Indian and Tibetan yoga. Gathering my courage, I replied, “I practice yoga.” There was a pause, Sathya Sai Baba smiled slightly and said, “never tell me that you practice yoga, because you don’t even know what it is! Yoga is an endless journey!” After a pause, he added, "next time, never answer me like that." His voice was calm, but very stern.
I felt a light sweat break through me, instinctively I looked at my watch and thought that our conversation would soon end for my salvation. The question was so energetically strong that it penetrated the very depths of my inner world. And really, what do I do in this life? What is my main business in life? After this conversation, I soon went home to Moscow.
Six months later I returned to Puttaparthi and Sathya Sai Baba again invited me for an interview. In less than a few minutes, he turned to me and carefully and intently looked into my eyes. It's hard to say why, but inside me there was a feeling that he would ask “the same” question again. In an instant, I experienced horror from the fact that six months had passed, and I was still not able to understand the business of my life.
Sathya Sai Baba smiled a little before I heard his soft and melodious voice quietly ask me, “what are you doing?” In an instant, I realized that despite the fact that so much time had passed, I had not advanced a millimeter in understanding what exactly I was doing in life. There was a terrifying pause for me, I realized that the longer I was silent, the closer I was to fainting. Gathering all my strength, I whispered, "I don't know… I don't know what I'm doing in this life." Sai Baba looked directly into my eyes, and I felt infinity shining from the depth of his.
A couple of months passed, I left for Moscow, and soon returned to Puttaparthi. Suddenly, I caught myself thinking that during personal communication, Sathya Sai Baba would surely ask me “this” question again. I understood that until I gave myself a clear answer, Sai Baba would not fall behind. There was a feeling of a student who did not learn his homework.
All the people around me dreamed of an interview, it was ridiculous for me to admit to myself that I would have gladly refused. Yes, it sounds silly now, but I didn't even come to the morning programs on purpose a couple of times, in the hope that Sathya Sai Baba would invite my group, and I would miss the meeting. But what needs to happen always happens. The day came when Sathya Sai Baba invited me for an interview as part of a small group.
Before entering his room, we had to sit in front of the door for several minutes, waiting for him to complete his communication with some minister who had come from Delhi. Finally, we were invited into the room. Tension built inside me from anticipation of the denouement. Sathya Sai Baba turned to me and, as if not noticing my excitement, asked, “what are you doing?”
I did not have a pre-prepared answer, so I spontaneously answered, "I am an artist, I paint pictures."
Sathya Sai Baba smiled and said, "yes, that is the correct answer."
At that moment, my soul filled with a joyful sense of accomplishment. The creative energy of God is manifested in everything. Everything that a person does is creativity: Science and art, literature and pedagogy, finance and politics, sports and journalism. Since God is the Creator, a person reveals his divine potential precisely with the help of creativity.
Unfortunately, many people perceive the spiritual path in a rather narrow way – fasting and praying, living in the Himalayas, and studying philosophical texts. In fact, the spiritual path is the fullness of human life. Communicating with Sathya Sai Baba, I began to understand that the spiritual path is absolutely everything that happens to me, my every thought, my every word, my every action.
22. "Formulate your goal!"
One of the questions that Sathya Sai Baba sometimes asked during personal communication was, “what do you want?” Sometimes he would say, "state your goal!" The question itself contains a great spiritual message and food for thought. Hearing such a question, people were immersed in long reflections. His resonant voice remained in my memory asking the question to which the answer determined the further circumstances of life and opened up new horizons in a person.
Sathya Sai Baba was a clairvoyant, and, naturally, many had a desire to find out from him the answers to the pressing questions of life. Many wanted to consult with him about what to do and how to act in various life situations. But Sathya Sai Baba never allowed himself to impose on a person what to do in life and did not offer ready-made answers.
We are accustomed to shifting the responsibility for what is happening in life to someone else. Sathya Sai Baba never deprived people of the right to free choice, on the contrary, he inspired them to make independent decisions. Each person himself must come to an understanding of where he aspires to be and what he does in life.
23. Sathya Sai Baba always spoke personally, taking into account the needs and level of consciousness of the listener
I remember once Sathya Sai Baba was asked what spiritual practice he would recommend. To this, he advised me to repeat the mantras in Sanskrit. He said that Sanskrit is the divine language in which the Vedas are written. Sanskrit is a language with a special healing vibration that purifies both the inner world of a person and the surrounding space. He said that people belonging to different nationalities and religions can chant mantras in Sanskrit. I recall with great inspiration this beautiful answer of Sathya Sai Baba about the greatness of Sanskrit, for I have experienced the power of mantras many times in my life.
It didn't take long, maybe a week, and I came
