Dr. John Hislop is very famous among Sathya Sai Baba's devotees. He was a man of unique destiny, who for many years practiced various spiritual systems and communicated with leading gurus and philosophers of the twentieth century such as Krishnamurti and Shivananda. However, John Hislop continued to feel dissatisfied and incomplete in his spiritual life.

He felt that all the books he read and the seminars he went through, in which he studied the practices of yoga and meditation, were just steps to something very important. At the end of the sixties, he learned about Sathya Sai Baba and immediately came to his ashram. Seeing Sathya Sai Baba for the first time, Hislop was shocked by the strong vibrations of love emanating from him.

Subsequently, John Hislop published an amazing book entitled “My Baba and I”, his conversations with Sathya Sai Baba, in which he shared the most interesting answers given in response to various questions relating to the spiritual development of man and society. For many people, the book became a reference point providing clear answers to the difficult questions in one’s spiritual development. This book has been translated into numerous languages, and new editions are constantly being printed. People who want a deeper understanding of Sathya Sai Baba's philosophy read and re-read this amazing book.

John Hislop was a blessed soul, and a particularly close devotee of Sathya Sai Baba. Hislop was fortunate to follow him relentlessly for many years, observing his life and listening to his wise instructions. We are lucky that Hislop not only enjoyed his fellowship with Sathya Sai Baba but carried the good news further by writing books, communicating with people, and telling stories about Sathya Sai Baba that he witnessed or directly participated in.

In the early seventies, Sathya Sai Baba went to a large nature reserve located near the city of Mysore, in the very south of India. Sathya Sai Baba took several people with him on the trip, including John Hislop. The area near Mysore is famous for its mild climate and beautiful pristine nature consisting of low mountains covered with jungle, full-flowing fast rivers, a huge number of wild animals and the life of the local population untouched by civilization.

An account of the trip records how Sathya Sai Baba walked with his small group for a long time through the jungle accompanied by local guides. Finally, everyone sat down to rest on the bank of a fast mountain river, enjoying the beautiful views of the mountains. Suddenly, Sathya Sai Baba picked up two branches, folded them in the shape of a cross and showed them to John Hislop before he blew three times on the branches. They instantly turned into a small crucifix of magnificent work. Sathya Sai Baba immediately gave this wonderful crucifix to the shocked Hislop. Photos of this cross are well known and very common.

Many times, I have watched Sathya Sai Baba materialize objects. He made several circular movements with his right hand and small flashes of light appeared directly from the palm of his hand. Rings, rosaries, or amulets miraculously appeared from these flashes. Materialized objects may seem the most ordinary, but in fact they are the greatest objects of power arising from the pure divine light. One of the ways in which Sathya Sai Baba materialized objects was extremely unusual, he blew on his hand three times and an object appeared there.

Breathing is a sacred act. Life begins with the first breath and ends with the last breath. Breathing happens by itself. It is not in our will to breathe or not to breathe. Breathing is the divine will manifested in man. In fact, God, himself, breathes in every person.

The Yogis of India and the Russian Orthodox Elders believe that breathing is a manifestation of the Holy Spirit. Proper meditation begins with conscious breathing and deep prayer is performed in the rhythm of breathing. One who reaches the highest meditative state stops breathing for several hours or even for several days. In Sanskrit this state is called Samadhi.

Sathya Sai Baba breathed on his hand and materialized objects. Each object was a newly created small universe appearing right before your eyes. I have always been fascinated by the moment itself – that high spiritual state one feels when attuning with Sathya Sai Baba at the very, wonderful, moment of breath to bring forth a creation of the world in miniature. As God breathed the breath of life into mankind, Sathya Sai Baba materialized objects with the help of three significant breaths, showing that breath gives birth to life and creates a miracle.

Subsequently, that cross given to Hislop also came with some amazing details. Sathya Sai Baba said the cross was made from a piece of the same tree on which Jesus Christ was crucified. This is absolutely incredible! How can this even be? Who is Sathya Sai Baba who can do such a thing?! How could Sathya Sai Baba materialize a cross from the same legendary tree 2000 years after the event. Explaining the meaning of this cross, Sathya Sai Baba also said that the face of Jesus depicted on this cross is an exact portrait of Jesus on the day of his crucifixion after several days of torture and hunger.

5. All people are enlightened, they just don't know about it

The true "I" is always in awareness. All living beings experience the True Self as the awareness of "I Am". When the sense of self is misidentified with the body or mind, it becomes selfishness. Delusions of the mind cloud the True Self. It is like the clouds blocking the radiance of the sun. In the same way, the mind blocks the radiance of the True Self. The mind is unable to know the True Self, the mind is also unable to experience the supreme bliss of the True Self. One who has gained self-realization can be conscious under any circumstances of life.

(Sathya Sai Baba – "Summer Showers in Brindavan", 1990)

"I" is the original true name of God. God is the True "I" of every person and in general of every living being. "I" and God are eternally one, which is why it is written in the Vedas that everyone can realize that “I AM God.” The Gospel says: "I and my Heavenly Father are one." These aphorisms speak of the inner reality not only of the prophets and teachers, but of the essence of the soul of every person. This is the essence of Gnostics, that is, mystical Christianity.

By carefully studying the gospel message, we see that Jesus taught three basic doctrines. First, the realization of one's divinity. Second, direct communication between man and God. Third, love and compassion for one's neighbor. Jesus pointed out that God and the Kingdom of Heaven are the inner reality of every person.

The message of Krishna, Jesus and Sathya Sai Baba are identical and point to the inner divinity of each person, to the direct communication of man and God, and to the importance of serving people. At a higher level of spiritual practice, one discovers the truth that "I and My Heavenly Father are one." At this level, the communication between man and God becomes the communication between the Absolute "I" and the individual "I", which takes place in the depths of the Spiritual Heart.

The true "I" is originally enlightened and perfect; it does not need enlightenment, because enlightenment is its nature. As a person feels himself as a separate being, he strives for enlightenment as the final liberation from suffering. Realizing the true nature of his soul, a person opens the great treasure that is hidden in the Spiritual Heart.

For many years, the Buddha aspired to enlightenment, and having received this state, he was surprised to say that it turned out he had always been enlightened. However, the Buddha and many Masters, having gained enlightenment, utter wonderful words that all enlightened people simply do not know about it.

"I Am" is the door to higher reality. The beginning of the spiritual path lies in the awareness of one's existence, i.e., "I Am". At first glance, this sounds too elementary and obvious, but most people are not aware of their existence – most live their entire lives in unconsciousness. Self-existence is a well-known sensation for every person; it is so familiar that it often goes unnoticed. The feeling of "I Am" is the door to the highest reality and it is from this knowledge that the true spiritual path begins.

You are what you think you are. You are inherently free, so no one can give or take away your freedom. Remember that the information you are given may be true for some, but it is not necessarily true for all. You have the right to accept or reject any point of view, regardless of the authority of the person who tells you something. You are what you think you are so, be aware of your freedom.

The divine man is free and of good morals. Freedom alone is not enough. Freedom in ignorant hands can cause grief and suffering. The freedom of the wise is based on good. You are free because you always have the freedom to choose, even if you may not always understand it. The freedom of choice in the life of a wise man is based on love. The freedom of the unreasonable is based on selfishness.

The Buddha told his disciples they could only accept his teaching if they agreed with it after thinking deeply about the essence of the teaching. This was a manifestation of true freedom. Sathya Sai Baba also never demanded thoughtless submission. He left people with the right to free choice and the right to learn from their mistakes.

6. Sathya Sai Baba was unpredictable

I will now tell a very famous story in this chapter, which I heard from several senior devotees who were close to Sathya Sai Baba for many years. In 1961, a traditional Vedic ceremony was planned to be held at the ashram. For this, several experienced Hindu Brahmin priests were invited. Vedic ceremonies are performed according to strict regulations. According to the astrological calculations made by the clergy, the ceremony had to start at 7.30am. This was immediately reported to Sathya Sai Baba. After listening to all the details of the calculations, Sathya Sai Baba said that it was not favorable to start the ritual at this time and that the correct time would be 9.30am. Moreover, he proclaimed that the ritual could only be started at the time specified by him.

The priests were very experienced astrologers and insisted on the accuracy of their calculations. Sathya Sai Baba did not respond to their objections, so it seemed to the priests they were able to convince him of the correctness of their opinion.

When the appointed day arrived, the clergy got up early in the morning, took a bath and prepared to leave the house to calmly reach the temple to prepare and start the ceremony at exactly 7.30am, as planned. It had heavily rained all night and in the early morning it continued to pour without a hint of the bad weather ending.

The priests dressed as they should in special vestments, but looking at the raging weather, did not know what to do as it was impossible to leave the house because of the storm. Missing the scheduled start of the ritual would be a big mistake and would be considered an unfavorable sign, and so everyone present began to worry.

The downpour was so heavy that the Chitravathi River overflowed its banks in the morning, and since the priests lived on the other side of the river, they simply could not come to the ashram on time. The only thing that could be done was to stand at the exit of the house and just wait. After some time, the rain suddenly stopped abruptly, and they were able to get to the ashram and begin the ritual.

The atmosphere was tense since the start was later than scheduled, and some began to doubt whether it was necessary to start worship at all. When the ceremony finally began, it was exactly 9.30am, as Sathya Sai Baba had predicted. Realizing that everything happened strictly in accordance with the predictions of Sathya Sai Baba, everyone sang praises to God in joy.

After some time, Sathya Sai Baba decided to hold another big Vedic ceremony, and for this he again invited the same priests to the ashram. As soon as all the priests arrived, he gathered them in his room and told them to draw up an exact list of ritual accessories needed for worship a few days before the start of the program.

It may seem strange to you why so much attention was paid to all the details. The fact is that since ancient times in the Vedic tradition all the details of the rituals are considered very important: when to start the ritual, who should conduct it, what mantras should be pronounced, how to properly install the statues of deities, and much more.

In accordance with Sathya Sai Baba's instructions, the clergy compiled a detailed list that included a huge number of various items, such as special incense and flowers, ghee and special rice, bells and offering plates, special cloths for deities, small spoons for holy water, and many other things. He was given the list and ordered the administrators of the ashram to buy everything they needed in strict accordance with the items listed.

Just five minutes before the start of the ceremony, the chief clergyman realized with horror he had forgotten to include the ritual silver jar, Kalasha. Nervously, he approached Sathya Sai Baba, who had already left his room and was on his way to the ceremony site and explained the situation in a trembling voice. Sathya Sai Baba smiled, shook his head knowingly, and instantly materialized an ancient ritual silver jug.

It was clear to all those present that this was a special jar. On its walls there were several images with images of the Deities. The jug looked like an old relic as if it was not an ordinary item but had come from another time in history. Some people present plucked up the courage and asked Sathya Sai Baba to tell the story of the unique jug. He said it was the same jug he used in his previous incarnation to perform solemn ceremonies.

In his past life, Sathya Sai Baba was called Shirdi Sai Baba because he lived in the city of Shirdi, in the western part of India. In each incarnation we call him Sai Baba, but the first name always changes. As I have already mentioned, in the previous incarnation he was called Shirdi Sai Baba because he lived in the city of Shirdi. In his last incarnation he was called Sathya Sai Baba: the name, Sathya means "truth". In the next incarnation, in accordance with his predictions, he will incarnate in southern India and his name will be Prema Sai Baba. Prema means "divine love" in Sanskrit.

So, Sathya Sai Baba materialized a jug, which he also used in his previous life to perform Vedic ceremonies. Surprisingly and incomprehensibly, he could not only overcome space, but also time. By materializing a jug from his previous life, he revealed that he experienced being outside of time and space.

All the miracles of Sathya Sai Baba had a deep spiritual meaning, they shocked and transformed everyone present, as well as everyone who later learned about these miracles. When reading stories about the life of Sathya Sai Baba, try to imagine all the events described as clearly as possible. Imagine that you, too, are present in the events unfolding so that you feel and experience an even stronger energy and receive blessings.

All outer worship ultimately leads to the mystical experience of the Absolute Self. The true "Self" is beyond space and time. Each person is born into this world with a unique spiritual task. Everyone is the creator of their life and the author of their reality. In the highest sense, the goal of human life is self-knowledge of the eternal divine essence of one's soul and self-realization of one's God-given talents.

Spiritual evolution takes place not only in meditation and prayer, but in all life events. Any experience you have in life is part of your spiritual evolution. Everything you do can become a spiritual practice if it is done in the awareness of oneness.

Your physical body, family, financial situation, success, like everything else, is the result of your own thoughts. If you are not satisfied with the circumstances in which you live your life, you need to start with the transformation of your thoughts. A man is what he thinks.

The Vedas and the Bible say that every person is created in the image and likeness of God himself, which means that every person is initially perfect, brilliant, omnipotent, and a wise creator of his reality. But there is another point of view about the creation of man. If we perceive God as a higher power that is outside of man, then we can say that God created man and endowed him with certain qualities. However, if we understand God as the True "I", then it turns out that "I am God" created himself as "I am man." In Sanskrit, this is called "Sambhava", which means "created" itself.

In this chapter, we have recollected amazing stories about traditional Vedic ceremonies which were performed quite often in Sathya Sai Baba's ashram. Why was it necessary? The deep meaning of Vedic worship is to reveal the inner divinity of each person. All outer worship ultimately leads to the mystical experience of the Absolute Self.

7. Unity of duality

Where there is duality, there is a desire to acquire or a desire to avoid, a desire to possess or a fear of losing. When you gain wisdom, you experience a state of oneness where there is no duality, which means there is nothing to desire and nothing to avoid.

(Sathya Sai Baba – Sathya Sai Gita Chapter 14)

Man lives in duality because the main property of the manifested world is duality. There's nothing wrong with that as it's just a property of the universe. Duality is manifested in male and female, day and night, sun and moon, north and south poles, right and left hemispheres of the brain. The Chinese Taoist tradition talks about the interaction and balance of Yin and Yang. Even in the process of breathing, duality is manifested – inhalation is replaced by exhalation.

The question is not how to run away from duality, but how to perceive duality. A person who sees the original unity in duality is freed from attachments and internal conflicts. Duality is not to be fought or avoided, it must be understood and accepted. There are no contradictions in duality because duality is the harmony of unity in diversity. Perhaps the most striking manifestation of the unity of duality is shown in the interaction of male and female principles in the universe.

A person who is in the Spirit of God naturally finds abundance and happiness. Only one who constantly divides and cannot accept the integrity of the universe tries to give up the so-called material to acquire the so-called spiritual. The Divine is in everything. Where and why do you want to run away? Maybe it's time to see God in everything?

Even if you practice visualization regularly and very well the result will not come, because it is necessary to also perform an action. Even the Avatar always acts.

The Avatar is also in the world of duality. He performs actions being in the awareness of the original unity. Sathya Sai Baba also aspired to implement his projects and successfully achieve his social goals. Spirituality is not about trying naively to avoid active social activity, but about doing action while realizing the unity and interconnectedness of all that exists.

The most subtle action that absolutely everyone performs is breathing. The process of breathing is deeply connected with the flow of thoughts and the circulation of vital energy. Some tried to tell Sathya Sai Baba that they were supposedly completely freed from any activity. His response was, “how can you be inactive if you are breathing? Breath is the original source of any action.”

8. Difficult mysteries of past lives

One day an Indian family came to the ashram: a husband, wife and two children. They were eager to have an audience with Sathya Sai Baba in order to consult with him on several serious issues. They asked an acquaintance, who worked in the administration of the ashram to intercede on their behalf and ask about a personal meeting with their Sai Baba.

In the earlier period of Sathya Sai Baba's life, when there were still not so many people around him, such situations were quite possible. Subsequently, he became so popular that it was impossible to arrange individual personal meetings. Each time, to invite or not to invite a person to a personal conversation was the exclusive choice of Sathya Sai Baba himself. However, in those days one could ask someone to arrange a personal meeting.

So, this Indian family turned to an acquaintance who worked in the administration of the ashram and asked him to help in organizing an audience. When the administrator turned to Sathya Sai Baba with the request, he immediately said that both children in this family were blind. This surprised everyone present, because Sathya Sai Baba was not familiar with this family before and none of those present knew the children were blind.

Several days passed, but Sathya Sai Baba did not extend invitation for this family to have a private conversation. A few days later, Sathya Sai Baba approached his assistants and told them that in her previous life the mother of the blind children had pierced the eyes of her adopted children in anger, and as a result of this, in this life her two children were blind. Hearing this revelation, everyone was surprised how much Sathya Sai Baba knew not only about the present life, but the past lives of people.

In most cases, people perceive situations superficially without understanding the underlying causes of certain events. When problems start, the question arises: if I did nothing wrong, why am I suffering? Most often, people perceive their life as limited within this incarnation. Thoughts and actions committed in the past literally build all the circumstances of life in the present. Everything that happens in this life is shaped by what a person has done in many previous births, but it is quite difficult to remember exactly or consciously to know the actions of your past lives.

Nowadays, more and more people receive various mystical experiences associated with visions of their past incarnations. The big question is how accurate these mystical visions and sensations are. Quite a lot of people enthusiastically say that they were Pharaohs in Ancient Egypt and great Lamas in Tibet in past lives.

Quite often, past life visions are based on inflated egos. People want to be special and great, so ideas arise that it was you who was Alexander the Great or Cleopatra in a past life. However, the reality of your past lives may be completely different and what the ego may whisper is likely to be very far from the realities of your past lives.

Sathya Sai Baba accurately saw the thoughts, states, energy, and karma of a person, so he built his communication with everyone based on what he knew about the depths of the inner world of a person. Sathya Sai Baba understood the inner world of the audience member so deeply that the person himself could not know about himself and not even guess some of the hidden labyrinths of his own subconscious.

It might seem that Sathya Sai Baba is too kind and gracious in his dealings with some, and yet very harsh with another, but there was a deep reason for everything. Such situations constantly happened around Sathya Sai Baba. He could easily heal one person and ignore the problems of another. Each of his actions had its own mysterious and deep meaning. Of course, some, not trying to reflect on the deep meaning of his actions, might resent Sathya Sai Baba, accusing him of being merciful to some and supposedly hard-hearted to others.

There are many things you can ask someone else to do for you. Someone can fix your computer or car, and there’s no need to do it yourself. You can ask someone to collect useful information for you, so you don't have to do it personally. But there are other things, essential things, you need to do only on your own, for example: change your attitude toward yourself, realize your purpose in life, be aware of your dreams, practice meditation, mantras, and prayers.

Krishna, Buddha, Christ, and Sai Baba cannot meditate for you and realize your destiny in life; you must do all this on your own. All actions of Avatars such as Krishna, Buddha, Christ, and Sai Baba take place in the world of duality, but those actions take place in the spirit of non-attachment. The action of the Avatar is based on wisdom and perfect knowledge of the situation. In past lives, you have accumulated karma, which determines everything that happens to you now. Karma is an information flow that exists completely objectively, regardless of whether you accept it or not. It is quite obvious that Sathya Sai Baba lightens the karma of people, but part of the karma still needs to be worked out on your own.

Karma is accumulated by the individual soul over a large number of past lives. Karma exists only for the individual soul. Not only every action, but every thought creates a new karma, and it can seem impossible and unattainable to free oneself. Figuratively speaking, having worked off the old karma this afternoon, in the evening you accumulate a new one. What to do? Where is the exit from the cycle?

Being aware of yourself as the True Self places you outside the accumulation and cycle of karma, as if you are freed from cause and effect. One who performs an unconditional action, as in they feel no selfish attachment to the outcome, turns that action into a meditation and is protected from the accumulation of karma because the intention is selfless. One who is in the flow of the True Self performs actions in love and compassion for all people, feeling the presence of divinity in themselves and everyone else.