is a famous saying of Sathya Sai Baba’s, which is written in his books, and I was lucky, several times, to directly hear these wise words from his mouth: “Yes, I am God, but you are also Gods, the difference is that I remember that I am God, and you forgot. Every person is God, the difference is only in the degree to which you realize your true, divine nature.” These words of Sathya Sai Baba most exhaustively clarify how he perceived himself and all people.
There is an ancient Japanese proverb which says: "Buddha is not like a rice cake in a picture, but Buddha is like a real cake that can satisfy your hunger." I think this wisdom is perfectly applicable to the teachings of Sathya Sai Baba. What is important is not outward worship of him as a great philosopher and miracle worker, but a careful study of his life, which contains a magnificent message that can change the life of each of us.
His life is a great example of the manifestation of the infinite creative potential that resides in the heart of everyone. God is the totality of all individual souls; we are all one in God. Each person carries a great potential for divine creativity. It is this truth that Sathya Sai Baba perfectly embodied in his own life.
3. Who is the "one" who asks the question? Who is the "one" who wants the answer?
After Sathya Sai Baba left his body in 2011, I felt compelled to share some of the stories, which I’d been fortunate enough to witness, as well as recall the many manifestations of his miraculous power, which I’ve experienced first-hand.
Sathya Sai Baba once told me: “Now you are sitting in my room, but the time will come when this room will be inside your heart, and you will tell other people about our communication.”
Sathya Sai Baba is a world teacher outside of any traditions, schools, and trends. His teachings unite all world religions and philosophical systems. He established his ashram in southern India, and today the ashram remains a unique spiritual space of unity and love. This is a place where people of different worldviews can come. All visitors feel completely comfortable, like they would at home.
I think it's hard to even imagine any other ashram in which divine love, openness and universality would be manifested to such a clear degree. In the ashram of Sathya Sai Baba, the unity of all mankind, the brotherhood and sisterhood of all people is especially felt.
The essence of Sai Baba's philosophy is the study of the richest spiritual world of the soul. The only obvious thing is that the "I" exists, the deep sense of self-existence is a completely obvious and universal experience for everyone.
Self-existence does not require any evidence or beliefs, it is an experience that is fully inherent in everyone, regardless of gender, age, nationality, ethnic culture, social status, level of education or religiosity.
Who is the "one" who thinks? Who is the "one" who speaks? Who is the "one" who does the action? Who perceives the world around them? People talk about being happy or suffering, but they often forget to define who this mysterious “I” is that experiences happiness and suffering.
The question of who "I" am always precedes any other question. Who is the "one" who asks the question? Who is the "one" who wants the answer? Who is the "one" who wants to be free from suffering and find happiness? Who is the "one" who seeks to know the truth? People focus their attention on the goal they want to achieve, but often forget to find out who the “I” is that is wanting to achieve this or that goal.
Sathya Sai Baba taught meditation practices, he told amazing and instructive stories from the ancient Vedic scriptures, but all this was devoted to the main issue: a deep study of the nature of the soul and awareness of the primordial unity of the soul and God.
4. Everything we do and everything that happens to us are steps on the spiritual path
Sathya Sai Baba is one of the greatest miracle workers ever known. He was not just a philosopher who commented on the Bhagavad Gita and the New Testament, or talked about the teachings of Krishna, Christ, and Buddha. Sathya Sai Baba possessed tremendous superhuman strength. The scale of his energy was so great that people approaching the ashram, already forty kilometers away, could begin to feel his special energy.
A common feeling among new arrivals was that something unusual was beginning to happen, they could already feel their soul being filled with joy and peace. It was a truly unique experience reminisced by many. This divine vibration permeated through travelers, and people felt they were entering a special sacred place where thoughts calmed down and the whole space was filled with light.
The closer people came to the ashram, the more intense the feeling of joy and bliss became. Finally, when travelers arrived at Puttaparthi, itself, their sense of wonder reached its peak. The feeling seemed to be that this place is somewhere far away in heaven, so far it was hard to believe you were even on earth.
In India and elsewhere in the world, there are spiritual teachers who can work with hundreds and sometimes several thousands of students. As the energy power of Sathya Sai Baba is so enormous, he was able to help tens of millions of people, and in such a way that everyone felt a personal spiritual connection with him.
Sathya Sai Baba was able to change the most diverse situations and circumstances of people's lives with the help of his miraculous power. He transformed all levels of human existence. Being in close proximity with Sathya Sai Baba, people experienced subtle spiritual states. His blessings also manifested themselves quite physically: healing from serious illnesses, protection in dangerous situations, finding a happy family life, building successful business projects etc.
Sathya Sai Baba taught a person's spiritual quest must be in harmony with successful material circumstances. Very often people view the spiritual path only as a practice of prayer and meditation. In fact, everything that happens in life and everything we do are steps on the spiritual path. Good health, a happy family, taking care of one's parents and children, a successful career and business, scientific research and artistic creation are all integral parts of the spiritual evolution of man.
Unfortunately, some erroneously and artificially divide life into two separate means of existing: “spirituality” and “materiality.” Sathya Sai Baba perceived life in unity, therefore his blessings affected all levels and aspects of human existence, including, spiritual and intellectual development, as well as good health, family well-being, and financial abundance. This was also his uniqueness.
5. "My life is my message"
Sathya Sai Baba was born on November 23, 1926, in the south of India, in the state of Andhra Pradesh, in a small village called Puttaparthi. During his long life, he regularly visited various major cities in India, such as Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore, but he preferred to spend most of his time in his native village.
Sathya Sai Baba often repeated the phrase: "My life is my message." Of course, what Sathya Sai Baba said to visitors during personal communication, or in his lectures, is very important, but the most important aspect to me is his life, itself. It is important to understand how Sathya Sai Baba lived his life and what we can learn from him by studying his long and bright life path.
His very birth in a tiny remote Indian village is a great lesson that he gives to the whole world and to each of us. Sathya Sai Baba was born in very unfavorable conditions, but by the power of his divine energy he was able to transform everything around. Thanks to Sathya Sai Baba, Puttaparthi, a small, impoverished village eventually turned into a beautiful oriental oasis. Puttaparthi in the twenties, at the time of Sathya Sai Baba's birth, was a tiny village with a few small streets and a small population. In order to buy the most necessary things, such as a jug for water or a cauldron for cooking, local residents had to walk several kilometers to a neighboring village, which was located on the other side of the stormy and full-flowing Chitravati River. In the neighboring village there was a market on Sundays and the locals waded across the river to buy the most basic things. At that time there was not even a bridge across the river.
The nature of Puttaparthi is famous for its magnificence. The village is surrounded by mountains of extraordinary beauty. The highest mountain in the area is called Sai Kailash, which has three peaks. Dense vegetation is everywhere, and the Chitravati River flows through the picturesque valley where there are many small reservoirs and springs. It is a truly