Sathya Sai Baba. Supernatural Experiences and Divine Transformation. Book Three

At the end of the 19th century, a Russian of Jewish origin, Nikolai Notovich (1858-1916) became one of the first to openly speak about the life of Jesus Christ in India. Notovich was born into a Jewish family, but later decided to convert to Orthodox Christianity. At the end of the 19th century, Notovitch went to India in order to try to discover the mystery of Jesus Christ. He visited distant monasteries, temples, and ashrams. He managed to visit different parts of the Himalayas, including Kashmir.

Why did Notovitch go to India in search of information about Jesus Christ? Did he have preliminary information that Jesus Christ lived and studied in India prior to his trip? There are suggestions that such knowledge could exist in the Theosophical Society founded by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, as well as in some esoteric societies of Western Europe.

It is quite possible that Notovitch did not just go on this expedition but was sent by "someone" to search for important information about the mysterious years of the life of Jesus Christ in India. He confidently headed for India, as if he already knew what to look for and where to find it.

During his expedition to northern India, Notovitch interacted with Hindu and Buddhist teachers. His goal was to find evidence of Jesus Christ in India.

As a result of his research, Nikolai Notovitch was able to find written evidence that Jesus Christ had studied in the Vedic and Buddhist ashrams of Kashmir. Notovitch was shown the original of an ancient text that described the life of Jesus Christ in India. The researcher could not remove the original document from the Himalayan monastery; nevertheless, he was shown the text and was allowed to make copies of some chapters.

Returning to Russia, Nikolai Notovitch wrote a famous book called The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ. It was impossible to publish the book in Russia, so he published it in France.

Returning to Russia, Nikolai Notovitch was immediately arrested. Two years later, he was released from prison. In Russia, he was banned from publishing books, after which Notovitch left the Russian Empire and moved to Europe.

In Europe, Nikolai Notovitch met with several hierarchs of the Catholic Church, in particular with Cardinal Rotelli. Representatives of the Catholic Church also asked Notovitch never to publish materials about the life of Jesus Christ in India.

Interestingly, the representatives of the Catholic Church were not surprised by the very facts presented in Notovitch's book. The subject of their concern was only the disclosure of secrets. It is a known fact that the Catholic Church offered a large sum of money to Nikolai Notovitch so that he would refrain from further publication. It is difficult to say whether Notovitch agreed to accept the money, but subsequently he refrained from active public activity.

One of the remarkable Indian spiritual teachers of the early twentieth century, Swami Abhedananda (1866 – 1939), having read the materials of Nikolai Notovitch, was shocked by the information about the life of Jesus Christ in the Himalayas, and he decided to personally verify the authenticity of this amazing information.

Swami Abhedananda was a Hindu expert in the philosophy of Vedanta. He had no personal interest in confirming or refuting this version. All he wanted was to know what the truth was.

In the early 1920s, Swami Abhedananda organized an expedition to northern India to Kashmir. He confirmed he was able to personally see an ancient text describing the life of Jesus Christ in India. It was the same text that Nikolai Notovitch had held in his hands thirty years before.

In the late 1920s, Swami Abhedananda published his materials under the title Journey to Kashmir and Tibet. Swami Abhedananda was also unable to obtain the original text – all he testified was that he held the ancient manuscript in his hands.

17. Spiritual Masters about the life of Jesus Christ in India

Nicholas Roerich (1874 – 1947), the greatest Russian mystic, artist, philosopher, and explorer of the East, referring to materials he received from a variety of sources, said that Jesus Christ underwent spiritual training in the ashrams of India.

Nicholas Roerich was initiated into a number of Western and Eastern mystical orders. He was a close student of the Mahatmas, the high spiritual teachers of the Himalayas, and also studied with the Tibetan Lamas.

In the 1920s, Nicholas Roerich made several expeditions to India, Tibet, Mongolia, Central Asia, and Altai. For about thirty years he lived in the Himalayas, in a place called Kulu Manali. He published some materials about his eastern expeditions, in which he mentioned he came into contact with numerous testimonies that Jesus Christ traveled through India and the Himalayas, where at that time he was called Issa.

Nicholas Roerich did not hide the fact he received information about the life of Jesus Christ in India not only from the Himalayan teachers, but also from the secret esoteric societies of the West.

Traveling through the places of power of the East, Roerich came into contact with a large number of legends that Jesus Christ lived and studied in Kashmir. It is difficult to say, perhaps the teachers with whom Roerich met in the Himalayas provided him with the original manuscript. It is only known that Roerich preferred only to refer to the existence of information about the life of Jesus Christ in India, but never provided the general public with more accurate evidence.

Unique information about the life of Jesus Christ in India was also confirmed by Yogananda (1893 – 1952), the greatest teacher of Kriya Yoga. In his lectures and commentaries on the New Testament, Yogananda shared many details about the life of Jesus Christ in India.

According to Yogananda's information, Jesus Christ studied at several mountain ashrams in Kashmir and eastern India, in the holy city of Puri, where one of the most important temples of Krishna, called Jaganath, is located. At the time of Jesus Christ, Buddhism was actively developing in India and numerous ashrams of the Vedic tradition continued to exist in parallel.

Yogananda did not refer to the fact that he saw the ancient texts; rather, he based his understanding on his inner experience of clairvoyance, as well as on the information he received from high teachers from the Himalayas. Yogananda said that Jesus Christ studied the practices of Kriya Yoga in the Himalayas and was a member of the inner circle of disciples of the Himalayan Masters.

Of course, for some, Yogananda's clairvoyance may not be a convincing proof of the truth of the information, but for me it is quite a convincing reason to recognize this information as genuine.

18. Yogi Ramaiah about the life of Jesus Christ in India

The unique information about the life of Jesus Christ in India was also confirmed by my teacher of Kriya Yoga, Yogi Ramaiah (1923 – 2006), with whom I studied for many years. He was a direct student of Mahavatar Babaji, an immortal teacher from the Himalayas. I wrote in more detail about the life of Yogi Ramaiah in my books: Babaji – Eternal Consciousness in an Immortal Body and Babaji – the Mystery of Divine Potential.

Yogi Ramaiah spoke not only about the fact that Jesus Christ studied in India, but also revealed details about who exactly he studied with. Yogi Ramaiah said Jesus Christ was a close disciple of Mahavatar Babaji.

In India, Jesus Christ was called Issa. In some cases, this name is pronounced as Ishsha. This name comes from the Sanskrit word Ishvara, which means the supreme Lord.

Yogi Ramaiah received information about Jesus Christ and his spiritual practices in India from his great Teacher, Mahavatar Babaji. Once I tried to find out from Yogi Ramaiah if he had seen a mysterious manuscript with the story of the life of Jesus Christ in the Himalayas. In answer to my question, Yogi Ramaiah replied he had not seen this text and did not even try to look for it, because he heard all the information about the life and practices of Jesus Christ in India directly from the immortal Mahavatar Babaji.

Jesus Christ was trained by Mahavatar Babaji in the practices of Kriya Yoga. Returning to Palestine, he taught some of his students these great meditation practices. Various elements of Kriya Yoga were practiced in the early Christian communities by the Gnostics.

The worldview of Jesus Christ was strongly influenced by Vedic philosophy and the moral foundations of Buddhism. Of course, Jesus Christ was born in a Jewish environment and his preaching was subsequently based on Biblical terminology, but the essence of his teaching clearly points to the Vedic and Buddhist tradition.

The question may arise as to how in those ancient times could Jesus Christ get to distant India? In that distant era, not only numerous caravans with goods went along the Silk Road, but also manuscripts were transported. Philosophers and mystics traveled with the help of the well-functioning system of the Silk Road.

People living in different parts of the ancient world could exchange not only goods, but also knowledge. No one is surprised that at the time of the birth of Jesus Christ, three Magi with a retinue came from Persia in order to greet the divine child. Why do people doubt the possibility of Jesus Christ traveling to India?

The importance of the information that Jesus Christ studied in India lies in the fact that the main source of the teachings of Jesus Christ was precisely the Vedic tradition. This impressive discovery includes the realization that Christianity, first of all, has Vedic roots.

The materials presented in the previous chapters indicate that Sathya Sai Baba was far from being the first to proclaim the truth about the life of Jesus Christ in India. Sathya Sai Baba confirmed what was already known a hundred years before him and added numerous important details about the inner path and spiritual quest of Jesus Christ.

19. Spiritual Path of Jesus Christ

Sathya Sai Baba said that Jesus Christ went through the path of intensive meditation and contemplation practices before he gained perfect wisdom. As a result of the practice of meditation, Jesus Christ gradually drew closer to God. Finally, he was able to realize that he was the Son of God. After that, he continued to strive for the knowledge of God even more intensely and gained the highest experience of oneness with God.

In order to advance deeply in the process of knowledge of God, Jesus Christ went on a distant pilgrimage to the Himalayas. There he practiced meditation, constantly thinking about God.

Sathya Sai Baba said that Jesus Christ practiced in a remote part of the Himalayas for several years. During this period of his life, Jesus Christ practiced various spiritual techniques. Finally, he fully felt the presence of his Heavenly Father's divine love. Jesus Christ realized that God is the original nature of the soul. Then he was able to proclaim: "I and My Heavenly Father are One." This is how Sathya Sai Baba described the spiritual path of Jesus Christ.

In the information that Sathya Sai Baba reports, it is important to note several fundamental points. First of all, again and again, he confirms the fact that Jesus Christ spent almost half of his life in India, including the Himalayas.

From the story told by Sathya Sai Baba, we learn many astonishing details; in particular, that Jesus Christ practiced for five long years in seclusion in the Himalayas. Perhaps during this period, he was in some cave, or in one of the ashrams. Such solitary retreats are a traditional form of spiritual practice for Himalayan yogis. Practitioners of various traditions retire to small ashrams or caves in order to immerse themselves in contemplation and study sacred texts in depth.

Speaking about the spiritual path of Jesus Christ, Sathya Sai Baba reminds us that even the greatest souls must go through the path of spiritual practices before they can realize their inner divine potentials.

In one of his lectures, Sathya Sai Baba said that after gaining in the Himalayas the experience of oneness with God, Jesus Christ received the presence of the Holy Spirit. After that, he decided to return from India back to the west, to Palestine. All the years spent in India, Jesus Christ lived almost alone, communicating with a narrow circle of Teachers and Yogis. Finally, it was time for him to begin teaching disciples. Jesus Christ returned to Palestine to show his disciples and followers the way of salvation.

We know that Jesus Christ was taught by superior teachers. In his open lectures, Sathya Sai Baba never gave the exact names of those Gurus who taught Jesus Christ, and he has not yet revealed this secret.

20. There are no any intermediaries between God and devotees

When I came to the ashram of Sathya Sai Baba for the first time, I understood very well that theoretical knowledge is one thing and inner experience is quite another. Theoretical knowledge is very important, but this is just the first stage as philosophical concepts, themselves, give only the illusion of implementation. The essence of the spiritual path is the inner experience gained through meditation.

People come to the ashram to have Darshan. What is this? The word Darshan comes from the word Darsh, which means to see. Darshan then, is the opportunity to see the divine teacher directly and physically.

Darshan with Sathya Sai Baba is the moment of the descent of divine grace, colossal vital energy, and the consonance of the inner world of a person with the vibration of divine love. In the physical presence of Sathya Sai Baba, people entered deep, divine states. People froze in perfect concentration on his form as he slowly walked through the huge hall, softly between the rows. Everyone's eyes were directed to Sathya Sai Baba.

The greatest miracle occurred during eye contact. How can you describe the look of eternity? Photos can only give a glimpse of it. In his presence, we felt unity and grace, and everyone present would immerse themselves in silent prayer and contemplation.

Over time, there has been something that amazes me more and more about Sathya Sai Baba. One of his greatest miracles was that even though he had tens of millions of devotees, he personally associated with everyone.

He often repeated: “There is not, and cannot be, any intermediary between me and the devotees. I communicate with everyone, only, personally.”

Therefore, both during his lifetime and now, one must be very careful when people appear to broadcast allegedly on behalf of Sathya Sai Baba. He himself warned us against falling into the traps of such swindlers. One must try to independently establish a heart-centered, spiritual connection with God.

Of course, it is easy to understand the principle of face-to-face communication for someone who is fortunate enough to be invited for personal talks in Sathya Sai Baba's room many times. But not everyone was given such a unique opportunity. What if a person did not have the opportunity to talk to Sathya Sai Baba physically, and what of those who could not even come to India in order to see Sathya Sai Baba?

Even if you did not manage to communicate with him on the physical plane, this did not change anything because Sathya Sai Baba is beyond time and space. Through meditative experiences, intuitive sensations, lucid dreaming experiences, Sathya Sai Baba always communicates directly and personally with everyone.

21. Photography with God

I can honestly say I never wanted to take a picture with Sathya Sai Baba, although during personal communication I had such an opportunity. I had the opportunity to take pictures with Sathya Sai Baba many times, but I did not want to physically imprint my closeness with him as it was always enough for me that he resides in my heart. I do not think that taking a picture with Sathya Sai Baba as a keepsake was bad, of course not. Several times I took pictures of him with devotees at his own request.

I always wanted to communicate with Sathya Sai Baba as much as possible and being near him was my highest happiness. Communication with him was invaluable for me, and I understood that as an interpreter I was given a great opportunity to realize the dream of direct communication.

Constantly, I mentally asked for as many interviews as possible, and Sathya Sai Baba answered this inner request of mine, in full. Sometimes I got interviews with a group of friends, and sometimes I went as a translator with groups I didn't know, and then there were cases where I was personally invited.

Being Sathya Sai Baba's interpreter was a great opportunity, because I always sat right next to his chair, which gave me consistent opportunity for close, direct communication. Even though I translated for the group, there were always moments for personal questions.

I once attended an interview that included an Indian family from Delhi; the parents and two children, a boy and a girl. Sathya Sai Baba materialized a watch for the girl as a gift. Her little brother looked especially annoyed as he stared upon the beautiful watch. His expression showed so much sadness as if he would soon burst into tears because he had not received a gift too.

Seeing the boy's distress, Sathya Sai Baba instantly materialized a camera and presented it to the astonished child. The happiness of the child was boundless! He enthusiastically held the gift and carefully examined it. A moment later, Sathya Sai Baba took the boy's camera and gave it to me, asking me to take a picture of him with this Indian family.

Sathya Sai Baba playfully embraced the children, while the happy parents stood nearby. I found a good shot and tried to take a picture, but the camera didn't work. Sathya Sai Baba laughed and ordered me to give the camera back. I did so and he easily took a few pictures of everyone present. After that, he again gave the camera to me and asked me to take pictures. Despite all my attempts to take at least one picture, the camera would not work.

I felt uncomfortable with my helplessness. It seemed in my hands, the camera wouldn’t work, but as soon as I gave it to Sathya Sai Baba, it took pictures normally. Sathya Sai Baba hilariously joked, “all this modern technology is solid magic – sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.”

Finally, I realized that everything happening was a joke of Sathya Sai Baba. With a smile, I turned to him and said that in order to take a picture I needed a blessing. Sathya Sai Baba shook his head approvingly and raised his right hand in blessing. After that, I was able to easily take some good shots.

22. Sathya Sai Baba appeared on the photo

This story was told to me by Mr. Subba Rao, one of the oldest devotees of Sathya Sai Baba. Not far from Bangalore there is a comprehensive school founded by Sathya Sai Baba. In the early ‘90s, the school celebrated its anniversary. Teachers and students invited Sathya Sai Baba to attend the event and he gave his consent promising to come without fail. The day came, but Sathya Sai Baba did not come, despite the fact that teachers and students were waiting for him.

The whole day there was a lavish music and dance program, in which all the students at the school participated. The children hoped they would be able to demonstrate their skills in front of Sathya Sai Baba, but, alas, he was absent. By the end of the holiday, the children were deeply upset and disappointed by the absence of their beloved Sai.

During the holiday, several photographers took numerous pictures. To everyone's surprise, one of the pictures taken during the program clearly showed that Sathya Sai Baba was standing on the stage next to the children, although he was not physically there.

When Mr. Subba Rao told me this story, I asked if the photograph had survived. I did not want to offend my interlocutor with distrust, but I still wanted to get confirmation of the wonderful story. Mr. Subba Rao silently got up from his chair, went to the closet, took out a photograph and showed it to me. I carefully held the priceless photograph in my hands. Outwardly, it was an ordinary photo in which there were thousands of children on the stage with Sathya Sai Baba as if he were actually there in person. This shot was something special. Joy shone in my heart as I carefully peered at the photo, which was a manifestation of the love and omnipresence of the Avatar.

A similar incident happened in the mid ‘90s in Moscow in the home of some devotees. One day about fifteen devotees gathered together. They’d practiced mantras all evening and after that merrily drank tea and ate cakes. Some of those present took some pictures. After the pictures were printed, everyone saw that Sathya Sai Baba appeared in several pictures standing between the people.

23. Born from the Light

Sathya Sai Baba was born from an immaculate conception. This was told many years later by his mother, Easwaramma. A luminous ball descended on her and entered her stomach. Easwaramma lost consciousness, but it was not an ordinary swoon – it was the highest divine trance. She then realized that she was pregnant.

No one knew about this for a long time and it was only in the ‘60s when Sathya Sai Baba allowed his elderly mother to tell the residents of the ashram that he was born as a result of the descent of divine energy.

The miracle of the Immaculate Conception in Christianity is attributed exclusively to Jesus Christ. In fact, a number of high teachers were incarnated through an immaculate conception, because they did not have the karma of birth in the human world. This is how Krishna and Buddha incarnated.

This is a very complex topic beyond human understanding. Avatars come in different levels. The complexity of the theme of Avatars lies in the fact we look at the physical body of a divine teacher and see in front of us, it would seem, an ordinary person.

The physical body of the Avatar creates a colossal illusion that it is an ordinary person, just like you and me. The physical form of Sathya Sai Baba created a huge delusion. At times, it was difficult to understand that a cosmic creature was embodied in this human body.

Most people who came to Sathya Sai Baba felt the most powerful energies, but there were also those who came, looked at him, and disappointedly said, “so what? he walks, communicates with people, we don’t feel anything!”

There were cases when people were given the unique opportunity to personally communicate with Sathya Sai Baba, and after an hour of talking with him, left the room and asked me, “what is so special about it? We talked to him for an hour, and we didn’t feel anything.” Alas, there have been situations like this.

One must be completely insensitive in order not to feel the great and purest energies. One does not need to have special psychic abilities in order to feel the radiance of divine love in the presence of Sathya Sai Baba.

It is impossible to prove or disprove that Sathya Sai Baba is the highest divine incarnation. Logic and reason are powerless to determine the infinite inner nature of God. All attempts by people to argue, prove or disprove the divinity of Sathya Sai Baba are completely meaningless.

There are devotees and followers who sincerely try to prove to their friends that Sathya Sai Baba is the Avatar. However, their arguments are completely unconvincing, because against any argument there is always a counterargument.

There are people who consider Sathya Sai Baba to be a cunning swindler and deceiver, and they also try to prove their point. Their arguments are also completely helpless.

Only intuition and subtle inner spiritual experience can reveal the deep realities of the Avatar. That is why any discussion is useless. In this chapter, we recalled one of the greatest miracles of Sathya Sai Baba, which is that he was born as a result of an immaculate conception. How can we prove or disprove this fact? Of course, it is logically or scientifically impossible to do so.

What we have as information is the testimony of Sathya Sai Baba's mother. He who wants to doubt will always find a reason to doubt. The very life of Sathya Sai Baba proves he is the greatest teacher of mankind. Even now, many thousands of years after Krishna, Buddha and Jesus Christ lived, there are people who doubt the authenticity of the spiritual message of these divine teachers.

There are even people who generally doubt that Krishna, Buddha, and Jesus Christ lived on this planet. Some people try to claim that Krishna, Buddha, and Jesus Christ are just fictional characters.

In this book, we recall amazing events, some of which I have personally witnessed. Some of the stories I tell in this book I have learned from other devotees. How can you trust my stories? How can one trust the stories of other people who personally knew Sathya Sai Baba and witnessed his divine play? Only your intuitive feeling and inner spiritual experience can give an exhaustive answer to all questions.

24. Blessings and trials, the story of Vasudevan

People asked Sathya Sai Baba for blessings and help in solving all sorts of life problems, but sometimes exactly the opposite result turned out when, temporarily, the situation worsened or became more aggravated. How to relate to this – why did this sometimes happen?

The true blessing of the Avatar does not mean the instant fulfillment of your momentary whims. The task of the Avatar is to guide you on the path of spiritual growth. It is the quality of spiritual evolution that is the most important criterion, even if one has to go through some difficulties, trials, and crises.

Sometimes, it may seem to people the Avatar, allegedly, did not help in some situations. When you come to a healer or psychic, you expect mandatory help in solving your problems, especially since most often you pay the healer for his services. People often try to shift their problems onto a healer or psychologist, expecting them to solve all their problems for them.

Any healer or psychologist, any yogi or psychic is within certain limitations. The forces, knowledge and energy capabilities of each person are limited, but the wisdom and energy of the Avatar are unlimited. It may seem to you that the Avatar has helped someone but not someone else; this is only your limited understanding. The Avatar helps everyone, only in different ways.

Let's remember another story that Mr. Subba Rao told me. In the city of Chennai, in southern India, there lived a man named Vasudevan. He worked as a manager in a large company. When he was in his early 20s, his health began to deteriorate rapidly. The main problem was the deterioration of kidney function.