An incarnation of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba?
[Continued from yesterday]
KB Ganapathy (KBG): How did you become his successor?
Sathya Sai Baba passed away in 2011. Sadhguru Sri Madhusudan Sai was in Bangalore. He had a prayer room in his living room. One day, as he was sitting and praying, a ghost or an astral body appeared before Madhusudan and spoke to him about many matters, both spiritual and worldly, and asked him to wear a cloak and carry out his mission in this world.
Madhusudan asked how he could undertake such a mission since he had neither spiritual powers nor connections with famous people. Sathya Sai Baba told him there was no need to worry. He would introduce him to several people who would support and help him. He mentioned the names of Professor Narasimha Murthy and Professor Shashidhara Prasad, apart from others.
This reminds me of Jesus, who asked one of his disciples to preach his message, the gospel, but the disciple claimed he could not do so because he was illiterate.
Jesus said, “Do not be afraid; I will put words in your mouth.”
Anyway, at this point I asked what the ghost (astral body) was like. Was it standing or sitting? He said it was standing. What was the attire the astral body was wearing? The attire that Sathya Sai Baba normally wears.
Did you touch him? Was it a physical body? “No, I didn’t touch him. It wasn’t a physical body, but I could see him with my own eyes (made a victory sign with two fingers and brought them close to his eyes).”
KBG: The same divine vision that Lord Krishna gave to Sanjaya explaining the Kurukshetra war to the blind king Dhritarashtra and the same divine vision that Lord Krishna gave to Arjuna when he showed him the Vishwarupa, has he given you as well?
In response to my question, Sadhguru smiled kindly and said, “No,” “I looked at him with normal eyes.”
Time was running out. The helicopter was waiting. I forgot to ask him if he was blessed with the miraculous power to generate or materialize small objects like vibhuti (sacred ash), a watch, a gold ring or a chain with a little magic trick, and also about his miraculous healing ability. Someone told me later that he only does this occasionally. That’s fine. But I had one last question for him.
KBG: Have you become enlightened?
He seemed to be avoiding the question, but gave hints that suggested that was the case.
KBG: What is the difference between an enlightened person and an ordinary person like me?
Again, he flashed a smile, his eyes downcast. We had discussed earlier the mixture of the secular and the spiritual in what he does. Serving the world in the areas of education, health and nutrition (for children) falls into the realm of materialism, which is bound by attachment, whereas spiritualism is renunciation, detachment from worldly desires and possessions.
KBG: How do you reconcile these two opposing things in the pursuit of mukti, enlightenment and liberation?
“It’s like living in a house. You have a kitchen, a bedroom and a prayer room. You choose what you need. Or it’s like taking an elevator in a three-story house. The second floor is for worldly business and the last floor is for spiritual enlightenment. You can leave the first two floors and go directly to the third,” he said.
I smiled and nodded in agreement.
He then narrated how he had prayed to Goddess Chamundeshwari at Chamundi Hill Temple on Thursday, December 21, and received her blessings. He said that he had always wanted to shift the current location of his school in Mysore city to a forest environment in a faraway village and had also chosen a few acres of land in the village. But due to some reason, it did not materialise, so he prayed to Lord Chamundeshwari and sought Her blessings to make it happen.
“As I was praying, I heard a voice say, ‘Why are you asking me? Make sankalp and it will happen,'” Sadhguru said.
KBG: So she asked you? Did you hear it by ear?
“Yes, I heard her and made a sankalp. And this morning I received a message from a devotee in Dubai that he has decided to set up a school at a cost of Rs 200 crore and will be selling some of his shares to raise funds.”
I was stunned. So was Bami Shenoy. I don’t know about Professor Shashidhara Prasad, but he must have experienced this kind of miracle when he was with Sathya Sai Baba in Puttaparthi and now with Sadhguru. Whatever the existential truth, I was happy because there will be an institution in Mysore district that will teach both Sanatana Dharma and secular education.
I wanted to ask him about the miracles performed by his guru, Sri Sathya Sai Baba, and the power behind them — magic or God — but I didn’t have time.
I have written about Sri Sathya Sai Baba many times in this column whenever I have had the opportunity. The whole world knows about his mystical powers (which, of course, the rationalists did not believe in) of materializing vibhuti (sacred ash), rings, necklaces, watches etc. I wanted to know if Sadhguru Sri Madhusudan Sai also has those mystical powers. I will find out the next time I meet him. And maybe I will meet him soon as he has invited me to visit the symbolic centre of all his global service activities at Muddenahalli near the Bengaluru airport.
I rose from my seat and urged him to end the interview, as did others. After all, a helicopter was waiting. I quickly posed for photos with Sadhguru and left. Sadhguru is described by the media and his followers as a spiritual and social leader of the World Mission for Education, Nutrition and Medicine.
I thought about the 4-H program in the United States in the early 1900s, which aimed to promote healthy development in youth – by head, heart, hands and health.
I believe Sadhguru’s mission is similar to the US plan, except that it gives equal importance to the dharmic values of this land of Sanatana Dharma. If so, then so be it.
Father’s Village.
[Concluded]
Email: [email protected]
