7 years with Sai Baba

I retired from the IAEA (Vienna) in 2006 after having worked there for nine years.  Prior to this, I spent seven years in India, six months in Beijing, China, four years in New York, USA, twelve years in Laxenburg near Vienna, Austria, one year in London, UK, five years in Paris, France and one year in Geneva, Switzerland.  I now live in Vienna, Austria, right at the shores of the river Danube.

I can truly say I got around quite a bit in this lifetime.  I’m not the tourist type, though.  When I go somewhere I like to stay for a while.  Once I had attained the interesting age of 18, I had a constant need to leave everything behind and start afresh: new country, new language, new job, new friends, everything new and exciting.  For a while, at least.  Then, after perhaps three or four years, I got the itch again to move on.  I seemed to thrive on what many others are afraid of: complete and irreversible change.  Today I know I was meant to be that way: had I not been, I’d never gone to India…

In this blog I want to tell about my seven years in India. I want to draw attention to what I discovered there.   It turned out to be the most amazing and thrilling but also the most difficult time of my life.  I had never intended to go to India.  As strange as it may sound: I was called.  Someone called me most forcefully and I couldn’t do anything other than go.  On my way there, I found that everything was most lovingly arranged and skillfully orchestrated.  An invisible red carpet seemed to have been laid out all the way from New York to Bombay, where I landed one month after my 44^th birthday.  I can safely say that I am not a religious person.  I never was.  I was also not a seeker of spiritual truth and it had clearly not been my own choice to land there.  But the past year had been one of strange visions and coincidences, spiritual revelations and meaningful dreams; as if a gentle hand was leading me on into an entirely new direction.  The result was: I became interested – so interested that I most willingly dropped everything I had been interested in so far.  Today I know I was chosen, hand-picked, so to say (to this day I haven’t quite figured out why), to lead a spiritual life in India.

Many may have heard by now of SAI BABA of Puttaparthi.  He died recently – well, He left His physical body.  The first thing you learn in India is: no one ever dies.  According to Hindu and also Buddhist belief we leave our body once our ordained time and experience as a “person” comes to an end;  eventually we get a new body and all starts all over again. At the time I was 44 and it was clearly Him who had called me.  And so I arrived at His ashram called “Prashanti Nilayam”, where hundreds of spiritual seekers were milling around or sitting for long hours in the hot afternoon sun to wait for Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba to show himself.  To my surprise, and although I had never exchanged a word with Sai Baba, He had been expecting me: I received a room of my own at His ashram shortly after I arrived (a miracle in itself considering the long list of applicants…)   After I had settled in I couldn’t help but notice that I wasn’t among those to whom Sai Baba paid any attention.  In fact, He ignored me during the next three long years and would pass me as if I was thin air…..  Needless to say that I was heart-broken.  There had to be a reason for this, and there was.

But before I give away the reason, let me explain something important:

Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba is an AVATAR (a “real” one, not the blue movie figure).  ‘Avatar’ means ‘descended from above’,  an embodiment of the Divine, a divine incarnation;  light in human form,GOD in human form.  Sri Sathya Sai Baba claimed to be just that.  He also claimed that all of us are just that: Divinity itself in human bodies.  But due to Maya, the divine illusion, we have forgotten who we really are.  We take ourselves to be these finite bodies, born to die eventually, and we believe that this colorful show we call life is our reality. Sathya Sai Baba, however, knew exactly who He is and who we really are and He had come among us to remind us of this fact and help us to find our way out of our dilemma, the illusion.  It was His mission and He had come well equipped.  In order to show us who He really is, the avatar shows us miracles, deeds we humans are unable to do.  He likes to materialize things with a mere wave of His right hand.  He causes holy ash to appear, or sweets or jewelry, which He presents to His “children” in order to make them realize WHO is there among them.  And yes, He can heal us if our karma allows it.  Breathtaking, really.  It is one thing to hear about those materializations and something entirely different to actually watch them happen.  Like Jesus Christ two-thousand years ago, who made lame people get up and walk, and turned plain water into wine to make people aware that He was divine and no ordinary human.  So Sathya Sai Baba was doing nothing else, and that might be one of the reasons why hundreds had already been flooding His ashram when I arrived.  Many of them came because of some problems or health afflictions – as these seem a necessary incentive for people to board a plane to India and seek help.  Actually, 50% of Baba’s devotees used to be “foreigners”.

So why am I writing all this, now that Sri Sathya Sai Baba has left His physical body and the ashram in Puttaparthi has become a place for pilgrimage to His shrine?  Well, here comes the surprise:

                                                             

There is not only one avatar on this planet, but several. (It is believed among some visionaries that there are currently eleven avatars on Earth, most of which do not give away the secret and prefer to do their work unknown to mankind)   This means we are never really alone.  GOD always makes sure to be among us in person when the times are tough.  And as they are rarely easy, He always makes sure to come, sometimes in one human form, sometimes in several.  My biggest surprise, therefore, while I was in India, was this discovery.  And suddenly, the same power that had brought me to India made sure to take me where I had been supposed to go all along: to the ashram of the then relatively unknown Bhagawan Sri Bala Sai Baba in Kurnool, not far away….

The first thing He did was to explain to me why Sathya Sai Baba had never once spoken to me during the three years of my stay there.  No, it hadn’t been my fault; I had done nothing wrong.  Had He spoken to me, a special bond would have been established which would have made it very difficult for me to ever leave Prashanti Nilayam.  But I was destined to leave. These three years with Sathya Sai Baba had been an important preparation.  At Sri Nilayam in Kurnool, my new home, I was no longer ‘ignored’.  Bala Sai Baba was not so overrun by devotees as yet  (most avatars prefer to remain ‘unknown’ for a while until the right time comes for them to make themselves known and accessible to the crowds) and I now had a wonderful time among only a handful of devotees.  We sat in joyful circles in the garden with Bala Sai Baba among us. He entertained us with His wonderful sense of humor and gave us plenty of proof of His divinity and unconditional love.

                                                          

 I really think everyone on this planet should know about this discovery:  WE ARE NOT ALONE.  There is someone who cares and gives the love of one-thousand mothers, regardless whether we consider ourselves worthy of such a love, or not.  Just like Sathya Sai Baba, Bala Sai Baba knows all about us. This is one of the ‘instruments’ or powers with which a full avatar is equipped for His job on Earth.  He is always there for us at one of his two ashrams and gracefully shows us all the miracles we need to see so that we can believe in the great wonder of DIVINITY.  As an avatar, He is above all religions and available to all: Bhagawan Sri Bala Sai Baba, who, with all His great divine power, lives humbly among us just like an ordinary (very charismatic) human being.

For those who wish to know more about my seven years of unique experiences with both avatars: I have written a book from a diary I kept for many years, entitled

 ‘THE HEART OF THE MELON’ 

The book can be obtained from www.lulu.com or from www.amazon.com

 

EXCERPT FROM ‘THE HEART OF THE MELON’

Chapter 26: Rings….and hooks

      The next morning two new guests arrived from Germany.  It was a middle aged couple displaying the somewhat condescending and self-important behavior of people used to a life among the upper class, where it is a fashion to classify everyone according to their spending power.  Swimming pools, fast cars and super-expensive designer clothes are the criteria after which they label and categorize others.  The man had been manager of a major airline for many years; he was retired now and he and his wife had just been spending a holiday in Sri Lanka, where they had a house with a swimming pool.  Having meanwhile got used to the simpler way of life in India, I found their behavior rather ridiculous and totally out of place.  They were strutting around in their assumed roles as embodiments of eternal success and were acting as if everything in their lives was totally under their own control and the protection of their insurance policies.  About Baba they had heard from one of His devotees in Germany and had decided on their way back home that it would perhaps do no harm to have a look at such a holy man and witness one or two miracles in order to have something to talk about in their illustrious circles of well-off friends.  What actually thrilled them most was the fact that Baba materialized rings for His devotees.  They spent half die afternoon admiring the rings that Baba had materialized for Srino so far – five or six – since Srino was crazy about jewelry and couldn’t get enough of it.  He wore one ring on almost every finger and felt always very flattered when people admired them, which also allowed him to demonstrate the importance he obviously had for Baba.  As Srino had his own taxi business and even permission to park his taxis on the ashram premises, he was thrilled about any new acquaintance with wealthy Germans who were, in his eyes, not only potential customers but also providers of items he wanted from the west.  Like most Indians Srino was also under the widespread illusion that all foreigners were rich and had nothing else to do but worry about what electronic items or newest photographic gadgets he might want from their country, and would bring to him, naturally free of charge.

      After darshan – Baba had talked to the German man shortly in the mandir – the two visitors went out for dinner, the woman wearing a low-cut beach dress that was totally out of place at a small South Indian town where not even prostitutes would dare to show off their bosom or legs in such a fashion.  I was wondering whether she didn’t know any better - she must have noticed that she was the only one running around like that – or whether it was done deliberately.  In the morning she had worn shorts to walk around in town and must have caused some amazement among the Indian population.  This was definitely not good for the reputation of Baba’s ashram.  I decided to inform Rama Rao in his position of ashram manager and let him talk to them rather, since they would probably not even listen to someone as unimportant as me.  Srino had offered to take them around in his taxi and as soon as they had gone Baba appeared on His roof, asked a few questions about these newcomers and then decided to come down.  He was in the mood for moving around and allowed us to join Him for some rounds in the garden.  It was not really all that much fun to do rounds with Baba because of Berta and Karl fighting for the places right next to Him, and although Karl had joined us much later he managed to push others out of the way and after only half a round he was in front.  Baba pretended not to notice any of this and the rest of us trotted behind them with quite a bit of resentment over so much selfish behavior.  After about eight or nine brisk rounds, Baba decided to sit in the well lit area in front of the mandir door.  He sat down on the steps and we formed the usual circle in front of Him.  We had not sat for very long when the two visitors arrived.  They were naturally pleased to see Baba among us and were promptly invited by Him to join our get-together.  After going upstairs to get their sitting cushions – this time the woman had even enough sense to change her dress – they came down again and we had the opportunity to watch Baba play not only the perfect host but also His role as dignified avatar exactly the way these people were bound to expect it.  He was charming and polite and His jokes were refined and perfectly suited for the occasion.  As they seemed to have no spiritual interest of any kind and the evening was therefore wasted in superficial small talk, Baba ended the session earlier than expected and went into mother’s house without allowing us this time to accompany Him to the small gate.  It was a Saturday evening, an occasion when we usually sat until two a.m. since Rama Rao, who was also the manager of a nearby branch of the Syndicate Bank, did not have to go to work and used to sleep in on Sunday mornings.  Baba had been bored with these people, obviously.

      The next morning the visitors had hardly left the ashram to take their breakfast at the one and only expensive hotel available in town, seemingly better suited to their needs than Annapoorna’s idlis, when Baba came down into the garden rather early.  But what a surprise: He looked quite different from the perfectly groomed avatar of last night.  His hair was uncombed and stood around His head in a wild fashion.  He was unshaved and wore a pink gown that He must have pulled out from the bottom of His dirty-laundry basket.  It was crushed all over and covered with many stains in the front.  He had even somehow managed to gather some black dirt under His fingernails.  After inquiring about the whereabouts of our illustrious visitors Baba sent Berta into mother’s house to ask for the newspaper.  It was promptly brought but Baba did not read it.  He spread several pages on the sandy ground in front of the mandir door and lay down on it, obviously trying His best to resemble someone living under a bridge.  We were all very surprised but nobody said anything about it.  Baba was up to something, that much was clear.  As soon as Baba was stretched out comfortably on His newspaper, He told Berta to go and ask Annapoorna to make coffee for everyone.  The coffee came and Annapoorna and her two daughters were invited to join us as well.  Next Chinakka and the boys came by, followed by the little teddy bear dog that naturally ended up on Baba’s newspaper and started chewing it up and ripping it into pieces.  Annapoorna ran for more coffee and they all sat down with us as well.  It as a lovely Sunday morning, Baba was playing ‘clochard’ and everyone seemed welcome to join His play.  Suddenly the little dog toddled into the middle of our circle and started to vomit.  It was the most ghastly and foul smelling stuff that I had ever experienced coming out of such a small dog and within seconds a cloud of fat blue-green flies were attracted and descended upon us in order to sit on that horror.  Everyone jumped to their feet and stood at a little distance, holding scarves or sari ends in front of their faces to protect themselves from the terrible stench, except Baba and myself.  I was so fascinated by this unexpected change of scene that I remained where I was.  Baba did not move either.  He was still lying there, covering His nose with part of His gown and His eyes were sparkling with joy.  At this exact moment the German visitors arrived.  They stopped at a little distance, their faces one big expression of utter astonishment and shock.  Somehow they couldn’t quite believe what they were experiencing:  Baba in the most neglected state anyone had ever seen Him in, lying on what was left from His newspaper after the dog had been at it; newspaper bits about everywhere and something dreadful smelling like the devil in the center, with blue-green flies hovering over the whole scene.  While they stood and stared Baba sat up, still holding His gown in front of His face.  His smile underneath must have been angel-like. 

“Today is Sunday and I haven’t even washed my face!” He announced gaily.  And then, as if suddenly remembering His duty as a perfect host, He asked these two flabbergasted people with the most innocent of looks: “Would you like a cup of coffee?”

      It had been some kind of a shock treatment, I suppose, to crush the superficial shell these two were used to walking around in.  Baba had gone through all these preparations and had orchestrated His little play with perfect timing in order to help them understand what they were doing to themselves.  And it worked, although I never quite understood how.  When Baba came down in the evening, perfectly shaved, groomed and dressed as usual in one of His neatly ironed silk gowns, they both behaved in a much humbler way.  Only in the beginning and more out of a longstanding habit the man resumed his artificial snobbishness and when he asked Baba:”Is it alright to sit there?” Baba answered, “It’s damn alright!”  After that he gave it up, sensing finally that he had met someone it was useless to try and impress with his aristocratic manners.  This time they even came up with something they mistook for a spiritual question.  They wanted to know how Baba could materialize all these rings.  But Baba was not going to be tricked into demonstrating it for them, as they had probably secretly hoped.  They went back to Germany without any such trophies but rather with a priceless experience of a much more helpful and sobering kind.

Contact in India:  (Tel. 0091/9885126557)

Ashram in Kurnool                                                  Ashram in Hyderabad

Sri Bala Sai Nilayam, Kurnool 518001, A.P.          Sri Bala Sai Nilayam, Domalaguda No.1-2-59 South India                                                             Gagan Mahal Colony, Hyderabad 500029, AP