all visitors not to visit other Gurus. Communicating with different people, he could recommend attending seminars and trainings in other ashrams, and possibly studying for some time with other Gurus.
Sathya Sai Baba sometimes said strange words like, "I am not a Guru at all." What does this mean? The mission of the Avatar, to a lesser extent, included teaching the methods of meditation and yoga. All of these practices are done by mentors, who we call Guru. The Avatar grants all people the highest Divine Grace, and he blesses people for the perfect harmony of life.
Quite often, spiritual seekers needed to learn the practice of meditation, mantra, and yoga. For this, sometimes Sathya Sai Baba advised them to go and study in other esoteric schools and ashrams.
There were discussions between various devotees and followers of Sathya Sai Baba about whether one should go only to him, or whether one should visit other ashrams and study different traditions. There is no universal answer to this complex question because each one of us will find the answer only in the personal characteristics of our own spiritual path and the stage of spiritual evolution we are currently at.
Sathya Sai Baba referred me on several occasions to several schools of Kriya Yoga, as well as to several teachers of Tibetan Buddhism, where I studied the energy practices of Trulkor and Mantra. In different ashrams, I received initiations and was trained in many techniques, which helped me develop on the spiritual path.
Strange as it may sound, it is impossible to say there is a tradition of Sathya Sai Baba. He is on the side of all traditions, and he is the source of all traditions and directions; he is the whole integrity of being – He is the whole universe. The task is to reveal the potential of each person and it does not matter which spiritual path this person follows.
In different spiritual schools, I studied numerous techniques, but the main source of blessings and Divine Grace has always been Sathya Sai Baba. It was he who bestowed upon me inner mystical experiences and realizations.
When he sent me to various ashrams, I studied their techniques, methods, practices, philosophical systems, various types of meditation and yoga, and then I returned to Sathya Sai Baba and practiced these techniques, after which I received mystical experiences and insights.
67. Beyond all traditions
Sathya Sai Baba is the one who stands above all traditions. His approach is always personal and it is very difficult to quote Sathya Sai Baba. It must always be remembered that he gave spiritual instructions on the basis of what would be good for the person to whom he is currently giving instructions.
If Sathya Sai Baba saw it was more correct for a person to concentrate exclusively on him, he clearly said, “do not go anywhere else, stay only here.” However, there were cases when the same Sathya Sai Baba recommended people to go and study with other Gurus.
I know that some people left for training in other ashrams and traditions, but after a few years they still returned to Puttaparthi. There were people who left for training in other ashrams and did not return to Sathya Sai Baba, and this was also normal, because the purpose of the Avatar was to enrich the spiritual world of people and not to gain more followers.
If Sathya Sai Baba saw that it would be better for a person's spiritual development to concentrate on another Guru, he would bless and guide the person along the spiritual path beneficial for that person.
This story took place in the very east of India, in the state of Orissa. I came for a month to one teacher of Kriya Yoga. The small ashram was located in the dense jungle and there were only a few small villages in the vicinity. Many wild animals lived in these forests, so I preferred to spend all my time in the ashram.
Accompanied by a couple of local Indians, I still sometimes went outside the ashram. The locals were surprisingly friendly. Walking around the neighborhood, it seemed to me that I was in the stone age. Time seemed to stop in this jungle. Life in the villages was surprisingly simple. With curiosity, I looked at the primitive clay houses and fences made of huge, crooked logs.
People and livestock lived practically in the same room. The border between the world of people and animals was very conditional. This is probably what the primitive idyll of the coexistence of people and domestic animals looked like in ancient times.
In this area lived a queen, a very thin hundred-year-old grandmother. Since she was well acquainted with the Guru, whose ashram I came to, I managed to get to know her. It turned out she was a devotee of Sathya Sai Baba. In her small, clean mansion, there was a separate shrine room with a huge number of portraits of Sathya Sai Baba. Every day she performed meditation and mantra practices in this room, as well as traditional Vedic rituals – Pujas.
One time, together with several friends, I visited the elderly queen. We were invited to dinner, which was supposed to start in half an hour. While waiting, I sat down in one of the rooms, took a book out of my backpack and began to read. At that time, I was rereading The Life of St. Seraphim of Sarov with enthusiasm.
Sitting comfortably, I began to read the story of how one day several nuns were walking through the winter forest and met Reverend Seraphim. The elder gave them a twig with several apples. The nuns were very surprised and asked where these apples on a branch with green leaves came from. It was strange to see this as it was winter and there were severe frosts.
The Monk Seraphim explained that a few minutes before that moment, angels appeared in front of him and gave him these apples, which were not ordinary, but from the Gardens of Eden.
After reading this story, I put the book
