Chapter from the book
by Vladimir Antonov The Teachings of Sathya Sai Baba

The Advent of Sathya Sai Baba

He was born in 1926 and named Sathya Narayana Raju.

In childhood, He was liked by everyone, because He was always kind, forgiving all offences from playmates, never “requiting evil with evil”. And more… in school, He entertained other pupils by giving them sweets, which He took out from an apparently empty bag, materializing them.

At the age of 14, He told to His parents that He would not go to school any more, because He knows everything. And that He is a reincarnation of well-known in India Muslim saint Sai Baba (Baba means Father in Sanskrit) from the place called Shirdi. And that He wants to leave parents’ home in order to dedicate His life to helping people, preaching the Truth about God, and about the Way of attainment of the Highest Freedom in Mergence with Him.

His years of childhood and adolescence are described in detail in a remarkable book of Samuel Sandweiss [4]; everyone interested can find this information there. I only want to notice, in order to help you understand the content of this book better, that Sathya Sai Baba, living in the shaivistic partly-pagan environment, did not oppose it. On the contrary, He supported people’s faith by materializing, for example, attributes of the shaivistic symbolism.

Later on He explained it thus: “Each man begins cognition of the world through its forms. People cannot at once picture to themselves God as the Omnipresent Who is present in each object and in each individual. … (Therefore), idols are necessary in order to point to God. To those, who have not realized God, idols are necessary. After the realization of God, idols become unnecessary. … Worshiping an idol and acquiring through such worship experience of Divinity, one will be able to describe to oneself the feeling of God.” [5].

All preaching activity of Sathya Sai Baba is accompanied by His demonstration of miracles.

He did this even in school years: He materialized sweets, pencils, rulers, and so on, and also won easily in running among other pupils by transporting instantly His body from the start to the finish.

In the following years, He converted adult atheists to believers, for example, by materializing in front of them, sitting at the table, the dishes which were “ordered” mentally by each one of them.

And now, materialization of various objects is a part of everyday activity of Sathya Sai Baba, by which He helps people to strengthen their religiousness.

As the preaching activity of Sathya Sai Baba developed, a group of faithful followers gathered around Him; an ashram was built, in which pilgrims could stay. Financial support from interested people made it possible to create in India a system of medical and educational institutions supervised by Sathya Sai Baba and to begin publishing books. Thanks to books and films, the name of Sathya Sai Baba is well-known now on all continents; He has millions of followers.

He brings to people salvation from the darkness of atheistic ignorance and religious misunderstanding. Let us — as souls — approach Him!