he considered most aligned to himself. In Puttaparthi, people fell into a universal space of love and harmony where everyone could more clearly understand and find themselves.
The tradition that you practice as your personal spiritual path is your choice. Near Sathya Sai Baba, all your divine potentials turn on. Getting into its purest vibrations, you get a unique opportunity to follow the path or the system of practice that is close to you.
70. Universal space of unity and synthesis
Sathya Sai Baba showed the importance of joint practice because the true fruits of a person's spiritual development are manifested precisely in the ability to harmoniously interact in society.
It is not so important how deep the mystical experiences are that you get during meditation. What is important is what spiritual state you are in after meditation and how you build relationships with other people in your life. What you do and how you feel after practicing meditation shows how deep your meditation practice has been.
Sometimes those who regularly practice Meditation and Mantras can enter into deep states and experience sublime mystical experiences, but at the same time they are not able to build relationships with people around them. An important indicator of the depth of practice is not only what happens during meditation, but also what happens after meditation.
The practice of a mantra can take place on several levels. One of the variants of practice is to say the mantra out loud. You do not need to be a professional musician or singer to practice mantras, but in order to properly practice mantras, you need to get into the rhythm.
Mantras can be chanted quite well by anyone who practices regularly. Gradually, the voice becomes more confident and stronger. When the mantra is pronounced aloud, then there is a physical vibration that affects the nervous system and brain cells, as well as cleanses the surrounding space.
The word has tremendous power. One of the greatest mistakes is to neglect or underestimate the power of the word. Everything we say is already a mantra. It is clear that sometimes we say something in jest. However, you need to be careful, because the word has power, so even a jokingly spoken word still manifests itself as an energy vibration.
There is a famous phrase in the ancient Vedic medicine, Ayurveda: "whatever you eat is a medicine." Everything we eat and drink – clean water, good food – all of this is medicine. It would be strange to first consume low-quality products and then take medicine in order to improve health.
In the same way, whatever you say is a mantra. It would be foolish to practice the great mantras for an hour and then go swear and gossip for the rest of the day.
Once in an interview, Sathya Sai Baba was asked to bless those present and teach the practice of a special mantra. He looked at everyone with a smile and said: “Remember that every spoken word is a mantra and every action performed is worship of the Lord.”
71. The birth, life and death of the Avatar is part of his divine plan
It may sound strange, but I easily got over the departure of Sathya Sai Baba in 2011. At some stage, I stopped perceiving him as a divine personality and felt him as a universal consciousness. He gave me the great opportunity of frequent communication with him. He repeatedly manifested himself in my mystical dreams and meditative experiences. At some point, the presence or absence of his body was no longer so important to me. I feel his living presence, first of all, in my heart.
Sathya Sai Baba is the omnipresent consciousness. Now his tomb is in Puttaparthi, the village where he was born and lived all his life. He left his relics as a great gift and this is one of the keys to communicating with him.
Previously, we concentrated on his physical body, but now Sathya Sai Baba as the Absolute Consciousness is present everywhere. His relics are the place of greatest power. Those who were close to him and knew him well and those who did not find him during his lifetime come here.
A few months before Sathya Sai Baba left his body, I had a mystical dream. In this dream, I entered a spacious hall, the sun shone through the large windows, and many beautiful photographs of Sathya Sai Baba hung on the white walls. His books, translated into all languages of the world, were placed on tables and bookshelves. I walked around the hall with curiosity, carefully examining the photographs and books. Suddenly, Sathya Sai Baba appeared. He came up to me and pointing to his photographs and books, said that now he is present only in photographs and books.
When I woke up, I tried to understand the meaning of this dream. It became clear to me Sathya Sai Baba would soon leave his body. There was a state of harmony in my soul. My mind said I should grieve, but my soul was filled with peace.
The life and death of the Avatar is a divine game. Only ignorant people mourn the passing of the Avatar. His consciousness is beyond birth and death; beyond being and not being; beyond time and space.
One of the greatest spiritual teachers of our time, Ganapati Sachchidananda Swamiji, immediately after Sathya Sai Baba left his body, said that "the birth, life and death of an Avatar is part of the divine game."
I remember the difficult and tragic days when we learned that Sathya Sai Baba left the body. At that time, quite a lot of my friends and acquaintances plunged into a difficult emotional state. It seemed that with the departure of Sathya Sai Baba, life lost its meaning – it was an irreparable loss.
At that time, I often repeated to my friends the words of Ganapati Sachchidanand Swamiji, that "the birth, life and death of the Avatar is part of his divine plan." I remember how these simple and wise words helped many to understand the meaning of what is happening and to realize that the Avatar does not go away, but is eternally present.
72. Treasures of the Spiritual Heart, Mystery of Eternity
Now, many people are asking the question: What is the future of Sathya Sai Baba's mission on earth? When he was alive, people came to his ashram and discussed all sorts of issues with him, enjoying his presence and deep spiritual instructions.
Sathya Sai Baba is a divine incarnation, an Avatar. There were very few such teachers in the history of mankind. He is on the other side of birth and death and beyond time and space. Even after he has left his physical body, he continues to lead the devotees on the path of divine self-realization. Now, he gives answers to prayer appeals and helps people in difficult life situations.
His tomb is located in Puttaparthi, the very village where he was born and lived all his long and bright life. Almost all world religions and all peoples have a wonderful tradition of veneration of relics.
The relics of saints and reverends work amazing miracles that affect the entirety of human life, from the highest questions of the spirit to healings.
Sitting next to the tomb of Sathya Sai Baba, I remember the past years, the amazing moments of communication with him, and his great love. Scenes of past events flow in memory as if they happened just yesterday.