small. People found Mount Narayana Parvata easily on the map, but they walked long and hard through the mountains and naturally could not find the ashram. Such places of power have very serious energy protection from intruders. You can pass at a distance of several meters from the entrance to the sacred cave, and simply not notice it. You can also walk past a group of yogis who are practicing meditation or mantras, and you will get the impression there is no one around.
The energy protection of the Guha Ashram is very strong, and there is an impact on the consciousness of a person, in that one who is not spiritually ready will look and not see. Even being very close to the entrance to the cave, a person coming without the special blessing of Sathya Sai Baba would see only the slope and the mountain; it will seem to him there is no cave at all, although, in fact, the entrance to the sacred cave will be right in front of him. That is why it is impossible to go and find the Guha Ashram simply by ordinary effort.
Some attempts were on the verge of dangerous outcomes, but fortunately no one died. I know of one case where a man went looking for Guha Ashram and got lost in the mountains, fortunately he was found by passing tourists. Some broke their legs or arms and had to turn back. As attempts to find the Guha Ashram began to increase, Sathya Sai Baba announced that he had closed the ashram.
I must say that such an official statement really had a very serious effect, and several groups decided not to go. About this time, I wanted to discuss this matter with Maheshwarananda. He said that it was the only correct decision to officially announce the closure of the Guha Ashram in order to stop the flow of grief seekers.
In fact, the ashram, of course, was not closed; it continues to exist even now, just in order to remove the hype around it, it was announced that it was closed.
52. Maheshwarananda introduced me to two yogis from Guha Ashram
Initially, in the ‘80s, eleven yogis lived in the Guha Ashram. In the ‘90s, the Guha Ashram continued its development, and at different times there were twenty, and sometimes twenty-five people there. Some of the yogis lived there permanently, and some came for a few months or a few years in order to take a course of study.
At first, there were only Indians there, but since the ‘90s, several Western people have appeared there, which is quite natural, since the path of meditation and self-knowledge has nothing to do with the origin of a person, as the only criterion is the spiritual and energetic readiness of the practitioner.
In the ‘90s, some yogis from the Guha Ashram appeared from time to time in Puttaparthi. Naturally, this was a secret, as they simply came under the guise of ordinary visitors, and there was no official information about this. Of course, more sensitive people could feel the special energy and divine light coming from the eyes of these people.
I was lucky because Maheshwarananda himself introduced me to two yogis from the Guha Ashram, one of whom was named Yogi Hari; the second yogi did not want to name himself. I was fortunate enough to communicate with them quite a lot during the period when they temporarily resided in Puttaparthi.
The essence of the spiritual path is contemplative self-knowledge, in Sanskrit this is called “atma-vichara.” Where your physical body is located does not matter, you can live in large cities such as New York, Moscow, or Delhi, or you can settle in the Himalayas. It doesn’t matter at all whether you are a family or a monk – it doesn’t matter what your profession and position in society are; spiritual awareness is a deep inner process.
The fact that Sathya Sai Baba created the Guha Ashram in the Himalayas is a unique event, and the yogis who practice there are, of course, amazing people. Sathya Sai Baba sent them to the Himalayan ashram because it suited their high spiritual qualities and the peculiarities of their life path.
No need to think that living in a Himalayan cave is the only right path leading to self-knowledge. Sathya Sai Baba never said that all people should go to the Himalayas or become hermits. There are a huge number of ways and methods leading to the awakening of the inner God.
God does not live in the Himalayas, not in Jerusalem, and not on the sacred Mount Kailash, but in the depths of the spiritual heart of each person, therefore only contemplation and meditation can lead to self-realization.
53. There are no, and cannot be, any intermediaries in the communication of a person with God, because God is the true "I" of each person
Sathya Sai Baba constantly repeated that he communicates with each person, directly. One of the greatest problems that exists in the modern world is that a senseless system of intermediaries arises between man and God in the form of all kinds of priests. Intermediaries can be good, or they can be very bad, but the bottom line is that they should not exist at all.
In the communication of man and God there is no, and there can be no intermediaries, because God is the True "I" of each person. Of course, we sometimes need spiritual guides, but true teachers, pointing to the eternal Lord, themselves remain transparent. Sathya Sai Baba said that the only true teacher is the Higher Self, which is located in the spiritual heart.
Being the greatest of teachers, Sathya Sai Baba least of all tried to create a cult of himself. First of all, he pointed to the inner potentials dormant inside each person.
Sathya Sai Baba said that after he leaves this world, his tomb will lead people along the spiritual path, help in solving everyday situations, give healing, and answer prayers. And so, it happens. Even after he has left his
