Is allowing yourself to sing your own song and become all you were created to be, instead of surrendering to someone else's will, be it friend, spouse, or institution, selfish? I think not. You are what you think of yourself. You are the only one responsible for your own mind and your own life.
22. Sathya Sai Baba materialized a living parrot
This is another wonderful story about Sathya Sai Baba told to me by Yogi Hari. I later read this same story in several books written about Sathya Sai Baba.
One day Sathya Sai Baba went on another trip in the state of Andhra Pradesh, which is located in the south of India. During one of the stops, he was invited to visit with some people. Naturally, many people always traveled with Sathya Sai Baba, so the whole procession was invited. This is in accordance with the tradition that if a teacher travels with students and an invitation is extended, then the teacher will be invited with the entire retinue.
During the reception, Sathya Sai Baba and all those present were offered treats. Sai Baba animatedly communicated with the owner of the house while he made some kind of picture on his plate from leaves and nuts. Everyone listened attentively to what he was saying and observed with curiosity the unusual image that Sathya Sai Baba was putting together from the items on the plate.
Finally, it became clear that Sathya Sai Baba had skillfully laid out a picture of a parrot. He looked around and asked, “what do you think God does?”
Some of those present answered that God is engaged in creation. After that, Sathya Sai Baba softly and, unexpectedly, touched the image of the parrot and it came to life, flapped its wings, fluttered, and flew out the window. How does one relate to such an event as this, even when it happened in front of a large number of witnesses?
The rational mind refuses to accept the reality of such events. Perhaps some will say it was a mass hallucination or hypnosis, while others may argue that Sathya Sai Baba is a divine incarnation and, therefore, is able to create a great miracle and create a living being from inanimate objects in front of everyone. How to relate to such miracles?
23. Love is God
Love is God, live in Love. Truth is God, follow Truth. Just as a bird has two wings, Truth and Love can allow you to soar to the heights of the spirit. Follow the greatest path of divine Love.
(Sathya Sai Baba – “Lectures at Kodaikanal”, 1996)
Love yourself, and then all the people around you will love you, because the energy of love changes and transforms everything. If you love the work you do in life, then all the people around you will also love what you do because the work that you do in love attracts good people and resources.
Everyone will want to help and participate in a cause that is saturated with the energy of love. To love yourself means to love your parents, your family, your people, the heritage of your ancestors, your city, and your fatherland.
When you are happy, all the people around you who communicate with you, or simply pass by you, also find happiness because the vibration of happiness transforms the space. Harmonious and wise thoughts give rise to an atmosphere of goodness and peace.
Of course, sometimes you need to take action to change the world for the better, but sometimes it’s enough just to make friends with yourself so that the world becomes a better place around you.
24. Materialization of objects that never existed before
During interviews, Sathya Sai Baba often materialized various objects such as rings, rosaries, medallions, and figurines of the Deities. Materialization is a miracle resulting in some object that has never existed before this moment appearing in physical space. This type of mystical experience shows us that thought is material and thought can create physical reality. The following miracle I wish to share happened in front of me and allowed me to personally observe the process of creation.
I often saw how Sathya Sai Baba performed materializations. Outwardly, it looked like this: He made circular movements with his right hand – within a moment of doing this, there was a flash of bright light in his hand, sometimes accompanied by a crack, and then one or another object appeared from the flash of light.
Repeatedly, I witnessed when materializations occurred through the bright flash of light accompanied by a loud and sharp sound, but sometimes the process of materialization looked a little different. Sathya Sai Baba also made circular movements with his right hand and several luminous balls appeared from his palm, sometimes with an object appearing from the balls.
There were times when Sathya Sai Baba materialized objects without a flash of light; objects simply appeared in his hand. It is difficult to say why this happened differently, perhaps it was dependent on the kind of energy he wanted to put into the object that appeared.
When I was present at interviews as an interpreter, I sat right under Sathya Sai Baba's right hand. This made it easier to translate and watch how He materialized objects. As soon as Sathya Sai Baba began circular movements with his hand, it became clear that materialization was about to happen. In those unique moments, I would concentrate as closely as possible and try to peer into what was happening so as to feel the energy that arose.
For me that moment of materialization was an important energetic experience. I would experience various sensations, for example, a sharp cold, or, on the contrary, a heat wave. At first, after seeing the materializations the first few times, I was numb with surprise – all of it shocked me, and I did not know what to think. Gradually, I became used to it.
When supernatural events happen often, you get used to them. Once the shock wore off, I began to pay close attention to the energy sensations and awareness that took place in the immediate vicinity of Sathya Sai Baba during the moments when he performed his amazing sacred acts.
25. Sathya Sai Baba helped a young man overcome time and space
This is a story about a young man from Sri Lanka who was a Christian by birth, but since childhood felt close to the Hindu Goddess, Kali, and was also deeply interested in Vedic philosophy. He went to study in India at a Christian college, but began to frequent various ashrams, and eventually became a Hindu monk.
When he returned home to Sri Lanka for the holidays, his family was very upset to see him in the orange traditional robes of a Hindu monk. He returned to India, and after some time came for the first time to the ashram of Sathya Sai Baba. He was in disarray and did not know what to do next and how to live – the conflict with his relatives greatly upset him, because his life’s quest was spiritual, and he did not want to upset his relatives.
The young man managed to get the opportunity of personal communication with Sathya Sai Baba. During this conversation, he sincerely told Sathya Sai Baba that he would like to spend many years as a hermit in the forest, practicing meditation, and he also wanted to receive a mystical vision of his beloved Goddess, Kali.
Sathya Sai Baba was always very attentive to such requests. Sometimes people, wanting to seem spiritual, pretended to speak out about their alleged desire for austerities.
Feeling the sincerity of the young man, Sathya Sai Baba touched his head sending him instantly into a trance, which lasted about an hour. However, in the sensation, several years passed, during which the young man went to the jungle and lived as a hermit in a distant ashram. At the end of this mystical experience, he was able to meet the Goddess Kali, herself.