ARTICLES

Sathya Sai Baba - rare questions

We continue our series of articles dedicated to Sai Baba. You can learn more about his biography from other articles on this website. In this article, we continue to discuss amazing stories about his life, miracles and spiritual instructions. Only Sai Baba could decide which visitor needed direct communication with him more, then Baba personally invited this person and provided a unique opportunity to ask questions.

General meetings were called Darshan, they were held in a large hall, usually several tens of thousands of people attended such meetings. Occasionally some had the opportunity to speak personally with Sai Baba in his small room. These face-to-face meetings were called interviews, and they usually lasted an hour or an hour and a half.

I was lucky enough to be present at the interviews. Sometimes Sai Baba invited me personally, and sometimes together with this or that group. He invited ten to twenty people for interviews. Each year the number of visitors increased, and there were fewer opportunities to get a personal audience.

In the 90s, Russian-speaking groups came for a month. Sometimes such groups received interviews with Sai Baba. He knew that people needed direct communication with him, and invited them to a separate room. Each time it was the decision of Sathya Sai Baba, and it was impossible to go and sign up for an audience, only he decided who he wanted and had to talk directly.

When Sai Baba went out for the morning and evening programs, visitors sat in the huge hall right on the floor on small rugs, while Sai slowly walked between the rows of the crowd. Sometimes he could linger for a minute next to someone and speak. When he invited people for an interview, they went to the entrance to a special room.

Baba invited small groups, and the conversation lasted for an hour or an hour and a half. Devotees from many countries came to him: Russians, Americans, Chinese, Japanese, Germans, French, Israelis, Iranians, Argentines, Mexicans. People from all over the world gathered in Sai's room. This room was small, everyone sat down on the floor in unison. In the very corner there was a chair where Sathya Sai Baba used to sit.

Sathya Sai Baba: personal experience

I was fortunate enough to be Sathya Sai Baba's translator for several years. I first came to Puttaparthi in 1993, from then on I came and lived in Puttaparthi there for several months every year until Sathya Sai Baba left this world in 2011.

Many times I have had the privilege of attending interviews with him, it is difficult to say how many, probably more than 200 times. Sathya Sai Baba spoke in English and I translated for Russian-speaking devotees. It was a unique experience, I witnessed numerous miracles as well as spiritual teachings that Sathya Sai Baba gave to his devotees and visitors.

In this article I will not write about all the amazing details of my personal experience with our beloved Sathya Sai Baba. I have published three books with my memories, which have become widely known in Russia, and they can also be bought at the bookstore in the Sathya Sai Ashram in Puttaparthi.

Thanks to these books, I even got a membership in the Union of Russian Writers, who highly appreciated the literary style of the works. The titles of the books: "Sathya Sai Baba - the embodiment of a dream", "Sathya Sai Baba - the miracle of the blessed life", "Sathya Sai Baba - the eternal God and perfect man."

In the 19th century Sai Baba incarnated as Shirdi Sai Baba. In the 20th century he incarnated as Sathya Sai Baba. In the 21st century he incarnated as Prema Sai Baba. By his incarnations, he shows the eternity of consciousness and the manifestation of His infinite love.

In this article I will tell you about my experience of communicating with a unique boy named Pritam, who is the next incarnation of Sai Baba, in the future we will call him Prema Sai Baba. In this article, I describe the period from 2015 to 2018, the period of his childhood from 3 to 6 years old. All the events and miracles described in this material are my personal experiences, I was the direct witness of all the events.

Mahavatar Babaji - Immortal Guru

Many amazing books can tell the secret of the life of the Himalayan Guru, reveal more details about the meaning of his wise teachings and magnificent mission. But the primacy in this belongs to Yogananda Paramahamsa, 1946 marked the publication of an epoch-making work - "Autobiography of a Yogi". Its pages opened the immortal prophet to humanity, and also told the ancient mysteries of meditation and self-knowledge of Kriya Yoga.

Maha from ancient Sanskrit is translated as "great", avatar - "divine incarnation", and Babaji - as "respected father". The immortal yogi leads a secretive life somewhere at the top of the Himalayas, but easily materializes anywhere in the world to meet with his followers. It is amazing that his physical body is immutable, and has spent many epochs on Earth, being in the highest and absolute level of God-realization. The Himalayan Master transfers his experience selectively to a small community of Kriya Yoga practitioners.

SAI BABA FUNERAL

Author: Svetlana Dubyanskaya

Sai Baba funeral, strange topic for an article. How can God be born or die? God is not born, God is immortal, but the Avatar incarnated on Earth has a physical body that lives according to physical laws, hence it gets old and sick and eventually dies. The body leaves, but Sai Consciousness is immortal.

Sathya Sai Baba was born on November 23, 1926 in the south of India. His birth name is Satyanarayana Raju. He left this world on April 24, 2011.

Many people humbly refer to him as an Indian guru, philosopher and philanthropist. His followers and devotees call him God, born on Earth with a special mission. At the age of about fourteen, he proclaimed that he was the embodiment of a famous guru named Shirdi Sai Baba. Little Sathya Sai Baba left the parental home to start fulfilling his mission, serving people and society, giving instructions on spiritual practices and healing the sick.

S.Dubyanskiy was lucky to be the translator of Sathya Sai Baba for several years. During the personal meetings with students and followers, he spoke in English, and S.Dubyanskiy translated for numerous Russian-speaking groups from Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Ukraine. You can read S.Dubyanskiy’s memoirs about Sathya Sai Baba in his books. 

This is a correspondence between two Kriya Yoga Masters, Marshall Govindan (USA) and S.Dubyansky (Russia). The first letter was written by Marshall Govindan with questions and objections to S.Dubyansky. Subsequently, S.Dubyansky answered and explained his position on the raised questions. This article contains both letters.

Satsang and Kriya Yoga
Author: Svetlana Dubyanskaya

The word Satsang comes from ancient Sanskrit, meaning communication with true spiritual seekers, being in the company of real yoga and meditation practitioners. It is also associated with communication with a guru. Satsang can be translated as "association" or "union". Satsang usually includes reading the scriptures, contemplation, discussion, and joint meditation. For many esoteric traditions, Satsang is a spiritual practice that helps achieve spiritual realizations.

The idea of satsang​ is an auspicious spiritual environment, such as the presence of holy people and a guru, listening to scriptures or beautiful music, which allows one to raise his mind. Satsang is one of the main practices along with meditation, self-exploration and self-control. The great gurus of the Kriya Yoga tradition speak about the importance of Satsang.

Satsang comes from the Sanskrit words "sat" (being, essence) and "sanga" (communication). Yogananda, the great guru of the Kriya Yoga tradition, named his hermit abode Sat Sangha, which means "communication with the truth." The word Satsang refers to communication with people having similar spiritual aspirations, as well as communication with God in meditation.

Paramahansa Yogananda: Spiritual Message

Author of the article Svetlana Dubyanskaya

Paramahansa Yogananda was born in 1893 in the ancient city of Gorakhpur, India, and left this world in 1952 in Los Angeles, USA. He was one of the greatest Indian yogis who played a key role in the successful dissemination of Kriya Yoga as the ancient system of spiritual practices in the West.

In his most famous book "Autobiography of a Yogi", using the example of his teacher Sri Yukteswar, he describes in detail the almost ideal life of a holy yogi who devoted himself to the search for truth serving God and all humanity. Yogananda founded two spiritual communities uniting people from different religions - the "Self-Realization Fellowship" worldwide spiritual organization in the United States and the “Yogoda Satsanga Society of India”.

KRIYA YOGA AND SELF-DEVELOPMENT

Kriya Yoga

The author of the article Mrs. Svetlana Dubyanskaya

Kriya (Kryya) Yoga is an ancient meditation system, significantly accelerating human evolution, leading to Divine self-realization. In ancient times, Kriya Yoga was transmitted by the immortal Maha Yogi Mahavatar Babaji.

In fact, Kriya Yoga has long been known among the Himalayan yogis. In the 19th century, Lahiri Mahasaya, a direct student of Mahavatar Babaji, began to teach his students these techniques openly. At the beginning of the 20th century Paramahansa Yogananda brought this unique knowledge from India to Western countries.

In order to be prepared for the practices of Kriya Yoga meditation correctly, a careful and serious preparation is required. Such detailed preparation and further initiation into the practice of Kriya Yoga is possible in various spiritual schools around the world. This article is for those who want to learn more about the history and philosophy of Kriya Yoga.

KRIYA (KRIIA) YOGA – THE BEST SELF-DEVELOPMENT OF AN INDIVIDUAL

Kriya Yoga

The author of the article Svetlana Dubyanskaya

Kriya Yoga: Advaita and Sankhya, Yoga Sastra, Jainism, Buddhism

Mandukya Kariki is written by Gaudapada most likely influenced by some Buddhist ideas. Religiously and socially, Adi Shankara acted more as a traditionalist and conservative. The study of numerous Vedic literature was traditionally strictly forbidden to the representatives of lower castes. There are many versions regarding the perception of Advaita philosophy set forth by Shankara as a disguised Buddhism. In the first centuries of the new era there was a sharp controversy between various schools of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism in India.

Researchers note that in the culture of modern India, this is a complex topic demonstrating that the claims about the disguised Buddhism of Advaita are a great simplification of the true and real relationship and interconnection of Buddhism and Vedanta, their mutual influence and correlation. A number of European Indologists consider the Advaita Vedanta set forth by Shankara aslo be the most natural, absolutely logical and accurate interpretation of the main Upanishads.

Adi Shankara identified Avidya as Maya Shakti, the creative cosmic power of Brahman. Avidya Maya in his philosophical system is not defined as a really existing force. Unlike the concept of Shakti in the tradition of Kashmir Shaivism not as a perfect illusion.

Kriya Yoga. VEDAS AND THE ORIGINS OF TRADITION

By Svetlana Dubyanskaya

Mahavatar Babaji, the Story of the Immortal Guru

Many amazing, talented books can tell the reader in great detail the many secrets of the life and philosophy of the Himalayan teacher, who is respectfully called Mahavatar Babaji. Nowadays, many are trying to thoroughly understand and reveal the deep meaning of his comprehensive teachings and his magnificent global mission on the Earth.

Yet the right of primacy rightfully belongs to Paramahamsa Yogananda, for in 1946 he was the one who published the book “Autobiography of a Yogi”. Its pages opened to the world, to all mankind, the highest immortal guru and prophet, and also openly told the sacraments of science and the art of meditation, and self-knowledge, which is called Kriya Yoga.

The immortal guru is the source of Kriya Yoga meditation techniques, he leads a rather secret lifestyle, living on the peaks of the snowy Himalayas. With ease he can materialize anywhere in the world to meet with the closest students and followers.

It is amazing that his body is unchanged, he spent several eras on the Earth, being at an amazing level of higher self-realization and enlightenment. The Himalayan guru sometimes transfers his knowledge and experience to a narrow circle of yogis who strive for knowledge of the highest truth.